Page 11 of Feral, Part Two (Wolfscorge #2)

Thane

Back in the kitchen, the three of us move around each other in silence, preparing dinner as we always do.

However, it’s usually Preston taking a nap on the couch or in his nest as we fall into the rhythm of the life we’ve built over the last three years.

Now, it’s complicated by a fox shifter, no way to leave Wolfscorge, and more lies than I can wrap my head around.

My mind isn't even on the food, churning through everything we discovered in that box, trying to piece together a timeline that makes sense of this nightmare.

The Collective didn't just wake up one morning and decide to create a supernatural experiment.

This kind of operation, this level of coordination and planning, would take decades to put together.

The research alone would have required years of study, experimentation, trial, and error.

How many people did they destroy along the way before they figured out how to make it work?

From what little I know, Veltmoor has been around almost as long as I’ve been alive, which provides the perfect base for all this bullshit to start.

Some part of me knows that this was always The Collective’s plan. The other part of me is hoping that that is just a conspiracy and there’s a better explanation.

Every choice we thought we were making, every decision that led us here—none of it was real. We've been dancing to their tune from the very beginning, and we never even knew the music was playing.

I move toward the sink to wash my hands, planning to ask Malik what he needs help with for dinner. But as I turn, I bump into him, our bodies colliding in the small space between the counter and the island.

The contact sends a jolt through me, the same electric current I felt when we kissed earlier. For a moment, we just stand there in silence, close enough that I can see the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes and can smell the warm scent that's uniquely his.

I’m mildly amused by the sudden attraction to a Beta I’d trust with my life and also a little concerned about how much I suddenly need him.

My nostrils flare as I catch the scent of his arousal, something that’s never turned me on before, all of the tension, confusion, and fear and need that's been building since this morning crashing together in a wave of pure want.

I attack his lips, kissing him hard as I push him back against the cabinet.

His mouth opens under mine, welcoming the invasion of my tongue with a soft sound that goes straight to my cock.

My hips rock against his, his own arousal pressing against my thigh, spurring me on.

My cousins purr rattles through the kitchen, a primal, possessive sound that has me letting out my own.

Kael stalks toward us, slipping behind Malik and resting back against the fridge.

I pull back to watch him dip his lips to the bond mark on Malik’s shoulder, his back arching toward me, a devilish smile spreading across my lips.

“I never knew our Beta was so fucking delicious,” I purr out before attacking Malik’s lips again.

His hands settle on my waist as I reach down between us to cup his cock in my hand, stroking him through his pants.

He bucks into my hold, a grunt falling from his lips as I nibble on the bottom lip.

His fingers dig into my flesh as I pick up my pace, Malik mumbling something about how he’s going to come when reality crashes back in with the sound of knocking on the front door.

We all freeze, our heads turning toward the entrance, a snarl curling my lips upward at the interruption. I pull back from Malik, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Fuck, sorry."

Malik just leans back against Kael, his breathing coming in small pants, his lips swollen from our kiss. There's something dazed in his expression, like he's still processing what just happened between us. And god, I kind of want to devour that look.

I force myself to move and walk over to the door as I resituate myself before peering through the keyhole. "Fuck, it's someone from the council."

I straighten my shirt, trying to make myself look a bit more presentable, then throw open the door with what I hope passes for casual confidence.

The council member who steps inside is one I recognized as some middle-aged Alpha with the kind of smile that never quite reaches the eyes.

He always looks like a miserable bastard, but I’ve pissed him off once or twice and it wasn’t pretty.

He’s also very fucking thorough, which I now know was his way of documenting how feral of a pack we were.

He looks around the kitchen, taking in the three of us with calculating interest. "Where are your Omegas? If I find out that the new one is outside in the pool house again..."

I clear my throat, trying to buy time to think of an explanation that won't get us all in deeper shit. But before I can speak, the council member is already heading straight for the back door that leads to the pool house.

Malik goes after him, throwing us a worried look before disappearing out the back door. Ulysses is fucking determined to do his job spectacularly in whatever way will piss us off the most, which means that the moment he finds the pool house empty, he's going to want to search the rest of the house.

I dash toward Slate's room, Kael right behind me, my heart dropping into my stomach as we stop inches from the edge of his den.

Two foxes are wrapped around each other in a tangle of blankets, their white fur almost glowing in the dim light.

They're clearly asleep, curled together in a way that's both protective and intimate. But it's Preston's sweet as fuck scent that has me on edge. Nathan mentioned that our Omega’s scent would sweeten to something almost like a thick syrup when he was ready to give birth, but it shouldn’t be this soon. Fuck, even Slate’s scent is sweeter than usual.

"What the absolute fuck," Kael breathes beside me, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Fucking hell, yeah, whatever, we can't explain this," I mutter, my mind racing through possibilities and finding nothing that makes sense. I don’t trust the council, never did, and there’s no way I’m letting them know our Omegas can shift.

They’ll find out eventually, but I’m not endangering our mates, especially not when they’re pregnant.

Kael looks around frantically, his eyes darting between the foxes and the door. "Let's get them in the bathroom. We can at least buy ourselves some time and then maybe Ulysses will come back later."

"I'm not ready for this bullshit," I mutter, but there's no choice. We have maybe thirty seconds before the council member finds us, and explaining two fox shifters is going to be a hell of a lot harder than explaining why our Omegas are taking a bath.

I get onto my knees in the nest, trying to make myself less threatening as I approach the two white forms curled together. Slate looks up at me in his fox form, those dark eyes I know so well now set in a completely alien face. He hisses, a sharp sound that carries both warning and fear.

"Hey, babe, I know that you don't want to be touched in this form, but I either need you to waddle your ass over to the bathroom or shift. I don't care which one."

Silence stretches between us as Slate just stares at me.

"Fuck, I'm going to grab Preston first, okay?"

I reach into the den, carefully sliding my hands under Preston's fox. He's heavier than I expected, his pregnant belly making him awkward to lift, but he doesn't struggle. If anything, he seems to melt into my touch, trusting me completely even in this vulnerable state.

Slate watches as I move toward the bathroom, his eyes tracking every movement.

There's something protective in his gaze, like he's making sure I'm handling his Omega with the care he deserves. I have no fucking clue how we’re supposed to move Slate because the only other option is Kael carrying him and that will never work.

But Kael has been surprising of late, the Alpha crouching down as he makes himself smaller. It’s breathtaking the way Slate flattens his ears back against his head before perking up at Kael’s voice.

"Slate, the council is here right now and we have absolutely no idea what check-up they're looking for, but I'd prefer them not to find my Omegas in their most vulnerable state. I'm not going to let them take you away from me."

Slate blinks a few times and then nods, lowering his head slightly.

“Can you walk? I need to get you into the bathroom with Preston just in case Ulysses comes in here.”

I hold my breath, not expecting it to work, but Slate’s connection with Preston is much stronger than his connection to us.

He stands up on his four feet, making his way to the bathroom as well, but there's something different about the way he moves.

Not submission, exactly, but cooperation.

Like he's choosing to trust Kael's judgment in this moment.

We all crowd into the small space barely big enough for the four of us. Kael helps Slate into the tub and then I place Preston beside Slate, our second Omega still standing as if something is missing.

That's when Slate does something that makes my heart stop. He raises his snout to Kael's thigh and rubs along it for a second, the gesture so clearly affectionate that it takes my breath away. It's a claiming of sorts, a recognition of pack bond that goes deeper than words or human understanding.

It’s an almost physical shift in the bond, an understanding and trust that doesn't seem possible given their history.

The connection snaps into place, Kael letting out a purr that's real close to a claiming roar, the sound vibrating through the small bathroom and making my own Alpha instincts respond.

Slate curls up around Preston again, my mind reeling with the implications of what just happened. I’ve heard stories of Alphas letting out a claiming roar, but I’ve never actually known someone who’s done it.

"I don't think I've ever felt something like that before," I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.

Kael doesn’t speak at first, moving to turn on the sink faucet to simulate the sounds of a shower. "It felt right, but... I don't have his trust yet."

"In time you will," I assure my cousin, seeing a change in him. I never thought he’d open up like this. He’s not exactly soft, but the understanding that comes with being a pack Alpha has accelerated over the last few days and I fucking love it.

"He walked beside you, didn't he? It's only a matter of time. "

Kael just nods as we exit the bathroom and close the door before moving back into the kitchen. Ulysses is standing at the edge of the kitchen table, Malik offering us a sheepish smile as he sits beside him. No doubt Ulysses cussed him out, asking where our Omegas are.

“So? Where are they?”

Kael doesn't miss a beat. "They're bathing."

The council member's eyebrows raise slightly. "Both of them?"

"Yes, we made a mess of them both and then they kicked us out to wash each other. It's a common occurrence."

I have to hand it to Kael—the lie comes out way smoother than anything I would have been able to conjure up, with just enough detail to sound authentic without being overly elaborate.

I snort, playing into the deception. "Kael is pretty ticked off about it that Slate likes Preston more than him."

The council member's expression shifts to something that might be amusement, before his expression reverts to neutral indifference. "I'm not sure I believe this, but I'm also not going to barge into that room because I know how protective Alphas can be over their Omegas."

Relief floods through me, though I'm careful not to let it show on my face.

"I’ll be back through and you'll need to have them ready so that we can assess Slate's progress."

All three of us nod in agreement, doing anything and everything we can to shuffle him toward the door. The longer he stays, the more likely it becomes that our carefully constructed lie will fall apart.

But he's not quite ready to leave yet. "How is Slate faring? Have there been any changes recently?"

I shrug, deciding not to answer that question and state something else entirely. "I noticed that there were fewer guards today," I say, deflecting with a question of my own.

Ulysses’ expression tightens slightly. "That was just a shift change, but it shouldn't happen again."

His answer feels loaded and a little too stiff, but I don’t push.

It just tells me we’re not any safer than we were walking into Wolfscorge.

He glances around again, almost as if he’ll pick something out we haven’t hidden.

However, Slate all but lives in his room, only coming out for meals and the occasional shower when he wants to use the larger one across the hall.

We haven’t been all that inviting and while I’m nowhere near as awful to Slate as my cousin, I haven’t exactly been… nice.

Ulysses clears his throat, dragging me back to reality. "I'm satisfied that the pool house is not being lived in and that all occupants are living in the main house," he says finally, the tension leaving my shoulders. "Just one last question. Has Slate joined in on any sexual activities recently?"

A grumble hits my ear and I twist around to jab Kael in the side.

He quickly swallows the sound but doesn’t fix the irritation in his expression.

"Why is any of that important? He's our Omega, he's doing fine, and I really would like to be ready for when they're done with their shower so that I can help them into their. .. nest."

Preston deconstructed that and now we have a den. I should be weirded out that all our biological impulses are changing and morphing, but it’s kind of cool. Like a grown-up fort for our Omegas.

"Let me see their nest and I'll go."

I snort, leaning back against the wall to play off how much all this shit is bothering me.

"When you come back, you can ask them to see their nest. I'm not giving you access to that without their permission.

" I raise one of my eyebrows in jest, wondering if Ulysses has ever even had an Omega of his own or even been attracted to one. Everything he does is so clinical and if I did let him anywhere near Preston’s nest, Preston would have a meltdown.

But Slate? Slate would tear that man apart.

I might actually like watching it.

"Okay, I'll be back around once I check on some of the other packs." He finally heads for the door, and I have to resist the urge to physically push him out. The relief I feel as he steps over the threshold is almost overwhelming.

The moment the door closes, I turn to Malik. “Hey, Leek, it seems we have two feral Omegas now. Two beautiful foxes curled up together in the bathtub.” The shock on our Beta’s face is priceless.