“Thought I just said my piece.” Puck grins, and it’s a touch cheeky and a touch arrogant. And then he purposely waits for Koz’s steely gaze to fall down to where Puck’s hand is currently buried. Only then does Puck move his hand, at a snail’s pace from my ass to my hip before he stares at Koz as his fingers dip inside my underwear. It’s pretty obvious where Puck’s fingers are. It’s clear to see, but I also kind of give it away by moaning softly, making Puck chuckle under his breath.
Puck starts talking at the same lazy pace he touches me. “As much as she is yours, Koz, she’s mine too. I’ve got no issue with you. But if you want me to be a cock about it I can be—she was mine way before she was yours. Like years before.” Puck’s words seem to slow, while his fingers seem to pick up pace as Koz starts to make noises like he’s choking. Koz’s eyes narrow before they flick down to watch Puck’s as he keeps fingering me. “Anyway, I love Raney with everything I am, and I actually respect you a lot so I’m happy to work in the confines of your weird needs too. For a little while. We’ll make our pack work but mark my word, we’re group fucking on my birthday, it kind of seems fair.” He pulls his finger out, then pushes my beast further by sucking them clean before waving that hand towards the door. “Shall we? King’s going to be pissed enough.”
“I swear to fucking god, micina, someone is going to die before the day is out.”
“Nonsense,” I say, laying my head against his chest. Filling my lungs with his scent, and trying desperately to get my pussy, and heart, to chill the fuck out at Puck’s confession. And objectives. And wicked touch.
ChapterThirty-Four
RANEY
As soon as we step into the corridor, it’s pretty clear King’s not happy. I hold his ugly glare with my own. The moment the door closes behind me, his finger is up jabbing around like he’s Woody fucking Woodpecker. “You’re on lockdown,” he roars.
I wait quietly as he struggles not to lose his shit completely. A few tense seconds stretch out until he gives me a weird grimace, letting me know he’s good. I reach up for a kiss from Koz, twisting around for a similar kiss from Puck, and then I walk over to dad and straight into his waiting arms, which is all he wants.
“Geez, you haven’t put me on lockdown for a few years, King. Are you sure you’re okay?” I tease as I sink into his hug. It’s weird that despite everything that’s been happening, this is the second time since I arrived home that I’ve been able to get a cuddle from my dad.
“Missed you, kid,” he murmurs softly. His hug confirms the past few days would have been as hard for him as they’ve been for all of us.
Irrespective of how pissy he’s being or has been, there’s no disputing how much he loves me, it’s ingrained in him. He also scents like home. Breathing him in as we hug it out, I’m struck with the realisation, it’s my childhood home. My home these days smells more like dark cherry chocolate, falling rain, cinnamon donuts, and a strange combination of leather and campfire.
“I missed you too, Dad,” I squeeze him again, “Not going to let you lock me away though. Besides, I’m pissed at you. Hiding Puck away from me for all these years is grounds for me to have a tizzy, but not you!” His hand clasps around the back of my head as he keeps squeezing the crap out of me.
King chuckles evilly. “Got you a beauty, didn’t I? I can’t believe we hid the kid right under your nose. And before you start bitching, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I protected you. And I protected him.” He turns us and starts walking off, in typical King fashion, expecting everyone just to follow.
Using the weight of my body, I put the brakes on, and he feels my hesitation immediately and lets me out of our hug but holds onto my arm, stepping away to read me better to see what the issue is. “Hugs are good because I missed you like crazy, but now you can use your words and explain why you are trying to drag your adult daughter off caveman style. I’m pretty sure we’ve already had this argument about your style of parenting… give or take a thousand times. One possessive asshole is enough in my life.”
Puck is suddenly there, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Two, babe. We’ve talked about the sex thing but Koz will have to learn to cope with him not being the only possessive asshole in our relationship. You know I’ve been obsessed with you since forever.”
I risk a look at Koz, and the glare I get from my man gives me shivers. In all the right places. I think he’s going to say something about King trying to whisk me away, but it’s Puck who opens his mouth first.
“Raney’s not a bone to fight over, King, but if she were, I think it might be Koz and me who’d be going head-to-head. Yeah? You’re her dad and always will be, but you’re not her protector,” Puck says, dropping his hands on my hips and staring through King until Dad begrudgingly lets me go.
King’s never had a long fuse. “You getting all lippy on me now, huh? After all this time, you’re going to start throwing around bullshit comments like I don’t know how to act or who to be around my daughter? After I treated you like my son? Fair whack of the ball, mate.” Dad also gets overly patronising in his verbal spray. And it’s not a nice sound, nor does it leave me as happy as I was to see him.
I go to say something, but Puck keeps intentionally winding King and my uncles up further. “Hope we’re not related, because shit, some of the stuff Raney and I have been doing wouldn’t be right if that was the case.” His hand curls around my hip more, dipping lower than any of them would ever touch me. And doing it in front of King is a pretty bold statement. Except the bikies miss Koz’s lack of reaction, which should be something they pay attention to, since Koz is my alpha.
“A bit of respect, yeah?” Joker lashes back at Puck as he takes more than a few obvious steps closer to King, adding another level of tension with each pronounced stomp of his steel-capped shit kickers.
“Nah.” Puck smirks back at Joker, and it’s not a nice smirk. “I’ve been listening to you long enough to know you all gave me your blessing to be with Raney, but for some fucking reason, it looks like you need reminding of our chats. If we need to do this in the foyer of a hospital, then yeah I’m ready to get… disrespectful.”
Dad gets that look in his eyes, the one where he’s about to become a different version of himself. But if Puck’s been living at the compound, he’d be well and truly used to King being King. I keep my mouth shut and watch the drama unfold. Honestly, these grown men are more emotionally skewed than the omegas at Unity on spa day.
King’s the first to blow. “Puck, I need a bit more respect coming out of your mouth, considering everything.”
“That’s the thing, King, I’ve got nothing but respect for you. And you know that. But it’s your actions that I’m having trouble with. You’re trying to drag Raney away from the ones who are meant to protect her.”
And much like when Puck stood up to Dad at Jenn’s all those years ago, he purposely taunts King, and all my uncles, when he leans down and brushes the hair off my neck and kisses the spot he marked a long time ago. He’s relaxed in the way he moves too before straightening up and smiling an apology at me. His blue eyes then jump to Koz, and they do that bloke way of communicating, using head flicks instead of words.
Koz reaches out for my hand, accepting me from Puck. “Micina, let the boys sort this out now,” he says, moving us to a safer distance. “You’ll get to chew them out later but this is alpha posturing that needs resolving. Now it seems. I’d say it was always going to happen, I’ve heard Puck gets as feisty as King does when it comes to you.”
And while Koz isn’t about to go toe to toe with the Fallen, he too adds to the rising tension by making unnecessary gestures. He holds my dad’s glare while he dips down the opposite side of my body and kisses my neck right where his name sits.
I’m torn. I should be putting a stop to this. But at the same time, I’m completely buzzing out at the way Puck and Koz are getting all territorial. I’m an omega, this ownership gesture is like drip-feeding sugar water into the fluffy side of my brain.
I swear I try not to get all dreamy eyed when the both of them go full alpha-hole in King’s presence. But I fail miserably.
Puck cracks his neck after he turns back to face King, “I sorted this out with Koz a few minutes ago, but by the looks I need to spell it out with you lot too. Raney is mine. Always has been, always will be. Yeah, you’re her family, her flesh and blood, but she’s my everything. She needs you, King, as her dad, but you go trying to rip her away from me or Koz again and there’ll be no warning when I come at you,” Puck says, his words coming through clenched teeth. He doesn’t do anything to hide how pissed off he is with King. But he drops his eyes from dad at the very end confirming who is being respectful and disrespectful. “You were the one dissing us, King. Not the other way ’round.”
