She looked at each of us in turn, emotion burning behind her eyes now. I recognized her need, yes, but there was trust there too.
“I feel like I’m unraveling,” she admitted. “And I want… Ineedmy mates.”
Fuck, I loved the sound of that.
My mates.
A primal urge zipped through me at her words, and I saw the same flicker move through the others.
I didn’t ask.
I kissed her.
Her hands came up, fisting the front of my shirt, pulling me closer, like her body already knew how this was supposed to go even if her thoughts hadn’t caught up yet.
When I pulled back, Griff was already leaning in, pressing a kiss to her neck, just under her ear. Tamsin gasped, thesound high and breathless. Eamon kissed her temple. Bishop took her hand and brought it to his lips. Nox was behind her now, his hand brushing over her shoulder, his voice low near her ear.
“You’re ours, sweet mate,” he said. “It’s time we showed you what that means.”
Tamsin looked up at him, her eyes wide, pupils dilated with rising heat. She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. Her body answered for her, shoulders easing, lips parting, hands curling in the fabric of my shirt as if she could anchor herself there and in all of us at once.
She turned to me, her gaze catching mine.
I cupped her cheek in my palm, fingers slipping into her hair. “We’ll take care of you,” I said gently. “Let us.”
She nodded, letting go of my shirt, breath catching, and leaned into my hand like she’d needed that touch more than she’d realized.
Griff shifted beside her, easing her fully into his lap. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her carefully, reverently, as if she were something fragile and priceless. She melted against him, head tipping back onto his shoulder, exposing the smooth curve of her throat.
Bishop knelt beside them, taking one of her hands in both of his, pressing a kiss to her knuckles again, then turning it and kissing the inside of her wrist. His touch was soft, but his eyes were fierce and protective. He said nothing, but he held her gaze with a quiet intensity that made her cheeks flush deeper.
Eamon hovered nearby, waiting for her to look at him before he moved. When she did, he stepped forward, brushing a fewstrands of hair from her face. “You’ve done so much for all of us,” he said. “Let us return that. Let us be what you need.”
Her breath shuddered out.
Nox was still behind her, one hand at her hip, the other sliding along her arm, mapping the shape of her with featherlight touches that made her eyes flutter shut.
And I leaned in again, letting my lips find hers in another kiss. This one was deeper. Longer.
Her hands came up, wrapping around my neck as she kissed me back, a low sound slipping from her throat that stirred every protective instinct I had.
She needed more.
Not just to be touched.
To beheld.
Claimed. Loved. Taken care of.
And we would give her all of that.
“Lay back, sweet girl,” I whispered against her lips. “Let us show you what we mean.”
Griff helped guide her down gently, laying her back across the soft cot she’d slept in. She looked up at all of us, breath shallow, heat flushing across her cheeks and throat, but her eyes were clear.
She was ready.
The five of us surrounded her as one pack.
