But I wasn’t.
I was strong.
This was me. Not my omega.
Notjustmy omega.
I knew what I wanted.
I loved him. And nothing would ever change that.
“Don’t tell me what I mean.”
His eyes widened, something dark and determined appearing in the slight lift of his lip.
Voices echoed above us. Familiar, yet I couldn’t quite place them.
I gazed up at him, willing him to see me.Me.Not my omega.I claimed the last dredges of my lucidity, hoping Kaelen would understand. The heat was a rising tide, but the next words I spoke echoed in the depths of my soul.
“I love you, Kaelen Finnegan. I want to bond with you,” I paused, whispering the next words, afraid they were true. “Unless you don’t want me.”
My confession hung in the air, making me feel exposed. Trying to calm my racing heart, I traced my fingers over my sternum. Opening myself up to someone, to an alpha, to someone I trusted to protect and love me like I deserved, terrified me. A vulnerable part of me wanted to steal the words back and pretend I never said them.
But it was too late.
All of me was laid bare to Kaelen.
To claim or reject.
Every second felt like a lifetime in the silence that followed.
I was right on the edge and ready to fall.
Trembling, I finally faced him, unprepared for what awaited me.
His gaze softened, looking like a lush forest after a rainstorm. My fear dissipated when I saw adoration replace the worry that had been there. Rough fingers traced the line of my throat, a featherlight touch that sent a jolt of pleasure to my core.
“Mo chroí. My heart. I have always loved you. My heart belongs to you. I would be honored to make you mine. To be yours,” he murmured, the fierce mix of Gaelic and English like a balm to my frayed nerves.
His fingertips twitched along my pulse. Another sharp pain shot through my side. I sobbed, succumbing to the unnatural heat. Kaelen’s hand rested on my hips, holding me up. I whined, a needy, keening sound of want, the noise harsh against my raw vocal cords.
“It’s okay, my love, I’ve got you.” Arms slipped under my knees, lifting and cradling me against him. “Let me get you into your nest. Where I can take care of you and make you mine.”
My alpha spoke with such gentleness. My omega was pleased with the promise of our safe place. The place where our alpha would claim us. Where he would love us and mark us as his.
“Nest?” I whispered.
The last of my clarity faded, a lost light in the storm of flames.
Thirty-Nine
WILLOW
The last hour passed in a blur. I barely remembered Kaelen carrying me through an abandoned warehouse with Torin and Aidan flanking us along with half a dozen other men. At some point, he settled me in his lap, in the back of a car with Torin and other betas I didn’t recognize.
I clung to Kaelen’s shirt, nuzzling and scenting him, unbothered by our audience. Sweat glistened on my skin. My body ached, and the empty spot between my thighs demanded to be filled with my alpha’s knot.
“Alpha,” I murmured over and over again, uncertain he was real.
