"Do you trust me?" he asked.
What kind of question was that? Of course, she trusted him. With her life.
With her soul.
"Say it," he demanded.
"I trust you," she said.
Maddox growled in approval.
Fingers still relentlessly lighting up her G-spot, he shifted her hips forward. His cock slid behind her easily, dripping with her slick.
"Then prove it," he said.
Instinctually, he lifted herself up, readying herself. But instead of the tip of his cock sliding against the opening of her pussy, it pressed against her puckered hole.
Oh God.
This was what he wanted.
Her pussy gushed at the thought of his cock, swollen and massive, in her ass. Slick flowed down between her cheeks, readying her body.
But was it even possible?
An omega's pussy was made for an alpha. But her ass? She feared Maddox would rip her to shreds.
Again, Maddox must have sensed her unease. "You can take it," he assured her.
His tone was more determined than soothing, but still, Hope couldn't help but believe it. She gave a shaky nod.
"That's right," Maddox growled, guiding her down with painfully slow deliberateness. "Give me every part of you."
"Yes," Hope moaned as the tip of his cock broke through her cherry-tight hole.
Sharp and shocking sensation—part pleasure, part pain—lit up every nerve ending. She couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. All Hope could do was feel as Maddox pushed further and deeper inside of her.
Fullness like she'd never experienced before grew inside her. Every emotion and sensation was overwhelming. Hope couldn't make sense of any of them. All she could do was hold tight around her alpha's neck as her body stretched to take him further.
Once he was all the way in, and Hope was seated back down on his lap, something strange happened. The tension eased. Her body accepted him completely. Fully.
And, fuck, it felt good.
"More," she whispered.
Maddox gave her what she wanted.
True to his word, he didn't hold back. He took her just as hard and just as fast as ever.
His fingers coaxed orgasm after orgasm from her pussy as his cock drove her to new heights of pleasure. With every stroke, Hope strayed further from reason, until the last of her inhibitions fell away, rational thought replaced by pure sensation.
She couldn't say how long it went on, but eventually, she felt the familiar pressure of his knot pressing her to new limits.
Hope cried out, the echoes of her release carrying far down the Central Road.
Maddox was right behind her. He came with a deafening bellow, the truck heaving with his weight.
His knot locked tight inside her, and Hope accepted every last inch of him—mind, body, and soul.
Chapter Fourteen
Maddox needed to get moving.
It was late. A hell of a lot later than he wanted it to be.
But that's what he got for wasting time on the side of the road with his omega.
No. Maddox couldn't pretend that any time he spent with Hope—especially not time that ended with his knot locking them together—was wasted. He couldn't pretend any longer that there was anything more important than that.
But that didn't change the fact that the sun was already slipping down below the horizon, bathing the hills around him in a warm gold glow. In another half an hour, that glow would be gone, and then there would be nothing but darkness.
And Maddox would be stuck with a house full of alphas.
His brothers.
Maddox's chest rumbled in displeasure as he stomped through the forest. Brothers. God, he hated that word.
Growing up, it had been synonymous with pain and suffering, both his and everyone else's. Being with his brothers meant being constantly on his guard. It meant innocent people were about to get hurt.
But his alpha brothers weren't his biological ones. They were coming to help him. They were coming to help Hope.
They didn't have to. There was nothing in it for them. But they were coming anyway.
Maybe it was time for Maddox to rethink his definition of the word.
Maybe…
Maddox smacked his palms against the side of his thighs as he trudged up the steep hill. These were thoughts for another day. When he had a mountain of wood to plane and all the time in the world to philosophize for hours on end.
Now was the time for action. For saving his omega's life once and for all.
He spotted the crash site from earlier that morning the second he crested the hill. Both bodies were still there, splayed out on the ground, though they weren't fully intact. Even now, buzzards were pecking mercilessly at the corpse trapped beneath the mangled ATV. They waited until Maddox was only a few steps away before taking to the sky.
And it was clear they weren't the only scavengers that had been there. Missing chunks of flesh revealed white bone and stringy sinew. What was left was riddled with maggots. The animals of Maddox's forest were having a hell of a feast today.
That was fine by him. It was perfect justice for these pieces of shit.
Maddox wasn't about to deny the worms their dinner. All he needed from these bastards was a scrap of their clothes.
He bent down and grabbed the collar of the headless man's black shirt. With one quick yank, he ripped it off the torso. Then he turned and headed back home.
He made it back just as the gold light was giving way to midnight blue.
As he climbed the stairs to his front door, he caught the sound of truck engines turning off the Central Road and on to his land and suppressed a shudder.
All these people on his property—it made his teeth grind. But Maddox could endure it. He would endure it for Hope.
He draped the bloody, matted shirt over the porch rail before heading inside to wash his hands. He was guessing Hope wouldn't want it in the house.
He found her standing next to the sink, scrubbing a plate that already looked clean. She turned to face him as he stepped through the door. A cloud of nervous anxiety filled the room, the scent of it heavy and suffocating.
"You're back," she said. The relief in her voice was temporary. Her hands went right back to scrubbing the second the words were out.
"I'll always come back," Maddox assured her, moving to her side. "Always."
She nodded, a slight smile flickering over her lips. He could tell she wanted to believe him, but her concern for his safety was just too strong.
Maddox understood that fear completely. He felt the exact same way for her.
He plunged his hands into the warm, soapy water, washing every bit of filth from his skin before lifting them out. As gently as he could, Maddox wrapped his fingers around Hope's wrists, stilling her frantic movements.
She felt so fragile in his hands. So precious.
"I won't let those beta bastards take you from me," he told her. "That's a promise. I'd give up my own life before I'd let that happen."
Hope tensed under his touch. She shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes.
"That's what I'm afraid of," she said. "The narcos must have learned their lesson by now. They're bound to come back with an army. If they hurt you…if you…" She swallowed hard, unable to say the words.
Hope closed her eyes and tried again. "I don't think I could go on without you, Maddox. I'd be like a fish without water. I'd rather die from a bullet to the head than to suffer like that."
Maddox looked her in the eye. "That's not going to happen." He'd kill every one of those bastards with his own hands if had to. "You're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. Tell me you believe that."
Hope's eyes shifted to the floorboards as she gave a shaky nod.
Maddox hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze back up to his. "Tell me."
"I believe it," she said.
Maddox pulled her in close and kissed her hard as the first truck in the caravan pulled to a s
top outside. Even though every voice in his head was telling him to stay by her side, Maddox pulled himself away.
"I have to go. We'll talk more about this later," he said, inching back toward the door. "Even with all the brothers here, you're safest inside. So promise me you'll stay in here, no matter what."
Hope nodded. "I promise."
Maddox sensed her anxiety spike again the moment he stepped out back outside. A part of him prayed that these beta bastards really were the idiots he took them for and were planning to strike again soon.
The sooner they came, the sooner this was over…and the sooner his omega could live her life in peace.
Maddox gripped the rail of his porch and watched as the line of trucks rolled in one after the other, parking in a semicircle in front of the cabin. Once they were all there, half a dozen alphas got out.
Samson was the first to join him on the porch. He must have caught the scent of Hope's fear because his mouth pulled down in concern.
"She doing okay in there?" Samson asked.
Maddox shot him a glower. "What do you think?"
"I can take Hope over to Randall's if you want," Samson offered. "I dropped Cassidy off there earlier. She's staying there with Mia and Paige."
"You mean the house that the goddamn beta army was able to invade earlier this year? I don't think so."
A low growl rumbled in Maddox's chest. He wasn't letting Hope out of his sight any longer than he had to. Not even to leave her with the woman who had brought her back from death.
Samson was smart enough not to argue. He simply shut his mouth and slowly nodded.
"You think these betas will come tonight?" Samson asked after a moment had passed.
"Only if they're idiots," Zeke said with his usual grumble.
"Or have a death wish," Troy added, leaning casually against the bed of his shiny new truck.
Maddox's jaw muscles flexed as his back teeth ground together. Not two minutes in, and already these alphas were chatting like it was just another night at Evander's.
"They'll come," Maddox assured them. "If not tonight, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. They're professional drug runners, and they're too well trained and organized to be stupid. What they are is desperate. Their livelihoods depend on making sure Hope can never tell anyone what she saw."
"I contacted Agent Christie at the FBI today," Ty said. "He said he'd forward the info Hope gave to the right department, but it might be a couple of days before anyone can get all the way out to the area she identified to look into it."
"So basically, he told you to deal with it on your own," Zeke said, disdain dripping from his words. "Typical beta bullshit."
"Calm the fuck down, Zeke," Troy ribbed him. "Think of it this way—at least the beta authorities aren't going to steal our fun this time."
Maddox's blood heated at the alpha's joking tone.
"This isn't a fucking game," he growled. "These bastards got close last time. Real close. They got past my nose. All the way to the edge of my house."
His brothers fell silent. The mood turned heavy and tense in an instant. Even Troy straightened up. No matter their ridiculous personality differences, every alpha understood that fear—to be let down by their senses and have their land trampled by outsiders.
"How did they manage that?" Zeke asked.
"Scent blockers. Military-grade," Maddox answered. He picked up the shirt that he'd ripped from the body earlier. "If you're like I was, if you haven't come in contact with this shit before, take a good sniff. There's a chemical signature there. It's light as hell, and like nothing I've ever smelled before, but it's there."
The alphas passed it around, burying their noses in the fabric and drawing in deep breaths. When it got to Kian and Ty though, they both waved it off.
"You only have to get that shit in your nose once to remember it forever," Kian said, his voice dark.
Wasn't that the damn truth.
"In my experience, these blockers make the betas bolder than usual," Ty said. "My guess is that if they have a stockpile of blockers, guns, and a big enough crew, they'll come back tonight."
"They'll think they're taking us by surprise or some such shit," Kian agreed with a nod.
Zeke clenched his meaty fists and rolled his shoulders. "But this time, we'll be waiting."
"Damn straight, we will," Troy agreed.
Maddox lifted his chin as he looked over his alpha brothers. The second they'd known the real stakes, they'd come together fast—no bickering, no bullshit.
Even now, they were spreading out across the front of the house, taking up positions at different points. Their eyes open, and their senses sharp.
They were looking out for him. Him and Hope.
Maddox felt a strange warmth in the center of his chest at the thought. At first, he didn't know what to make of the emotion. But then it dawned on him.
This was pride.
This was what it felt like to be a part of a community. A pack that stuck together and respected each other.
And it was clear that's exactly what his brothers felt for him—respect.
Sure, they might not understand him. They might consider him solitary, aggressive, and antisocial. And fuck it—they were right. Maddox was all those things. But that didn't mean they would let him twist in the wind alone when things got tough.
And shit had never been tougher than it was right now.
* * *
Being pursued by armed narcos through the wilderness for three straight days with no supplies had been hell.
But somehow sitting here alone for a few hours in this solidly built, fully stocked cabin was worse.
Hope's stomach had been rolling over itself, twisting into knots since the moment she and Maddox had arrived back home. She didn't have to guess why.
He was going out there to face them…and he wasn't coming back inside until it was over.
It didn't matter that Maddox had already taken down four murderers on his own. Just as it didn't matter that he had a good chunk of the Boundarylands population out there with him as backup.
Hope knew in her heart that the drug runners wouldn't be sending men one or two at a time anymore. Too many of their men hadn't made it back to camp. Too much time had passed for her to contact the authorities.
This time they'd come in force—fully armed and ready to take down anyone in their way. Even half a dozen alphas.
And if by some miracle she managed to survive the fight, she'd have their blood on her hands. All of their blood.
She'd be the one responsible for all their deaths. Mia's mate. Cassidy's mate. All the others.
And Maddox.
Her stomach did another somersault at the thought. She lifted her hands and dragged her fingers through her hair a little too hard, her fingernails scratching against her scalp.
It didn't help that it was so quiet outside. Before Hope had been able to hear the comforting rumble of deep voices through the window, but now all the alphas had spread out.
She knew they were still out there, silently guarding the house. The thought should have given her comfort, but all she could think of was the targets on their backs.
As if her worry had willed it into existence, the silence was shattered by the unmistakable crack of gunfire. Its acrid stench filled the air, sharp and unrelenting.
Just as she feared, it wasn't single shots from pistols or snipers this time. These were automatic weapons, spraying death without a shred of mercy.
Hope's breath caught in her throat. Her hands flew to cover her gaping mouth, and she ran to the window. Pushing back the curtain, she looked out into the night…but there was nothing to see. Just a sea of darkness.
She heard the roar of alphas from deep within the trees. Each shout seemed farther away than the last. The damn fools were chasing after the gunfire. They were running straight toward it. They were all going to get themselves killed.
Hope let out a frustrated cry.
A part of he
r wanted to throw open the door and scream that she was here. Right here for the taking. That the narcos could come and do whatever they wanted to her, as long as they left everyone else alone.
As long as they left Maddox safe and alive.
But she didn't. She couldn't.
She'd promised him that she would stay inside. No matter what. She couldn't break that promise. She couldn't disobey him now.
There was a crash, and something shattered the window and fell to the floor, reflecting lamplight off its metallic surface. A heavy cylinder clanked against the floorboards and rolled beneath the bed. A second later, deep grey smoke poured out from underneath.
A smoke bomb.
Oh shit.
The betas were trying to flush Hope out. Acrid smoke stung her eyes, and Hope doubled over in a fit of violent coughing.
She couldn't stay inside-- she'd suffocate. But Hope knew she couldn't run out the door either. Whoever had chucked the bomb was out there waiting for her. Ready to unload his clip into her.
There had to be another way.
Before the smoke had filled every corner, Hope caught a glimpse of Maddox's hatchet hanging from its hook on the wall. She quickly snatched it and then crouched down.
On hands and knees, she crawled to the side of the cabin where Maddox had started putting in the bathroom. She felt with her hands through the thickening smoke for the gap in the wall where the new foundation joined the old.
Drawing in her last clean breath, she brought the hatchet down hard on the weak spot. The wood shattered beneath the solid blade. The crack widened.
Hope swung, again and again, the sound of gunfire and shouts muffling the hatchet blows. Soon her arms burned with exertion, and her lungs cried out for more air. But just then, the longest and thinnest board gave way, opening wide enough for Hope to squeeze through.
She sucked in the fresh air the moment she landed on the dirt floor of the crawl space. But there wasn't time to savor the moment.
Still gripping the hatchet, Hope lay flat on her belly and crawled between the wooden piers in the dirt, staying as low as possible until she reached the path leading to the hot spring.
Maddox (The Boundarylands Omegaverse Book 4) Page 11