Page 20 of Puck & Her Blades

I hold it up to Cygnus’ plush lips. “Chocolate is good for Omega shock or after discipline and Alpha Commands. It always helped my dad.”

Cygnus gives me a searching look. “I know. It always works for me too in the same way.”

My guts churn.

I don’t want him to know things like that.

Who’s hurting this sweet Omega? His dad?

His bonded Alphas?

When Cygnus leans forward and takes the chocolate from my fingers, my breath stutters at the feel of his petal-soft lips.

Then I almost forget how to breathe, when he kitten licks my fingers with his velvety tongue like he wants to be certain that they’re all clean.

Shit, now I totally get the whole Alphas wanting to handfeed their Omegas thing.

“When I was a kid, I was once ill for several months and confined to bed,” he says. “The strict doctor prescribed this bitter medicine. It tasted so nasty that my older sister, Sydney, had to pin me down and force feed it to me. Dad stopped me crying by allowing me a piece of candy afterwards. It left me with a sweet tooth.”

I can’t help wanting to kick the ass of his sister who held him down. But it feels strange to think of the terrifying Roarke doting on his son like that to try and make it better afterward.

My brow furrows.

What illness could make Cygnus unwell for that long and not end up with him marked as a defective Rej?

There’s a deeper mystery going on with this Blade pack. I don’t think that they’re as perfect as the PR spin makes out.

Cygnus picks up a chocolate and holds it to my lips with a hopeful look. “You had a shock too.”

When I hesitate, he presses it more firmly against my lips.

At last, I tongue the chocolate from his fingers into my mouth and then moan far too indecently at the sweet burst of violet candy from the filling.

It’s decadent and rich.

My parents never allowed me to eat candy because of my training.

If you’re going to lose everything important in your life, at least you get chocolate back as a silver lining.

“Do you like it?” Cygnus asks. “Is it good?”

“It’s like good and fucking delicious had an amazing baby,” I breathe.

It’s not a lie

Cygnus nuzzles my neck, as if in reward.

I can definitely get used to being in a pack, if it means being treated like this.

I understand everything that I’ve read about the importance of Omega connections now.

“I’m sorry that most of them got trodden on.” Cygnus wraps his arms around my neck, and I tentatively run my fingers through his beautiful lilac streaked curls, which makes him melt against me even more. “Along with my speech, they were your welcome to the pack gift.”

I stare at him in shock.

So, they weren’t proof that he’s a pampered Omega. The roses and chocolates were presents for me.

“You were bringing these gifts to give to me…?” I force myself to ask.

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