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“Mm, you’ll regret saying that.”

“No, I won’t,” he insisted. “Listen, you might drive me crazy with your reckless attitude sometimes, and I may make you want to run because I won’t leave you alone. But we’re mated, and I love you. Therefore, I will never, ever regret anything with you.”

My chest swelled with emotions. I could feel his love through the bond but hearing it aloud was so different. He truly accepted me—the omega, the thief, the broken man trying to make it through the day.

“Take me home, Alpha.”

Epilogue

Emerson

“Everything’sgoingtobefine, love,” I said, awkwardly balancing my phone between my ear and my shoulder as I piled my items into the huge reusable bag the cashier had guilted me into buying. Fuck me for leaving my earphones at the office. This was why I worked from home! “I just stopped for a few supplies, but I’m on my way now. I’ll be ten minutes max.”

The breathless whine that danced along the line between horny and pathetic reached my ears. It had been almost four months since claiming Trystan, and since transitioning onto a real prescription of pheromone suppressants, he was finally having his first heat as a mated omega.

And I was nowhere near him the day it hit.

Logically, I knew it couldn’t be helped. Heats were unpredictable, and he’d even said I should go in today because it had been a while. My inner alpha, however, disagreed. Therewas one person to blame—me—and it was time to do everything in my power to get to Trystan.

I was seriously at risk of losing my licence if I kept driving like this.

It took seven minutes to get to Trystan’s flat, and I soared up the stairs to reach my omega. I burst into the flat, a flurry of tote bags and panic as I rushed past Bee to Trystan’s bedroom, ready to find it…empty?

“Where the hell is he?” I asked the perfectly made bed, as if he would pop out from underneath like a horny surprise party.

Bee stood in the doorway, headphones around their neck as they leaned against the frame. “That’s what I was trying to tell you when you stormed past. He’s not here.”

“That doesn’t tell me where heis!” I growled.

Bee held up their hands in surrender, eyes wide as they shrank back against the wall. They were saved only by my phone ringing. My shoulders immediately relaxed when I saw my omega’s photo on the screen, and I hit ‘answer’.

Trystan screamed through the device. “Where are you?”

Funny, that was my question.

“I’m at your flat. Where are you?”

“Why the fuck are you there?” he asked, like I’d made the stupidest move of my life. “I’m in your bedroom! I’ve been doing that nesting bullshit you said would make me feel better, but all I feel is…” His voice trailed off for a moment, until his fire burst forth again. “Just tell me when you’re getting here.”

The drive across the city had never felt longer, but I made it in record time. I rushed through the foyer and barely managed to stand in one place through the elevator ride to my floor. But when I reached my bedroom, the place we’d first kissed after I’d scented him as my match, I stopped for a moment.

Standing in the doorway, I admired my omega curled amongst the mound of cushions and pillows. Some of them I’d boughtimmediately after meeting my omega, others I didn’t even know I owned. All of them, everything I owned, were for him.

Finally, I couldn’t resist him anymore. I kicked my shoes off and straddled his waist in his nest, kissing up his neck and licking over the claiming mark I’d left on him four months ago. “You made your nest here.”

Trystan gasped under my touch, fisting my hair and bucking his hips. He was already hard beneath his sweatpants. “Yeah, I know.”

“You made ithere.”

“Yes, we’ve established that.” He stared at me with both eyebrows raised. “Why are you repeating yourself when you could be stripping?”

Ignoring his question, I cupped his face and peppered it with kisses, never staying in one spot long enough for him to get his bearings. “Love, it means you feel safe with me.”

Trystan pulled away, his brow furrowed and eyes dark. Shit, did I overstep?

“Of course I feel safe with you, Emerson. I wouldn’t let you within ten feet of me if I didn’t!”

He pushed on my shoulder, rolling us over to put him on top. Our lips met in a hungry clash of teeth and tongue as our scents curled around each other. Vetiver and patchouli. An earthy mix of smoke and spice.

Trystan ground his hips down on my own, our clothed erections rubbing deliciously as he spoke. “You are my alpha. Therefore, when I’m in heat, I want to surround myself with your scent, your belongings, your…You. I love you.”

I dragged him down for another kiss, tasting him for what felt like the first time all over again. “I love you too, Trystan. So fucking much.”

“Can I please ride your knot, Alpha?”

Hm, he did ask nicely. But…

Rolling us back over, I flipped Trystan onto his stomach, dragged down his sweatpants, and cracked my hand down on his arse with a reverberating smack. “I have so many plans before we get to that, love.”