Page 59

EMME

M y phone buzzed through dinner, and expecting it would be the boys, I yanked it up and read the text.

UnBEARable: You don’t have to wait up for us, Em. We know you’re tired and have a lot of shit going on. Kellan will crawl into bed with you anyway. And I… can wait. I’m a patient bear.

For some reason those last four words had me wanting to giggle and kick my damn feet under the table.

These alphas screwed with my normal sensibilities until I had no idea who I was these days.

Slade and Hunter both looked my way. “What did they say?” Hunter asked as he slid another crab cake on my plate.

At this rate, I’d be too full to eat the main meal.

“Their plane lands at ten tonight. Kellan wants me to wait up, and Finley was telling me it was okay to sleep.”

Hunter looked pleased. “I like when all of my pack is together.” His chest rumbled, and through our bond his wolf relaxed. “Where they’re safe and under my control.”

“I’ve missed them so much,” I admitted, rubbing my hand over my sternum. “It’s weirdly empty here without everyone, and with our enemies still out there, I don’t like us being separated. I’ll feel much calmer when everyone’s under the same roof.”

Slade’s expression remained neutral, and his eyes were empty. As they’d been ever since we left his brother in the containment room. He’d been back to deliver food and keep him company, but it was clear no one was happy with the current situation.

“I’ve been monitoring them from here,” he said shortly, “and there was never any danger. But like Hunter, I’ll sleep easier when our entire pack is back under my wing.”

It didn’t surprise me in the least that he felt that way.

Clicking to reply, I took a few seconds to consider what I would say, smiling sadly when my name popped up.

Pretty Mate: I can’t wait to see you both. Of course I’ll wait up. Nothing could stop me from getting some pack hugs tonight. Safe travels and see you soon. *kissy face emoji*

Beaten but still Golden: Awww, Shortcake. I am going to smother you in so many kisses. Don’t dress up. You’re only going to get naked.

A flare of heat joined the excitement, and I doubted anyone missed the surge of my scent or the wiggle I did to ease the throbbing down low.

Hunter chuckled. “Annoying pup is going to slobber all over you, isn’t he?”

“I fucking hope so,” I burst out, fanning myself with my fork.

That had Slade smiling. “Who knew there’d be a shifter who’d find his annoying ways endearing.”

Pointing said fork at him, I let a slow smile form. “You forget that I saw you when we thought he was dying. You can pretend all you want, Scary Shifter, but deep down we all need Kellan’s version of love.” Slade shrugged, but he didn’t deny it.

“Are you ever going to tell me what you thought of my last prank?” I asked again, expecting he’d ignore my question like the dozen times before.

He leaned in closer, the low lights from the dining room sconces giving his expression a slightly sinister look. “Oh, Snow. It’s adorable that you think I’m going to spill that secret so easily. I like to stay on your mind, so I might keep this going for a little while longer.”

Yeah, he really didn’t need to withhold information to be on my mind.

The chime of my phone allowed me to wrench my eyes from Slade’s penetrating gaze.

UnBEARable: Carve out some time later for me too, Ice Queen. Please. I’d love to log in a few hours on your car.

Beaten but still Golden: He’d like you to be naked too. FYI. Streaks of grease on your skin is an added bonus.

Goddess above. Kellan was going to be the death of us both.

UnBEARable: Due to regularly scheduled bouts of being an annoying fuck, Kellan Jackson will not be arriving back to Golden Claw in one piece. Apologies for any interruptions to plans, but… he had it coming.

UnBEARable: But also… he isn’t wrong.

I pressed my hand to my cheek, unsurprised to find warmth under my touch. “Now, I need to know what brought that lovely pink to your cheeks,” Hunter said, leaning forward to cup the other side of my face. “It’s your color, baby girl. Especially when it coats your entire body.”

A slow panting breath was all I could manage under the circumstances. “You’re all going to be the death of me,” I repeated for the group. “I feel like a fucking virgin thrown in to be sacrificed to the beasts. And we all know I’m no virgin.”

Hunter snorted. “We don’t know that at all, baby girl. As far as we’re concerned, you were untouched before arriving on our doorstep.”

Slade shrugged, and I didn’t trust his calm expression. “Once they’re all dead, it’ll be like it never happened. That’s how science works.”

I blinked. “Uh, no. That’s not how it works at all .”

He just smirked, and I narrowed my eyes on him. “You leave those poor, defenseless humans alone. They’re not even worth the few seconds it would take for you to track them down.”

We remained in a stare-off, and all the time he wore that infuriating smirk. I made a mental note to talk to him about this again later, since I doubted he had time now to hunt humans. Not with everything else going on.

The door to the dining room swung open and Florence hurried in. “Dinner is ready!” she called, setting down a huge bowl of pasta, which was soon joined by bowls of cheese, chili flakes, and other toppings. “It’s a chicken alla bosciaola, and it might be one of Gerry’s best dishes.”

Her eyes shone at the mention of the chef, and I swore I could see a twinkle of their budding relationship in her gaze.

“It smells amazing,” I said, leaning forward to breathe in cream, garlic, bacon and mushroom. “Thank you both for all the incredible food. You take very good care of us.”

She dropped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed briefly. “It’s our pleasure. And soon we’ll have our other boys home too, making sure they’re eating right. I’ll be back with the garlic bread.”

Moving at her usual rapid speed, she was gone and back in seconds, placing the tray of crunchy bread beside the pasta.

Garlic butter dripped down the sides of the toasted loaf, and my wolf let out an appreciative rumble.

Hunter liked that response, and his beast joined in, as he pressed his palm to my collarbone.

As our entitled alpha, he held a strong connection with my beast, and she frolicked to the surface at his call. Hunter’s black wolf was a powerful entity at the end of our tether, and I wondered how all of these connections would feel once our quintet was complete.

After a lifetime of loneliness and fighting every battle by myself, to feel them always there with me was an unexpected gift. I’d thought I’d hate it, but it had the opposite effect.

“Eat, mate,” Hunter told me, releasing me from his hold.

They’d wait for me as always, so I hurried to fill my bowl and dig into the creamy dish. Both alphas got started after they watched me eat my body weight in food, and when we were finished, Slade headed out to patrol while I visited Talon again.

Hunter wanted to come too, but I left him in the foyer with a thorough kiss. “I’ll be back up here soon and we can wait for our boys together,” I said, and with a grumble he conceded that he had some work to get through.

“But I’ll be keeping an eye on that fuck. If he pulls you into the cell again, I will remove all of his limbs. And break his neck.”

With a chuckle, I patted his chest. “Okay, love. You can beat your manly chest if needed. I appreciate you going all entitled alpha for me.”

Hunter shook his head. “I know you’re patronizing me, little omega. And as a punishment, tonight might be the night that Kellan and I step up our plans for you.”

My brain exploded and my panties disintegrated. Poof . Gone.

“Yes,” I breathed, nodding like a damn bobble-head doll. “Yes. Please. I absolutely deserve to be punished.” His very satisfied chuckle filled the room, and with one last toe-curling kiss, he left me to visit Talon while he got to work.

“Sweet Honey,” the dragon rumbled, still propped against the bars as if he hadn’t moved since I left. “You kept your word.”

“Of course I did,” I said, forcing myself to move casually, though my wolf was in one hell of a rush to get us closer. When she released a mournful howl, I almost lost control and shifted.

The ragged nature of this bond was wearing on both of us.

“You can shift,” Talon said, straightening. “The room is too constrictive for my beast, but I’d love to meet your wolf.”

As soon as he mentioned it, letting her go free was all I could think about. “I’d like that,” I said with a nod. “Yeah, we’d like that a lot.”

I briefly debated leaving the room to strip, before deciding not to make a big deal about it.

Naked for shifters was normal .

Talon’s gaze darkened, and under that stare I quickly removed everything until I was clad in black underwear. “This feels a lot like foreplay,” I found myself mumbling, and his gaze turned sensual.

“I’d say your instincts are spot on,” he murmured. “I don’t have any experience with sex, but I enjoy this feeling. I want to claim every inch of you, omega. Every damn inch.”

Fuck me sideways.

Both dragons were virgins?

Annddd now I needed five cold showers and a lobotomy to stop thinking about touching them.

Together?

Wait. Nope. That went too far. Or… not far enough.

In a rush, I yanked off my underwear and called on my wolf, shifting into her form without any issue. When I straightened and stretched out all my limbs, Talon pushed against the bars, and my beast locked in on his scent until the pulse of his bite grew stronger.

“Oh, you are the prettiest wolf,” he crooned, crouching down. “You’re our perfect mate. Come here, sit with me.”

My beast padded forward, proud by his response. She didn’t have the slightest doubt that we would be a quintet of six—if the goddess designed it, then who were we to argue?

I was starting to agree, and had already decided that I would claim my entire pack.

No matter who I had to destroy to make it happen.