Page 197 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)

AUDREY

After Cyrus and I sealed our bond, the four of us spent a few days at Voth’s luxurious hotel in a room on the main floor with a set of sliding doors leading to the outside for Knox.

We rested and made love while waiting to hear Sebastian’s decision on whether it was safe to open a proper gate to our realm and return, not wanting to contemplate what would happen if he said it wasn’t.

Sebastian returned on the afternoon of the fourth day, said he’d done his research and that it was safe to open a proper gate and not just a rip between our realms.

That said, he suggested, and the guys agreed, to keep the gate controlled on this side so our realm wouldn’t be flooded with demons, humans, and other supernatural beings with dubious intent.

We returned home half an hour later to find that Deacon, Nova, and the rest of the Mountain and Sea Alliance had hunted down and killed the rest of the merchants’ grimalkins, but had also agreed to wait ten days before moving on with alliance discussions, hoping we would return.

Our pack had thrown a big party in the center of town — our pack members who hadn’t known me and the guys might be stuck in another realm forever thinking the party was because we’d put an end to the grimalkin attacks, something I could fully get behind.

After Cyrus and Bishop concluded the alliance business, they’d turned their attention to Velora who’d been held in a cell in the Residence’s basement, no doubt seething with anger and resentment. Knox had voted to kill her, saying she was a serious threat to me, but I begged for forgiveness since with my alpha power I could protect myself.

My forgiveness, however, only went so far, and I said Velora had to be banned from the pack and for everyone in the pack to know that she’d threatened to permanently hurt me so she could have Bishop and be a pack alpha… although I suspected given that we’d had an audience when she’d challenged and threatened me, everyone in the pack already knew.

Now, I stood alone in the Residence’s sacred grove, the sun high in the sky, casting dappled light through the ring of trees surrounding me. When I fell into this realm, I’d had nothing — no family, no friends, no safety, and no confidence. I was the girl no one, not even my father wanted, the one Sterling had decided was only good as a human sacrifice so he could gain Tzanagoth’s evil power.

But now, I had everything I’d ever wanted. I was safe and loved. I was home.

No one looked down on me and most hadn’t cared that I’d had no alpha power and couldn’t shift, which still stunned me.

Being around my pack and having them look to me for guidance still made me want to hide — because it was really hard to kick an old habit that had kept me alive most of my life — but I pushed through my discomfort, and most of the pack members were understanding if I was awkward. With that and my mates’ love, my confidence grew every day, and I knew someday I’d be able to fully embrace my new life.

A new life that included my wolf.

I was so happy about that. My wolf had finally woken.

Through my own strength of will, and Tzanagoth’s power, I’d broken my curse. I was no longer waiting for the right moment and aching because a part of my soul was forever out of reach.

I was complete, just like I was supposed to be.

With a deep breath, I used my newly enhanced senses to take in the smell of the damp earth and the vibrant greenery, the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, and the feeling of sunlight warming my skin. Everything was richer, deeper, brighter, warmer, crisper, perfect.

I slipped out of my dress, leaving it in a heap on the ground, and, as if I’d been doing it all my life, shifted into my white wolf form.

My first time shifting — when I hadn’t been trying to stay alive — had been awkward. I hadn’t fully believed I could do it, especially since I still didn’t radiate any alpha power until I consciously thought about drawing it out.

But the guys had encouraged me, eager to show me my wolf form, telling me she was beautiful. And she was beautiful. She was easily half the size of the guys’ wolves, with delicate paws, ears, and snout, golden eyes, and a stunning, all-white coat.

“Mate,” a familiar voice rumbled from behind me as Knox, in his human form, stepped out of the deep shade between the trees.

Mate, I thought back, my gaze meeting his as I marveled over how comfortable he looked in his human form.

When we’d first met, he’d refused to shift into a human. We’d been halfway to the death goddess’s temple before I’d even known he and Bishop were identical twins.

And now, he stood with a hint of a grin curling his lips, love radiating through our mating bond, and his hands in his pockets.

With his grin heating, Knox pulled his shirt off over his head and dropped his pants, revealing his stunning, powerful body.

God, I never got tired of looking at him, at all my mates if I was being honest.

He released a slow breath, his grin turning into a smirk, and shifted into his massive black wolf.

My wolf danced from one foot to the other in anticipation, knowing we were going to play from the playfulness radiating through our mating bond, and sure enough, Knot sprang forward and nipped at my haunches.

I hopped out of reach and yipped at him. The game had begun. My wildness rose up, filling me with joyful abandon, and I raced out of the sacred grove with Knox at my heels.

I darted and slipped through the gardens, always avoiding Knox’s nips or attempts to pin me. Delight rushed through my veins, feeding off of Knox’s happiness, becoming a wonderful, amazing loop of elation.

Knox barked and Bishop in wolf form joined the chase. I raced around the fountain in front of the Residence with the guys hot on my heels. They were bigger than me and could easily beat me in a fight, but I was faster and more nimble.

I careened around the edge of the Residence, barely noticed Cyrus in his wolf form right in front of me, and skidded between his legs before leaping through a narrow slit between a hedgerow.

Well played, Cyrus praised as he leaped over the hedgerow and joined the chase.

I led them on a twisting path through the gardens and around the back of the Residence, evading playful nips and tackles, the joy shifting into something hotter and deeper.

The sensation unfurled through our bonds, heating my soul, and I bounded around the shrubs partially hiding the small patio outside my suite. Between one step and the next, I shifted into my human form and threw open the doors.

Bishop rushed up behind me, also shifting, and scooped me up into his arms, making me laugh with pure joy as the heat within me turned sultry and sank to my core. He bolted through the sitting room into the bedroom and tossed me onto the bed.

With a growl, he dove between my legs, licking and sucking and stealing my laughter, replacing it with pure, burning lust. Knox bounded into the room a second later and captured my lips in a ferocious kiss.

Heat roared in my core, my body instantly aching for my mates as their need flooded me.

“That’s it,” Cyrus said with a smirk as he sat in a chair near the bed, grabbed his cock, and gave it a slow, hard pump. “I want to hear her scream.”

His dark hungry gaze locked on me being ravished by his brothers, and desire shivered from my toes up my body into my scalp.

I moaned as Bishop swiped his tongue over my clit, my pulse pounding, my need screaming for them. I wanted them now, all of them, inside me, filling me, driving me crazy, and making me scream.

Knox tangled his fingers in my hair and raked his tongue against mine, kissing me as if he couldn’t get enough — and from our mating bond I knew he couldn’t, just like I couldn’t.

One of his hands dropped to my breast, roughly kneading the sensitive flesh and turning my nipple into a taut aching bud while Bishop flicked his tongue over my clit sending bolts of pleasure jerking me closer and closer to the edge until I crashed over, shivering and breathless.

“Oh,” I breathed making Bishop grin at me.

“That’s what I like to hear,” he purred as Knox rolled onto his back and pulled me on top of him. The heat and hardness of his cock pressed against my slit and with one powerful thrust, he plunged inside. A rippling aftershock rolled up my body, and I released a throaty moan.

“Fuck,” Knox groaned before he gripped my hips, pulled back, and thrust in again and again.

Need burned through my veins, sweeping me right to edge of another orgasm, but then he stopped, his cock buried inside me.

I moaned in frustration even as my pulse picked up in anticipation. Up to this moment, both Knox and Bishop had played with my puckered entrance, getting me ready for one of them, and I knew the moment was now. I was finally going to have both of them inside me and I couldn’t wait.

“Ready, mate?” Knox asked, his voice a low seductive growl as he drew me forward so that I lay against his chest.

“Oh, yes,” I groaned, my pulse pounding in my ears, my whole body tingling with aching need.

Bishop swiped his fingers through my wetness and rubbed it against my hole, working in one finger, then two, and turning my desire to molten lava.

I yearned for him, for both of them, for all of them, and I knew I always would. These were my mates. Mine. And I hungered for them.

I trembled against Knox, my body trying to writhe against Knox’s firm grip, needing more, needing all of Bishop not just his fingers.

“You’re doing so beautifully,” Cyrus cooed, pulling my attention to him. “But I still haven’t heard you scream.”

Need filled his expression and precum glistened at the tip of his cock, making my mouth water for a taste of him.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Audrey.” Cyrus’s eyes darkened, his wolf pushing closer to the surface and his lust roaring through our mating bond. “But Bishop, you’re moving too fast. We want our mate to enjoy this.”

I groaned and Bishop hummed with pleasure. His fingers slowly pulled out of me and he teased my hole before slowly, achingly slowly, pushed his fingers back in.

My breath stalled, and my desire twisted tighter. I’d almost been on the precipice of another amazing orgasm and my whole body thrummed with the need for a release, but Bishop was an expert at edging me… and apparently Knox too because he was practically vibrating beneath me, his breath short and sharp as he fought to stay still and in control.

The thrumming turned into a burning, a desperate need as Bishop tortured me with slow sensual thrusts.

“Please,” I whimpered, desperate for release even though I knew Bishop wouldn’t let me come until Cyrus said so.

“Patience, love,” Cyrus said, his voice deliciously dark.

I trembled and panted, every touch and sensation amplified as I tried to writhe between my two mates and failed because of Knox’s grip on me.

Please. Oh please oh please oh please.

I needed faster, harder, pressure, plunging. I needed it all now now now.

“Patience,” Cyrus repeated, his voice a low growl that sent shivers down my spine. I could feel the wolf lurking beneath the surface, ready to take control.

Finally, with my body strung so tight I thought I’d burst, hell, I needed to burst, Cyrus gave Bishop the nod.

Thank God.

I felt the hard press of his cock against my hole, adding pressure, until he slipped between the tight ring of muscle and carefully, inch by inch giving me time to adjust, pushed inside me.

Oh.

Oh oh oh.

It was all I could think. There was a bit of a burn, and definitely a stretch, and I was full, so damned, wonderfully full, and the rest was glorious sensation.

A small orgasm rippled through me. I moaned, the sound low and throaty, making all my guys groan, and a shudder of pleasure rolled up my body.

“Sisters, Audrey, you’re incredible,” Cyrus breathed, sending more desire unfurling inside me.

He rose from the chair, his powerful muscles bunching and flexing with the movement as he strode the few steps to the bed. Bishop pulled out to just the tip and Cyrus brushed his fingers down my spine. It was just a tease of a touch, stealing my breath and making me burn with need.

I shuddered and both Knox and Bishop groaned at the sensation.

“Now open up for me, beautiful,” Cyrus commanded.

Without hesitation, I opened my mouth, allowing Cyrus to sink his cock inside, hitting the back of my throat. I moaned around him, and he gripped my hair to keep me steady, then he began slow, languid thrusts into my mouth.

Knox and Bishop joined in, pumping into me, and oh God, it was amazing. Incredible. I never wanted it to stop.

With every thrust, I felt their love and desire pouring through our mating bonds which made my own need spiral higher and higher. I teetered on the edge of release, my body burning, lava flowing through my veins.

I needed— I needed?—

The guys plunged into me faster and faster, each thrust growing harder giving me exactly what I craved for.

Then a powerful, screaming orgasm tore through me. I screamed like Cyrus wanted and bliss roared through my veins, sending me spinning into ecstasy.

Bishop slammed home inside me and came, grunting with his release. Knox came a second later with a roar, their cocks throbbing as they pumped me full with their seed. Finally, Cyrus groaned between gritted teeth, and his hot, salty cum flooded my mouth.

I swallowed as best I could, but it was like a faucet had been opened all the way and cum dripped down my chin.

Cyrus’s deep earthy scent, along with Bishop’s bright fresh-cut grass and Knox’s rich wood smoke enveloped me. Pride and love flooded my mating bonds, sending another mini orgasm rushing through me, leaving me breathless and floating in a sea of euphoria.

In this moment, I knew I was truly loved and cherished by my mates, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful feeling.

I woke the next day, my body aching in all the right ways, and peace radiating around my heart. My back was to Cyrus’s chest, his arm wrapped protectively around me, and I stared at Bishop’s beautiful face, his expression relaxed with sleep.

My lips curled in a smile as I remembered how amazing yesterday afternoon and last night had been. After having all my guys at once, we’d dozed before waking and making love again… before dozing and waking again.

It was no wonder the sunlight streaming through the windows was mid-morning bright.

I stretched, savoring the ache between my legs and connected with Knox’s mating bond to see where he was. He’d left just as the sun was rising after being able to control his claustrophobia for longer than he ever had before. But instead of feeling any regret for leaving, all I felt from him was contentment.

That made my smile deepen, and I carefully eased from Cyrus’s embrace and wiggled out from the blankets then down to the end of the bed to avoid waking my mates. Cyrus huffed in his sleep and Bishop frowned as if they could tell, even while unconscious, that I was moving away from them.

But I wasn’t going far. I could sense Knox just outside my suite and I wanted some cuddles from my gruff mate before everyone else was around.

Free from the bed, I tiptoed to my wardrobe, picked a simple dress, and secured it behind my neck and around my back, not caring that it showed off almost all of my scars.

As much as I hated that I was covered in those permanent marks, something no other shifter had, I also now recognized them for what they were: proof that I was a survivor, that I was strong enough to get through anything, even being sacrificed to a man-eating monster-god.

I hurried out of the bedroom to the French doors in the sitting room, and stepped onto the patio. Knox, in his human form, stood on the edge, his eyes closed, his face tipped up to the sun, basking in it. He wore one of the kilt-like wraps that were popular in Stonehaven and nothing else, and I couldn’t help but appreciate his powerful, sculpted back and arms.

A soft sigh escaped me — God my mates were stunning — and he turned to face me, a rare smile tugging at his lips, softening his expression.

“Mate,” he growled, and he pulled me into his strong arms and pressed his nose against the top of my head, breathing in my scent.

Rich wood smoke enveloped me and I sank into his embrace. I’d loved his scent from the moment I’d smelled it, even before I’d known it was from the man I’d accidentally mate bonded with.

With one more deep breath, Knox drew away, leaving me aching for his warmth.

“Come,” he said. “I have a surprise.”

“Really?” I asked.

Knox wasn’t a surprise kind of guy. Bishop was. But that only made me more curious.

He nodded and took my hand, leading me away from the front of the Residence and around a corner to a narrow side door.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed.

“Close—?”

“Bishop said you had to close your eyes,” he huffed, making me giggle and proving that Bishop had a hand in whatever was going on.

I closed my eyes, and with my hand in his, Knox opened the door, guided me inside, and up what felt like an endless flight of stairs that kept going around and around.

When we stopped, another door’s hinges squeaked, and we stepped outside. Warm sun heated my face and bare shoulders and a gentle breeze caressed my skin. The scent of the Residence’s gardens mingled with something that smelled amazing and familiar but I couldn’t quite place, and I could hear voices somewhere, but not tell what they were saying.

“Open your eyes,” Knox said, and I obeyed, my breath catching in my throat.

We stood on the Residence’s roof, the flat area before me stretching between one of the turrets and a sloped section of the roof.

I turned around, soaking in the breathtaking view of the Residence’s grounds and the town beyond the Residence’s walls.

Holy smokes, the view was amazing.

Then it hit me. This was a flat area on the roof, more than big enough for a bedroom. Were the guys going to make my dream of a greenhouse bedroom reality?

“Is this…?” I asked.

“It is.” Knox grinned back at me. “Your greenhouse bedroom.”

“It’s going to be amazing,” I said, throwing myself at Knox.

He caught me and hoisted me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist. Our lips crashed together and I released all my love and joy into our kiss.

I knew the guys loved me, but that didn’t mean my greenhouse bedroom would be a reality. Engineers had to be consulted, weather patterns, and a whole bunch of other things, not to mention taking money from the pack to add a room to the Residence just for me.

“So,” Bishop said, startling me and breaking my kiss with Knox. “What do you think?”

He and Cyrus stood in the doorway and I grinned at them.

“I think it’ll be amazing.” Images of what it could be flitted through my mind. I could already see it, reading nooks hidden by greenery, part of the roof not enclosed for a balcony, and a bed in the center, big enough for the four of us.

“Why don’t we get brunch and talk about what needs to be done,” Cyrus suggested, his words calm despite the hum of anticipation thrumming through our bond.

I raised my eyebrow at him in question and he raised his eyebrow back at me, refusing to answer.

Something was up, but none of Cyrus’s feelings were bad so I was happy to wait… at least until my curiosity got the better of me.

Together, we descended the stairs and stepped outside the Residence, ensuring Knox could stay with us for as long as possible. Bishop laced his fingers with mine, giving me his most brilliant, heart stopping smile and I grinned back at him.

We strolled around the back, toward the herb garden and the kitchen’s back door, but I stopped at the sight of a large table. It sat in the only open area in the herb garden and was surrounded by chairs and people. Platters piled high with pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon, and sausages awaited us, and I realized it was the amazing smell I’d detected earlier while standing on the roof.

But what really made me pause were the people. Everyone I cared for was there, Eloise and Kira putting the finishing touches on the table, Quinn and Zavier helping them, while Nova, Deacon, and Lucius chatted.

Quinn noticed us first and rushed toward me.

“Happy birthday!” she said before wrapping me in a tight hug.

I hugged her back, stunned. A while back, I’d mentioned I had a birthday coming up. I didn’t remember how it had come up in conversation, but I never expected her to remember or make a fuss, especially with everything that had happened.

“I’m not sure if today is the actual day, but from what you said, I figured today was close enough.” She stood back, her expression bright.

“This is amazing,” I replied. “Thank you.”

Tears welled in my eyes as warmth spread through me. No one had ever celebrated my birthday before — not even my father. Yet here were my new friends, my family, making it seem like the most natural thing in the world even though they’d only known me for a few months.

Bishop spun me around and pressed a deep, sensual kiss on my lips, leaving me heated and breathless.

“We’ve got an amazing day planned for the four of us,” he told me. “Starting with one of Eloise’s incredible brunches.”

He spun me around, right into Knox’s arms who captured my mouth with his usual ferocious passion, adding to the heat building inside me.

If the guys kept this up, I was going to need to skip breakfast.

When I was nearly gasping for air, and melting in Knox’s arms, Cyrus pulled me into his embrace, but instead of kissing me, he brushed his lips against my cheek, sending a shiver of anticipation rushing through me.

“And I’ve got something special saved for you at the end of the night.”

Oh, boy. Could we just skip to dessert?

Cyrus’s gaze heated and everyone else laughed, making my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Guess they heard that.

It’s okay, beautiful, Bishop said in my mind. We all know you’re still figuring out your telepathy.

And they did. Everyone had been so kind and understanding as I figured out my new abilities.

I’d never felt so loved before, and while it helped that I could feel my mates’ love and devotion through our mating bonds, it was more than that. It was how they treated me with kindness and generosity, and how my new friends did the same.

This was where I belonged.

I’d finally found my place, my pack, my mates, and the people who loved and accepted me for who I was.

I’d finally found home.

Thank you so much for reading the Ensnared by the Pack series! I hope you enjoyed it.

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