Page 16 of Deadly Ties

This could have been yours, fuckers…

Elvana

I’m prepared for the rude whispers, our host’s groping hands, and the stench of pumpkin spice and alpha musk choking the air.

But I’m not ready for this.

Seeing Rory and Cam is like a one-two punch to the gut. Somehow, I’d made them smaller in my mind. Peeled off a few of their glossy layers, softened some of their sharp edges, and leached a little color out of their striking eyes. Self-preservation had taken my feelings for them and stuffed them in the back of a mental drawer. But seeing them here in matching tuxedos, so beautiful it physically hurts not to walk into their arms, brings all my shame and anger straight back to the surface. My wolf lifts her head in a silent howl and my fingernails dig into Arben’s palm. The only thing that stops me from wolfing out is the fact they’re staring at my neck as if they’re the ones in pain.

“Elvi.”

“Little Angel…”

Just hearing their voices sends a shudder through me. But right as my knees start to buckle, a wave of warm comfort sweeps through our bond, drawing my gaze back to my mate. All I can see in the sharp planes of his face is love and acceptance. He doesn’t need to speak or use the bondlink to tell me he has my back. And that it’s my choice whether I talk to them, or sweep out of here without even acknowledging their existence.

But before I can decide, Rory steps forward, his eyes flicking between us. “We heard you were with Ferrier, but it’s pretty clear you two are bonded…” He swallows hard, his wolf gleaming in his eyes as they settle on Arben’s mating mark. “I’m happy for you. You guys deserve it...”

His voice is so upbeat, I can’t keep the snarl off my face. “Is that it? Because you could have just sent a card.”

His face falls, those leaf green eyes losing their wolf sheen. “Baby girl…”

“Only, you wouldn’t have known where to send it,” I go on, as if they’re not all choking on my hurt feelings. “And I wouldn’t have known who it was from, since you lied abouteverything, including your goddamnname!”

It’s only as the last word leaves my lips on a howl that I realize my finger is buried in his chest. It stirs the musky warmth beneath his pristine white shirt, and I’m suddenly reminded of exactly what kind of shifter Rory is. He might look like god’s gift to needy, stupid women, but there’s a scarily powerful wolf under his skin. One who peers down at me now, turning his voice to gravel and smoke. “I’ll do anything to make it up to you, Little Angel. Just tell me what to do.”

I huff out a frustrated breath, but it quickly turns to a snarl as he tries to grab my hand. When I jerk back against Arben, his big arms closing protectively over my body, it finally brings Cam away from the door. His hands are buried in his tuxedo pants and his shoulders knotted with tension, but he leans one of them into his brother’s back, a mirror of the support Arben is offering me. If it wasn’t for the hunger in his eyes, I’d think he was only here to back Rory’s play.

But he wants me.

They both want me.

And they both want what Arben and I have.

And just like that, I’m back in the hazy heat of the Red Poppy…

Arben is behind me, holding me on his haunches as I ride his knot, his big hands rolling my nipples until they’re throbbing against his palms. Rory is sprawled naked at his knees, his fingers digging into Arben’s thighs as his tongue lashes over my swollen clit. And Cam is standing over his brother, his hands on Arben’s shoulders as he thrusts his cock between my eager lips. We’re a heaving, aching mess, riding a wave of bliss that never ends. And that perfect pleasure is only heightened, because it’s all of us together. A pack I’ll defend to the death…

I slam back into myself, horrified to find my perfume is so thick, it’s pulling at them like needy hands. Rory staggers towards me, his fingers clawing over the beads on the sides of my dress. “Fuck. Please, Little Angel. Just come home with us. Let us show you what we were too fucking stupid to tell you.”

And then he’s nuzzling my neck, his teeth grazing my bond mark as Cam crowds in behind. Unlike his brother, he doesn’t go for my throat. Instead, Cam’s pale eyes burn into mine as he cups my chin. With that firm, steady pressure I remember so well, he tilts my head, opening my throat to his brother’s lashing tongue. I moan as Rory nibbles at the edges of the bond mark, his hands sliding along my spine. I know they must be touching Arben, their knuckles grazing his chest as they press me back against him. But my mate doesn’t push them away, or try to draw me back out of their reach. Instead, he keeps his arms loose across my breasts, his purr rumbling under my ear as he watches them explore the mark he stamped on my soul.

Watching.

And waiting…

Waiting for me to get my shit together and punch my stepmonsters in their lying mouths…

“No!” I hiss, pushing them both off me a moment before my wolf steps up and bares her teeth. Her anger ripples down my arms, silvery hairs sprouting along the surface. They’ve barely stumbled out of reach before her claws slide into place.

I expect them to freak out at the sight, but Rory’s eyes are wide with admiration. “Fuck, little wolf. A half-shift?”

I’m tempted to tell them a half-shift is nothing.My badass bitch can shift at will.

But they haven’t earned the right to talk to me, let alone learn my secrets. And my wolf is still rumbling in my chest, her glare a silver warning in my eyes.

“Time to go, princeshë?” Arben asks in my ear, his familiar scent washing over me and soothing my beast. “Your father must be wondering where we are.”

“Father?” Cam’s suddenly in attack mode, his muscles bunching under his jacket. “Bisha is here?”

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