I make sure there are enough food and drinks for everyone set out. There is a fresh set of sheets in the dryer along with a few extra nesting blankets, warm and ready for Maeve’s comfort.
And then there’s…me.
I could go back in there, join the three of them in the pack bed, and just wait. Fang and Logan are both content now—they’re permanently connected to Maeve, forever.
But I’m not, and the urgent need to take, to claim, toconsumeslowly fills my veins until it’s all I can feel.
Still, I hang out in the kitchen, the only sign I’m unwell is the way I grip the counter.
I breathe in. Out.
I helped Maeve through her Heat first last time—there’s nothing wrong with having to wait.
In.Out.
She’s my best friend first, my scent match second.
In.Out.
Sweat beads at my forehead, and the only way to describe my cock is as an angry, raging hard-on.
She’s saving the best for last. She’s saving me for last, because…
“Ivan?”
Her voice is sweet, lovely, and a little unsure.
“Alpha?”
My body takes over before my brain can catch up, and I’m back in the bedroom, glaring at Logan and Fang. Impatience and irrational jealousy spill out of me in waves, and later, I hope my packmates will forgive me.
Said packmates are dressed and sitting up in bed with a bundled-up Maeve in between them.
She’s only looking at me, though.
Despite the fact that she just bonded with Fang and Logan, she’s only looking atmewith a brilliant, blinding smile.
“Out,” I growl at the other Alphas, already forming an apology in my head for later.
If I had more words, if I wasn’t reduced to a feral, primal creature, I would say I want to be alone with my Omega during the mating bite.
And I’m sure if our pheromones, hormones, and every other biological quirk that makes us Alphas weren’t in overdrive, they would do more than just raise an eyebrow when I make my demand.
We’re at a stalemate, for a moment.
Our first fight as a pack, I think deliriously.
But Maeve notices, looking between the three of us. “Just us,” she says, her eyes falling back on me. “Just you, please.”
And with those sweet words, Logan and Fang take their leave, heading toward the living room. I keep the bedroom door open, just in case she requests them back.
Like everything, this is still on her terms.
If she decides she doesn’t want the mating bite from me until I’m ninety-five, I’ll find a way to deal with it.
“You called, beautiful?” I ask. I pounce on the bed and push her back onto the mattress, kissing her fiercely. She squeaks against my lips, smiling and laughing in delirious delight.
“I did it,” she whispers against my lips. “I have a pack. I have scent matches. I’m bonded.”
