Page 128 of Daisy

Her scent is everywhere. Thick honeysuckle and vanilla so strong it makes my head spin. Pure omega heat calling to every alpha instinct I've kept locked down for years. My cock's already hard, has been since her scent spiked this morning, but now it's painful. Throbbing against my jeans.

We all step into the room together. Can't help ourselves. Her pheromones are like a drug we're all addicted to. Every breath fills my lungs with her need, her desperation, and it's unraveling every wall I've built around my self-control.

The nest she built is perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect. Pillows and blankets everywhere, arranged with the precision only an omega in heat could manage. Every surface is soaked in our scents. The fairy lights cast everything in warm gold, making it look like something out of a dream.

And right in the center, Daisy.

My omega.Our omega.

She's curled up in just her underwear. A simple cotton set that's already soaked through with slick. Her face is flushed with heat, pupils blown so wide there's barely any brown left aroundthe edges. August is beside her, his hand between her legs where he's been trying to give her relief, but I can see it's not enough. She needs more than gentle touches now. She needs claiming.

"Please," she whimpers, and the sound goes straight to my dick. "It hurts. I need..."

Another wave of pain hits her and she cries out. The sound makes every protective instinct I have roar to life. She's in pain, and every fiber of my being is screaming at me to fix it. To give her what she needs.

The scent of her slick floods the room, so rich and sweet I have to grip the doorframe to stay upright. The honeysuckle and vanilla I know, but amplified by her heat, with an underlying note that's purely her. My mouth waters. My knot pulses.

Fuck.

I've never smelled anything so perfect in my life.

Behind me, Cassian's breathing goes rough. Gunner makes a sound deep in his chest. Half groan, half growl. Even Hawk goes still, hands clenched. August is holding Daisy gently, trying to comfort her through the pain.

Then her eyes find mine.

"Dante,” she says, reaching for me with shaking hands. "I need you, Dante."

The words stop my heart. Then restart it double time.

Me.She wants me right now.

All those years watching her. Protecting her from distance. And now she's here, in heat, asking for me to be the one to help her through this.

The others get it immediately. Don't question it, don't argue. August pulls his hand away gently and moves back with the rest of them. They settle around the edges of the nest, close enough to watch but giving us space. I can feel their eyes on us, hear their breathing change, see Hawk's hand drift to his jeans and Cassian's eyes going dark.

They want to watch me claim her. Want to see me make her mine.

The thought should make me nervous. Instead it makes my cock pulse harder.

"You sure about this?" I ask, even though I'm already moving toward her. Already drawn by the pull of her scent, her need. "We can wait… I can hold back the bond if you want."

She looks up at me with those brown eyes, and I see complete trust there. No fear. No hesitation. Just pure, unwavering faith in me.

"I want this," she says simply. "I need you, Dante. Please."

Those words shatter what's left of my control.

I move into the nest, careful not to mess up her perfect arrangement. She reaches for me immediately, hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me down. The contact makes me groan.

"I've wanted this for so long," I tell her, breathing in her scent. It's even stronger up close, so potent it makes my vision blur. "Watched you for years. Wanted you every damn day for the past two months."

I pull back to look at her face, drinking in every detail. The flush across her cheeks. The way her lips are parted as she pants through another wave of heat. The trust in her eyes. Beautiful. So fucking beautiful.

"Tell me what you need," I say, voice rough.

"Everything." Her hands slide under my shirt, nails scratching my chest. "I need everything."

The need in her voice makes me groan. I capture her mouth with mine, and she opens immediately, tongue sliding against mine like she's starving. She tastes like honey and need, and I want to devour her whole.