Page 38 of In Their Arms

Maceo lets out a groan as he wraps an arm around my stomach. “Genius, he will be in here in a few seconds, but I guarantee if you rip yourself off my knot, it’s not going to be as pleasurable as you think it is.”

I’m still wriggling, my gaze firmly focused on the door, a wide grin spreading across my lips as the door opens and Luca comes barreling through it. He doesn’t even care that I’m naked as he throws himself at me, both of us attacking each other’s lips, shedding tears as we hold each other. “Cupcake, I thought I lost you,” I whisper against his lips, sucking the bottom one between my teeth.

“I was always going to come back to you, Bear.” He’s all but wrapped around me, dragging his cheek against mine, gathering my scent and giving me his. It’s like Christmas and my birthday all wrapped up in one that I almost don’t notice the bandage on his neck. “I’m good. All good. I’m not his anymore.”

And if that isn’t the best fucking news in the world, I don’t know what is.

24

Maceo

It’s been several hours since Luca’s been home, none of us saying much as we attend to Blake’s increasing heat spikes. He’s still not there, in that needy haze yet, even with the bite I just gave him. I’m not sure if he’s trying to hold back or if his body is still waiting to settle. Either way, I’m enjoying the way he shudders on Luther’s knot every time I reach over and massage his ear. He keeps shooting me dirty looks before returning to those sloppy kisses he’s been giving Luca all evening.

Blake is barely awake but Luca is relentless, licking the inside of his mouth, his hands firmly seated in Blake’s hair as he straddles Luther’s thighs. It’s a beautiful image, both of them on top of Luther as they take their pleasure, Blake letting out a little grunt as he comes for what has to be the fiftieth time but it’s the way Luca starts rocking himself forward, his body shuddering as he comes as well.

The heady mixture of scents is too much for me to take as I reach forward to grab Luca and drag him onto my lap. Blake’s a little paler than he was this morning and the last thing we need is him passing out during a time he’s already a little terrified. “Give him a moment to breathe,” I murmur, amusement threading through my voice. Luca sighs, curling against my chest, burying himself beneath my chin. His arms slip around my waist, his breath evening out almost instantly as his body melts into mine. I start up a soft purr, the sound vibrating through my chest, and within seconds, he’s out.

Silence stretches between us as we finally have a moment to relax, our Omegas sated and asleep but that’s when reality decides to rear its ugly head, Luther taking charge of the moment. “Luca mentioned that once he found out Hudson was going to Hearthstone, he left and underwent a bite removal because he didn’t see any way out.”

I frown, fingers tightening against Luca’s back, pulling him closer as my gaze drops to the bandage on his neck. “Was Hearthstone that bad?”

“Worse. It’s nothing like it’s advertised. It’s a horrid place where Omegas are ‘rehomed.’”

Rehomed. Like they’re pets. Like they’re property to be handed off to someone else.

I look down at the Omega in my arms, pressing a soft kiss to his temple. He doesn’t stir, just burrows deeper into me, his body fitting against mine like he belongs there. My hand drifts up, fingers combing through his hair, feeling the steady pulse beneath my touch. That’s when I catch something strange about his scent. My frown deepens. I glance at Luther, then at Grayson, then back at Luther.

Luther is already grinning. “It seems,” he says, voice thick with amusement, “that one of our Omegas is carrying a special bundle.”

My heart stops.

I look down at Luca again, my fingers pressing into his scent gland, breathing him in. And now that I’m paying attention, it’s obvious. The shift in his scent, the extra weight in the air, the subtle change in the way he clings to us.

Luca is pregnant. He wouldn’t be very far along, which means… it might be Hudson’s. The thought alone makes my stomach twist. I force my breathing to remain steady, fingers brushing through Luca’s hair. No one says it out loud, but we’re all thinking it.

Luther nods as he leans back a little, pulling Blake with him. Blake stirs, his face pressing against Luther’s chest, a soft, content sound slipping past his lips before he settles again. It’s a tiny piece of peace in the middle of all this chaos, something that reminds me what we’re fighting for.

“We just have to hope that’s not what happens,” Luther finally pushes out. “That it’s one of ours. Regardless, this is going to drag Hudson right back into all of this shit. Luca’s required to have a full checkup so that the police can assess the charges. They’ll require a DNA test based on the current open investigation into Hudson’s abuse and my involvement during Luca’s heat. And then it’s just a waiting game.”

I don’t know how to respond to that. I’m tethered to this pack, not just because of Luther’s approval but because my bite is now on Blake, something we haven’t addressed and I’m not sure we will. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that I had enough Alpha in me to do that. Which means that I might not be a Beta after all… but not an Alpha either.

“For now,” Luther cuts into my thoughts, “we focus on the men in this room and no one else.” His eyes meet mine, then Grayson’s. “The world can wait while we heal.”

The world will still be there when we’re ready to face it. But right now, our pack comes first.

25

Luca

The last few days have been wonderfully exhausting, a blur of warmth, sweat, tangled limbs, and soft, breathless laughter between the moments of intensity. Blake’s heat had pulled us all together in my nest no less, binding us even tighter, cementing what we already knew—we belong to each other.

Now, I’ve got two new bites to show for it. One on my lip, a mark from Grayson that I catch every time I touch my tongue to it. The other sits on my shoulder, Maceo’s teeth having sunk in slow, like he wanted me to feel every second of it. It was a wonder to me that he could even bite me, that it would stick but we’re all connected now. I can feeleverythingand it’s a glorious thing.

Because it doesn’t involve Hudson in the slightest. It’s just us five, tangled and stressed out in Blake’s nest, Blake passed out and a little pale. There were a few moments I thought he was going to pass out but then one of our Alphas or Maceo would bring him back to reality, all of us working together to make it the most pleasurable experience he had ever had. The sweet smile on his lips as I left the nest this morning for a shower tells me he enjoyed it, that it wasn’t as terrifying as the last one, and that maybe, just maybe he’ll let himself have another one.

But now reality is creeping in as I run a towel through my hair after stepping out of the shower, the steam rolling behind me, my body still humming with the echoes of the last few days. Because now, I have to go back to the hospital. Have to let them poke and prod, inspect the bite removal, gather their reports, tell me more about the life I’m growing inside of me. I’ll have to sit there and listen as they tell me what I’ve officially been charged with.

The thought makes my stomach twist, but I shove it down. I won’t let it ruin this. Not yet.

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