Page 59 of Deadly Ties

He doesn’t wait for words I’m not sure will ever come, taking my shaft in his hand and licking the tip. It looks red and angry in the unfiltered light, more like a weapon than a tool of adoration. But Kelly seems to like what he sees, licking his way around the head as he cups my balls. I figured I was in for a quick suck and swallow, given our location, but all that fire burning under Kelly’s skin seems to have turned into a soft, hazy hunger. He’s stroking and squeezing me, while his tongue explores every inch, and I’m almost disappointed to see my knot start to swell. I could stay here all night – even with the alpha reek and the shitstorm upstairs – if he keeps working me over like this.

Groans and growls start slipping from my lips as he finally takes me all the way in, his mouth a perfect sucking heat. And then a loud sigh sounds in my ear.

“You know I can hear you, you lucky shit.” My eyes snap open at Rory’s voice, and I fumble for the power switch on the earpiece. Rory realizes his mistake in speaking up a second too late and starts to squawk, “Don’t turn me off!”

But I hit the button, right as Kelly sucks me down to my balls, one hand stroking my taint as the other twists my knot. Pleasure rips through me and I gasp, watching through hooded eyes as he swallows furiously, then pulls back to let my cum splatter his cheeks and chin. Damn. He wasn’t kidding about marking him.

“Delicious,” he purrs, one hand still stroking my knot as he rubs me into his skin. “And now I smell as good as you do.”

“Give me a minute and we’ll swap,” I tell him, my back wedged hard against the wall to stay upright.

But Kelly has a strange look on his face, and I feel something scratch the back of my mind. It’s faint, almost like a pressure pop in my ear, but I can tell it’s different for Kelly. He surges upright, dragging jackets from their hangers, and stares at me with wild eyes.

“What is it? Your heat? Are you feeling sick?”

“Arben,” he whispers. “He’s bitten Link.”

“What?”I shove my dick back in my pants, but Kelly is swaying and I grab his arms. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”

His throat clicks loudly, the words garbled as he replies, “Claimed him. For her pack.”

Shit. Arben is a wildcard. Ruthless, selfish, and controlling doesn’t even begin to cover it. Most would label him a sociopath. Lacking empathy, with little to no genuine remorse for his actions. Manipulation is as natural to him as breathing, and deceit is second nature.

As a spy inside Bisha’s network, this psychology makes sense. It’s unforgiving, dangerous, dirty work, and he’s been doing it his whole adult life. But there’s nothing cold-blooded about Arben Marku. Nothing unfeeling or detached. If anything, from the little I’ve seen, he struggles with his emotions, and he’s given everything to protect the Ferrier family. Which means he’s also dedicated, selfless, and heroic.

So what happens when you push someone like him too far? When you take away his sense of control and threaten the people he loves most in the world?

I click my earpiece back on to hear Rory screaming the answer. “Arben’s out, he’s wolf is calling the shots, and he’s taking no prisoners!” He makes a strangled sound. “Oh, shit!”

“What?”

But it’s Kelly who drops back to his knees, his spine jerking as he gazes up at me with silver eyes. “Call your pack,” he growls. “You will shift, and we will hunt.”

The words aren’t his. I get that much. Which means Arben is speaking through him, and like Rory said, calling the shots. And even I can hear a whisper of the command, even though I don’t have any real connection to him. He’s mated to Elvi, has bitten Link, and has a connection through him to Kelly. The loop closes with Rory, who’s mated to both omegas. Leaving me firmly on the outside.

Which might not be such a bad thing as Kelly shifts and throws himself against the cloakroom door. I manage to get it open as his beautiful red-gold wolf tears around the reception desk, his claws scratching at the marble foyer as he runs for the service elevator. I’m one step behind as he leaps through the open doors, turning just in time to see another wolf barrel through the door. My claws snap out, but I quickly scent Rory and shove myself back against the wall. His wolf shoots me a snarl, but when I punch the button for the doors, he stops glaring at me and rubs himself all over Kelly. The mated pair huff and yip as they catch up and I try not to roll my eyes at the public display of affection. It’s just plain old jealousy, after all.

I’m not sure where we’re headed, but Rory obviously had the sense to program the elevator before he went wolf. A moment later, the doors open and I stare out at what must be the penthouse floor. I’ve never been up here – when we were held in the Tower, we never got further than the entertainment floor – but I don’t need directions. I barely see the luxury furnishings as the wolves run ahead of me, leaping over coffee tables and zipping around club chairs as they follow a trail of carnage into the next room.

Blood, bullet holes, and bodies are scattered throughout the penthouse like gory breadcrumbs. I recognize a few of the senior togs - Bisha’s most loyal followers and biggest dirtbags – and don’t exactly shed a tear. But then I stumble across a whole new level of violence.

A metal door that could protect a tank has been ripped off its hinges and is lying in the hall. Huge claw marks are raked across the front; a testament to the kind of force used to pry it loose. I suck in a harsh breath, but Kelly and Rory are giving excited yips as they’re greeted by Link’s black wolf. He flicks me a glance, but then they all sit back on their haunches as I peer through the gap left by the door. The small space is outfitted with a control panel, leather couch, and mini fridge, but not much else. This has to be the penthouse’s panic room.

Although, from the stench in the air, we’re way beyond panic and well into terrified territory. Only this time it’s our tormentor who is all alone and backed up against the wall.

Bisha is a blubbering mess as he holds his hands up in front of him, trying to wave off whoever drove him into this state. A part of me catalogs it all, since it’s not often you see a psychopath brought so low, but then I feel a hot wind on my neck and the Head Alpha starts screaming. I spin around as a silver wolf pushes past me, her metallic eyes taking my measure as she runs her flank across my legs. I vaguely realize this is Elvi, but as Bisha’s screams become gurgles, I keep my gaze on the man-monster in her wake. Rory was underplaying it when he said Arben had gone wolf, because Doctor Death now looks like an eight-foot walking nightmare.

I have to crane my neck back to look at him. And then wish I hadn’t when he narrows his eyes at me. “You didn’t answer her call, wolfling.”

I have no idea how he can form words with all those teeth, but I don’t insult him by making excuses. “I’m not pack. Well, not her pack.” Because it’s clear Elvi is the one who called my brothers. Not something an omega is meant to be able to do to an alpha, but then, this isn’t an ordinary pack. Which makes my outsider status all that harder to take.

But as the sounds behind me finally die away, Arben looks me over, checking each wound like he’s replaying the fight with Kelly in his mind. And then he gives me a wild, wolfish smile. “Then let’s go home and fix that.”

Kelly

We stay in wolf form until we’re clear of the building and piling into the van Rory abandoned when he answered Angel’s call. No one criticizes him for leaving it unlocked in a busy street during rush hour; we’re too busy trying to pass ourselves off as a pack of wild dogs to the early-morning office workers. Shifting back so quickly, especially after a heat, zaps the last of my strength and I collapse across Angel’s lap. She looks like a bloody Valkyrie as she smiles down at me, her golden eyes still flashing with her wolf. I shiver and press my lips to her naked thigh. Sucking Cam off in the cloakroom filled my head with his alpha scent, but now I want to bury myself in my omega.

“This turns you on?” She asks quietly, running her fingers through my fucked-up hair. “You saw what I did to Bisha, didn’t you? Aren’t you grossed out?”

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