Page 23 of Feral: Part One

Preston steps closer, his hands resting on my hips, our bellies brushing again. “We’re bonded now. Tell me I’m lying.”

He’s not and that terrifies me too, that someone could want me so much and that it could all be taken away from me just as easily. Kael made it very clear that I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near Preston and for the first time when I want something,someone, it’s the one thing I’m not supposed to have.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” I whisper.

Preston’s fingers trace my jaw, the Omega leaving pheromones in his wake. “I’ve wanted to meet you since my Alphas came back to the house and stuck you in the pool house. Icaught your scent on Thane yesterday and just needed you. And now? Now I have you. Now, I’m going to taste you.”

Before I can respond, he drops to his knees, the water pooling around him. Without warning, his lips close around my cock, taking me deep, drawing a gasp from me as my hands fist in his hair. The heat of his mouth is overwhelming, pulling me out of my head, away from the fear and confusion. My body responds as my hips buck forward to chase the sensation and I hate how much I need this, how much I need him.

Slick pools around my hole, the reminder that I’m without an Alpha to truly pleasure just around the corner. But for now, Preston is enough.

“Preston,” I moan his name again. My knees shake, the tiles cold against my back, but his touch keeps me grounded. I’m not used to this—someone wanting me, not just using me. The bond tells me he’s mine, just like he says I’m his, and it’s too much, too fast.

“Relax, sweetie,” he murmurs, his hand stroking my thigh. “Let me take care of you.” His fingers dig into my thigh, the other hand sleeping between my legs to play with my hole. My breath catches in my throat when he slips the first finger in. The only thing I can do is give in, my grip on his hair tightening as I come with a cry, my body shaking with the intensity.

Preston pulls back, his face flushed, lips glistening with my release. I look down, ready to apologize, but his eyes are wide, staring up at me. “Sweetie, you have a knot,” he says, his voice almost reverent.

“What are you talking about?”

He grins, his hand brushing my thigh, the other trailing the length of my cock. “You almost knotted my mouth. How do you have a knot?”

My hand moves lower, past the swell of my belly, fingers brushing my length alongside his touch before I find the baseof my cock. Preston guides me to the tip and that’s where I feel a bulbous swell, sensitive enough that I come again right there and then. My knees buckle beneath me as I sag to the floor. “What is happening to me? Am I not an Omega?” Alphas have knots. Omegas have heats and slick.

Somehow, I have both but my knot is not where it’s supposed to be. Preston crawls closer until he’s beside me and places a soft hand on my arm. “You’re definitely an Omega, sweetie, but the knot… I think I’m going to have fun with that.”

He reaches forward, his fingers brushing the swollen tip, and I squirm, a moan tearing from my throat. “Oh my god, it’s so sensitive,” I say, my body trembling under his touch. That wasn’t even thereyesterday.I don’t know what’s happening.

Preston’s grin widens, his eyes sparkling with mischief, any further shenanigans interrupted as a loud knock echoes through the door, followed by muffled yelling. Preston laughs and helps me to my feet before shutting off the water. “I’m going to play with that later,” he teases. “I don’t know what it is, but I love it. And I love this.”

He leans down to press a soft kiss to my belly, his lips warm against the swell. My breath catches in my throat, the bond humming with his affection. “I think I’m going to love you too,” he murmurs.

And then he kisses me. It’s slow and gentle, but it’s definitely a claiming as I lean into his touch again. Once that bathroom door opens, I’m not sure Preston will be able to keep his promises. I’m not mad but I’m also not dumb enough to hope for what isn’t mine.

The door rattles again, Thane’s voice sharper now. “Preston, open the damn door!”

Preston pulls back, a playful grin playing on his lips. “Hold on, Thane!” He turns to me, his hand cupping my cheek. “You’remine, Slate. Okay? I don’t care what they say but they aren’t taking you from me. Don’t forget it.”

I don’t have any words so I just stay quiet, Preston once again taking charge to dry me off while my mind runs wild. None of these changes make any sense and knowing that I’m not just feral buta feral, a designation that no one talks about, that isn’t as common as the others… I’m just really, really,reallyconfused.

Preston finally unlocks the door after he pulls clean clothes from one of the bathroom cabinets, Thane glaring at him and then at me before dragging Preston against him. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Perfectly fine and you worry too much. It’s time to eat. You can berate me over food. Remember I’m eating for three and I’m no fun when I’m hangry.” Thane opens his mouth to say something but Preston just hums, cutting him off. “Alpha, no. Not here. He knows the rules you set forth for him and I broke them. Now, we’re going to eat or I’m cutting you out of the nest for a week.”

Thane doesn’t argue this time but he does steal Preston from me, walking between us toward the kitchen. I can’t decide if they’ll be angrier that I was with Preston all night or the fact that I’m pregnant.

Slate

They’re all staring at me, more specifically the fact that Preston’s clothes are just a little too tight, specifically around my belly. Shame colors my cheeks as I stand in front of them, Preston rushing over to leave a kiss on my cheek before planting himself in Kael’s lap. The Alpha wrangles him into a rough, possessive kiss before glaring at me again.

Malik seems rather intrigued and Thane just takes a seat on the other side of the table, the mass spread of eggs, bacon, and something similar to orange juice not appetizing at the moment. Even through the tension, there’s a soft edge to their looks, as if the bond has biologically changed their convictions. But I don’t want that. I don’t want pity. I don’t want biology to drag us together and make us love each other.

If I’m going to have anything, I want it to bereal.

Thane just waves me over. “Come here, trouble.”

I don’t move, my feet rooted to the floor. I know he needs to nurse my bite, that the Alpha needs me in his lap to sate his biological need but I also don’t want to move from the safety of my spot right here. Away from them. Kael’s eyes flash with anger, his power rumbling through the bond as his Alpha bark rips through the room, a command I can’t ignore. “Now, Slate.”

I answer him with a defiant growl even as my body obeys, moving toward Thane. I park my ass in his lap, his lips brushing the sensitive skin. It’s not lost on me that Kael has been the only Alpha whose bark has worked on me but the pleasure flooding my system makes it hard to think about anything else.

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