Page 53 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

Cassian

F uck.

She's going to take my knot. This woman looking at me like I'm worth something. Like I'm not broken.

My knot pulses against her entrance, thick and demanding. Every alpha instinct screaming at me to claim her. But the terror cuts deeper. What if I hurt her? What if I'm too rough, too damaged?

"Daisy." My voice comes out wrecked. "You don't understand. I could hurt you."

She smiles. This soft, devastating smile that reaches into my chest and squeezes everything tight.

"You are gentle," she whispers, hands on my chest, hips moving in tiny circles that make my vision blur. "You're... you're the gentlest man I know, Cassian. You just hide it behind all that scary."

Something breaks inside me. Walls I've kept up for so long I forgot it was there. Through my bond with August, his love hits me. Pride. Been telling me this forever. Never believed him.

Not until now. Not until her.

She starts to sink down onto my swelling knot, and we both cry out. The stretch is intense, overwhelming, but she doesn't stop. Doesn't hesitate. Just takes me inch by impossible inch, and just as my knot begins to catch at her entrance.

"Fuck," I gasp, my whole body shaking. I look into her face, panic flooding through me. What if it's too much? What if I hurt her? My knot's about to lock and there's no going back.

Through my bond with August, I feel his emotions. His joy. His love for both of us. Been hoping for this since we rescued Daisy from the Omega House. And his arousal. Watching me claim our omega. Makes everything deeper.

Then she pushes down harder, and my knot pops inside her fully. We both cry out… her from the intense stretch, me from the incredible tightness. She goes rigid above me, panting hard, and I see a single tear slip down her cheek.

"Daisy," I breathe, reaching up to gently wipe the tear away with my thumb. "Are you okay?"

She takes a shuddering breath, her walls fluttering around my knot, and I'm so close to losing it. The worry, the panic, the overwhelming sensation of being locked inside her, it has me right on the edge.

"I'm more than okay," she whispers, her voice strong despite the tear. "I love you, Cassian."

Those words shatter what's left of my control. I pull her down against my chest and thrust up into her at the same time, burying myself as deep as I can go. She cries out, her body arching as she comes hard around my knot.

The need hits me. Primal. Unstoppable. I'm coming, flooding her with everything I have, my body doing what it was made to do. But even as the physical claiming takes over, even as every alpha instinct roars at me to complete it, something makes me freeze.

Bond her. Now. Claim her.

My mouth hovers over the spot where Dante's mark sits, where mine should go. Where it needs to go. But I can't move. Can't breathe.

This is it. This is everything. And what if I fuck it up?

"Cassian?" Her voice is soft, questioning, and I realize I've gone completely still.

My knot throbs inside her, my body screaming to finish what we started, but terror locks my jaw. This perfect thing we have. What if I ruin it?

"Can't mess this up," I whisper against her throat, voice barely there. "Too perfect. You're too..."

"What?" Her hands come up to frame my face, forcing me to look at her. "Too what?"

"Good." The word breaks out of me. "This is too good. Don't know how to..." I trail off, shaking.

Through our connection with August, I feel his emotions flood in. Love. Pride. Certainty. He's been waiting for this moment, believing in it when I couldn't.

"You won't mess it up," Daisy whispers, her eyes fierce. "You couldn't. August sees who you really are. I see it too. You're not someone who ruins good things."

"But what if?—"

"No." Her voice gets stronger, more sure. "What if you trust me? What if you trust this?" Her hands stroke my face, gentle but certain. "I'm choosing you. Right now. I choose you always."

Her hips shift slightly, and we both groan at the sensation. My knot pulses, still hard, still desperate.

Through my bond with August, I feel his love washing over me. His absolute certainty that this is right. That I'm right for her.

Something finally breaks loose in my chest. The fear doesn't disappear, but it gets smaller. Manageable.

"She's choosing you, Cass," August says softly. "Let her."

Daisy's hands slide into my hair, gentle but insistent. "I choose you," she whispers. "Scared, messy, perfect you. I want... please bond me. Make me yours."

"Mine," I growl, finally giving in to what we both need. "You're mine."

I bite down on the junction of her neck and shoulder, right beside Dante's mark. The taste of her skin on my tongue makes my whole world explode. Sweet and honeysuckle… fuck , it's addictive.

The bond slams into me. Her emotions flood through the connection. Love and pleasure and overwhelming trust. But underneath it all, I feel something else. Something that makes my throat go tight.

Safety. She feels safe with me.

This woman who was terrified of me a month ago now feels completely safe in my arms. Protected. Cherished. It fucking wrecks me.

Through the new bond, I can feel everything she's feeling. Her pleasure as I stay locked inside her. Her awe at the connection forming between us. Her love. Not just heat-driven need, but real love.

And through my bond with August, I feel his reaction to our new connection. Pack. Family. Same thing now.

"I can feel him," Daisy whispers against my ear, wonder in her voice. "I can feel August through you. His love for us both. This is what he wanted, isn't it? All three of us connected."

"He's been hoping for this," I tell her, licking at the mark I've left on her throat. My hand rubs gentle circles on her back. "Dreaming of it. He loves you as much as I do."

I shift slightly to get more comfortable, and she winces. Panic floods through me again.

"Fuck, sorry. Is it too much?" I ask, searching her face.

"No," she breathes, her eyes soft. "I feel so full, but it's a blissful hurt. I love it."

Her fingers trace over the scars on my chest, gentle and loving. When she finds the jagged one over my heart, she presses a soft kiss to it.

The gesture is so tender it nearly breaks me. These scars, proof of every fight, every moment I thought I wasn't worth saving. She kisses them like they're precious.

"These are part of you," she whispers against my skin. "Part of what makes you who you are. I love all of you."

I press my face into her hair, breathing her in. Can't find words for what she does to me. How she makes the broken pieces feel whole. I start to purr and the sound is loud in the quiet room.

After a moment, she reaches out toward August with one hand, her voice soft with emotion. "Come here. I want both of you close."

August moves closer to the nest, taking her outstretched hand. He leans down to kiss her gently, and I watch the tender moment with my heart full.

When they break apart, she gets that look in her eye. That mischievous twinkle that's becoming familiar. She pushes August gently toward me with a small smile.

"Kiss him," she whispers.

August's eyes meet mine, and then he's leaning down to capture my lips. The kiss is soft at first, then deeper, and I can feel Daisy watching us. The desire she feels watching us floods down our new bond. All three of us groan at the intensity.

The wave of need makes me shift involuntarily, and Daisy moans, her walls clenching around me.

"Fuck," I breathe against August's mouth. "Daisy, what you do to us..."

Through our bonds, August's emotions wash over both of us. A year of love and patience and hope. His joy that his two favorite people are finally connected. He made me believe I was worthy of love like this. Made me whole. Now we're finally complete.

"He sees the real you," Daisy says, her hands stroking through my hair. "Just like I do. The gentle man who makes me feel safe."

I sink back into the soft nest, pulling her with me so she's still pressed against my chest. Her scent fills the air—honeysuckle and vanilla mixed with my own. August made me whole. Daisy completes our family.

"I love you," I whisper against her skin, the words still foreign on my tongue but absolutely true. "Never thought I could have this. Never thought I deserved it."

"You deserve everything," she says fiercely, holding me tight. "You deserve to be loved and chosen and cherished."

Through the bond, I feel her certainty. Her absolute faith in me. It's humbling and terrifying and the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced.

My knot starts to soften slowly, but I don't want to separate from her. Don't want to break this perfect moment. Around us, I can hear the others moving closer, but I barely register them. All my attention is on Daisy, on the omega who chose me despite everything.

"How do you feel?" I ask softly, stroking her hair.

"Perfect," she breathes. "Like I was missing a piece of myself and didn't even know it. You fill something in me, Cassian."

The words make my chest tight with emotion. That's exactly how I feel. August healed my broken pieces, but Daisy...

Made us whole.