Page 7 of Absolute Devotion

This time when I come, the pleasure is incomparable to anything I’ve ever felt. I shout into Xylo’s mouth, the Beta’s tongue tangling with mine as Zahria continues her assault until I’m whining for reprieve.

She pulls back and sits up, a wild grin playing on her face, her eyes brighter than I’ve ever seen them. I try to catch my breath, still spread out across Xylo’s lap before I reach forward for Zahria. She moves closer and then I take her into a kiss of our own, tasting myself on her lips and chin. The euphoria of the moment fades away and with it the heat spike.

“It’s gone,” I whisper against her lips, mostly in shock. Wading through a heat alone, the spikes would last hours before I found relief.

Zahria sits back on her knees, her brows furrowed as she catches onto my meaning. She can read me like a book compared to Xylo and Bear and it can be daunting at times. “Nala, please tell me you haven’t been suffering alone. Please tell me that someone has been helping you through these.” I say nothing because I don’t want to lie to her.

I don’t want to lie to my Alpha.

I’m still wary of taking my patch off around them but for the first time, I have people in my corner. I also desperately need to apologize to Bear. Zahria chuckles as she pulls her phone from her pocket and hands it to me. “Call Bear like I know you want to and then we’ll rest. We can figure out everything else later butknow that you don’t have to do this alone anymore if you don’t want to.”

I twist around to catch Xylo’s response, the Beta dragging me into another kiss. “You’re not alone, love. Not anymore.”

Quickly dialing Bear’s number, I’m not surprised by his panicked voice on the other side. “How is she? Fuck, I did something wrong, didn’t I?”

“No, it wasn’t you.”

“Angel? Baby, I’m so sorry. Whatever I did—”

“It wasn’t you,” I repeat, hoping that he’ll take a breath. “I… it’s not you.” I want to explain to them about the academy. They deserve to know but I can’t seem to get the words out just yet. “I do want you, Bear. I want all of you but I thought I couldn’t have you.” I crawl off Xylo’s lap, grimacing at the mess I made on the bed and all over his pants.

My gaze moves farther up the bed to the sizeable bulge pressing against the zipper, the Beta reaching down to cup his cock in his hand and massage it. A year ago, I might have dashed from the room. Now, I’m wondering what it will feel like on my tongue or between my legs. If they won’t lunge… the possibilities are endless.

A moan tears from my throat and then I hiss in frustration at the inability to keep my thoughts to myself. “Ah, you’re having a little fun with them, aren’t you, angel? I’ll leave you to it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hangs up as I chuck the phone back at Zahria.

She opens her mouth to speak but I just shake my head. “Thank you for helping me but I don’t… we have to go slow.Reallyslow. I know what my body wants, okay? Hell, everyone can smell it and it terrifies me.” The anxiety starts to creep back in as I try to weather through the rest of my emotions and the post-heat spike haze.

Xylo and Zahria climb off the bed, stripping it of its sheets and finding blankets in the closet. Before I know it, I’m curled back up between them, my face pressed into Zahria’s chest and Xylo’s stuffed in the curve of my neck.

“Nala, we’re not asking you to do anything more than you’re comfortable but I don’t want you to be in pain. I don’t want to watch you suffer.” Zahria tugs me a little closer. “We’ll give you all the time you need to realize that you’re ours, Nala. That you have a pack of your own. That you have mates and you have a forever if you want it.”

A forever?

That’s never once crossed my mind.

“And if things change? If something happens and I’m different than you thought I was? If…”

Xylo’s purr rattles through his chest, vibrating through my entire body and cutting off my anxious thoughts. “Love, unless you tell us that you don’t want us, nothing changes. You’ve been mine since the first night I saw you, since the first night I caught your scent and saw that fierce smile as you stood up for your family.”

I decide to give the conversation a rest and close my eyes, soaking up the warmth they’re both giving.You’re mine too,I tell myself. One day, I’ll be brave enough to say it aloud.

six

ZAHRIA

Nala is asleep by the time we have to leave, her adorable snores making me want to call the chief and tell him he’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Unfortunately, closing this investigation is just as important as making sure our Omega is safe. Tonight was a step in the right direction, and I’ll fantasize about her taste on my lips until the moment I get to taste her again.

“You need help with that?” I joke, gesturing to the bulge Xylo is unsuccessfully trying to hide as my Beta struggles into a new pair of pants. He glares at me stepping out of the bathroom as I run a hand through my curls, trying to get them to behave. They never do but it was worth the few minutes of effort. I fix the straps on my bra, about to snatch the pants I left on the chair when the temperature in the room heats a few degrees. When his nostrils flare, Xylo stalking across the room, I know I've made a grave mistake. "Xylo, babe, we don't have time for—"

He chuckles, easily wrapping an arm around my back and hoisting me up against the wall. "We have 30 minutes which is enough time for me to fuck youandtake another shower. No, you don't get to back out of this now, Ria. Our Omega accepted us tonight while you tasted her. I can still smell her on your skin," he purrs, licking a stripe up my chin and over my lips. Xylo isn't always feral but adding the heat scent of our Omega definitely helps.

I shudder beneath his touch, quickly deciding that we need a way to release the pent-up energy before stepping into the precinct. Chief Hart isn't going to enjoy Xylo sporting a tent in his pants and my inability to keep from focusing on it. "'Mmm, shirt off, Beta. You don't have a lot of time."

A growl tears from his throat as he pins me against the hall and reaches behind him with one hand to tear his shirt over his head. The tattoos along his broad shoulders ripple with the movement as I eagerly wrap my lips around my bite on his chest. Xylo rocks against me, both of us finding shallow relief with Nala's lavender scent between us. It's going to be torture as she learns to trust us but if that means more moments with my Beta, I'll take it.

"I'm not going to be gentle, Ria. Fuck, some part of me just wants to bundle Nala up and drag her back here."

"You're not the only one, babe. Give me all that pent-up energy, alright?" I tap the edge of his chin, running my fingers through his soft beard as I wait for him to lean into his instincts. He's trying to hold back his emotions, to show that none of our circumstances bother him but I don't want that. "Xylo, let go. You know you won't break me."

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