Page 72 of Scapegoat

“Leave her the fuck alone,” Xavier said, stepping up to the other man.

“Yeah, you wanna take us on?” Ned said, nodding to the men behind him, but only a couple got to their feet. “Where’s your pretty little brothers to back you up?”

“One, I don’t need anyone to back me up against the likes of you.” My brother looked the other man up and down like he was the piece of shit he obviously was. “And two, you think my brothers are pretty? So you were trying to catch Jay’s eye, not Kai’s back in the shed.”

“You little f—!”

Whatever Ned was about to say or do, his lunge, his speech was abruptly cut off as one of his buddies grabbed the back of his singlet, stopping him from getting any further. And right then, Vicki came out of the house, stopping and frowning when she saw what was playing out.

“Dinner’s ready,” she announced warily. “I know Jayden has other plans, but will Atlas be joining us?”

I’m sure that when Xavier looked down at me, everyone else was confused, but he just shook his head.

“I’m not sure what Atlas is up to tonight, but if he doesn’t turn up for dinner, he can sort that out himself.”

For a moment I thought the tension had been defused. All of the men minded their manners and moved when the lady of the house said dinner was on. Vicki was a damn good cook, almost as good as Kai, and everyone was hungry. But Ned hung back in the group, then smirked at one of his buddies before muttering, “Probably off giving it to that girl, Kai, making her airtight for her brother.”

Of course he’d see something like what we did together as this dirty thing. There was no reverence in him, not for Kai, not for any woman. He was some mouth-breathing piece of shit and he needed to be taken down for even mentioning my girl. I stalked forward, jaws open, panting lightly as I stalked across the ground, approaching the fucker from behind, ready to jump on him, drag him down and tear out his throat when—

“Off you go,” Xavier said, turning around and spotting me with some kind of sixth sense. “Go and find Kai and look after her.”

For once my brother had something smart to say. I wheeled around, taking one long look at Ned, watching his brows knit, first with confusion, then with a fear he didn’t quite understand. Then I did as Xavier said. I took off at a run, following their thin scents.

When I reached the paddock they were in, I found my brother in a familiar state. The wolf wanted to pin Kai down, shove his cock in her and mate her. Wolves didn’t exactly engage in foreplay or worry too much about consent. But even in that heated state, the man cared for Kai, for her pleasure and to not cause her any more pain. As I trotted closer, I watched him hold her still, force his knot inside her. But rather than yelp in pain, she gasped in pleasure.

One I knew well.

I felt the ache of it, the feel of her cunt snapping tight around my knot, for every night after the moment I’d claimed her as my mate. I woke up from heated dreams, feeling the ghost of Kai’s body around mine, my arms reaching out for her, as if I could claw her from my subconscious and bring her into my bed. So I shifted on my paws as I watched my brother claim her, closing the loop between all four of us that should never have been left open. I felt that remembered pleasure, that passion, that fucking need, because it rode me again.

I wanted my brother to bite Kai’s neck, my tongue flicking over my muzzle, able to taste her blood in my mouth. But when they were done? I watched the tears slide down Jayden’s face as he held her close, the fool finally feeling it, realising what this meant. That we would never leave our mate’s side again, not for her mother, sister, father or best friend, and so I ignored Xavier’s directive, trotting forward.

“Couldn’t even give me one night,” Jayden panted, holding Kai close, as if I’d try to tear away. I came back to skin, my need for Kai hitting me harder the moment I did so.

“You can have all the space you want,” I told him, but my eyes dropped down to Kai, always drawn back to her. “But my mate?” I dropped down to my knees before her, the shadows turning her skin blue, the moon making the highlights gleam white. “Never.”

“Atlas…”

The way she panted my name, reached for me? I loved that so fucking much and nothing any of my brothers could say would stop me from looking for it. I moved closer, leaving her tied to Jayden as I kissed her long and slow.

She made little whimpers, and by the sounds of Jay’s groans, I was getting her worked up all over again.

“I’m sore,” she complained in a low whisper. “All these knots…”

“So we’ll take things slow,” I assured her, smiling in the dark, knowing that was a lie. “We’ve claimed you now, so we don’t have to knot you all the time.”

Except we would, because of the need boiling in our nuts, but more than that, because of what burned inside her. I kissed her softly, slowly, but it was her hands that tangled in my hair, tugging me closer, her kisses growing hungry and more open mouthed by the second.

“Fuck you, Atlas,” Jay groaned as his cock popped free, a great gush of seed escaping her. At some point some of it would lodge inside her, making her round with our pups, but not now, not until she went into heat. “You’re fucking rushing things.”

“I’m not rushing anything,” I said with a grin at my mate and she just reached to pull me closer. “I’m just giving our girl what she needs and if you can’t—”

The competition between us was as strong as any three brothers pushed together like we were. As growing alphas we couldn’t have our own lives. We were bound together by a bond, to find and serve our omega. But we’d found her, claimed her, and now the fun began. I nipped at her lips, then pushed my face into her neck, finding the mark I’d left on her and sucking it into my mouth. She squirmed, writhed, feeling an echo of the pleasure she’d felt when I gave it to her and a willingness to enjoy more.

“The fuck I can’t,” Jay snarled, dragging Kai back into his arms.

I was willing to bet his caresses were a lot more considered now. That first time? It was all fangs and claws and need, but now he took his time. Tracing the shape of her breasts through her shirt, then unbuttoning it and undoing her bra clasp, until she was completely bare for us. But when he tweaked one nipple into a hard bead, I was there to lick and suck it, forcing sweet little moans from Kai. So he shifted to the other, focussing on drawing just as many sighs of pleasure. We might be fighting, but she was always going to be the one who won, so that when I kissed my way down her stomach and between her thighs, she pushed my face closer, even as her brain struggled to accept this.

“But I’m all messy…” she moaned, right as I went in for the first lick.

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