Page 31 of The Alpha: Part One
She pulls her lip between her teeth and closes her eyes before she answers. "The nest is wrong. He won't come in because it's wrong. He doesn't like it."
"No, baby. Michael loves—" I stop talking, too many thoughts coming at me too fast. It's Seth. She wants Seth in her nest. She wants him to be our third,reallywants it. Wants him, wants him, enough to make a nest that will accommodate him being with us. Holy shit.
I roll us over, arranging us so that she's laying on her side in front of me, and purr into her ear. "You're not talking about Michael, are you, baby? You made this nest for Seth, didn't you?"
She makes a small sound in her throat and nods. "But he doesn't like it."
How can I explain to her that something is going on with him that has nothing to do with her? Outside of all this, she'd be perfectly, rationally understandable, but right now all she feels is rejection. If I let myself think hard enough about it, I'm feeling a little bit rejected myself, but not by her. The best thing I can do for either of us right now is distract us from that and focus us on her. Seth is likely to hear every word I'm about to say, and I don't care. I can't take Desie feeling like someone doesn't want her when it's so far from the truth.
"He's watching over us right now, baby," I say just behind her ear, reaching around to cup her breast and run my thumb over her nipple. "He's sitting by the door to make sure we're safe. He'd love this nest as much as me and Michael do if he saw it. He's just staying away so he can take care of us. That's what you need, isn't it? For him to take care of you?"
She grinds her ass against me and makes that little sound again, so I keep going, laying it on thick.
"That's what he's doing. Me and Michael are taking care of your body, keeping you full of us, and Seth is standing guard, keeping us safe. That's what a good alpha is supposed to do, isn't it? Take care of his pack?"
She groans, arching her back. "Yes," she hisses between clenched teeth. Her sugary mint scent grows heavier, and she releases more slick, making it easier for me to slide my cock between her thighs.
I grip her hip and pull her against me, thrusting against her so that the head of my dick and part of my length strokes over her clit over and over. "That's what Seth is doing," I don't miss the way her hips snap when I say his name. "He's being a good alpha for you while I take care of you." I don't even care. I have no idea what Seth is actually out there doing, but I can talk shit about what I wish he was doing all day if it makes Desie feel better. "He'll see your nest later, we'll get him to come look at it when you're resting. He'll want to check on you," I purr, moving my hand to the back of her knee to lift her thigh, spreading her apart.
"He will?" she sighs, reaching back to touch my jaw. Then she cries out when I push inside her as deep as I can get.
"Yes," I growl. "He'll want to check on you. He'll want to know that you're okay, and that me and Michael are doing what we're supposed to do. Seth needs to know that you're being taken good care of." Fuck, I hope at least half of what I'm saying is true. The more shit I talk, the more I want it to be true. Seth would be standing guard right now if he was our third. He'd be watching over us. Michael and I could do what we've always wanted to do. We could really, truly let ourselves go. We could take care of her the way we're meant to.
Desie arches deeper, grinding her ass against me, throwing back her head, subconsciously offering me her neck, making my mouth actually water for the feel of her between my teeth. "Please," she breathes, "please, Benny."
I fuck her harder, deeper, feeling my swelling knot fight against her entrance with every thrust. "Fuck, Desie. You feel so fucking good. I love you so much, baby. We're going to be okay. I've got you. We've got you. We'll take care of you."
"Seth, too?" she asks. I pause, waiting for the discomfort of hearing his name in her mouth while my cock is inside her, but it never comes.
Okay. Alright. It feels right to hear her say his name with such want. It feels right to talk about him being with us. It feels good. Okay. "Yes. If you want him. Yes," I tell her, firmly nailing the lid on our collective coffin.
She grips the back of my head, trying to pull my mouth into the place where her neck meets her shoulder. "Please, Benny. Please."
I could do it. I could sink my teeth into her right now. I could mark her. I could claim her at this very moment.
I open my mouth, swirling my tongue over her flushed skin, and she moans, long and loud. I fuck into her harder, forcing my knot into her tightness. "He feels right, doesn't he?" I say against her neck, asking for myself more than her. She turns her head just a little farther, giving me even more access. "Fuck," my voice is barely above a growl now. I could do it. It would be the most normal and natural thing in the world to put my mark on her.
Michael steps back inside the room, letting in a small draft of Seth's metallic gun oil scent, and that's the last trigger I need. I'm so tired of fighting it. So tired of pushing my need away. I'm so tired of feeling incomplete. I set my teeth into Desie's flesh and hold her still when she jerks against me as we both cum, my knot keeping every bit of it inside her.
Michael stares into my eyes, his own wide with shock. I can't give him anything right now, not with Desie flowing into the bond I just created with her. I'm going to drown in her. I want to be full of her. Everything she's feeling comes pouring into me in a magnificent rush, leaving me to float on waves of emotion. Need is heavy in the current, but so is joy, relief, worry, contentment, love. She tells me she loves me, but to actually feel it is breathtaking.
After long minutes, I release my jaws. I probably held the bite for too long, but I couldn't bring myself to let go. I lick the wound I made on her neck and look deep into my brother's startled expression while Desie cuddles into me as her sleep deepens. As soon as I'm able to actually speak, I say softly against her hair. "You'll mark her when she wakes up. I'm tired of waiting."
What else can he do? If I mark her, he marks her. Both of us or neither of us.
He nods, but he says even quieter that I spoke, "Seth isn't alright. There's something wrong with him. It looks like he's been trying to rip his ears off. It was a mistake to ask him to come here."
"No, it wasn't," I tell him. "He'll be alright. We'll make him alright. Did he take the water and stuff?"
Michael sighs. "He did, but it was hard to get him to drink it. He was soaked in sweat but freezing cold. I put Mom's blanket around him. He won't move from the chair by the door. He says he's good, but he doesn't look good. He's still watching, but he's not okay."
That's not anything we can fix right now. Desie is our priority. Seth's too, obviously, even though he's going through something. The fact that he's still vigilantly standing guard despite his troubles just further cements the idea that he's the right one for us. "We'll keep checking on him. Come lay in front of her. You need to mark her as soon as she wakes up. I can't wait for you to feel it. I never imagined it would feel like this."
Michael takes off his jeans and stretches out along the front of her body, caging her between us like we've done since we were kids. Not every time, but most times, it makes me remember the first time we did it. Desie was six or seven, we were ten, maybe eleven, and Rafe was fourteen or fifteen. A bunch of older guys came out of nowhere, trying to snatch kids from the park. Rafe, Benny, and I were already a solid pack, even back then, and when we saw Desie standing there in front of the swings crying, screaming for her brother, something just clicked. We ran for her and took her under one of the wooden play structures on the playground. Rafe told us to hold her, so we both did. We put her between us, tears, snot, and all. We made a shelter for her with our bodies while Rafe picked up the biggest stick he could find and stood in front of us. This feels the same. It's okay that Seth is going through something, we'll figure it out. He's the piece we've been missing.
My knot finally goes down, and I feel Desie wake before she ever opens her eyes or makes a sound. "Hey, baby. You feel okay?"
She stretches, rubbing her feet against my shins. "I feel wonderful. I can feel you."
