Page 84 of The Queen

I groaned around Lex’s knot, and it throbbed in response. My jaw was deliciously sore when Lex gently pulled himself from my mouth. I gasped a lungful of hot moist air, trembling and wanting.

My skin was on fire. Steam and sweat shimmered like a slick sheen over all of us. I whined and my pussy clenched over Shadow’s knot, still buried deep. I shuddered and almost fell, but he caught me and wrapped me in his strong arms.

“You did so good taking my knot,” he murmured against my damp hair. Holding me close to his body, he arranged me on his lap in the water.

Lex lowered himself next to us, resting against Shadow and tangling his legs with mine. My belly fluttered and clenched, gripping onto Shadow’s knot. I wasn’t done. I wanted more.

From the edge of the trees, Grey and Ghost emerged at a decent clip. Their eyes found me in seconds, panting and sweaty, between the two alphas. As soon as I saw them, I needed them. I was desperate even while still stuffed full of an alpha’s knot.

“Good thing we got extra.” Ghost grinned, holding up a sack of what I could only assume were the berries they’d left to gather.

My pulse picked up, beating like frantic butterfly wings pounding in my throat. A needy moan clawed from my lungs. Not for the food, I didn’t care about the food. I only wanted the lips that had spoken the words.

They were too far away, and I whined, pulling against Shadow’s hold with no regard for the fact his knot was still locked tight inside me.

Shadow’s arm banded around my waist before I could crawl across the spring, dragging him along with me. Because that’s what my instincts were telling me to do. I needed to get to them.

Grey hurried to me, skirting the water’s edge, eyeing the sweat covered, naked alphas warily as if he thought they might ravage him too. They didn’t even tense, finally welcoming him as part of us and accepting his place at my side and not as an outsider.

A tiny purr stuttered in my chest, and I reached out to Grey.

Shadow held me tight, stroking my slick skin so I couldn’t wiggle free. His lips tracked across my shoulder and neck. “Hold on, greedy little omega.” He nuzzled against me, picking up a soft purr to mirror my own. Not missing a beat, even when Grey pressed his fingers to the fluttering pulse in my throat and then my wrist.

Ghost was still too far away for my liking, but Grey was here now. That settled my desperation. For now.

The hum of their voices faded to white noise, blending into the sounds of insects and wind in the trees. I slipped my fingers into the top of Grey’s waistband and unfastened his trousers.

His hands closed over mine gently, stopping me from getting what I was after. I whimpered and fought against the arms that held me, but the bands only tightened.

Excitement rose through the bond from Grey, but there was a hesitance as well.

Grey cast a long suffering glance at the sky that was still flickering with rainbow flashes and took a deep breath.

His words broke through the haze, and I heard him say, “I don’t know what you were doing while we were gone, although I can imagine, but you pushed her into heat.”

“Well, fuck.” Shadow didn’t sound all that mad about it.

Lex breathed out half a chuckle. “Fuck, indeed.”

Ghost grinned. “Fuck, yeah.”

Chapter Fifty-Three

Greylan

“Fuck is right,” I muttered, dragging my fingers through my windswept brown hair. “I’m not terribly surprised, but the timing could have been more convenient.”

Saphyra was radiant, surrounded by mist in the glow of the moon. Her honey scent drifted in the warm moist air, clouding my thoughts.

But what were we going to do?

As much as I wanted to give myself over to the flood of lust pounding through our bond, we couldn’t hide in the woods indefinitely. Not with the Imperatrix looking for us, and not long enough to ride out a full week-long heat cycle.

This was not ideal.

When the Imperatrix’s troops didn’t locate the Queen at the hunting lodge, or at the old capital, it wouldn’t take them much time to turn their attention to the forest. There wasn’t a spare shuttle lying around or any other way off planet. They would know we were somewhere nearby. This was going to be a problem, and soon.

“I’m hoping someone has a plan. Any suggestions would be helpful.” My eyes scanned the darkness for an answer I knew wasn’t there.

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