Page 66 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Gideon

I was trying to hold it all in and failing utterly.

Until the guests leave, I bargained with my wolf, but allowed back in again, he was relentless. Claim Briar , he growled. Once we’ve packed up, I countered. But he didn’t give a shit about boxes or foam or pottery. Just our mate.

“Gideon.” My head whipped around, a snarl there ready to be unleashed, only to find Kieran Hart standing there. He smiled, a knowing look in his eyes. “My brothers and I, we can oversee the packing up process. Damien is just about to march over here and insist.”

Sure enough, Omega Hart stared at the lot of us, red spots forming in his cheeks.

“You can?”

“Go, son. You look like you’re just about to claim your mate right here and now, and while this is no longer consecrated ground, I’m not sure if Briar is up for a public mating.”

“Thank you.” I ground that out as I moved towards Briar.

“Making a break for it, mate?” Tom appeared at my shoulder, keeping pace. “I know how you feel. Go get your girl. But you be good to her.” His eyes narrowed. “Otherwise there’s some deep gullies in and around our property. Ones you’d never find a body if it was dumped, if you catch my drift.”

“I will never hurt Briar.”

“Good lad.”

A pat on my shoulder and then I was off, not letting anyone waylay me until I stood before my mate.

“So we need?—”

“To go.” That came out far more desperate than I intended. “Briar, we have?—”

“Go.” Emma was on the receiving end of my grateful look. “We’ve got this. The Harts have already volunteered to help, and Honey is gonna rope Tom into the cleanup. We’ve got this.”

That was all the confirmation I needed. Briar was scooped up into my arms, and as I carried her out of the church, my brothers appeared.

“So it's finally happening?” Mads asked, looking into my eyes as he trotted backwards. “You’ve got your head out of your arse.”

“You’re driving.” I went to thrust the keys at him, but Jace plucked them from his grip.

“On a road full of hairpin turns and narrow roads? Nope, I’ve got it.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know?—”

“That you drive like a complete idiot.”

Their squabbles faded away as I opened the back door of the car and slid my mate inside. I was following her seconds later, seat belts ignored as my mouth crashed down on hers.

Fuck, I was losing control.

“Jace—!”

“On it,” he said.

Wheels spun gravel and we were off, hurtling towards destiny.

“Briar…” Pulling away from her mouth physically hurt me, but I needed to tell her.

Not during the launch. The poison of my parents was like holding an overfull cup.

I didn’t want it spilling on her, but if we were a pack, I had to let her in and that started now.

“Our parents turned up before the launch.”

“They what!?” Jace yelped.

“Steady, dickhead.” Mads smacked our brother upside the head, then turned to face us. “What happened?”

“Your parents got kicked out of Moon River,” Briar said, her lips thinning. “Damien filled me in on the details.”

“That’s why they were ringing you all the time,” Jace said.

“Does anyone ever tell me anything?” Mads protested. “So why the hell did they end up here?”

That had me frowning. I had no idea how they’d tracked us to the church, but Jace had an idea.

“Did we remove our phones from the family account? It shares our location with them.”

“Shit.” Mads pulled out his phone and then started tapping furiously to fix that, but I focussed on what was important.

My mate.

“They thought I would choose them,” I said. “They tried to make their fate my responsibility. Probably because up until now, I let them. Not this time. I didn’t say anything before because I didn’t want to ruin the launch.”

“Gideon.” Her fingers linked with mine. “That’s not something you need to do. I hate the idea of you suffering in silence.”

“Not suffering.” My thumb moved restively over her knuckles. “I wanted to protect you. I’ll always protect you, with everything I’ve got. You. I choose you and made clear that if any of them get within ten feet of the city, I’ll take it as an act of aggression and respond accordingly.”

“Fuck, yes.” Had Mads ever looked at me with approval? If he had, I didn’t remember it. Suddenly, Jace’s need to make everyone happy made sense. This glow I felt in my chest was big, expansive, and wanted to envelop every single member of my pack. “Glad to have you with us, brother.”’

“Am I with you?”

It was Briar I asked, not Mads, because in the end, the omega is always the heart of the pack. Her smile spread wide, right before she threw herself at me.

“I’ve just been hoping, waiting for you to feel ready.”

“Now.” I pressed my mouth to hers, lost in the sensation of all her softness. “Jace?—”

“Get us the fuck home before you force me to pull over and rut our mate in the bushes?” he said. “You got it.”

The rest of the trip was a blur, as was the elevator ride up to the apartment.

Other people thought to get in with us, saw the four of us and then stepped backwards.

Maybe they could see what I did, that this had to happen.

Mads had the door unlocked, his shirt off and over his head the minute we got inside.

The lock engaged, we stumbled into the main bedroom, and that’s when I paused.

“Part of me wants to tear every inch of clothing off your body,” I told Briar.

“Please don’t.”

She started to shimmy out of her dress, but I turned her around and unzipped the back, letting my knuckles graze her skin.

That little shiver was everything. If I needed confirmation that she felt the same way, I had it then.

The dress was eased off, her underwear removed just as swiftly, and that’s when I stopped.

“I will never get used to seeing you like this.” Where the hell were these words coming from? It was like a dam had broken and they had to come rushing out. “If all I do for the rest of my days is stare at you, Briar?—”

“Less poetry.” Mads clicked his fingers, but Jace gave him a shove. “More action.”

“Just because you don’t have a romantic bone in your body,” Jace snapped.

“Well, I got my bone in Briar’s body, so…”

“Hey.” She tilted my head her way, helping me to focus. “I’m right here. I have been the entire time and?—”

“I need to make you mine.”

She was swept up into my arms and placed on the bed before I sank to my knees.

“Gideon—”

“Shh…”

Smoothing my hands over her thighs, the satin of her skin had mine coming alive. Her knees were slowly spread wide, just before I dropped my head to press a kiss to her ankle.

“Oh…”

That little sigh had my mouth moving, pressing kisses to the instep, the calf, the side of her knee. Her hands felt like a benediction, tangling in my hair the closer I got, before she bent down to kiss my mouth. The bed dimpled as my now naked brothers climbed on behind Briar and went to work.

“We do this as a pack.” Mads wasn’t always full of bad ideas. This had to be the best one yet. “Seal the fucking deal finally, and?—”

“Shut up.” Jace tilted Briar’s head his way. “Maybe you should claim Gideon and ditch Mads. He never shuts up.”

“I told you what I’d do with that smart mouth of yours,” she growled at Mads.

“Well, if you insist…”

But when he bent down to force his head between her legs, my hand was there, shoving him backwards.

“Not this time.”

I hadn’t pulled rank of Mads since we left the last alpha trial, and while it wouldn’t become a habit again, I’d do so now.

“Need to taste our girl?” He scooped Briar up into his arms, then pulled her legs wide open with his hands. “I get it, brother.”

“Well, you can do that as I reacquaint myself with these.”

Jace rained kisses along her breasts, her breathy moans all the permission I needed.

Going forward, I’d need to find a way to store Briar’s taste for later, because it exploded on my tongue in the way wine or food never did.

My tongue went back again and again, needing more.

Her hands clamped down on my head when I hit her clit just right, not letting me move a millimetre.

Obediently, I stayed in place, licking and licking.

My cock rubbed against the bedspread, the cotton too rough, because somehow, I knew she’d feel just like satin.

Probably because when I pushed my fingers inside her, that’s exactly what it felt like as I crooked them towards the front wall.

Fingertips slid over a roughened spot, rewarding me with a jump, right before she stiffened.

A few sharp little gasps and then I felt a gush of slick coat my fingers, right before her cunt clamped down.

My fangs ground together, forcing me to pull away lest I bite her there and then.

“Briar—”

“Yes.”

I was hauled up and onto the bed, my body covering hers.

“Now.” She nodded sharply at me. “Gideon, now.”

“We should wait a bit,” I told her. “Work up to things. Get you nice and relaxed as this is probably gonna pinch a bit.”

Instead, my mate grabbed my shoulders, pushing me flat on my back, only to crawl over me before settling her groin over mine. Her cunt was a hot little volcano, forcing a hiss out of me at the contact.

“If this is you trying to warn me about your monster cock, don’t.” One eyebrow curled upwards. “I know and I’m fairly sure…” Her eyes went unfocussed as she reached down, giving my knot a squeeze, right before she pushed the head in.

“Oh, fuck…” My claws would’ve shredded my mate’s very pretty bed linen, so I clamped them down on her hips. Trying to hold her there, acclimating to the stretch, but she had her own ideas. “OK, this…” Her movements were fluid, feline. “This is good.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me.” Jace looked at Mads. “Think we can have our girl feeling even better?”

This was how a pack worked, I realised. While I was poleaxed by the sensations she wrought, my brothers worked to caress and tease our mate.

Whatever they were doing, it seemed to be just right as slick dripped down my cock, her cunt flexing around me.

No longer able to be passive, I thrust up, dragging a sharp gasp from Briar.

Over and over again, I went back for more, wanting, needing her responses.

“Gideon…”

There was fear, need, determination in her growl. Her hands were now planted on my chest, forcing me back down as her body fought mine.

“Open up, omega,” Mads urged.

“We can try again later.” Fear was starting to cool my desire. “I won’t hurt you, Briar. I…”

What was I thinking? My field of vision went white as I felt her flex open and then my knot was shoved in.

Tight, tight, tight, that was my first impression, then a kind of bliss that took my breath away.

I was dragging her down against my chest without thought.

I cradled her against me, feeling like she, me, we were all made of glass, ready to shatter in seconds.

Then she moved.

Tiny little movements, but they may as well have been entire revolutions of the earth around the sun. My whole world narrowed down to the points where we were joined, knowing one was missing.

“My mate?—”

“Yes, please, Gideon, I need…”

She would never have to beg for a single thing.

My fangs snapped out, burying themselves in her neck, marking the other half of my soul as mine.

There was a sharp spot of pain as she bit my chest. My lungs felt like they stuttered, unable to keep breathing as a feeling of the most intense pride rushed through me.

I thought I had been preparing my whole life for what an alpha was supposed to be, but really it was just this.

Connecting to my omega and not letting anything stand in the way going forward. I learned my lesson well.

“Just you…” I whispered as I jetted helplessly into her. “You’re all that will ever matter to me for the rest of my days.”

My eyes closed as I felt the others move. More, Briar demanded, more and so my brothers gave it to her. I was just simmering in a haze of bliss, still there when everyone finally settled.

“So this is what it's like.”

I couldn’t keep the wonder from my voice as I tucked Briar into my side.

“Welcome to the pack, brother,” Jace said. “It might’ve taken you a while to get here, but it's good to have you with us.”