I waited until he gave me a small nod, an acknowledgment that this was also what he craved. Then I pulled him intomy arms. It felt like years of carrying weight around on my shoulders had finally lifted.
I scooped up my omega, pulled him into my lap, and buried my nose in his neck, breathing him in.
That scent always did things to me. My cock was rock hard in seconds, pulsing and angry, desperate for him.
But it went beyond desire. Just having him in my arms seemed to loosen and soothe the stiff muscles that had plagued me this entire season. Having him close woke up every cell in my body like they’d been dormant until he was back in our arms.
Rylan clung to me just as desperately. His low whine shattered what little remained of my heart and I let out a ragged purr that grew stronger by the minute, my delta trying desperately to soothe him.
My omega’s nose was pressed against my collarbone, his breathing almost unhinged as he sucked in deep lungfuls of my scent.
I hoped my scent wasn’t still burnt around the edges, bitter from years of hurt and pain.
Rylan was hard now, too, hips rocking gently against me, teasing me but I couldn’t give in.
As much as my delta wanted to fuck him right here and now in the middle of the courtyard, there was a sleeping puppy at my feet, and that wasn’t what we needed right now.
We needed this. A connection.
We had already talked through everything we both felt about that time in our lives. It hurt to hear everything he’d endured, but we had to put everything out there or we’d never heal.
I explained why I left, said that I couldn’t hide anymore. I didn’t want to spend our lives being a secret, hidden away and unable to show him off. It was important for me to be authentic.
My chest ached at the thought of him waking up to find me gone and an impersonal note left to greet him.
That was after crying himself to sleep the night before, his family openly rejecting him for liking both men and women.
It always blew my mind that they felt that way. There were so many packs in the world with mixed relationships.
At the end of the day, fate was in charge. We would be insane not to give our scent-matches a chance. More often than not, it was a perfect match. Anyone who threw away that chance was insane.
For me, it was love at first sight. The very first time I laid eyes on Rylan I was hooked.
Even after everything, I thought of nothing but him for years. I couldn’t touch another omega or anyone else at all.
Roxie was the first omega I’d even given a second glance to. I wanted to put things right and take it slow but I wasn’t sure what would happen now. It was different knowing she was mates with Rylan and the team. We’d be spending time together even if we weren’t mates.
“I need to text Roxie and check in with her,” Rylan finally broke the silence.
At the mention of the omega, he sat up straighter, pushing off my chest to stare up into my eyes.
“She told me you’re mates and that you wanted to try with her…” he trailed off and I could practically see the insecurity on his face.
“Roxie was the first omega I’d even looked at since I left,” I promised.
“I couldn’t date, either,” Rylan said, relaxing back against my chest, his cheek and ear pressed against me as if he was listening to my heartbeat, reassuring himself that I was real and that we were both here in this moment.
“I’ve got you,” I promised. My hands ran lazily up and down his back, soothing him. “I’m never letting you go again if you give me the chance.”
“I was so mad at you for so long,” he said, his voice cracking in a way that broke my heart in two.
I’d caused that.
“Stop. It’s on me, too. It’s on both of us.”
It was. I could see that now.
As much as I said I would die for this omega—and I would—I didn’t want to have to give up everything I cared about, either.
