Page 7 of Deadly Ties

Arben doesn’t hesitate to shift as well.

“Princeshë!” He breathes, his eyes bright as he takes me in. “You shifted on your own!”

“Seems my wolf is a bit of a badass.” I don’t try to hide the pride in my voice, but it quickly gives way to darker emotions. Hurt. Shame. Anger. Embarrassment. They beat at my throbbing head like fists, and I know Arben can sense them all. “Maybe all this shit got too much for her. I can’t blame her for wanted to escape me.”

The truth is, I’m screwed-up. The people I can trust don’t even fill one hand, but I keep trying. I keep looking for a place to land and people to love. “I thought I was cursed being Bisha’s baby. A weak omega who had to hide away from the world. But the real curse is how much I love you, and how hard I want you to love me back. And that sucks for you, because things have to change. I have to be stronger for my wolf. So if you just want me because I’m a good little omega, you need to end it now. Because I don’t see how we can give you up unless you push us away.”

Arben freezes, every muscle in his body tensing until he blends with the shadows. But then he drops to his haunches, his hands planted on the ground like it’s the only thing holding him up. When he speaks, his voice is a ragged whisper. “Love isn’t a curse, princeshë. It’s a knife. It slips between your ribs and carves out your heart, even if it’s black and broken. Between one breath and the next, love steals it away, leaving you staring across a crowded room at a young angel who doesn’t even know you exist. And who certainly deserves better than a devil with blood on his hands.”

I cross to him, my claws retracting so I can stop right at his knees. He tilts his head back and I trace the bite mark on his throat, shivering at the heat under his skin. I chewed him up bad, and even though it’s not a claiming bite, it feels that way under my fingers. “You’re not a devil, Arben. And you’re not heartless. I might have stolen yours, but you’ve had mine for nearly as long.”

He presses his mouth against my palm, so I can feel his long, aching sigh. It feels like a prayer, a vow, and it’s enough to lower me to my knees so I can nuzzle his throat. “I don’t need the full moon, or a ceremony, Arben. I just need your bond.”

I turn at the hips, ready to present for him in an omega pose, but he stops me. Lifting me onto his thighs, he peels me open, a thick finger opening my folds like he’s unwrapping a precious gift. I bite my lip, my entire body tense as he replaces his finger with the head of his cock, but doesn’t push forward. “You must know… this is forever, princeshë.”

I smirk at him, my perfume lifting on the air as I wiggle impatiently on his lap. “And you say that like it’s a threat.” I lean in and press a soft kiss to his strained mouth. “Take me, Arben. Bite me and bond me. I want you to be mine.”

He nods and presses forward, both with his cock and his fangs. He’s big all over, his bite covering my scent gland and then some. And while the pain at my throat is deep and sharp, my mind is distracted by the powerful thrust of his hips. I jerk down, slick enough to feel pleasure twist my spine as I take him to the hilt. But even as I gasp at the dual invasion, he presses his wrist to my lips. “Bite me and bond me, Elvana. I want you to be mine.”

My wolf sings. There’s no other word for the joy twisting through me as this beautiful man offers us his heart. So I sink my fangs into his hard flesh, taking his flesh and blood for us both. And then the bond snaps tight, as perfect as the release that tips me over the edge and shakes me to the core.

Rory

Waking from whatever crap Link drugged us with is up there with one of the worst mornings of my life. My eyes feel like they’re crusted over with a week’s load of old cum and my mouth is so dry, I actually think about crawling down to the lake and drinking until my stomach bursts. But feeling physically wrecked has nothing on the sharp, burning pain in my chest. Because…fuck. Link might be a psychotic asshole, but he’s a planner. And if he’s back here sitting in that stupid egg swing he bought for Kelly, then something must have gone wrong. Especially because his head is in his hands, and there’s not an omega in sight.

“You goddamn fucking lunatic!”

But it’s only as I roll onto my hands and knees, my stomach backflipping at the abuse, that I realize I’m not the only one ready to tear him to shreds. There’s a massive sandy-brown wolf crouched in front of Link, a murderous snarl revealing three-inch fangs.

“Cam,” I say cautiously, even as my own wolf pushes at the surface of my skin. “How you doin’, buddy?”

Cam’s wolf doesn’t even glance my way. He just crouches lower, his hackles rising, the muscles of his back quivering as a deadly growl rips through his body.

I shoot the asshole in the egg a disbelieving glance. Is he even aware how close he is to getting his throat torn out? “You better start talking, Link. Either that or shift your stupid ass, because Cam’s looking a little feral right now.”

Which just makes Cam’s wolf growl that much louder. But it also makes Link look up, and I see that his lip is split, the skin around his mouth starting to bruise. But it’s the devastation in his eyes that claws at my heart. Fuck. He wouldn’t look that way at a little setback. Whatever he’s done, it’s going to hurt like hell. “Where is she, Link?”

My stomach clenches tighter at the heavy pause, but then he growls, “Where is she?She?Is that all you care about, Rory? Getting your fake stepsister back?”

Not a good time for him to be tossing that shit in my face, but I hold my beast at bay with my fingertips. “What did you do to Little Angel?”

Something flashes in Link’s eyes that might be regret, but then he glares down at Cam’s wolf. “I did what I had to do. What you fuckers wouldn’t. We had one chance to get Kelly back, and I took it.” He shakes his head at us, his disgust twisting his swollen mouth. “She must have been some magical omega pussy for you to forget we already have a mate.”

Cam’s wolf is launching through the air so fast, I don’t have any choice by to throw an alpha command at him. I’m more than tempted to just let him land and make Link eat his stupid fucking words, but killing the asshole won’t get our omegas back faster. So I toss everything I have into the command toshift, although Link barely flinches at the massive killing-machine bearing down on him. But my power hits Cam before he can make contact, stripping away his wolf and shoving him back into his human form. It still means well over two hundred pounds of infuriated muscle, but at least when Cam’s fist hits Link’s swollen jaw, he doesn’t tear his stupid head from his neck.

An image that makes my beast slam against my ribs like they’re a cage. He wantsout. He wants to hunt down his mates and bring them back to us. But I have to keep more than just my skin right now. I need to stay clear-headed. Especially since my fuckwit brothers are rolling around like it’s fight night at the insane asylum.

“Hey!” I roar, stomping a flying fist onto the ground and pinning it there. “Enough, you lunatics! This isn’t gonna help us get our omegas back! And as much as I want to kick Link’s ass, he’s the only one who knows what he did!”

Cam shoots me a furious look over his shoulder. The medic is definitely AWOL right now, and the thug is fueling the beast. But it’s his meaty hand I have under my boot, so unless he decides to half-shift and skewer me through the balls, he has to listen up. “You can fuck him over later. Right now, he needs to tell us what he knows.”

“I’m just glad to see he’s worked up about someone,” Link spits, a glob of blood and probably a few teeth hitting the deck. His left eye is pulped, his lip now a ragged mess. But he still manages to shoot Cam a grim smile. “I thought those head-twisters had screwed the beast out of you, brother.”

“Don’tbrotherme, asshole,” Cam rumbles, eyes flashing wolf silver. “What did you do with Elvi?”

Link’s anger suddenly wilts, his shoulders drooping. It draws attention to his clothes – or the ruined remains of a dress shirt and tuxedo pants. They’re both slashed and bloody, but Link clearly got all dolled up after he left us here. “I took her to Boston. I had a contact who said Kelly was there, and I asked her to come along.”

I swallow a howl of frustration. The more he holds back, the worse it has to be. “And she went with you? Just like that?”

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