Page 29 of In Their Arms

17

Luther

I can’t get out of Detective Ward’s car fast enough. The second he pulls up to the curb, I’m reaching for the door handle, already stepping out before the car even fully stops. Ward leans across the passenger seat, his arm draped over the steering wheel, watching me like he knows exactly what’s about to happen. “Take it easy. Try not to get into any more trouble.”

I barely hear him. My fingers fumble with my keys as I move toward the private entrance of our condo. I had told Maceo not to tell me anything. I didn’t want updates. Didn’t want false hope until it was a sure thing that they were letting me out.

I let myself wallow in the uncertainty, let myself drown in the weight of my own failures, let myself believe that I deserved the pain of not knowing, of sitting in a jail cell while my family suffered. It felt like punishment, like atonement for not being here, for not protecting them. But now I need my family. And every second that I am not inside that house is killing me.

I push the door open, stepping into the apartment, and my stomach drops. The first thing that hits me is Blake’s scent. It’s thick with stress, with exhaustion, curling sharp against my instincts. The second thing that hits me is what’s missing.Luca.I can’t smell him.

My bond with him is silent, completely severed from me, like it’s been cut off. Blake’s bond is there but strained, fragile like a thread about to snap. Grayson’s is erratic, pulsing too fast, unsteady. My heart pounds, my throat tightening as I step deeper into the apartment searching for mates, searching for the explanation of what I’m currently feeling.

Grayson and Maceo are on the couch, Blake curled between them. He seems so much smaller than I remember, his face pale, his nose scrunched up in either pain or something else entirely. The moment the door shuts behind me, Grayson and Maceo turn around.

My little Alpha is the first to push up from the couch, followed closely by Maceo. In the next second, they’re wrapping their arms around me, encasing me in a hug I’ve so desperately needed. That cell was only supposed to be my home for a day, maybe two and it became where I slept for nearly a week. I bury my nose into Grayson’s neck, grumbling at the missing scent. It should be in here, coating Grayson and Maceo. It should be thick on my tongue but it’s not. It’s just… absent.

A whine tears my attention from them to the couch, Blake shifting against pillows and blankets as he sits up, his nostrils flared. I can sense that he’s smelling me before even realizing that I’m here. He rubs at his eyes, his brows furrowing, and then his scent spikes—a sweet, syrupy pear scent that goes straight to my cock.

And when his gaze locks onto me, it’s like the entire fucking world stops. His mouth parts, his fingers twitching against the blankets. And then, in the softest, most wrecked voice I’ve ever heard, he whispers, “Luther.”

I barely let go of Maceo and Grayson before Blake crashes into me. He’s shaking, his scent frantic and overwhelmed, clinging to my skin like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he lets go. His fingers clutch at my shirt, desperate, needy, trembling, tugging me closer, rubbing his nose into my shoulder, pressing deep against my scent gland. He’s scenting me so hard it nearly knocks me off balance, his breath sharp and uneven, little gasps breaking between his muffled sobs.

I hold him tight, pressing my nose to the top of his head, breathing him in. His scent is wrong, thinned out, strained from stress and exhaustion. “I’ve got you, love” I murmur, voice hoarse, my arms locking around him, pulling him in tighter. His body melts into mine, still trembling, still gripping, still needing more.

My instincts are riding me just as hard, my body burning with the need to reconnect, to find what’s missing. “Luca?” I finally ask.

Blake tenses in my arms, letting out a quiet whimper, his fingers gripping me tighter but he doesn’t answer my question. I already know it has something to do with Hudson but since Grayson and Maceo aren’t worried at the moment, I know that Luca is safe. Unfortunately, that’s not enough.

Maceo offers me a tight smile even as Blake starts rocking himself against my stomach, slick seeping through his shorts and into my shirt. I’m confused by his reaction since the suppressants usually tame this part of him. Then again, I’ve never been away this long. “Luther, it’s a complicated situation. The tension between us and Hudson got worse and they removed Luca completely. He’s at Hearthstone but…”

Blake lets out a broken cry against my neck. “I can’t feel him. They took him and now I can’t feel him.” He lets out another whine, his tongue then dragging up the side of my neck as his scent thickens, my cock responding.

I’m already moving toward Blake’s nest, laying him down in the middle of the pillows, my poor Omega’s face scrunched up in agony. He doesn’t just need me. This is a heat spike, one that he hasn’t had for almost three years. I talk as I strip him, needing to know what’s going on. “Why does he smell like he’s in heat? He’s on suppressants.”

“Not anymore,” Grayson offers. “We can talk later but basically it was either a heat or further complications. You know how he feels about a heat but this was our only option.”

I know what he’s getting at—that while my need to reconnect with Blake is riding me hard, I also need to be gentle because the spikes terrify my poor Omega. He hates losing control like this even as he’s scratching at my shirt. I can’t get it off fast enough, holding myself back as I shuck my pants and then lay on my back, pulling Blake on top of me, giving him the control he so desperately needs.

He’s barely got his leg swung over my thighs before he’s sliding down my cock, his slick hole easing the slide before he’s folding over my chest. “Alpha,” he whines. “Fuck, I need you.”

“You’ve got me love,” I purr, hoping he finds comfort in my embrace at this moment. Grayson and Maceo are looking on in adoration and love as Blake takes what he needs, rocking himself on my cock until he starts to slow, his body exhausted. I can’t imagine what kind of toll losing Luca has taken on him even as he whines for my knot. “I got you, Blake. Look at me, love. There you go. Just focus on me.” I cup his cheek in my hand, my other hand gripping his waist as I thrust up into him.

His eyes roll into the back of his head as I try to keep the same, slow rhythm, torturing us both until he’s spilling on my chest. I pump into his sweet little hole one last time before my knot starts to swell, locking us together, Blake sagging against me with relief. He’s already falling asleep, his lids halfway shut before he mumbles ‘kiss’. He’s absolutely adorable like this. I just have to make sure he feels safe.

I comply with his request, tasting him until a snore hits the air and I have to laugh as he goes completely limp.

I haven’t moved from this spot, even after my knot has gone down, except for sitting up. Blake is still firmly seated on my cock, curled into my chest, his breath coming in slow, uneven little exhales. He’s passed out, but it’s not the deep, restful sleep he needs—it’s exhaustion holding him under, keeping him down because he doesn’t have the energy to stay awake anymore. His scent wavers, flickering between something dangerously sweet and unripe, like his body is preparing for something it isn’t ready for.

He’s a day or two away from his heat, maybe less. And if we don’t get Luca back in time, it’s going to be impossible for Blake to draw any pleasure from it, to find any comfort in what should be one of the most intimate, grounding experiences for an Omega.

Grayson and Maceo gave me a brief overview of what’s happened since I was jailed, each bit of information they handed over making me angrier and angrier until I had to will myself to breathe so Blake wouldn’t wake up to the emotions I was shoving through the bond.

“And Hudson’s still calling,” Maceo adds. My gaze trails over to the Beta, not too far from Grayson. I’m still coming to terms with this man in my nest, a man I considered a family friend but never a mate. And in some ways, I don’t think he’ll ever be my mate the way he is for our Omegas or the way he is for Grayson but he’s definitely part of the pack. That much, I can agree to.

I shift Blake carefully against my chest, one hand sliding up to the back of his neck, my thumb pressing slow circles there. I keep my voice steady, even though the rage is curling through my chest. “We don’t need Hearthstone.” I meet Grayson’s gaze. “We go straight to the source.”

Grayson’s nostrils flare. “You’re saying—”

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