Page 106 of Talk About… Rivalry

Then I was moving, shoving past the others to scoop her off the bed where she was frozen, curled on her side and staring at us like a deer in the headlights.

“Sidney,” I said her name, holding her tight and burying my nose in her neck. My body was wrapped around her, curled in to shield her from the world, and unintentionally, her other mates.

“Maverick,” she sobbed. “You have a scent.”

Her cries tore me open. My eyes burning with unshed tears on her behalf. My poor, sweet omega was so alone and hurting so deeply, yet hid it all. Now here she was falling apart but the difference was, I…no, we...were here to hold her together.

“So do you, sweetheart. Smells like home.”

“You do, too,” she sobbed again. “I’m not broken.”

“You never were, Sidney,” I reminded her. “And you were always mine.”

The others moved closer and I knew I couldn’t keep her to myself this time. It took everything in me to pass her off to her other alpha, but I knew she needed him, too.

“There she is,” Bennett soothed, holding her just as tightly as I did. Taylor reached for her as if he couldn’t hold back any longer.

“We told you that we were yours, Sidney. I wish you would have trusted us,” he said gently.

She let out a shaky breath. “I know, I’m so fucking sorry. I had a dream and it mixed with heat hormones and I just… ran.”

“You scared us. We tore this town apart looking for you,” I told her.

She blinked over at me. “Really?”

Even now she wasn’t sure how to believe that anyone was going to take care of her, watch out for her, and love her like we did.

“We’ll always find you, angel,” Bennett vowed.

“Just talk to us,” Taylor begged. His own voice was laced in emotion and I wasn’t even surprised when he let out a soft sob. Sidney moved out of Bennett’s arms to pull her omega in close, hands running up and down his back as she soothed him this time.

“I will, I promise,” she said, kissing his cheek and holding him tight. I expected to feel jealous or possessive, but I could only feel content seeing them together. I guess all that fell away when it came to pack. Perhaps that was why Leo and I hadn’t killed each other already.

Then she let out a breathy groan that had her scent swelling in the air and my cock thickening as I breathed it in.

“Tell us what you need, Sidney.”

Sidney

“You,” I begged as fog threatened to pull me under. My skin was so hot that I wanted to pull these itchy clothes off my body. Need pulsed between my thighs and a fresh wave of slick slid down my legs.

“You have us,” Bennett promised. “Anything we should know or avoid? Or do you want us all in every capacity?”

“Give me everything,” I begged.

“What about bites?” Maverick asked, voice low and careful, bracing himself for my answer.

We were mates. I had no doubts in my mind now. Just as Dr. Graves predicted, my body just needed my mates to start working properly. I knew now that they were mine.

“Only if you promise not to break my heart afterwards,” I said. Even though my voice was quiet, barely over a hoarse whisper, they heard.

“Never,” Taylor promised. “I’ll protect your heart with my life, sunshine.”

“And I’ll protect yours,” I promised back, a fresh tear tracking down my cheek before I gasped, back arching on the bed and cheeks flushing as another surge of heat hit me.

I had no ‘normal’ to compare this to, but it felt so intense it stole my breath and my mind.

Taylor’s scent was swirling around me, pure sunshine and summer, earthy, sweet, and fresh.

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