Page 68 of Knot Your Possession

“They taught me to do what they needed. I didn’t hate it at first. I was so lost about where my place was in the world and felt conflicted about being an omega. Being a dom sounded like a better option, but I ended up feeling numb. Nobody cared about how I felt. It wasn’t a relationship. It was one-sided, and I was only playing a role. I tried to avoid touch as much as possible during the sessions they set up, using whips and toys instead. I also tried to use it to my advantage, coerce them to help get Ava out, but that didn’t work.”

“Cary,” Nick said as he sat up. He looked pale, as if he was going to vomit, but didn’t finish whatever he was going to say.

“It’s okay, Nick. Plenty of people here had it worse.” I looked out the window as I spoke, not quite meeting his eyes.

“It’s not okay,” Wolf growled. He’d clenched his fists and his face had twisted in a snarl. He looked like he wanted to maim something. It amazed me how he could switch from looking so wild, to being so gentle with Ava. It made me yearn for something I couldn’t clearly define.Was River right? Was I overthinking everything?

“Not even close,” River seconded. He looked at me pointedly when I glanced at him.

“I don’t know how we can let this place stay standing. Every stone in it seems saturated in pain,” Ryder said quietly. He was watching me with a fierce gravity. As if he would help me tear it down brick by brick if it was what I wanted.

I couldn’t agree more. I was itching to leave this place and go somewhere else. Anywhere else. But none of us wanted to leave the omegas here vulnerable.

“I get why you’re wary of us, Cary, given your past,” Wolf mumbled haltingly. “If it takes time to earn your trust, we’ll put in the work. I meant it when I said I would be anything you needed, even a friend.”

I groaned. “You’ve got it wrong. It’s not that I don’t trust any of you. I do. I just don’t know who I am within myself, let alone in this pack. And I need some time to figure it out. Does that make sense?”

It was the truth, but not all of it. I could see River’s eyes widen as if he’d figured something out. “You were much more relaxed this morning. You even let Ryder touch you during training. What about Ava’s heat tonight spooked you?” he asked.

I felt myself stiffen. For someone who supposedly wasn’t great with people, he was remarkably insightful. “I was with you all right until the point you and Ryder claimed Ava. There was nothing wrong with what you did, and it was hot as fuck. I just realized if I let one of you claim me, I could end up having a heat too. If that happens, Ava won’t be enough to ease me. I’m going to need an alpha. Maybe more than one. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Or we’re ready for that. I’ve had enough empty sex in my life.”

“I will destroy anyone who tries to force you into something you’re not ready for, Cary,” Wolf said simply. “Even if it’s one of us.” Ryder reached over absentmindedly and put his hand on Wolf’s arm in reassurance. His eyes never left me, though.

“Take any time you need. Sit this one out, or don’t. That decision is up to you and there’s no right or wrong,” Ryder said. “But if a heat happens, we’ll figure it out. As Wolf said, friendship can be just as powerful as attraction. Nothing between any of us is going to be empty.”

“Ryder’s right. This won’t be her only heat. There’s no pressure,” River said. “Besides, this pack bond feels more like a net than a straight line, Cary. I never thought such a thing was possible, but I can almost see the interwoven strands running between us already. It’s not designed to trap you, it’s here to catch you.”

“You’ve felt like a brother since the first day I met you, Cary,” Nick added. “I don’t care if you’re a beta, an alpha, or an omega. Or even some mix of the three. Be whoever or whatever feels right to you. It makes zero difference. You’re just Cary to me.”

I could feel my eyes dampen at the support these four men were showing me. More than anyone had in my life, even my biological family. I gave one abrupt nod before I changed the subject. It was all I could manage right now.

“So who’s going to bite Nick? Because I’m pretty sure Ava’s heat isn’t over and it will wake her up again soon.”

“I’ll bite him,” River and Ryder said simultaneously.

“No, I’ll bite him,” Wolf growled.

“I’m definitely going to bite him,” Ava said sleepily. She stretched her body along Wolf and a growl forced its way out of his chest.

She looked so beautiful lying naked between her men. I figured my resolve to stay back for the rest of her heat was about to be sorely tested. Especially when my emotions were riding me so hard.

One crook of her finger would be all it took.

twenty-nine

Ishiftedmyhandacross a broad chest, feeling a smattering of wiry hairs and hard muscles flex underneath my touch. The faint vibration of a growl caused a trail of sparks to run along my skin everywhere we were touching. And there was a lot of skin. A leg shifted deeper between mine, much as it had the other day waking up in the forest, only now I could feel hairs tickling my thighs. I could get used to waking up this way.

A deep breath of the leafy jungle and orchid laden scent surrounding me told me it was Wolf beneath me. A sudden tension in the bond and in the body behind me had me opening my eyes and looking up into Wolf’s heated gaze. It seared into me, making heat simmer deep in my belly.

I ran my hand down Wolf’s chest and watched the way his eyes darkened as my fingers trailed over his stomach. I felt bold as I let them linger for a moment, before I ran them across to my hip and down onto the leg draped over my thigh, squeezing it in reassurance. I could feel that River was on alert, and watching Wolf and I closely, making sure neither of us got carried away just yet. “Nobody here is going to harm me, River.”

I knew that deep in my soul. Wolf’s fierce desire hadn’t worried me earlier, and it didn’t now. I’d briefly worried when he’d first demanded Nick tie him up, given his history in captivity. But I trusted Wolf to know himself, and I’d sensed his flare of pleasure when Cary had wrapped the ropes around his wrist. It had intrigued me.

“Nobody is harming you ever again, mate,” came River’s growl from behind me. It came with a wash of possessiveness through the bond from both River and Ryder. Wolf’s smile was almost predatory, as if he was the big bad wolf and he was about to eat me. The growls and possessiveness, while they sandwiched me between them, had me melting in a pool of heat. Like butter on popcorn. A flare of River’s dark chocolate scent, mixed with Ryder’s salted caramel, had me whimpering and my mouth watering.

“Nick, I think you’re up,” Ryder said from behind River, as his hand ran slowly up my side and his thumb caressed the side of my breast.

Nick rolled onto his side and popped into view on the far side of Wolf with a soft smile. His hair was tousled, and he had acres of gorgeously toned skin on display. I swallowed hard.

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