Kade’s mouth is on mine, his sweet cinnamon taste on my lips, and he uses his breath to fill in my lungs with all the air in his. A very necessary reminder that he is alive.
It’s like being dipped in icy water, freezing my shock in place, letting me focus on him being alive.
“I’m okay,” he whispers, showing me how alive he is. Giving me another kiss before letting me push him away.
I’ve never treated someone I’ve been intimate with. Throw in the fact that this Beta is incredibly special to me, and the shock I felt when I realized he was injured nearly consumed me…until his sweet, gentle nature overrode my fear.
With Kade’s taste on my lips, I can face anything. Perhaps he senses that and takes advantage of the opening he has.
He clears his throat softly. “I should have told you sooner. Not about my job, because what I do is not at all important. What was, and is, important, and what I’m apologizing for, is not telling you that very first night. After you so eloquently fell into my arms and my head was spinning, I knew I was committed. So, I apologize, my scent-matched, perfect, stunning, intelligent, sexy, funny-as-hell, determined, sweet and gentle Omega, mate, woman, but you are mine. You always have been, and you always will be.”
“I knew too, Kade,” I say before he’s even finished speaking. But I can’t look at him when I say it.
I’m freaking out.
Jesus, people are dead and dying around me, and I’m hearing, and seeing, feeling hope for the first time in a long, long while.
I need a moment, and of course because it's Kade, he knows it too. He lets me do my thing without saying another word. I undo his belt, and he wiggles from side to side so I can free it, and then I have to swipe a hand over my cheek to wipe away my tears.
I’m not ashamed of them, or maybe I am; either way, they make it hard to see properly. When he rests his hand on my shoulder, I lean into it, relishing in the warmth his touch radiates. It reaches all the way down to my toes while the words he said keep swirling in my subconscious, gathering strength until I’m ready to face them.
Once I have the tourniquet in place, I think a little clearer. Reaching up to steal another of his reassurances, I whisper my truth against his mouth. “I was scared of losing you. I still am.”
He drops his forehead to mine, his eyes closing, a soft smile on his face as his scent wraps around and binds me even more to him. “No more fear, Quinny. We have forever, and if you gethis dog ready to move, we can get out of here and start on our forever.”
I turn, ready to have a look at Nalla. She’s no less important than Kade, but her mate, who has never hidden his bond from the world, has been next to her the whole time. Roshka is licking her face, and I give him a gentle shove so I can see her without him being there. She’s panting, but her breathing isn’t labored. I pull one of her eyelids back and find her pupils dilating. She gets pissed off halfway through my assessment and twists around to try and take a lunge, trying to nip me.
I don’t even get my mouth open to tell her off and Roshka is growling at me.
Santiago returns as we’re having a silent standoff, and he barks something at Roshka, making both the dogs pull back their aggression.
I wasn’t waiting for him to step in and save me like that, but at the same time, I felt him coming closer. In truth, I think I was more focused on him than I was on sorting out the snapping dogs.
Something has changed between us all, and it’s pretty obvious there’s no going back to how it was. Kade’s comments about no more fear are as easy to hear again as Santiago’s presence is to feel and Aleksei’s touch is true.
Santiago sits next me, placing everything within easy reach. His aura is so obvious, it’s like stepping out of the shadows and into glowing sunshine.
A sudden spike of emotion diverts my focus, and I look to Aleksei, knowing it’s from him. He’s dragged Sergey away from the others. I’m on my feet, going to him before I take another breath.
We came too close to death tonight. The reminder of how short life is brings clarity to what I’ve always known but haven’t been able to act on.
Sergey is badly hurt, critically so. His skin is gray and his face is soaked in sweat as his body fights to keep itself alive. He’s talking urgently to his brother, probably demanding help. He won’t get anything from me. Perhaps he really believes this is going to end differently, or he can’t foresee his death, but then again, it’s not Sergey I am worried about.
I read Aleksei’s conflict and determination in the straight set of his shoulders. I sense his emotions twisting like a tornado through our bond. He draws me, like a moth to a flame, and of course, in his darkest hour, I kneel down next to him.
It might be because of a million reasons or just because he wants to, but Aleksei drops all pretenses and his shields fall away, allowing his Alpha designation to pulse out of him in violent waves.
How people didn’t see this power was contained in him makes me both proud he guarded his secret so tightly and apathetic to those who never saw his true potential.
Everything about him is more intense, and he feels more like mine now. His scent is redolent, woody, and animalic, and it does all the things your Alpha’s scent should.
He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and he pulls me gently to him, kissing the top of my head before shifting his touch. He holds me in such a way, in front of his brother, that there’s no way to mistake I am Aleksei’s and not Sergey’s.
Sergey tries screaming, but he chokes on his own anger. The angry Russian words he spews when he finally realizes what he always should have noticed is satisfying to hear. But Aleksei's triumphant smile is more heartwarming and important to me.
He bends down and kisses me tenderly, like I’ve dreamed of him doing since I first tried to deny his claim. I’m starting to see now it was never going to happen, because we were destined to be together.
He teases me with a swipe of his tongue, and the rumbling groan he makes is heavenly. He has me believing we have all the time in the world, and we’re not sitting on a restaurant floor saturated in death.
