She took a step backward, darting her gaze to Umbra and Ransom before hurrying back down the hall to my room.

Both of them turned to me, and I buried my smile at the look of utter shock on Ransom’s face.

“We can watch, right?” he asked weakly.

“Absolutely not.”

“But we’re pack.”

My grin widened. I swear at the sound Shatter made on the third strike, I’d felt a flicker of murder from him. Lust—absolutely, but I got the impression he had been on the edge of wrestling the belt from me to take over.

“You can dream about it,” I said.

“You’re going to… stay in here while she…?” Ransom trailed off.

“God no. I’m going to go and watch.”

The sight that met me when I entered my room put to shame every imagining.

Shatter lay on my bed, knees up as she dipped two fingers into herself—which meant she’d come close to the edge already. Even from the doorway, I could see her body shivering.

I watched for a while, in a constant state of war with my own self control. She was hottest when being edged. Her whines became so desperate, and then the orgasm she got at the end was beautiful

Finally, I joined her, crouching down and pressing my finger to her entrance. She jumped, a moan sounding from her chest.

“Dusk?”

“Yes,” I answered, dipping into her with a second finger, watching her arch against the sheets.

“I…” Her voice shook. “I want your knot.”

“You’re going to take my knot, beautiful, but I’m going to play with you first.”

I stood and removed the rest of my clothes.

“You can stop touching yourself,” I said. She uncurled from her position, already shaking with exhaustion.

“Stand up.”

I helped guide her to her feet, so she was before me, then I pressed her hands to my chest. I paused for a moment as she ran her touch up and over the healing brands. Then one of her hands dropped to my cock and circled it as she pressed her lips to the mark I’d made for her.

I growled, almost pinning her to the bed and claiming her right there.

“I want…” Her voice was breathless. “I want it to be like when you used to punish me.”

I nudged her chin up. I knew what that meant to her. I hadn’t seen the video, but I knew what it contained. I knew what Eric had done.

She wanted me to take it back from him, like I’d taken the scars.

“Tell me who you belong to,” I breathed.

She hesitated only a moment, brows creasing at the unfamiliar question. “You.”

“And these perfect lips?” I asked, thumb pressing against them.

“Yours, Alpha,” her voice was quiet, almost sultry, and her scent had become more needy than ever before. There was a warmth to it that was new, a side.

It read, to me, as safety.