“Wait.” Harry pauses, then leans down over me until he’s very close. “Breathe in deep.”
Perplexed but obedient, I inhale the air, and with it comes his incredibly masculine scent. It’s thick and musky, and it fills up my head like bubbles. Again, I breathe him in, and in response, my muscles relax. Harry grunts in approval and reels his hips back, then slowly wades back into me.
This time, I’m softer, and his knot starts to squeeze through. I moan in appreciation because this is what I needed. This is what I’ve been craving my whole life.
Another pump of his hips, and even more of it pushes in, and now I’m becoming untethered from the earth, my pleasure so sharp and brilliant that I wonder if it won’t cut me open. Harry tries again, and again more of him slides through, until quite suddenly—he’s there.
All of him.
I fall forward and cry out, completely stuffed to the brim.
“Yes, there we are,” Harry murmurs, drawing his hips back so he can push his knot in once more, and I spread easily for it. “You’re so perfect, Selene.”
I don’t even have the words to answer as I climb higher and higher, unable to form a single coherent thought. I’msqueezing down, my finish roaring toward me, and then Harry lets out a low growl I’ve never heard before. He slams in one more time, burying that knot in me, and I clamp down hard around it. I scream at the same time he moans my name.
Now boneless, I collapse completely against the edge of the nest, ruining it. But I couldn’t care less as Harry lowers himself, too, his knot still stuck inside me. We rest like that for some time as he draws his fingers lovingly down my back.
“Thank you,” Harry murmurs as he leans down to kiss my neck.
I let out a breathless giggle. “I’m the one who ought to be thanking you. You are… everything I needed.”
When his knot has come down enough that he can slip out of me, Harry wraps me up in his arms and covers us with the sheepskin blanket.
And now, I know that I’m right where I belong.
EPILOGUE
SELENE
At last, a few days later, my heat fades. I did need quite a bit of help, but Harry was happy to sink that knot into me and soothe it.
Soon, we get word that Greld has been sent to the city to be jailed, as promised—and we shouldn’t ever see him again. The relief I feel is immense, as if a final heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
When I’m settled enough that we can leave the house together, we head to town hall to register as an alpha and omega pair. I expected that I would dread going out into the world again, but the sunlight is bright and welcoming, and the cobblestone streets feel familiar under my feet. I like seeing the children play with their dog.
Yes, there are many goings-on in the world, but Father is dead, and Greld is gone. And I have Harry by my side.
To my surprise, not long after registering, another omega in town reaches out to me by letter, inviting us toher home up on the hill where she lives with her two husbands.
At first, I’m nervous to accept. I think of Greld, his huge body looming over mine, and hesitate on my answer.
“Say yes,” Harry urges me. “Greld was an aberration. There’s nothing to fear from the Lady Hollis and her husbands.”
So I write her a polite reply, agreeing to her proposition of dinner. Then, a few nights later, we make the trek up the hill to meet her.
Lady Hollis is lovely and beautiful and smells of raspberries. Her two husbands stand behind her when they greet us, keeping their heads bowed. It looks as if she is the one in charge here, not them.
We’re treated to a lavish meal, and conversation happens naturally. She asks why she’s never heard of me before, as all omegas in town are generally registered. It’s hard for me to dive into the memory, but I tell her what I can about Father keeping me captive, and both she and her husbands—Tomas and Cedric—are awash with sympathies.
“But then he found me,” I say, taking Harry’s hand in mine. “And now, I get to live again.”
It is a pleasant evening, and by the time we say farewell, I feel as if I’ve made a friend or three.
Harry is givena promotion to Greld’s old position as captain, and I’m more than happy to see him during the normal hours of the day. A few weeks later, Harry announces he would like to take me to meet his mother inthe city. First, he purchases another horse—a little gelding with a mild manner—so we can go together without putting all of our weight on Sadie. This requires teaching me how to ride on my own, but I get the hang of it before we embark on our journey.
It’s only a day’s ride, though my thighs are sore by the time we reach the boisterous cobblestone streets of the city. There is far more activity here than I’ve ever seen before, so I stay close by Harry’s side as we make our way over main roads and then down side streets, avoiding children and dogs and, once, even a pig.
His mother, Theta, is a sweet old woman, a little suspicious that there isn’t a ring on my finger, but pleased her son has found someone, nonetheless. She welcomes me into her home and into her family, and stays up late drinking wine and telling me all about Harry’s father, who passed a few years ago.
