And together, we’ll conquer life itself.
I roll to my back, taking Clove with me and cuddling her against my chest as my knot continues to pulse inside her. “You’re officially ours now, sweetling,” I tell her softly. “Ours to fuck. Ours to cherish. Ours to protect.” I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “If someone so much as looks at you wrong, I’ll end him without question. Because that’s who I am here. I’m the guardian. I’m your guardian.”
“We all are,” Tieran murmurs, brushing his own fingers through her hair as he lounges alongside me. “We’re the savage beasts that will prove all the rumors true if anyone ever touches her again.”
“The cruel wicked tyrants who pillage and plunder our way across the packs,” Caius adds from my opposite side, humor evident in his tone as he strokes his hand down her back. “We’ll paint the world in blood for you, Clove.”
“Kill anyone you desire,” I offer, meaning it.
“Forgive anyone you tell us to forgive,” Tieran says, his fingers stilling by her nape.
“Be whoever you need us to be,” Caius finishes.
I just want you, I hear her whisper into our minds. I just want all of you.
Tieran chuckles, leaning forward to kiss her temple. “You have us, Clove.”
“Always,” I say.
“And forever,” Caius adds.
She hums something unintelligible, nearly asleep.
Then her body spasms again, tightening around my shaft as my knot begins to subside. “Looks like you’re up,” I tell Tieran as I guide myself out of her slick heaven.
While I could easily take her again.
And again.
It’s his turn.
And I don’t mind sharing.
Not with Caius and Tieran.
Besides, I’ll enjoy watching.
Maybe we’ll teach her something together.
Or maybe I’ll make her suck me off while he fucks her.
Hmm, no. Not yet.
We have a few days to experiment and play. For now, we’ll worship her. Tomorrow, we’ll start testing her limits.
Perhaps I’ll even be allowed to play with my knives…
37
CLOVE
Blood.
Sweat.
Sex.
I’m swimming in a sea of peppermint, ash, copper, and pine.
I never want to surface.
Swimming. Drowning. Swimming again.
But there’s something not quite right. The bed is too lumpy. It’s… imperfect.
And I really dislike that sensation.
I stir from my cloud of dizzy desire and hit the lump on the bed. It’s soft and plushy and in the wrong place.
Growling, I move it to the corner. But then I find another misshapen clump and have to move it, too.
Which unearths a third one.
And then a fourth.
By the the tenth, I’m a snarling mess, ripping apart the bed and everything on it.
Clearly, I need to make the bed again.
Once I’m satisfied with the mattress and the lack of bumps, I start over. Carefully.
I pick up sheets and shirts and jeans and towels and everything I can find, crafting the perfect bed to rest within.
My males are here.
I feel them watching me.
One of them even hands items to me, trying to help. I purr when I like the offering and snarl when I dislike it.
He’s a good male.
He doesn’t force me to take anything I don’t want, instead giving me the correct items more often than not.
I’ll invite him into our new safe haven first.
It’s a little strange in appearance, not necessarily flat, but all the edges are perfect.
I prowl around it, proud of my creation.
My males seem to like it, too. They’re purring. Mmm, I love that sound. I want to roll around on them while they rumble.
“That’s a beautiful nest, gorgeous,” the helpful one says.
I preen with pleasure and reach for him, wanting to show him how to properly enter our new home.
He doesn’t rush me. He lets me lead. And I very much appreciate that.
Then he does exactly what I show him, careful not to dislodge any of my perfectly placed fluff.
“I’m suddenly reminded of when her wolf took herself on a tour of the house,” the gruffer one says. My scary giant. He likes knives. But he only bleeds me for pleasure. So I like him. “Except she’s in human form this time.”
I prowl out of my safe haven, coming for him next and catch him by the hand.
He’s not as careful as the other one, his bulky form almost knocking one of my blankets loose. But he listens to me when I growl, waiting for me to move it out of his way so he can finish climbing into our new bed.
I point to the place I want him.
He goes there willingly, laying down naked on his back.
The other one is still sitting, making me consider where I want him.
Hmm, I hum, leaving him there for a moment as I go to find the leader.
He’s waiting patiently for me outside, naked, just like my other two males.
I’m pleased.
I like them naked.
I wrap my hand around his, tugging him forward. Then he crawls inside with ease, not altering my design at all.
My lips curl. Very good.
He settles next to the helpful one.
I’m not sure if that’s where I want them, but decide to try it.
Slipping inside, I settle next to the scary one, then shake my head. I can’t touch all three right here and I need to feel them all.
I start shuffling them around, playing a game of moving mates until I finally find the ideal position.
Scary one at my back.
Helpful one at my front.
Leader between my legs.
Yes, I think. Perfect.
And fall back to sleep.
38
TIERAN
Clove is very particular about her nest.
That started around day two of her heat.
We’re now on day nine and all of us are exhausted.
“I’m not fucking you until you eat that sandwich,” Volt says sternly, making my lips curl. “Now, Clove.”
She growls at him.
He growls back.
We’re not in the nest right now, but on the floor beside it.
Because we learned on day three that food in the nest creates a furious little Omega.
And we’ve not made that mistake since.
But she’s still not a fan of eating. She just wants our seed.