Page 57

EMME

O ver the next few days I forced myself to stay busy with training, visiting Talon, and baking—I wanted to surprise the boys with all the sweets when they returned. And every night was spent reading the spiciest “why choose” story on video chat.

The shifter tale was edging all three of us, but I at least had relief from Hunter.

Kellan and Finley got to suffer, though neither of them asked me to stop.

Their last game was today, and while usually they’d fly home tomorrow morning, they were taking the Reeves jet to get home tonight.

These days without them felt like I was missing an essential part of myself, and the ache from my bond to Kellan was starting to drag deeper into my essence.

It wasn’t the same pain it had been the last time, but it still grew worse with each day.

The only silver lining was how close we felt after nights of reading and chatting.

I’d grown closer to Talon during this week too. The more time I spent around him, the more our beasts bonded. The connection between us hummed for that final completion, and as scary as it was, I could barely remember hating and fearing him.

When he looked at me like there was no one else in the world, and he only needed me to be happy, there was no hate in my heart for him. Though I could never forgot that we still had our greatest test to come: the day he had to choose between me and his Alpha.

My visit to the containment room this morning came with treats, as I brought a plate piled high with cookies, croissants, cinnamon buns, and a slice of cake I made specially for him.

“Emme,” Talon murmured, gaze locked on me. “You came.”

“Of course,” I said, pausing at the dull edge to his voice. “I wanted to bring you some baked goodness.”

He didn’t glance at the plate. “I prefer honey,” he murmured, forcing a smile, “but since you made them for me, I’ll try the sweets.”

I twisted the plate to bring the cake closer, the scent of caramel and honey wafting from the golden icing. “I made you honey cake,” I said, my wolf perking her head up at Talon’s mood too.

For the first time since I’d entered the room, a genuine smile lifted his lips, which should have been a relief… but it wasn’t. There was a deep-seated unease in his beast, and I knew he’d been down here and trapped for too long.

“I’m going to talk to Hunter,” I said, the urgency to race from here almost sending the plate crashing to the ground. “You need to stretch your wings.”

Talon gripped the edge of the plate, keeping us both intact. “We have a trip to Europe planned once your other mates return. To explore the twin soul connection. I can wait for that.”

I hated that Fletcher’s way of punishing and conditioning him was to keep him isolated, and now we were doing the exact same thing.

It had bothered me from the start, but now I’d grown to care for the big bastard, it was hurting us both.

When we returned from the volcano, I would be insisting he stay in the house with us.

Either we learned to trust him, or he went back to the evil dictator—this couldn’t continue indefinitely.

I slid down the bars to sit, and Talon joined me, staying close so our sides touched. We often sat like this, and our beasts would mingle, sending sparks through the bond.

“You want a taste?” I asked, holding out the fork.

His lips tilted up once more and I shivered at his dark gaze. “I absolutely want a taste.” He turned and brushed his lips across my shoulder, another of the many touches he now initiated. “Then I’ll try the cake.”

I snorted. “Ah, such a cliché line.” The tingles in my core indicated that cliché or not, I was a bit of a fan. Omegas must have been designed to require many, many orgasms. It didn’t seem to matter how much sex I was getting; all of my mates elicited this response in me.

Apparently, the goddess gave you as much as you could handle, and for me, that was five alphas.

Talon took my proffered fork and slid it through the end of the cake, lifting the piece up to my lips first. Experience had taught me that arguing with an alpha trying to feed me was futile, so I ate his offering, relieved to find the cake was moist and flavorful.

It was a new recipe, which always came with challenges.

Talon fed me bits of everything on the plate, and I groaned at the excess of sugar dancing across my tastebuds. When he was finally satisfied I’d had enough, he took his first bite of the honey cake, and I was pleased by his throaty sigh.

“This honey tastes almost as good as you do.”

The only real taste he’d had of me was my blood during our forced mating. A memory I didn’t relish. And while I’d never condone his actions, I had grown to understand the true core of Talon, and I had forgiven him.

Anger was a painful and draining emotion to hold on to forever. Once I started to release mine for Talon and Finley, I felt lighter, more at peace with myself and the future I was ready to claim.

Talon made short work of the rest of the sweets, and when the plate was empty, he didn’t appear as drained as when I walked in. I stayed for another few hours, dragging a half decent conversation out of the generally reticent beast. Even if some of the answers to my questions were painful to hear.

It turned out that Talon didn’t have a favorite color, had never celebrated a birthday, and he wasn’t sure what he’d have done with his life if he wasn’t enslaved to a looney alpha.

Each of those answers upset me, until eventually I stopped asking questions and just held his hand. “Your birthday is on the thirty-first of October,” I said, my voice wavering. “Which is Halloween in the human world.”

He considered that for a beat. “What’s Halloween?”

While the day was a human tradition, most shifters still knew about it. “Oh, well, it’s this night where humans dress up as anything they want . Could be monsters or celebrities or inanimate objects. They dress up, they celebrate everything spooky, and they go around to houses and ask for candy.”

Talon’s perfect face creased in confusion, the scar pulling against his lip. “Why would they do that?”

I shook my head. “Honestly, I’m not totally sure of the history behind it, but there’s definitely a reason for the tradition. I don’t even think it originated here in the States, but they adopted it and celebrate every year.”

Talon still appeared confused, shrugging as he said, “As I’ve never had a birthday before. I don’t imagine I’ll even remember.”

I made a vow that I would remember for him. The pack had made my day special in a way that I’d never forget, and I could do the same for each of them.

“Wait,” Talon called, as I stretched out my legs, reluctant to leave but knowing dinner was soon. “When’s your birthday?”

His expression was expectant, and I hurried to say, “It was on the twelfth of December. Almost a month ago.”

Talon grew super quiet, and there was another drop in his energy. “I missed it,” he said, a hint of question in his tone. “I’m so sorry, mate.”

Technically, he had been with me for it, he just didn’t know at the time.

Turning his way, I slid my hands through the bars. “No, it’s totally okay. I never celebrated my birthdays either. My mom was not nice , and I usually forget the day too.”

Talon didn’t look convinced, his expression a mixture of anger and sadness that had my stomach lurching. “I met your mother once when Blaine brought her home. She wasn’t fit to be blessed with a child, and that’s all I’ll say about that.”

Where was the lie?

Even before the Rogers pack corrupted and drained her, she’d been an apathetic, uninterested, neglectful parent. “Did you meet anyone else connected to me?” I asked. “Did you ever meet my father?”

He eyed me for a few long seconds. “No, I have no idea who your father was, but I did hear Alpha refer to a Constantine and your mother more than once. I don’t know if that’s your father or just another shifter in your mother’s life…”

Constantine . The name wasn’t familiar, but it was a clue for Slade, who still worked on tracking the shifter from the security footage. Along with anyone else connected to that day.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching through the bars to hug him.

Talon pressed himself into me, his strong arms banding around my back as the air filled with heat, and I felt a tingle of energy surrounding us.

It washed over me like magic, but without any sulfur tainting the air.

The prickling sensation in my essence seeped to my fingertip, and I was once again reminded of the time I’d shoved Talon in the bunker.

Today, though, it was all the dragon. “What are you doing?” I asked, pulling back from his broad chest. “Are you using magic—” I gawked as the bars came into view. Bars which were now on the other fucking side of me .

He’d pulled me right into the cage.

“What have you done?” I whispered, jerking my gaze back to his. “Hunter and Slade are going to straight up murder you.”

Talon, looking pleased as fuck with himself, his arms around me again as he lifted my feet right off the ground in our first proper hug. “I needed you closer,” he rasped, breathing in my scent like an addict getting his first hit of omega in months.

His smoky maple grew stronger with each breath, and I took the opportunity to fill my lungs even as I panicked. It wasn’t that I was afraid of being with him like this, but it was still a risk.

But for real, I could get very used to being hugged by each of my mates. As our bond thrummed, I was once again a touch-starved shifter soaking up all the comfort.

The moment was shattered by the bang of a door as two enraged alphas stormed into the room. Oh crap. Here was hoping there’d still be a house by the time Kellan and Finley returned.