Page 20 of Wanted by the Wolves (The Last Shifters #2)
Chapter 19
Nova
E very part of my body feels like a marshmallow. My insides are gooey and warm, my brain floating on the currents of Gage’s lulling purr.
Total bliss. Sign me up to be kissed and touched by this man every day because, holy shit, that was mind-blowing.
I know omega wolves are known for being sensual and needing alphas' physical touch to balance out their systems. Experiencing it is something else entirely.
It’s startling to see the difference these alphas make. I don’t think I’d realized how run down I’d gotten—or how soothing being around a scent match could be.
Gage’s rough palm squeezes my hip. “You awake over there, little star?”
I burrow into the hair by his shoulder, hiding myself in his dark waves. “Maybe.”
He hums, the sound overly amused. “It’s only been a few hours. I’m sure you could use some more sleep.”
Following his advice, I drift into the bliss of being held and the delicious soreness between my legs. I think I doze, but before long, my brain returns to being an angry beehive swirling with questions. Gage was real with me last night, and I understand him a little better now, but so much is still unclear.
Something happened to him, and he’s not ready to tell me. The fact that he’s afraid of the connection between us is kind of reassuring. I’m right there with him. I want these men to be my pack, but I’m scared of the future and freaked out about the fact that I don’t know what I’m doing.
How the heck do I go from living alone to having mates? My human side feels out of practice. I’m not sure where that leaves me after last night.
When the curiosities become too much to contain, I let one pop out. “When my heat came, what did you give me?”
Of all the spokes on the question wheel whirling in my brain, I’ve surprised even myself with that one.
Gage freezes beneath me. Apparently, he’s as confused by the trajectory of my thoughts as I am.
After an uncomfortable moment of silence, he clears his throat. “It wasn’t a traditional potion used for heat. I made it in the thick of the moment, but the gist was a sleeping potion mixed with a blocker meant to dull your pain and senses.”
I’m grateful he gave it to me. Having my first heat so soon after being rescued from the Alpha King and not knowing my heat companions would have been awful.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. It wouldn’t have been awful in the way it would have been if I had spent my heat with the king and his wolves. The brothers would have been good to me and made sure I didn’t suffer. Maybe Gage too.
Except I don’t think it would have mattered. I would have been devastated if it had happened at all. Even knowing that, the rational part of me can’t seem to completely win over my omega, who worries about why they didn’t want me.
“Why didn’t you—” I can’t even finish the words.
“Spend your heat buried inside you?” The lilt to Gage’s voice is light and teasing, pushing back against some of the anxiety that seems to be rushing in from all sides.
“Yes,” I whisper. I feel the heat burn across my cheeks even though I’m hidden from his gaze.
Gage gives a throaty chuckle. “Believe me, there was no being around you without wanting to. It took everything I had not to join you when I first saw you in the bed. You were presenting, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever seen.”
My omega preens at his words even though they make my face burn. “But then, why the potion?”
“You couldn’t consent,” he explains as his hold on my hip tightens. “But don’t go thinking me gallant. That was all Dex.”
“What do you mean?” I peek my head out from my hiding place to study him. Even in half darkness, he’s strikingly handsome.
He cups my face, his thumb brushing my cheek. “Dex is your mate. I can see the bond already forming between you two. He was torn up by being unable to help you through your heat. He stayed by your side the entire time, even though it was agony for his wolf. But he insisted on the potion, wouldn’t hear a word about bringing you through it naturally.”
“Why?” I barely manage the word, my throat choked by a cocktail of mixed emotions.
“He said people had taken enough from you and refused to let your heat be another.” Gage’s thumb strokes under my eye, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s because I’m crying. “Dex was right, you know.”
I owe Dex and Briggs my life. They brought me here, saved me from the king and ferals, took care of me. Gage too, even though he tries to downplay it and pretend he didn’t have any part in this. What they’ve given me shouldn’t be more than basic human decency, except in this feral world, it's anything but typical.
“They don’t make wolves like the brothers much anymore.”
“That’s because they’re old,” Gage teases.
He’s back to hiding behind a joke. I find I like it, so I tease him back.
“They’re your age,”I remind him. I rest my head on his chest, tracing the black ink of the runes.
“Like I said, old.”
They haven’t even reached the age when wolves stop aging, which means they’re younger than fifty. Most of the elders are gone now, so I guess age is relative. Living like we do, twenty feels like the new one hundred.
“How old are we talking?” I get bolder with my exploration, brushing past his nipple.
Gage’s breath stutters, and his fingers dig into the curve of my ass. “I’m thirty-seven. Dex and Briggs are thirty-four, give or take.”
I twist his nipple. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s super old.”
He yelps, his big palm swatting my thigh. “No biting. No titty twisters. Or else they’re fair game for me too.”
“I make no promises,” I say with a laugh, wiggling out of his hold. I shield my boobs from his wandering hands, but he lands a pinch on my ass that smarts.
It devolves from there into a tumble in the sheets, each of us landing at least a nip. When his lips cover mine, I surrender without thought. The kiss is passionate and reassuring. I let myself get lost in it until my stomach interrupts with a growl.
“Come on. Let’s get you a snack.” Gage smacks a kiss on my cheek and rolls off the bed.