by Joyee Flynn
“And a little confusion and a breakdown here and there are nothing compared to what others have and are going through. But knowing you guys, you’d want to help all of us all at once and never take a moment for yourselves. It would be your downfall and kill your mating. I wanted no hand in that because I have my own guilt as well that my being here has been taxing on your relationship.”
“Yeah, he sounds totally mentally handicapped,” Bay drawled, shooting Harkin an unfriendly look.
“You’re right and obviously he’s not,” Harkin sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset or offend anyone here or say something wrong was going on here. It just didn’t feel right to kiss the little hottie when he’d just been scared, crying, and all-around confused. The idea made me feel dirty and like I was taking advantage of him.”
I held out my hand to him and he stared at it. I sighed. “Give me yours.”
“Right, sorry.” He took it and while he was still foggy, I searched him. “And you worry that bringing in an Omega would hurt your bond with the ones you love instead of making it better. You think if you can’t make two happy to the point they don’t want more that bringing in a third would simply be another failure for you.”
His eyes went wide. “That’s not for—”
“But you’re wrong. You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s no one’s fault when there are only three pieces to a four-piece puzzle put together.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because I’m one of the most powerful Omegas that has been born in over a century,” I answered, already having had that flashback to when I found that out. “Even with my damage and control issues, like what comes out of my mouth when I have a vision, as when I was a pup, I’m more powerful than probably any Omega you’ve ever met.”
“We’ve only met a few so that can’t be hard. But Tristan is quite powerful we hear,” Harkin said slowly, choosing his words so he didn’t upset me again.
“Oh no, short stuff here has me beat by a mile,” Tristan chuckled before giving me a wink. “He’s actually helped me work on my telekinesis and a few other Omegas as well.”
“You can move stuff with your mind?” the stranger I hadn’t spoken with yet asked. I smiled and took my hand from Harkin.
“Here comes the show,” Cameron snickered behind me. I focused on every moveable object in the room. It barely took any energy and I lifted them off the floor… Everything off the floor. Table, chairs, plates on the counter, glasses, towels. Everything that I could feel the energy surrounding that I wouldn’t ruin.
Granted, I’d had issues in the past when I was learning how to use gifts. I’d had a flashback to when I’d accidentally lifted the countertop off the cabinets in the kitchen and my old Alpha had beat me severely. Just thinking about that broke my concentration and things started to fall. I quickly focused and the only thing that landed like it shouldn’t was some towels.
“You almost lost your energy,” Tristan said as he sat down next to me. “I felt it waver. What’s up?”
“Bad memory. Was thinking about when it wasn’t so easy for me to do this,” I mumbled, picking up my fork and eating so I didn’t have to talk anymore. Revealing memories of abuse in front of strangers was hard for me to do. Okay, that was a partial lie… It was always hard for me to do, strangers or not.
“What else can you do?” the man asked, looking excited and almost giddy. I shot a look to Tristan, who didn’t seem happy. I wasn’t either. We weren’t toys to be brought out for party tricks.
“Take his hand. You’re having trouble focusing past your emotions,” I guided my friend.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes on me now. One of the things Tristan needed to work on was his energy flow. He saw each thing we could do as an individual gift so they were all separate in his mind. But that’s not how things worked. Power was power and just like the electricity in this house ran on different wires but crossed at times, so did our powers.
“You’re pissed that he worded it badly, like we’re circus freaks,” I explained gently, giving him a lopsided grin. “I’ve gotten used to that so it doesn’t really bother me from strangers. But since you’re upset by what he said, you can’t gauge what he meant instead of his words. If you touch something it focuses you better. You see past everything else as if channeling only their energy to read them.”
“I hate when people look at me funny because I reach for their hand.” I saw the truth of his words in his expression. I’d gotten over that as well because people looked at me really funny for kissing. Taking their hand wasn’t such a big deal after that.
I thought a minute about how to fix that. “You know how you can take like a snapshot of a computer hard drive and see all the files they had on it at that one moment.” I waited until he nodded. “You can do the same thing. You don’t have to make the contact long.” I reached for his hand. “Read me and mimic what my energy does.”
I’d been working with Tristan and a few other Omegas to show them how to expand on what they could do. He nodded and took my hand. I focused solely on mapping the stranger’s emotions and thoughts, not wanting to get bogged down with memories or knowledge. Then I reach over and smacked his hand.
“That’s for not thinking before you speak,” I chastised. Then I glanced at Tristan, who was smiling “You get it now? You don’t always have to touch while you’re scanning if you know what you’re looking for.”
“Yeah, he’s not a dick, just excited he was floating in a chair.” Tristan let go of my hand and ruffled my hair. “Thanks, short stuff. It always amazes me how much you know and how good of a teacher you are.”
I shrugged, dipping my head at his praise. “I learned how to adapt and expand what we can do from lots of trial and error. I know how logic makes people think things work, but it’s not about logic when it comes to powers and energy. Then I was locked away and bored so many times that I kept pushing to see how much farther I could take my powers.”
“I’m sorry I upset you both. I don’t think you’re freaks,” the stranger said. “I think it’s amazing what you can do. And you’re right, floating on the chair was cool. I apologize for how what I said sounded.”
“Forgiven, but I still need to see you unless you think I’m mentally handicapped like your friend.” In a flash I was up out of my chair and in Harkin’s arms.
“I said I was sorry and wrong. Don’t I get points for making sure I wasn’t taking advantage of you first?” He didn’t wait for an answer, growling as he mashed his mouth down to mine. I moaned and wrapped my body around him, holding on for dear life as the most pleasurable, overwhelming emotions swarmed me… Almost to the point of being too much because I was getting so much energy off of him that the huge waves of them were hard to keep my head above.
“You’re one of the three,” I confirmed when we broke apart. “And you’re forgiven because you think I’m the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen.”
“What else did you get, sweet thing?” he asked as he kissed along my chin. I was swarmed with images, mostly of what he wanted to do to me and several personal ones but I focused on one in particular.
“How many drawers did you clear out?” I whispered, trying to keep it between us. He flinched and moved his head back so he could stare into my eyes.
“A few in my room and cleared out the guest room. How did you know that?”
“Because you were thinking about when you did it and that you were so glad you did. You’re grateful that you had the hope of finding someone special now that you met me. I think it was sweet you cleared out a space for an Omega when you guys decided you were going to come and see if one would fit in your pack.”
“I think we found him,” he purred and kissed my neck.
“Even if I’m damaged and might not ever get better?” I asked quietly as I stared into his light blue eyes that almost seemed to change color. Or maybe it was because of the way his thick black hair offset them.
�
��We’re all a little damaged, Wes. You’ve been hurt and maybe you won’t get your wires uncrossed. But you aren’t brain damaged or someone we’d be taking advantage of if we took you home. You know what you want. You’ve been hurt. It’s time to show you that things will get better and what an inner circle who wants to take care of you and help you would be like.”
I nodded, snuggling against him and forgiving his earlier faux pas.
“Can I get my kiss now?” the stranger asked in a husky voice. I glanced over to him and saw he was pouting. Oh, that was just cute on a man who was at least six three. It also made me feel special and not because I was hurt or freakishly gifted. Special as he wanted me to be his.
I could get used to that feeling.
Chapter 2
“I guess if I must,” I teased. I tapped Harkin’s arm and he set me on my feet. I walked over to the stranger leaning against the counter and stared up at him. He had the lightest brown hair I’d ever seen without crossing into blonde and the same about his eyes, so light they almost were yellow. “Do I get a name with those plump lips?”
“Yours,” he growled and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me silly and groped my ass. I was hard as rocks and it had been forever and a day since someone had gotten me wound up like they did, if ever. Most of the kisses I gave were like familiar hugs. This was so different. “Levey Fergus.”
“Well hello there, Levey Fergus. I’m Wesley Orson. You wanted to know what else I could do. Want to see?”
“Umm, depends if saying yes will upset you,” he answered, seeming unsure of himself now. I gave him a wicked smile and focused on the blood vessels in a certain part of his body. “I was already mostly hard, baby.” He moaned and lowered his forehead to mine. “How did you do that?”
“I controlled your blood flow and sent it to your cock. There’s more.”
“You’re giving him an erection with your mind? Oh I so have to learn that trick,” Tristan said with a laugh.
I focused again and literally pulled Levey’s semen from his body, giving him a whirlwind orgasm. His eyes went wide as he cried out, falling to his knees as he came.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” he gasped when it was over. “That was scary amazing.”
Something in what he said hit me funny and I was thrown into a flashback. I gasped and my legs gave out as the memory practically smacked me upside the head with a baseball bat.
“No, give him space,” Tristan said loudly. “He’s having a flashback. He gets them sometimes and it freaks him out if people hover too close and he can’t get air.”
“I used to do that to my inner circle,” I panted, blinking up at Tristan when it was over from Levey’s lap. “If I was sore or they were being mean I’d speed things up and they never knew it was me doing it. I remember wishing I could get them off me and the next thing I knew the Alpha came. My energy did it because I willed it and I figured out how the process worked later.”
“Will you show me how?” Tristan asked without judgment as he knelt down. I knew he really wanted to learn, but my friend saw I was upset and was trying to get my mind off what I’d seen. He knew me well enough to know that I needed some time to process and if I felt everyone watching me or wondering what had just happened, I’d feel like a bug under a microscope. And no one wants to feel that way.
I took his hand and focused on every other man in the room. He nodded as I let my energy divert their blood and then showed him how I could make them come. I heard several cries and grunts before releasing them.
“So fucking cool,” Tristan whispered in awe, giving me a conspiratorial wink.
“Ask a guy next time,” Jared grumbled, splayed out on the kitchen floor. “I have a meeting with the guards in a few minutes and now I just creamed my pants.”
“Never thought after I claimed my mates that another man would give me an orgasm,” Cameron chuckled. “That was a trip and a half, Wes.”
“I got two of them and now I need a nap,” Levey groaned as he reached for me. I giggled and let go of Tristan, letting the large man pull me into his arms. He held me tightly as if I was his favorite teddy bear… Until he moved his hands down my chest. “Can we return the favor, baby?”
“I haven’t been fucked in so long,” I moaned as I pushed my ass against him. “And I’ve never really had all that great of sex. Take me.”
“Wesley, he can’t,” Tristan said gently. “No breaching, remember?”
“Right, yeah, sorry,” I mumbled, annoyed with myself that I got caught up in the moment.
“We can do other things,” Bay growled. I glanced over to him as he pounced. He lowered my shorts and swallowed down my cock as Levey teased my body. Then I felt another set of hands squeezing my ass, only to see Harkin getting in on the fun.
“Never was like this,” I gasped, seconds before I came. Bay was too talented at giving head and I’d been so long without any attention, never even having gotten a blow job ever. I blew in his mouth, moaning and wanting more. When I was spent he licked me clean and tucked me back in my shorts. “I give you my contract.”
“Just like that?” Bay asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“I was going to give it to you anyways.” I shrugged and went to sit up, Levey growling playfully and not letting me go. I smiled and snuggled back against him. Even if we were on the hard kitchen floor, the contact was worth it. “You guys are my three.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Tristan gave me a hesitant look as if he wasn’t sure this was a discussion for private.
“There have been lots of pieces missing as we’ve talked about,” I answered instead. “This morning in the shower I got one of them back. I remember what happened with my Alpha before he almost killed me. My last thoughts were that I’d never been kissed and I had so desperately wanted that. I thought I was going to die and it was my only regret.”
“So that’s what was on your mind before your trauma,” Jared clarified and I nodded. “Okay, then somehow that translates to you not being able to know who people are unless you get a kiss? Am I missing how you went from A to B on that?”
“Our powers and energy usage is a funny thing, my love, you know this,” Tristan answered him. “It’s not like coloring in the lines or set rules. My guess is while he was under attack he tried to use his gifts to protect him. And with that thought on his mind when his head was…” He trailed off as if not sure how to word it the right way.
“Being beaten in by a fireplace poker and my skull shattering,” I filled in. I took a deep breath, because saying it out loud always difficult for me. “I think when my body tried healing, my last wish and burst of energy crossed some wires. That my wants interfered with what my body needed and now I need to get lots of kisses to function and understand what’s going on around me.
“Like how I wanted my old inner circle to get off me and the sex to be over and my energy translated that into insta-orgasms. It wasn’t what I had asked for but the power figured out how to help me. Just maybe wasn’t the best time to be wishing for something when my head was getting beaten in.”
“Strange, but I follow the logic,” Bay said gently as he rubbed his hand over my leg as if trying to comfort me. “But you said we were what you need to fix you. How?”
“Keep in mind that while I was being attacked the High Council guards were killing my old Betas who were in fighting against my rescue,” I explained. I closed my eyes before my head started to hurt as it always did when I talked about my attack. That and I was blocking everyone else out, not even wanting to see the emotions in their expression and trying to sort out the logic. “They were severing bonds that affected me.”
“And you think rebonding with the right people you felt in your vision will undo the crossed wires?” Harkin surmised, confusion and doubt in his tone.
“I felt it. I couldn’t see any of you but Tristan and his men know I’ve kissed a lot of people since I’ve woken up.” I smiled when I heard three soft growls. “And that’s part of why
I know you’re the right three. You all feel the connection to my energy as if we’re pieces of the puzzle. I’ve not felt that with anyone else. My kissing them is like a familiar hug. But in my vision it was as if I was whole.”
“So we have to claim you?” Levey asked, a little of his hopefulness at having sex soon leaking into his tone.
“No, I saw us bonded. I’m not sure if it’s the bond of claiming an Omega or as mates. I don’t know if all of us have to mate, or what really. I just saw myself better and no longer confused as I woke in a bed surrounded by three men I loved. I knew without kissing who you were and nothing hurt me or frustrated me. I had to have been better then because I’m always upset and lost.”
“This is all really fast, Wes,” Jared said slowly as if not wanting to upset me or anyone else there. “You just met them. Can we slow this down a bit to make sure it’s right?”
“Actually, I talked the High Council into a special contract for you,” Tristan informed me. “You can sign a contract and do a trial run with your inner circle. Given the problems you’ve been having I thought it best to make sure you had ample time to decide if it was the right fit.”
“Tell me the terms,” Bay said, staring at Tristan and putting on his “Alpha” face. It made me shiver with desire. He was so strong and I felt his energy as pure as sunlight. Bay was a clean soul and a good man. I wanted to soak him up and let him heal me the way sunlight can after a long winter and wash away lethargic feelings.
“Everyone signs and there’s a month trial run. Normally a contract is signed and you have to consummate it. It’s the opposite this time. You guys sign, Wesley goes with you, and he has a month to decide if it’s the right fit. If you do have sex, then the trial run is over and it’s a binding contract. However, all the new contracts can be immediately broken if the Omega is ever abused or in fear of their safety and must stay in contact with the Omega Network.