Page 25 of The Night Movers: Season One

Ridley snorted. “You can hate me and still want to fuck me. I’m still an omega in heat. I’m not an idiot.”

Sugar closed his eyes for a long moment, like he was praying for patience.

When he opened them again, his look had Ridley’s pulse galloping.

Ridley sucked in a breath as Sugar’s mouth found his in a kiss that lingered.

Heat shot through Ridley’s belly when Sugar deepened the kiss, tongue dipping into his mouth for only a moment before he broke away.

Ridley wanted to whine over the loss.

Sugar pressed his forehead to Ridley’s. “Listen to me. Like…really listen,” he asked, voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t hate you. None of us hate you. We don’t know you. And you don’t know us.”

“Then why were you fighting the others so hard earlier? You and Steele were adamant I’d ruin everything. That I’d blow up your whole pack.”

“Try to see it from our point of view,” the alpha pleaded. “We’ve spent the last decade trying to keep omegas like you from having packs like ours take advantage of you. Claiming you as our property goes against everything we stand for.”

Ridley’s insides twisted with guilt. He’d never really thought of it that way. His life was growing more complicated by the second. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt…normal.

“Like you, we’ve all lost people to this crazy, dystopian nightmare world this new regime created almost overnight.

Steele and I don’t hate you. And we’re obviously attracted to you physically,” he said carefully.

“But taking you in stirs up a lot of shit for all of us. Personal shit. Hard shit. Shit that scarred us enough to turn us into people we hardly recognize.”

Ridley’s chest felt hollow. It had only taken hours for Ridley to do just what they said. “So, you guys were right. I have blown up your pack.”

“No. That’s not—” He cut himself off like he was trying to choose his words carefully. “None of us could have predicted Titus would do what Titus did. Not even you.”

Was that true? Ridley wished he could replay his vision like an old movie, just to see, just to know if he’d seen it happen. But he’d shared the vision with Titus, too. Wouldn’t he have seen it if Ridley had? He hated how little he knew about his own gifts.

A new wave of sorrow washed over him, clinging to him, making him feel heavy. “So, now I get to be your burden for life. This…thing you can’t shake without sacrificing your own morals. Great.”

Sugar was silent for a moment before saying, “Titus is going to let you claim him back.”

Ridley sucked in a shattered breath. “What?”

“We all realized the ramifications of what he’d done. Especially Titus. He is…disgusted with himself. With a mating mark, you didn’t need us to claim you as a pack, but we did, hoping you would understand that we stand by his decision to seal the mating bond.”

“What a fucking martyr,” Ridley spit. “Sacrificing himself for the cause. ”

He knew he wasn’t being fair. He knew that they were all trying to make the best of a fucked up situation, but Ridley hadn’t planned on staying forever.

He’d just wanted to find his sister and go.

This mark tethered him to Titus for life.

Without claiming Titus back, Ridley would live his life with a noose around his neck, constantly waiting for Titus to kick the chair out from under him.

But there was no satisfaction in claiming him back, only mutually assured destruction.

“And what about you guys?” Ridley asked.

“What about us?” Sugar asked, looking genuinely confused.

“Am I still the pack omega or do I strictly belong to Titus now?” Ridley asked, flushing until he felt as red as the roots of his hair.

Sugar tilted his head, studying his face, before he said, “That’s still your decision.

Way back, when things were…equal, before the world ended, packs shared their omegas.

But it’s entirely up to you. We all want you, but you’re entirely safe even if you don’t want us in your bed… any of us. Even Titus.”

It occurred to Ridley then that Sugar was right.

Before everything fell apart, back when omegas had rights and packs consisted of both mated and unmated members, they’d thought nothing of sharing everything with their pack mates.

Their bodies, their children. There was no I, only we.

One omega could provide children to several different alphas and all would be loved equally amongst the pack. But that was forever ago.

Things were far different now.

“Packs share their omegas, they don’t mate with them. Are you planning on locking me in here forever so the other packs don’t ask questions? Forcing me to wear a turtleneck when we’re in public? Are you going to try to convince people I’m…a beta?”

Sugar rolled them until Ridley was on his back, rubbing his cheek against his, then dipping his head to do the same to his throat.

Ridley let it happen, scenting him in return.

He knew this was the alpha’s way of soothing him without pushing unwanted pheromones on him.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel safer beneath the wall of muscle that was Sugar.

“We talked about it while you were unconscious,” he said. “We’re not going to hide you and we’re not going to try to trick people. Diesel was right. There’s a level of…respect we’ve earned as a pack. A level of fear. We’ll leverage that to ensure people understand you’re untouchable.”

“You’re the one who said if you made me look special, they might try to take me from you,” Ridley reminded.

“That was when we planned on claiming you as our pack omega. Titus mated you. Even criminals aren’t stupid enough to think they could hurt a mated omega without severe retribution.”

“I think you’d be surprised what criminals are willing to do to omegas, mated or not,” Ridley said, heart twisting as his sister’s face swam into his mind.

Where was she? Was she okay? Was she cold?

Tired? Hungry? Why couldn’t he sense her any longer?

If she was hurting, suffering, she would sever their connection to save Ridley the agony of seeing it all.

But that just made it all so much worse—the not knowing.

He blinked away tears as his chest tightened.

“If anyone comes for you, we’ll make an example out of them,” Sugar promised. “Jensen was right. Packs might not respect authority, but they do respect violence.”

“I don’t want you to kill people for me.” Not just to keep him safe, anyway.

Sacrificing people’s lives for the good of many was far different than killing to protect one insignificant omega.

Sugar took his mouth in another lazy kiss, drinking from his lips, not for lust but for comfort.

“Don’t get it twisted, Strawberry. We’ve killed for far less.

We’re not the good guys. You can’t be a good guy and do what we do.

Being part of our pack is dangerous and it’s bloody and people will get hurt.

People will die. But not you. And not us.

We’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe as our alpha’s mate.

But nothing is without risk. We can’t guarantee your safety. ”

“I’m not worried about dying. I’m worried about finding my sister. She’s out there somewhere. Alone. And I can’t sense her anymore. I can’t lose sight of that.”

“Nobody is asking you to,” Sugar promised, kissing him again, then again, until Ridley melted like candle wax. “Even if the others won’t help you find her, I will. But I don’t think it will come to that. I think the pack will want to help you.”

When Sugar broke the kiss, Ridley asked, “Why are you so calm about all this? You and Steele fought this the hardest.”

Sugar huffed out a laugh. “Titus. He said he knew your vision was real because he recognized the room we claimed you in. I thought it sounded convenient, but over the last several hours, I’ve watched the pieces fall into place like dominoes and it’s starting to feel…predestined.”

“Predestined,” Ridley echoed, liking the way the word danced on his tongue.

“Yeah, Strawberry. I think you might be right. I think maybe you were meant to be ours all along. Or we were meant to be yours.”

“So, you don’t think I’ll blow up the pack?”

Sugar came up on his forearms to look at him. “After Titus bit you, I’ve never seen the pack come together so quickly to fix the situation.” Once more, his gaze roved his face. “If you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it. But I think you might be just what our pack needed all along.”

Ridley blinked rapidly, processing his words. Finally, he thought to ask, “What do I do now? Does Titus want me to go see him?”

Sugar shook his head. “Yes. But not yet. He wants you to think about it. About all of it. Then you two can talk after your heat ends. It should be over soon.”

“What do I do in the meantime?” Ridley asked. “My next wave is going to be here any minute. Does he expect me to ride it out alone?”

“He’s not the only one who can help you, Strawberry. There are five of us here to help you. But only if you want us,” Sugar said. “Even as we speak, Diesel’s waiting for you in his room. He figured you probably don’t want to be alone.”

“Diesel wants to be my next…knot?” he managed, grateful the red lights hid his flushed face.

“Diesel wants to be your cuddle buddy. Nobody likes a snuggle puddle more than that dumbass. He will happily knot you if you ask, but he will also just hold you.”

“Oh.”

Sugar looked like he wanted to say something.

Creases formed between his brows like he was fighting with himself.

He seemed to come to some inner conclusion before he said, “You know all that shit we say to you during your heat is just…talk, right? You’re still in charge of who you fuck, even with that mating mark on your neck.

Titus is a lot of things, but he will never force you to do anything against your will. He’s a good guy.”

Sugar grinned and Ridley’s stomach swooped again, not out of fear but lust. He had the most beautiful smile Ridley had ever seen, so beautiful it stirred that tell-tale melted honey feeling low in his core, making him leak into his borrowed sweatpants.

“Can I tell you something?” Ridley asked.

“Does it have to do with how good you suddenly smell?” Sugar asked, voice lowering to a silky depth that made Ridley crazy.

“Sort of.”

“Tell me.”

“All the stuff you guys say to me…during sex…the things you do to me…using me how you like, when you like…I like it. I like it a lot. So much it’s embarrassing and feels a little like a betrayal to other omegas.”

“You can’t fight biology, Strawberry. We’re all slaves to our inner beast. We promise not to hold any of it against you if you promise to do the same.

You make us all a little crazy.” Ridley bit back a smile and Sugar chuckled.

“You love that kind of power, don’t you?

You’re going to be such a monster, I can just feel it. ”

It wasn’t said with any malice. If anything, it sounded like a compliment. Ridley kissed his lips once more, then watched the alpha stifle a jaw-cracking yawn.

Ridley laughed. “Can you…can you take me to Diesel now?”

Sugar smiled. “Sure.”

He rolled off Ridley and was on his feet in one graceful motion. He extended his hand and Ridley took it, allowing him to help him stand. “And…can you tell Titus I’m not mad?”

Sugar’s smile grew to a full blown grin. “Sure, Strawberry.”

Ridley smiled ruefully. “You guys are never gonna stop calling me that, are you?”

Sugar dipped his head, trying to appear contrite as he said, “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t actually remember your real name.”

Ridley sighed. “Strawberry will do.”

Despite everything, anticipation had his blood humming. Diesel would take care of him. He’d give him what he needed and then some. Ridley once more followed Sugar out of the room and down the hall, this time going down the steps to the floor where Titus’s room was.

As they passed the alpha leader’s room, Ridley’s gaze lingered on the closed door. Titus wanted him to think about it. Think about him. A life with him. A life in this pack, with these men. The sole omega. Not a pet, but a mate. An equal. Well, as equal as any omega could be nowadays.

Ridley slowed as a question hit him. “Sugar?”

“Yeah?” he asked, slowing to keep pace with him.

“What happens if I do get pregnant?” he whispered.