Page 14 of Hidden Nature

“You came into your magic. We’re mated now,” Elias whispered in awe as he looked from the mark to me, pride glowing in them. “I can feel you in my mind and heart. The connection, it’s tethering me to you forever.”

I couldn’t help but grin at the excitement he had in his voice as he spoke. Rathal took that moment to step up and introduce himself holding out his hand to Elias. “Welcome to the nos officially, gwanur. I’m Rathal Zintris, Finley’s Guide and another of her mates, but please feel free to call me Rath like nin mel has chosen to.”

Holding my breath, I waited to see what Elias’s reaction would be, but he surprised me by taking Rath’s hand and pulling him into a back-slapping bro hug. Out of all the reactions that could have happened, that was not one I was expecting at all. I felt my jaw drop at the sight. Elias released Rath and looked over at me, giving me a wink. My surly, brooding beta was winking at me and giving bro hugs—this had to be a dream.

“It’s crazy. I can feel him in our pack connection, like I know he’s family,” Elias explained, turning to the others who looked at him with equal shock and amazement.

Lane frowned at Elias’s words and rubbed his chest almost as if he was checking for himself if he was right. “Now that you say that, I can feel him on the edge, only attached to my mate bond with Finley, not the pack, though.”

“As you get to know me, that might change,” Rath commented, brushing a hand down my back, unconsciously drawn to touch me.

I glanced at him over my shoulder, trying to tell him I was going to my other mates, and I didn’t know how things would go after that point. Colt and Zander were not ones to share. Well, neither was Elias, even before we were mated. Maybe there was hope for us all to work this out and live together without anyone trying to kill each other. Rath nodded at me, pressing a kiss to my temple before stepping back, letting me know he understood.

Zander stood there large and imposing, his arms crossed over his muscular chest. His silver eyes watched me approach with warring emotions in them. Even without touching him, I could tell he was mad but also relieved to have me back. Lane looked stressed and tired, his ever-present hands shoved in his jeans pockets, baseball cap off-center like he kept taking it off to run his hands through his hair. Warm brown eyes shone with love and need, but his emotions told me it wasn’t sexual need. It was the comfort of knowing I was in his arms. Colt, on the other hand, was a blaze of emotional extremes, making me need to shield myself from him as I came to a stop right in front of them.

Colt took a step forward, his curly blond hair wild like the wolf that he was, but his body hummed with alpha energy that wouldn’t allow you to forget who was in charge. His full beard hid his expression, but I sensed he wasn’t smiling. It was only a guess since I couldn’t look into his amber eyes with the power he was giving off. My wolf was prone and begging for us to do something to show we were sorry, but my magic flared, pushing back at his energy. I might not be able to meet his gaze because I was an omega, but no longer was I helpless to resist him as I once was. I didn’t want to fight him, he was my mate and one of the alphas who loved and cared about me, but I wasn’t going to back down.

“Get on the plane, Finley,” Zander ordered, stepping up and putting a hand on Colt’s shoulder. “We can’t deal with this here. They won’t understand.”

Taking in my surroundings, I noticed that every single person in the lobby was watching what was going on. So much for keeping a low profile, people would recognize Zander, and it would get out that he was here. I should have made them promise that they would send the plane empty so we could have avoided this. Lane stepped around both alphas and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me away from the others.

“You have to understand he feels like he failed again, letting you get taken from him,” Lane murmured. “He was right back in the same place when he first lost Cory and his pack all those years ago. Colt’s never been one to deal with his emotions well, but he loves you, sweetheart, we all do.”

My eyes flicked up to him, wondering if he realized that he had just told me he loved me for the first time.

Did he really mean it?

We’ve only been together for a week, how can you know something like that?

I decided not to touch on it. If he said it to me again, then I would address it. He was likely running on instinct, having had his mate in danger and now back safe with him. I’ve learned that wolf nature can be an incredibly powerful thing to contend with and you don’t always notice when it’s pushing you to do or say things.

Lane led the way from the airport building to the open area where all the planes were parked, waiting for their passengers. The last time I was on this plane, I was headed to Tennessee, starting a new life. Much changed in such a short amount of time. Now, I had four mates and three more that I knew would follow when the time was right. This time, I wasn’t overwhelmed by my omega nature, needing to hide in a pile of blankets.

Taking a seat where I could look out the window, I enjoyed how much space I had while curling up in the chair as I watched the others board the plane. The twins gave Colt a cautious look as they sat on the couch, where Elias joined them. Zander headed to the front of the plane to talk to the pilot and other staff, leaving Colt to stare me down as he sat across from me. Before Lane could take the seat, Rath swooped in, stealing the spot next to me, acting almost protectively as if he was worried Colt would get out of hand and I would need him to protect me. If I had to be honest, the one I’d been concerned about was Zander, though he seemed to be holding himself in check better.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Colt asked through clenched teeth. His hands were gripping the armrests as if forcing himself to stay seated.

I took a deep breath, pulling his scent into my lungs, the rich aroma of evergreen and fresh air you only found in the mountains. I didn’t pick up any genuine anger that I needed to worry about. Instead, I caught a bite of pain. Reaching out with my magic and omega senses, I sorted through his emotions in more detail after what Lane had told me. The pain I was picking up was twisted up in a knot of self-loathing and failure. Colt had taken this as hard as Elias had, even though they both knew I’d walked away from them. They hadn’t done anything wrong.

Slipping out of the chair, I walked over to Colt and dropped to my knees, placing my head in his lap. Right now, words wouldn’t mean anything to him with the pain clouding his mind. I could, however, show him how sorry I was. Turning my head, I bared my neck, showing him the spot he’d marked me as his mate, offering up my life to him to do with it as he chose. The tension in the plane was thick enough to cut with a knife as we all waited to see what response Colt would give to my offering. I could feel Lane shifting in his seat like he was going to reach for me, but Colt snarled at him, making Lane freeze.

“Colt,” Zander warned.

If there was going to be a problem, Zander was the only one who could do something about it being a stronger alpha than Colt was. I knew deep in my heart that he wouldn’t hurt me no matter how upset he was about the situation, so I calmly lay there waiting for Colt to make his move. Colt was my mate, our bond strong between us, humming with the contact as I rested in his lap. Fingers brushed along my skin, moving stray hairs out of his way before leaning down and kissing my neck on his mark. My body shuddered with pleasure at the touch, but when he ran over it with his tongue, I let out a whimper, my body clenching with need. Hearing it, Colt began to purr, nuzzling into the space behind my ear, then buried his nose in my hair.

“Mine,” he growled as his hands clamped around my waist and pulled me onto his lap.

I was locked in place by his arms, but I wasn’t trying to get away from him. He needed to know that I was okay and back in his arms. I felt a tug as he pulled my hair out of its bun and let it fall free, showing how long it was now. Seeing it, his purr grew louder as he shoved his face into the thick mass, rubbing his cheek along skin, marking me with his scent as he took a deep lungful of mine. I didn’t even notice the plane was moving until the captain came over the loudspeaker telling us we’d reached the proper height and were free to move about the cabin.

In a flash, Colt had me cradled in his arms as he got to his feet and headed to the back of the plane, where I discovered a bed. The king-size bed was covered in blankets laced in their scent like they were telling me they’d done this for me, knowing it would settle me. Even though my mates were upset with me, they were still looking out for my needs, and it warmed my heart.

How had I ever thought about not coming back to them?

There was no way I could’ve known how much they would mean to me in such a short amount of time. Colt settled us both on the bed, then curled around me. I nuzzled my face in his neck as he shielded me from the world, purring and stroking my hair, soothing us both at the same time. The others must have sensed that Colt needed this time alone with me, so they let us be, talking amongst themselves.

Part of me was concerned about Rath. Through our bond, I reached out, and he instantly answered, telling me he was fine and all was well. Finally able to relax, I let out a sigh and snuggled into Colt’s warm body.

“As your mate and your alpha, I say these words… you are never allowed to leave me like that again. I forbid you to leave pack lands without our approval,” Colt ordered, putting his alpha energy into it, making it a command.