by Sadie Moss
But Jackson or Noah would always nudge me when they heard my thoughts grinding away too loudly. They’d wrap their arms around me, listen to my fears, and assure me that everything would be all right.
And plenty was happening during those weeks, moving at what I was shocked to learn was actually breakneck speed for these sorts of things. With Carl and Molly’s help, we bought dozens of houses on the outskirts of Salt Lake, clustered in three little pockets a few miles away from each other, nestled between the city and the wilderness beyond.
I had insisted Carl keep some of the money he’d taken from Doctor Shepherd—enough so that he and Molly would never have to work again. But since neither of them were the types to sit idle, they had volunteered their time to help the pack.
Carl got busy setting up identities for all of us, while Molly became our de facto nurse/counselor. There wasn’t a single shifter in the Lost Pack who didn’t like her, and the injuries sustained during our fight against Strand, coupled with lingering health issues from their experiments, meant that everyone got to know her well. Sariah eagerly stepped into the role of her apprentice, her confidence blossoming under Molly’s guidance.
One night, I asked Rhys if this Sariah—the one with bright eyes, a ready smile, and a whip-smart tongue—was the one he had known before they were captured by Strand. He hadn’t answered with words; instead, he’d kissed me hard before dragging me out to a quiet spot in the woods and worshipping every inch of my body until I came apart in his arms.
I think he was trying to say thank you, but the honest truth was, he didn’t owe me any thanks. It hadn’t been me. We had all rescued her from the Strand complex, but she’d pulled herself out of the darkness on her own.
Six weeks after we’d killed Doctor Shepherd and destroyed the Source, a pretty blonde realtor handed my mates and me a set of keys to our new house. She gave me a firm, pleasant handshake before slipping into her car and leaving the six of us standing on the sidewalk.
My gaze wandered over the white paint and blue trim, the arched windows on the first and second floors, and the small front porch with a wooden porch swing gently rocking in the breeze. I squeezed the key so hard the metal dug into my hand as I tried to draw in a full breath.
We had waited until every other pack member was settled before choosing a place for ourselves. And now that it was done, I couldn’t comprehend it.
The air whooshed out of my lungs in a rush as Jackson swooped me into his arms, holding me under my knees and shoulders.
I let out a startled yelp, securing my arms around his neck as I laughed breathlessly. “What are you doing?”
He gave me a look that said the answer should be obvious. “Carrying you over the threshold.”
“How come you get to do it?” West asked, cocking a skeptical eyebrow at his pack mate.
Jackson grinned devilishly. “Because I picked her up first.”
“What is this, a finders keepers type situation?” Noah asked, crossing his arms over his chest, though my favorite crooked smile teased his lips.
“Something like that.” Jackson leaned down to kiss my nose before marching up the steps to the front door.
Of course, none of my mates were satisfied with that answer, and after I unlocked the door with the key the realtor had given me so Jackson could carry me through, they all insisted on having a turn.
It was so silly and sweet, and they were all so damn serious about it, that by the time I passed over the threshold for the fourth time, Sariah and I were laughing so hard tears ran down our cheeks.
Noah put me down with a flourish, wrapping his arms around me from behind and running a hand over the growing swell of my belly as we all turned to take in the house. It was still mostly unfurnished, but the hardwood floors gleamed in the light streaming through the windows, casting everything in a warm glow. I ran my hands over the muscled bands of Noah’s forearms as the tears I was crying suddenly encompassed a whole new set of emotions.
His grip tightened, securing my body against his, and I could feel my other mates gather close around us as he pressed his lips to the shell of my ear.
“Welcome home, Scrubs.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Three Months Later
“Fuck yes, Lexi. Let go for me, baby.”
Rhys’s words were a rough murmur as he tormented my clit with his tongue, holding my thighs apart with a firm grip as I tossed and writhed restlessly against the pillows he’d used to prop me up. I couldn’t see past my baby bump to watch his talented mouth work, but I could feel every bit of it—the flat of his tongue making broad swipes, the tip of it teasing in wild, unpredictable patterns before he dropped lower to plunge it inside me, making my toes curl and my back arch off the bed.
“R-Rhys!”
My desperate cry only urged him on, and he moved his tongue back to my clit as he pushed two fingers inside me.
Electricity seemed to light up my nerve endings as I fought to hold off my release just a little while longer. I wasn’t ready for this to end—it felt too fucking good.
I bit my lip, my gaze shifting to West, who reclined in the large chair set near one wall of the bedroom. The burning heat in his gaze pushed me even closer to my breaking point, and I fisted Rhys’s hair as West gripped his cock hard, spreading the gathering beads of precum as he jacked himself off slowly.
“Oh God…”
My legs trembled as I fought against Rhys’s hold, needing to wrap my legs around him, to twine them around his back, to bring him closer. Closer. Always closer.
“That’s it. Let West see you. Let him see what we do to you.”
Rhys’s demanding growl was accompanied by a nip to my clit, and I lost the battle I’d been fighting. Shockwaves of pleasure ricocheted through my body, and my head fell back as I clutched my mate’s black curls, shamelessly riding his face as I came hard.
He didn’t let up, lapping and sucking at my delicate bud, pushing me into another orgasm until I whimpered breathlessly, my body going slack. My chest rose and fell quickly as I tried to catch my breath.
I’d need it. Because we definitely weren’t done.
Rhys finally released his grip on my legs, kissing the sensitive skin of my inner thighs before he sat back. His gaze flashed to West, hunger flaring in his eyes as he watched his pack mate’s fist work up and down his thick length. Then he turned back to me, grinning sinfully.
“Hands and knees, Lexi.”
I scrambled to obey, the fire inside me flaring again at the dark promise in his voice. He was bossy as fuck in bed, but I’d never once regretted following his commands.
My swelling belly made this position a good one for sex anyway, which I was sure had something to do with Rhys’s order. No matter how domineering he was, he always took care of me.
Still breathing unevenly, I glanced over my shoulder to see him kicking off the rest of his clothes. The mattress dipped as he crawled up behind me, and he grabbed my hips to pull me closer to him, positioning me in the middle of the king-sized bed. Large, callous-roughened palms caressed my ass, his fingers drifting lower and slipping through my wetness before using it to coat his cock.
My inner muscles clenched hard, already aching to feel him inside me, and I rocked back slightly, giving him a not-so-subtle hint.
His deep chuckle reverberated through my whole body, making goose bumps prickle my skin.
So fucking hot.
Keeping one hand on my hip to steady me, Rhys used the other to line up his thick length with my entrance, and I moaned as he began to sink inside me.
An answering groan from West drew my attention, and when I craned my neck to the side, I saw his gaze fixed on the connection between me and Rhys as his pack mate slowly filled me. West’s hand worked faster, his breaths growing short, his strokes matching Rhys’s rhythm as we all began to move.
Unintelligible sounds poured from my lips as sweet sensations flooded me. Rhys’s fingers dug into my hips as he thrust with hard, even strokes, and I bumped ba
ck against him, urging him on. The wet slaps of flesh as Rhys fucked me and West fucked his hand mingled in the air with their grunts and moans. Every single sound drove my desire higher and higher, and when Rhys wrapped his arms around my chest, molding my upper body to his front, I pressed back against him, turning my head to claim his lips.
West watched that too, gripping the base of his cock hard as it throbbed in his hand.
Moving in and out of me with slow, shallow strokes, Rhys cupped my chin, sliding his tongue over and around mine in a kiss that seemed to steal my soul.
He pulled away, still holding my chin as his piercing blue gaze met mine. His voice was rough and low when he asked, “Do you want West too, Lexi?”
Practically panting, I nodded, leaning up to try to kiss him again. But he drew back just out of reach, a wicked smile parting his lips.
“Then you have to tell him,” he murmured.
My body was on the verge of exploding, and Rhys’s strokes, as gentle as they may be, were definitely meant to torture me. The sight of West fisting his cock with the same torturous strokes made my entire body clench, and Rhys grunted thickly as we both turned to face his pack mate.
“West…” I licked my lips, my greedy eyes watching him as closely as he was watching us. “Come here. Please.”
There had been a time when he would’ve hesitated. A time when he wasn’t mine.
But now, his lips parted in a sensual smile, and he stood immediately, striding over to the bed and crawling up with us. He came to a stop a few feet in front of me on his knees, and Rhys carefully lowered me back to all fours. West’s cock jutted out tantalizingly close to my mouth, and as I strained forward to reach it, Rhys resumed his thrusts, harder and faster.
West closed the last few inches of distance between us, and I wrapped my lips around his hard length, hollowing my cheeks as I swirled my tongue.
“Fuck, Scrubs,” he breathed, staring down at me like the sun rose and fell because of me. “Jesus.”
This was one of my favorite things in the whole world. Watching West come apart. Watching him forget for a few minutes to feel any guilt, sadness, or regret; watching him just be. He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, small pumps of his hips working against the motion of my mouth, and I relaxed my jaw, taking in as much of him as I could, showing him with every stroke of my tongue how much I loved him.
“So fucking hot,” Rhys muttered, his hands skating down my back and over the curve of my ass. I could feel him thicken inside me, feel his pace increase even more as he fought off his own release.
Holding me steady with one hand, he hooked the other around West’s neck, hauling him in for a kiss. West grunted, widening his knees slightly for balance, and I released his cock with a wet slurp. Lifting one hand, I worked him in my fist, craning my neck to enjoy the view.
The way my two mates kissed each other was one of the hottest things I’d ever seen. Their mouths met forcefully, tongues and teeth colliding as their heavy breaths mingled. As if they wanted to devour each other whole. As if we all carried an electric current, and when the three of us were together like this, the circuit was completed.
Their kiss was fierce and passionate, and as Rhys drove into me hard, West’s body tightened.
“Oh God!” I moaned. “Please, yes. I’m gonna come… Gonna…”
Spurred on by my words, my mate thrust into me one final time, his cock swelling and pulsing as he spilled inside me, and West let go at the same time, working against my hand as thick ropes spurted onto my chest.
The sight and feel of them both coming undone was too much—I followed them over the edge, crying out loudly as the orgasm blazed through me. I clenched around Rhys, making him groan appreciatively as my whole body shuddered.
Slowly, Rhys withdrew from me, making sure to steady my hips so I didn’t collapse in a heap. I heard their lips meet one more time before Rhys hopped off the bed, grabbing a towel from the closet and returning to clean me up. He handed it to West when he was done, and my other mate used a dry section to clean up his mess.
Then the three of us did collapse, falling into a comfortable pile of sweat-dampened skin and muscular limbs. The two men cradled me between them as they each lay on their sides, and I could feel their hearts beating in tandem, one against my back, one against my front. And in the middle, mine, completing the rhythm.
I was too comfortable to move, but I blinked my sleepy eyes open, peering up at West. “Um, what’d you guys come up here to tell me?”
They had found me taking a nap—the frequent nausea stage of pregnancy was long past, thank goodness, but I did find myself getting tired more often—and we’d gotten distracted before I could find out the reason they’d come looking for me.
“Oh.” He chuckled, looking slightly guilty. “We were supposed to bring you downstairs. We’re meeting with Elijah and Val soon.”
As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door, followed almost immediately by Jackson’s voice. “Dudes. This is what we get for sending you to fetch Alexis. We’re gonna be late!”
“Yeah, right. Like you wouldn’t have made her late yourself if we’d sent you up!” Rhys shot back, nipping at the skin of my neck and making me wriggle.
A telling silence resounded from the other side of the door, and the three of us laughed.
I’d also apparently entered the stage of pregnancy where my hormones were going nuts. The littlest things could set me off, dampening my panties in seconds and making my clit throb.
The sight of Noah’s gorgeous, crooked smile; Rhys running his hand through his black curls; Jackson’s ridiculously sexy forearms; or the sight of West’s shirt stretched over his broad chest and shoulders—in just the past few days, all of those things had been directly responsible for me jumping on my men. And they were only too happy to oblige their insatiable mate.
“We’ll be down in a second!” I called out, wrinkling my nose as I fought back another giggle.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jackson’s disgruntled voice intoned before muttering something about “next time” and “no fair.”
I grinned as we all quickly rose and dressed. He didn’t have too much room to complain. When we’d furnished the house, he had insisted we get a nice solid headboard, and we’d already put it to good use several times.
We joined my other mates downstairs and trooped outside to hop in the car. Things had been so busy and hectic over the last few months that I still hadn’t learned to drive, but Noah and West were beginning to teach me.
Since the three small shifter communities where we’d settled were spread out with a few miles between them, I had assigned Elijah and Val to lead the other two pockets. I was still technically alpha of the entire pack, but I felt better knowing there was someone in authority on hand if any trouble arose.
My mates, Rhys especially, had raised their hackles at the idea of giving Elijah back any of the power I’d won from him when I became alpha. But as far as I was concerned, he’d proven himself the day he took the “different shitty path” and came to our aid at the Strand bunker.
He had once cold-cocked my mate, and I’d never forget that. I would never really forgive it. But I blamed Strand more than I blamed him, and I was determined to live our new life, our fresh start, by looking forward, not back—by keeping shifters united.
We arrived at Val’s house, which she shared with a few other shifter women, to find her and Elijah sitting companionably on the front stoop. The older man still looked as scruffy and grizzled as ever, completely out of place in this calm, peaceful neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.
But he was happier here, I could tell. The hardness in his eyes, the constant wariness, was finally beginning to fade.
“Alpha.” Val stood to greet us, dipping her head. Her long amber braid glinted in the afternoon sun, the red highlights burning like fire. “We were just discussing jobs. Several members of the pack would like to start looking for work outside the community, but we both agree we need to make su
re they’re ready and have certain failsafes in place, in case…”
The seven of us fell into a long discussion of our plans for the future and the best way to take the next step. I took it as a good sign that shifters wanted to become part of the “outside” world again, that we were no longer isolating ourselves, but Val was right. It would take work and careful planning to make sure it went smoothly.
“I’ll see if Carl can help,” I threw in, leaning against the porch railing. As we’d talked, we had moved into the shade of the porch. “He’s got good connections, and he can make sure they’re all set up with the right credentials and a solid backstory.”
“Good.”
Val stretched her arms over her head, rolling her neck restlessly. Itching to shift, probably.
I could relate. Several of us were going hunting tonight, and I was looking forward to running free through the woods—especially since, at some point soon, my mates would want me to start taking it much easier as my pregnancy progressed.
“There is one more thing we need to discuss,” Elijah put in, a twinkle I didn’t recognize shining in his eyes. “I heard from Aaron that Sariah’s nineteenth birthday is coming up soon, and I think… I think we should plan a party for her.” At our startled glances, he raised his hands almost defensively. “We’re supposed to be doing more ‘regular’ things. I think a party qualifies. And I… well, I can’t imagine she’s celebrated her birthday for many, many years.”
My gaze shot to Rhys, whose jaw muscles jumped as he clenched his teeth. His expression was hard, but I knew him well enough by now to know it wasn’t because he was angry—he was just trying to get a handle on his feelings.
His bright blue eyes had a glassy sheen as he nodded once. “That sounds… good.”
Elijah scrubbed a hand over his beard, brushing over the scar on his lip as he let out a breath.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Val put in. “We can—”
The phone in my back pocket buzzed, and I held up a finger, leaving them to start planning as I trotted down the steps. I swiped the screen to answer.