Lowering the book, the last line of chapter eleven faded away, “‘Love has long abandoned me. What good are feelings? What good are promises? They are both as inconstant as morning dew, evaporating the second there is heat.’”
I gazed at my stunning Omega, the questions from the passage ringing in my mind.
What good are feelings?
What good are promises?
My entire life, I’d felt little love and endured too many broken promises. My pack brothers were the only people I relied on, with me to whatever bitter end awaited.
Now, she was here.
Lucy's eyes were closed, snowy lashes fanning against the tops of her cheeks. One of her hands still loosely held a bundle of hair. She was an angel when she slept, her expression unburdened by all the years of sickness and sadness. She stretched, and I tried not to move a muscle, worried I’d wake her. Her Omega perfume intensified as she rolled onto her side, pulling her legs against my chest. Her hands moved to slip beneath her face, supporting her head. This position couldn’t be comfortable. I took the book, which had fallen closed andwedged between us, and set it on the narrow side table. Then I slipped my arms beneath her, lifting her up as I stood.
My senses, already heightened by her proximity, were nearly overwhelmed as she pressed into my body. The sweet fragrance that clung to her skin hit me like summer in the dead of winter. Everything cold. Everything frozen. Yet here was the sunshine, the strawberries in a field, the cubes of ice dropped into fresh lemonade. I wondered if her scent was stronger in sleep, because she felt completely safe. My inner Alpha cried out, stretching towards her, wanting her with an almost unstoppable force. I didn’t know how long I could stay strong, how long I could wait for her to move us to that next, oh-so-wonderful place.
I carried her over to her bed, moving with deliberate care. The house was quiet, the others either out or sequestered in their own spaces. This moment belonged to us alone—me carrying Lucy, her breath warm against my neck, her Omega scent making my head swim.
Managing to support her with one arm, I turned down the comforter and sheets with the other. The sight of her bed ready for sleep sent a rush of heat through my body that I ruthlessly suppressed.
With utmost gentleness, I laid her down, watching as she instinctively curled onto her side. She made a small sound. Not quite a word, but a sigh of contentment that tightened my chest. I pulled the covers over her, tucking them around her shoulders.
And then I leaned down.
I couldn’t stop myself.
From planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.
When I pulled away, my lips were incredibly warm. I wanted more.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, unable to leave just yet, though I should. My heart thundered, the need for her shocking my system. It wasn't merely physical desire, though that wascertainly present. It was deeper, more complex. It was the startling recognition of how perfectly she completed me, filling in spaces I hadn’t known were empty.
I reached out, pushing a phantom strand of hair from her face as an excuse to touch her. Her skin was like silk beneath my fingertips. Lucy, still sound asleep, reached up and wrapped her hand around mine. I stiffened, hating I’d disturbed her, then I relaxed.
"How did we get so damn lucky?" I whispered, the question directed not at Lucy but at the universe. “We don’t deserve you. We proved that repeatedly.”
We were broken, damaged, and damned. We carried so many scars we barely had unmarked skin left. We’d built DemonX from nothing, creating a brotherhood forged in shared trauma and ambition. We clawed at fame, money, and respect. None of that had ever made me feel whole. I knew, without asking, it was the same for the other guys.
When I went to gently pull my hand from hers and stand, Lucy tightened her hold.
“Don’t leave,” she murmured, not opening her eyes.
Fuck! The things those two words did to me.
“Never,” I said fiercely.
She tugged gently. “Lay down.”
Was she sleeping talking? Did she really want me to lay beside her?
“Fallon,” she said my name like a prayer, and it completely undid me.
I tried to pull away my hand, but Lucy locked her fingers down tighter. That made me smile, so damn glad that she wanted me to be here.
“Lucy, love, I can’t climb onto the bed without letting go, just for a moment.”
Her brow scrunched, eyes remaining shut. Then she reluctantly let go of my hand.
I moved to the foot of the bed, climbing up and crawling carefully. I stretched out on my side behind her, my body above the covers, her body snuggled beneath. That barrier was important. An Alpha only had so much control.
