Page 12 of Ghouls and Girth (The Knottiverse: Halloween Monsters #4)

Umar wraps his arms around me from behind, pulls me tight against him, and murmurs in my ear.

“Your stepbrother is in the right place, little graveyard gladiator. He’ll suffer more under Sathanas than he would under any other Keeper in The Knottiverse.”

“So, wait,” Bianca interrupts, reminding me that my friends are still standing a few feet away. “You killed Bryce without even touching him.”

“And these two guys are yours now,” Trista says.

I swallow and nod.

“Okay, you’re right. Too much for you to explain right now.” Gabby throws her arms in the air. “We’ll leave, but if you don’t show up for class, we’re coming to get you. Got it?” she demands.

I blink.

My roommates look at each other before assuming the same pose—arms crossed over their chests and warning glares aimed at my alphas—as they wait for my response.

Joy jitters down my spine and lifts my lips in a trembling smile.

“Thank you,” I manage through the tears clogging my throat.

My friends may not be able to see the ghouls hidden within my alphas’ human forms, but they aren’t stupid.

They know something crazy happened to me by the blood and filth caked in my hair and coating my body, but they also recognize that I’ve changed a lot since I disappeared a few minutes ago, and instead of questioning everything, they’re trusting me to know what’s best for me.

I killed my stepfamily and have no idea where my mother is, but none of them matter anymore.

I don’t deserve friends like these, but I’ll cling to them with every bit of strength I have.

Sadness wells up in me. If what my ghouls say is true, then I’ll live much longer than these wonderful ladies will.

It doesn’t matter. I’ll never let these women go. They’ll always be a part of me.

I clear my throat and nod.

Their tremulous smiles overflow my soul with happiness.

The urge to hug them rises in me, but I wave them away as heat builds in my belly.

“Thanks, ladies. See you in a few days,” I say as I wrap my fingers around each of my alpha’s arms.

“I’m totally going to hire you to do that instead of slap my exes from now on,” Bianca jokes with a head tilt toward Bryce’s dead body as she slings her arms over the other two’s shoulders and leads them toward the parking lot.

A cramp steals my breath. I cling to my alphas and bite my tongue in my attempt to stay quiet. Their furious rumbles loosen my bones. Khalid lifts me off my feet while Umar presses his forearm to my mouth.

“Bite me,” he commands.

I do. He groans. The world shifts in and out of focus as pain and pleasure battle within me. When the war becomes too intense, I block out my surroundings, knowing nothing will happen to me while my alphas protect me, and focus on surviving until the worst is over.

I slump into a heap of mush against Khalid’s chest and breathe.

A door shuts and locks behind us.

Soft sheets replace hard arms.

I snarl. I’m too dirty to lie in a bed that smells so delicious. My skin carries the acrid stench of fear and death while the sheets hold nothing but pure alpha pheromones.

“Shower. Now,” I demand.

Steam and slippery flesh fill me with sensual delight. As the storm within me grows, my alphas wash every inch of my body, and I explore theirs with impatient hands and mouth.

Words cease to exist. I descend into a world of sensations, each brush against my skin electric. Lava flows through my veins. Slick pours from my womb. Need throbs in my clit.

I lick, suck, and nip muscular arms and chests, my alphas similar in build but oh so different in their responses.

Umar grunts and growls with a jarring, addictive rumble while Khalid purrs and coaxes with a smooth richness I’d happily drown in.

Silky flesh, coarse hair, and round, flat nipples tease my lips and tickle my palms. I swirl, pluck, and flick.

Taste, explore, and feast. The strength in their bunched muscles intrigues me on a basal level.

I sink into animal instincts. Nothing but my most basic senses remain. Thoughts revert to single syllables.

The sheets return. They smell divine. I bury my face into them and moan.

Not enough.

Fabric plops on top of me. A big mound. The weight is glorious, but uneven.

I flip the pile to the headboard and snarl when a crease in the sheets offends me. Deep-rooted fury streaks through me. I rip everything off until the bare mattress shows in the dim light.

With my alphas hovering nearby, I narrow my focus. Nothing exists beyond my creation.

I stack, fluff, and spread until the base resembles a massive, oblong bowl. When the pillow in my hands refuses to fit where I want it, I hiss and toss it toward the footboard.

White talons reach for it.

I snarl and launch myself through the air. With a vicious swing, I swat the encroaching hand away.

I meet Umar and his ghoul’s eyes.

“Mine,” I growl.

The dark delight swimming in his blown pupils promises retribution and praise, but he drops the pillow back where I discarded it and takes the smallest step back.

His massive cock shifts with the movement. The battering ram between his legs both excites and terrifies me.

Khalid’s stride as he approaches the bed swings his thick, heavy cock from thigh to thigh, and I want nothing more than to taste the pearly fluid dripping from his tip, but he tosses a stack of materials onto the corner of the bed, outside my oval where the mattress shows.

A low, pleased rumble rises from my depths and emerges from my chest.

Four sets of eyes roll to the back of their heads as I emit my first true omega purr. I enjoy the bliss on their expressions, but the silky fabric under my hands pulls me back to my task.

With growing urgency as the firestorm swirling within my abdomen spreads into my limbs, I build the walls of my cocoon higher before fashioning the larger flat sheets as a roof.

I crawl to the center, intending to test the overall feel of my nest, but I cry out and curl into a ball as horrible pain lances through my abdomen. Hard, masculine bodies invade my space. I hiss and fight until my mates’ scrumptious aromas fill my nostrils.

My brain short circuits as four sets of hands and mouths set to pleasuring me. They worship me. Punish me. Adore me. Dare me.

I give as much as I get, morphing into a brutal, bloodthirsty bitch as indescribable hunger roars through me.

“Look at me, Daisy,” Khalid growls from underneath me.

I moan and force my eyes to focus on his face instead of the sight of his cock spreading my pussy lips. He’s too big. He’ll never fit.

I need to take all of him. Now.

“You’re ours now. Our curvy little country queen,” he vows.

I sink my nails into his chest. A muscle ticks in his jaw, but he ignores me as I whine and tilt my hips, begging for more of him.

Umar wrecks my thoughts as he nudges my asshole with his slickened tip.

“Our graveyard gladiator. Forever,” he promises against my nape.

I shatter into millions of tiny, jagged pieces as they surge inside me. Pain and pleasure combine into a terrible cacophony of wondrous melodies, the overall song as ancient as my mates and as powerful as our bonds.

Over and over, they build me up just to shove me over the edge, until they find the end of their control and bury themselves to hilt. With awe-inspiring timing, their knots expand, stretching and crowding, until a deeper, unending orgasm seizes my entire body.

Nothing will separate us.

I’m theirs and they’re mine.

When my mother remarried, my stepfather beat me and my stepbrother sexually harassed me every chance they got. I swore I’d never trust another man again. I was ready to live my entire life alone and die single.

Now I’ll never die. Instead, I’ll spend an eternity with my mates. My ghouls. My alphas.

They’re mine. All mine.

Forever.