Page 56 of Daisy (Omega Chosen #3)

I lean down and nuzzle into her throat again, breathing her in, letting my scent mix with hers. Mine. She needs to smell like me. Need everyone to know she's claimed, protected, loved.

My nose traces along her neck, up to her ear, then back down to her shoulder. Gentle, touches even as I keep my body positioned between her and the threats. She makes a soft sound and leans into my touch, and something settles in my chest.

A third alpha appears—this one massive, sandy-haired, built like a mountain. He shifts closer and I snap at him, showing all my teeth. Another threat. Another alpha wanting my omega.

"MINE." Another bark, harsh and threatening. The fear keeps washing over me through the bond in waves. My omega is afraid and it's their fault.

I turn back to my omega, nuzzling her cheek, pressing soft kisses to her temple. So beautiful. So perfect. Mine to protect, mine to care for.

"We know," a softer voice says. Not an alpha. Beta. Dark curls, smaller than the others. Small threat, barely registering. "We know she's yours. No one's going to take her."

But I can't hear them properly through the overwhelming need to protect. Three alphas surrounding us. Three threats trying to take what's mine. I wrap more blankets around us, creating a barrier. Mine. All mine.

"Hawk," the giant alpha tries, his voice deeper than the others but somehow gentler. Still an alpha though. Still a threat. "It's us. Your pack. We're not a threat."

Pack. The word tries to penetrate but there are too many alphas, too much fear flooding through the bond.

"MINE!" I roar, the alpha bark so loud it rattles the windows. My vision's going red around the edges. I pull my omega tighter into our makeshift cocoon, still stroking her hair gently even as I snarl at the alphas. My omega. My mate. Mine.

The alpha with buzz cut hair takes a small step forward and I snarl viciously, wrapping my body completely around my omega like a shield. He's the biggest threat. The one who smells like authority and dominance.

"Okay, okay," he says, backing off immediately. But then something strange happens. The massive auburn-haired alpha, the one built like a weapon, suddenly makes himself smaller. Sits on the floor. Lowers his head.

The action confuses me. Alphas don't make themselves small. But this one does, and it's familiar somehow. Safe somehow.

She makes another soft sound and I immediately check her face, nuzzling her gently before turning my snarl back on the alphas. She touches my arm, her fingers gentle, and the touch grounds me slightly.

Safe. Keep her safe and warm.

When she makes a small sound of contentment, something settles in me.

"You're such a good alpha," she whispers, so quietly only I can hear. "My protector. You're keeping me safe."

The praise makes me purr louder despite the tension, but I keep watching the alphas warily. Good alpha. Protecting my omega.

"Brother," the sandy-haired mountain of an alpha says quietly, his voice deep and steady. Something about his scent is familiar. Safe. But still an alpha. Still a threat to what's mine.

"He understands," my omega whispers softly, her voice barely audible. "He isn't hurting me."

I continue arranging the blankets around my omega while she leans into my touch. The fear keeps coming in waves through the bond, but what I see doesn't match. She's calm. Content. So why the terror?

Mine.

"Yes," the beta agrees carefully. His scent is gentle—cedarwood and books. Not a threat. "She's yours. And you're ours too. We're pack."

A low growl rumbles from my chest at the word. Pack. Only mine. My omega.

"Shh," my omega whispers to me when I tense at the word. "It's okay, love. They're not threats. But you keep protecting me anyway. You're such a good alpha."

My omega. Safe. She's watching me with love and satisfaction.

Then suddenly—warmth. Love. It floods through a different connection, cutting through the chaos of fear like sunlight through storm clouds. Steady, patient love from the sandy-haired alpha. The mountain. My pack brother.

Something starts to crack in the overwhelming need to protect and fight.

My vision blurs, confusion washing over me as pieces start clicking back into place. The love feels familiar. Safe. Like home.

What the hell is happening to me?

I can feel my knot starting to soften inside my omega. The physical connection loosening, though the emotional intensity remains. I shift carefully, gently withdrawing from her with a soft sound from both of us.

Free to move now, but still lost in the protective haze, I gather my omega more carefully in my arms. She's so small, so precious. I arrange her against my chest, making sure she's comfortable, wrapping the softest blankets around her.

I continue scent marking her, my nose trailing along her hairline, behind her ear, down her neck. Gentle touches. My omega. She smells like me now, like us, like belonging.

"So perfect," I murmur against her skin, barely aware I'm speaking. "My omega."

She melts into my touch, making soft sounds of contentment that make my chest rumble with satisfaction. I can hear voices around us—the alphas and beta talking—but I'm not really listening. Just watching them out of the corner of my eyes while I focus on caring for what's mine.

I blink, trying to focus on the massive alpha sitting on the edge of the nest. Something about him, the way his love feels like...

"Gunner?" The name slips out, uncertain. My voice is still rough, still affected, but there's a flicker of recognition.

He nods slowly. "I'm here, brother."

Brother. The word hits something deep in my chest. Pack brother. My pack brother.

But the other two alphas... I bare my teeth at them again. The one with ash-brown hair and authority rolling off him. The massive scarred one who tried to reach for what's mine.

"Still mine," I growl, pulling my omega closer. The recognition of Gunner doesn't extend to them. They're still threats in my confused mind.

The beta moves closer—the one with dark curls and gentle eyes. Not a threat. His scent is safe, calming. "The pack bond," he says quietly, understanding in his voice. "That's what happened. When you bit her, it completed everything."

Pack bond. Those words try to make sense through the fog. Something snapped into place when I claimed her. Something that connected me to more than just her.

I look at the short haired alpha again. Authority. Dominance. But something else trying to push through the confusion.

The scarred alpha—the massive one—he's still sitting small, still making himself non-threatening. And there's something in his scent that's familiar too. Something that doesn't match the threat my instincts are screaming about.

But the words don't fully register yet. I'm still too scattered, still operating on instinct more than thought. I make a low sound in my throat, pulling my omega closer. I can feel connections now. Threads of emotion that were there, the fear, the terror. It was them.

"I can feel everyone," my omega—Daisy—whispers, wonder in her voice. "All of you. My pack."

"Mine," I growl possessively, nuzzling into her hair. The word is softer now but no less claiming. Through whatever bonds are forming, I can sense emotions—relief, contentment, love. It's overwhelming and confusing all at once.

"The bond's complete," the scarred alpha says, reaching out again carefully. His voice is rougher than the others, more careful. "We're all connected now."

I eye his approaching hand warily but don't snap this time. Something deep inside recognizes something, but I'm still not sure what.

The honey and clove alpha moves closer slowly, hands visible. "Easy, brother. We're pack now. All of us."

That word again. Pack. Brother. It triggers something deeper than the confusion, some fundamental truth I can almost grasp but can't quite reach.

I don't snarl when he gets closer, but I watch him with suspicious eyes while keeping Daisy wrapped against me. Still mine. Still need to protect her.

"Feel that?" Gunner asks quietly, and I do feel something. Love from him.

The connections are getting stronger. I can feel Gunner's familiar love, but also others. The beta's gentle concern. The scarred alpha's fierce protectiveness. And the buzz cut one... his emotions are complex. Relief and guilt and something deeper.

Who are they? Why do they feel like they belong somehow?

Relief floods through me as the fog continues to lift, bit by bit. She's okay. Better than okay. I nuzzle into her touch, feeling the contentment that radiates from her.

Slowly, faces start to make sense. The short haired alpha... Dante. Guard. Pack. Brother. The scarred one... Cassian. Fighter. Protector. Also pack. Also brother.

The bonds are real. I can feel them now, connecting us all.

"The bond's complete," Cassian says again, and this time I don't snarl. "We're all connected now."

I feel them. Gunner, Dante and Cassian. Our pack. Daisy our omega.

Even as I hold Daisy close, feeling that contentment through our bonds, something soft and unfamiliar takes root in my chest. Deep and warm.

But then reality crashes back. What I did. How rough I was. How I dragged her around while we were knotted, how I could have hurt her, how I went completely feral and saw my own packmates as threats...

"Fuck, Daisy," I breathe, suddenly panicked as I look down at her. The words come out shaky, vulnerable in a way I'm not used to. "Princess, I'm so fucking sorry. I was... Fuck, I was completely gone. Did I hurt you? I dragged you around and threatened the others and?—"

"Hawk," she interrupts gently, her hand cupping my face. "Look at me."

I meet her eyes, expecting to see fear or pain. Instead, I see satisfaction. Love. A hint of mischief that makes my heart skip.

"I'm okay," she says softly. "More than okay."

"But I went feral. I couldn't even recognize anyone. I saw them as threats wanting to take you. I was so rough with you, I dragged you while we were locked together?—"

"I know," she whispers, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I... I liked it. I liked how you needed me. How desperate you were for me. How you protected me even when you weren't fully yourself."

My eyes widen. "You... liked it when I went feral?"

She nods, biting her lower lip. "The way you claimed me, protected me... it felt incredible. Even when you were lost, you were still taking care of me."

"You're not just saying that?" I ask quietly, stroking her hair with gentle fingers. The contrast between my tenderness now and the way I took her makes something twist in my chest. "Really? Because I was completely gone. I could have hurt you."

Her smile is radiant, full of love and satisfaction. "You didn't hurt me, Hawk. You were perfect. Wild and desperate and completely mine."

"I'm sorry," I whisper, pressing soft kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, anywhere I can reach. "I'm so sorry for losing control like that."

"Don't be," she says firmly, then softer: "I've never felt so wanted in my life. So... chosen."

The word hits me right in the chest. Chosen.

"I love you," I tell her, the words coming out soft and wondering. "So fucking much it scares me."

"I love you too," she whispers back. "All of you. My pack."

And for the first time in my life, I'm exactly where I belong.