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“More,” Zack gasped, and from somewhere—fuck only knew where—Victor managed to find it. He thrust one more time and struggled to pull back. Stunned, he had a second to realize his knot had formed just before, with a final cry, Zack shuddered and came. Victor’s own orgasm seemed to take over his entire body without warning and for a moment, exquisite pleasure drove every other thought from his mind. He felt his fangs descend and zeroing in on the nearest patch of skin became as vital as breathing. The sudden taste of Zack’s blood combined with the cries from both his mates sent him over the edge. He just had the presence of mind to make sure Zack didn’t collapse on top of Mo when Zack’s trembling arms failed him, and to follow the big man down as they were still joined.

Sometime later, with two contented, sleeping mates beside him, Victor, even exhausted, couldn’t let his mind rest. He had knotted Zack.Knotted him.That didn’t happen unless Victor’s wolf was spurred on by the biological imperative to breed his mate.

And Zack might display submissive tendencies to Victor, but that was character, a need for a certain type of sex, it didn’t suddenly turn an alpha into an omega.

The thought startled Victor so much he reached down inside himself to where his wolf lay quietly, and he could feel the immense satisfaction from the animal. He knew he had pleasured two mates and felt the protectiveness pouring off him. Victor’s wolf was as much an alpha as he was, but simpler. He had two mates that were protected and bonded—

And yeah, shit. Victor’s wolf had bitten them both, and he could feel the presence of both Zack and Mo in his mind. They were both sleeping so it was a simple awareness, and part of Victor exulted in his new reality, part of him—the human part—wondered how on earth they would manage it.

He was surprised Zack hadn’t felt the need to bite and claim Mo, another reason Zack’s behavior was unusual, or maybe not. Victor knew that appearances were deceptive, of course he did. Had he not just made that exact point with Zack? But taking mistaken assumptions out of the equation, he knew all male bears were alphas. Everyone knew that. He assumed Zack was submitting to him because he was so dominant, but what if the bear wasn’t an alpha at all?

He knew this mountain hid many secrets. Luke could turn humans into shifters. Riley was so empathic it verged on being psychic. Asher’s tracking abilities were insanely good, Jax was a luna wolf, and Riley’s little girl had abilities they had to be careful to keep hidden.

Victor thought harder. He remembered the heat that had poured off Zack. He’d thought it was transferred from Mo, but what if it wasn’t? What if Zack had gone into heat? Victor had knotted Zack. His wolf hadn’t just dominated him, he had treated him like an omega to be bred.

Was that possible? Could Zack be an omega? And if he was, what exactly did that mean?

Chapter Fifteen

ZackleftasleepingMo tucked up under Victor’s arm. They’d spent two full days and nights in bed and while some of it was a little vague, no, hell, nearly all of it had been vague. He hadn’t known bears could go into rut—even alphas like himself—but that must have been what happened. He knew that since Victor had been looking after them both and Mo had been in full heat, they would both be exhausted. Guilt crept in, but Zack pushed it down. Victor had wanted to dominate them both, and what they enjoyed in the privacy of their bedroom was their business. Victor hadn’t apologized after checking that he hadn’t hurt him, and he was relieved. That actually made him feel better. Because if Victor didn’t regret what had happened then neither would he.

He paused as he reached the bottom step, seeing their office door open a crack. Good, Riley was actually who he was coming to talk to. Apart from the whole ‘Mo was mated and knotted and if he was an omega, he could be pregnant,’ Zack wanted to get together with all his brothers and work out a plan, or at least find out what had happened while they had been upstairs. A smile curved his lips as he remembered. His mind might be hazy, but his body had felt every second. They were both hotter than hell and, for some reason, were happy to include him.

And always include him from now on because Victor had bitten him. He pushed open the door, just in time to see someone ram the desk drawer shut. Not Riley. “Noah?” Zack smiled his patent, easygoing smile. He’d had no chance to talk to Noah at all and assumed the kid was probably wanting a snoop around while the coast was clear. Not that he blamed him. It was a natural self-protective reaction they were used to with some of the kids.

Noah flushed slightly and mumbled something about paper. Zack pointed to the rather obvious packs of plain paper for the printer. “Do you want lined as well?” he pointed to another shelf with large note pads on it. Noah mumbled again, grabbed a notepad, and ducked out. Zack reminded himself that the best thing was patience. He felt sorry for the kid, especially after being thrown into this mess. Foster care was hard enough without him thinking he wasn’t safe from another type of threat.

Zack pulled the door closed behind him as he left the office, then headed for the kitchen. He could smell the coffee and while his brothers had kept them hydrated and provided snacks, he was hungry and desperately needed a caffeine fix.

He grinned as Riley looked up when he walked in and rolled his eyes at the whistle from Asher. He reached over and shook hands with Martin, ridiculously pleased to see the now ex-FBI agent. Martin had retired, settled into their small community, and was kept really busy with being one of the kids’ favorite uncles. He helped Luke and Oliver over at the school, and took many classes himself with the older children. Daniel was always thankful Martin kept an eye on things for him with his mates while he worked.

“It’s alive,” Asher mocked, looking him up and down. “We were worried. Thinking of sending in reinforcements.”

Zack wasted no time grabbing a mug and filling it. “As I recall, you guys were a good three days yourselves and there were only two of you.” He smirked. “Just goes to show you some of us can get the job done quicker when the experts handle it.” He looked up when he didn’t hear an immediate smart comeback from Asher or the others laughing at his teasing. He glanced at them. No one was laughing. “What? Can’t take a joke?” He took another mouthful. His brothers always ribbed each other. It didn’t mean that they wouldn’t ever have each other’s backs.

Asher tried to stifle a laugh. “Zack, do you know what day it is?”

Zack squinted in thought. “Thursday, Friday? What does it matter?” Then he sobered. “Everyone okay?” Shit,Mattie.

“They’re all fine,” Riley hastened to reassure him. “Having a blast camping just outside of Knoxville. There’s a huge lodge there as well. Dad sent a ton of pictures, and Mom’s having the time of her life. They’re talking about it being an annual thing. I’ll text you the pictures.”

“Knoxville?” Zack frowned. “How the hell did he get there that fast?” He’d have had to drive nearly straight through, and with all the kids?

Martin put his own coffee down. “Zack, it’s Monday. They left last Monday. You guys have been upstairs for six nights.”

Zack was so shocked he nearly dropped his mug, but then irritation replaced it. “Sure. Very funny.”

“I swear,” Asher said, sobering up. “I wouldn’t joke about that. You guys were good to me when I brought Sai home.”

Sai—Asher’s mate—had been placed into the regular foster system without anyone realizing he was a shifter, and more so a male omega. Asher rescued him from a human psychiatric facility and Sai went into heat twenty-four hours later. As they hadn’t realized male omegas were even possible then, it had been a huge shock to them all. Luckily Asher hadn’t managed to screw everything up, and he and Sai were both silly in love, mated, and had given him another niece and nephew. He knew they were hoping for more when Sai next went into heat.

“We’re not playing around,” Riley said. “That’s what was with all the teasing. You guys have been up there six days.”

Zack gaped at Riley.

“Sorry,” Asher said quietly, genuinely, and Zack nodded. He remembered satisfying Mo. He remembered every delicious order Victor gave him. He remembered the bite… but then everything had gotten a little hazy. How the hell could he have lost at least three days?

He got up and went to shut the kitchen door, remembering Noah snooping around and, conscious of Noah, Tyler, Mac, and Alex all being able to hear them, he pulled out his phone to text them. Riley reached over and stopped him, shaking his head. “Office.”