Page 68 of Harley & Her Ferals

“No more testing medicines on yourself.” I wag my finger at him. He’ll ignore me. He’s had to self-teach himself everything. After the number of bones that he’s set and wounds he’s stitched, he’s not only a nurse. He’s more like a war medic. “Why are you growing poisonous flowers, Riv?”

“Herbs too,” he adds, helpfully.

“Why?”

He hesitates a moment too long, trying to look innocent.

Then he gives a dramatic shrug.

On him, the gesture is hot as hell.

Yet he’s using it to hide something.

I should never forget that River was once a powerful mafia heir in his own right.

One who has every reason to want revenge on my own pack.

“Riv,” I murmur, “you can’t let my sister find out what you’re growing.”

“I won’t.” River rests his head back on my lap. I run my hand through his silky curls. “Haven’t I been brilliant at being discrete so far, bella? In the right doses, poisons can be used to heal as well as to kill. Deadly things can protect too, can’t you see that?”

When his gaze, unexpectedly hard and clear, flicks up to meet mine, my breath catches.

I nod.

River licks his plush lips.

I can’t look away from this breathtaking Beta who is kneeling in front of me, as my hand is buried in his hair.

All of a sudden, it’s like I’m petting a panther and not a tame cat.

“Mamma would tell me which flowers were safe to touch and which were dangerous, when we hiked together in the mountains.” River’s Italian accent has become thicker. My breathing speeds up. I hold myself still, not wanting to break the spell that seems to have settled on River. In all these years, he hasn’t spoken about his parents. This is important and precious that he feels able to open up now. “We both loved nature. I miss it, being out in the fresh air of Mount Etna. Sicily’s countryside is beautiful. I miss…everything. The beaches, the blue ocean, andthe sun. The festivals and carnivals. Eating fresh swordfish with Papa. Being treated to delicious gelato that smells like you. The friendly packs who never raised their hand to their kids. A slow paced life, where nothing was run onschedules.I miss my family.”

“Riv.” I tug River’s head up by his hair, until our gazes meet. “How can I help?”

“You already do every day.” River’s expression is open and vulnerable. “Accept the red tulip on your pillow. Believe that I’m your Beta soulmate. They exist in Sicily. It tears up my soul not to be in a pack. It means everything in Italy to belong to one. You live with your family, until you match with a pack. No one lives alone like this. I can bear to be your secret Beta, if I know that Fer and you love me as much as you love each other.”

My heart breaks. “We do. If we could claim you publicly right now, then we would.We fucking would.Fer struggles to allow you to leave each morning. You know how possessive he is — of you as well. We need you just as much. Iwillfind a way to still become heir. And I will claim you as our pack.”

River turns his head, kissing high on my thigh enough to make my core throb. “Let meshow youhow much I love you.”

Red tinges my cheeks.

River is a virgin.

Intimacy is new to River, whereas Feral and I have already started to explore.

I want to teach River, however, that being a Beta on his knees isn’t always a bad thing.

It isn’t a bad thing with this Omega.

River kisses me again as lightly as a butterfly’s wings. “Teach me how to pleasure you, bella.”

My eyes darken. “How about you use your pretty, clever tongue between my thighs?”

I need to check in because this is a first for him.

By the way that River’s pupils dilate, and his citrus lemon scent becomes stronger, he’s turned on by the idea.

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