by J. L. Wilder
“I’m always hungry for you,” she’d protested. It was the truth. Her sexual appetite had never been unusually high before she’d met her alphas, but the moment they’d come into her life, it was as if her body had come alive. She wanted them all the time now, even when she was distracting herself with other important things.
By the time the week had ended, she had been half-mad with desire. The men had left the cave last night—the pack’s betas and the children had been camping by the side of the river for a few nights now—and she had been alone, under strict and inviolate orders not to give herself any relief.
She had awoken this morning to the blissful feeling of Burton’s body curled up behind hers, his hand slowly stroking her arm, his hips rocking gently, betraying how badly he wanted to bury himself within her.
Ordinarily, Burton would have teased her. Made her wait.
But it soon became clear that he had been as desperate as she was. They had lasted only moments before he had thrust into her, leaving them gasping with shared relief.
Without separating, he had lifted her and carried her out into the sun. Now she stood in front of him, one hand braced against the trunk of a tree, the other reaching back to tangle in his hair.
He leaned forward and lifted her off her feet. Her shoulders tipped forward and she caught herself against the tree trunk with her other hand, hooking her ankles around his thick calves, pinned between a tree and her alpha. She moaned with delight at this strange new position, at how exquisite it felt to be trapped on his cock like this. With her feet off the ground, she couldn’t have moved away from him if she’d wanted to.
And she didn’t want to. She wanted him to hold her there, keep her there. He gripped her hipbones and lifted her higher, creating a deeper angle for himself, and she sobbed happily, unable to find words to articulate her pleasure.
He rolled his hips slowly, allowing her to adjust to the depth of his thrusts. She closed her eyes, desperately grateful for the perfect understanding he had always seemed to have of her body. He knew what she needed now, and she knew she could trust him to give it to her.
He slid one hand around the top of her thigh and brought it to rest between her legs. Now, because of the way her body was positioned, most of her weight had come to rest on those fingers.
It was exquisite. She tried to rock her hips, to create friction, but there wasn’t much she could do with her feet off the ground.
Burton chuckled and began to move his fingers.
It was what she had needed. It was what she had known she would be given. She forced her body to still, to relax and just enjoy this without fighting for more, without trying to chase the orgasm she knew was on its way—
And then it was crashing over her, her body trembling, her palms scraping against the trunk of the tree, her legs shaking their way free of their tight grip around his. His name escaped her mouth in a low, satisfied cry.
Burton wrapped his arm around her waist like a seat belt and fucked into her three quick times, and then she felt him release as well.
He sank down to his knees, taking her with him. At some point, they slipped apart, though he kept his arms wrapped around her tightly. They lay down on the ground, Burton holding Sophie tightly against his chest, his fingers still gently exploring her skin in less sensitive places—her cheekbones, the plane of her stomach, the swell of her hip.
“I can’t wait until you’re pregnant again,” he murmured into the back of her neck.
She couldn’t keep from smiling. She couldn’t wait to be pregnant again, either. She would never have been able to predict how satisfying it would be to watch her body swell up, to know that she was carrying her alphas’ children, that she would give birth to the next generation of the pack she had helped to start.
Pregnancy had been uncomfortable sometimes, but it had also made her feel beautiful and useful in a way that nothing else ever had. Perhaps it was just a function of being an omega that her body craved pregnancy so much. Whatever it was, she was looking forward to it.
“Do you think it will happen right away?” she asked.
“Sure it will,” Burton said. “We timed our mating ceremony to line up perfectly with when you were most fertile.” He chuckled. “Not that it matters, really. As an omega, you could probably get pregnant any time you wanted to. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t happened yet, just by accident.”
“We’ve been using birth control,” she pointed out. The alphas had stolen packs of condoms from drugstores several miles away from their cave to ensure that Sophie didn’t become pregnant again before her body was ready to deal with a pregnancy.
“Still,” Burton said. “Omegas are designed for pregnancy. It’s like a sponge soaking up water.”
She chuckled. “Is that what it’s like?”
He kissed along the line of her shoulder. “You’ll be pregnant by the time this ceremony is over, no doubt,” he said. “I’m just lucky I get to be with you first.”
“How was that decided?” she asked.
He pressed his lips to the back of her neck, and she felt him smile. “Rock paper scissors.”
“And what did you three decide, anyway?” Sophie asked. “How long do you and I have together?”
“The whole day and night,” Burton said. “I’ll leave when you’re asleep, and someone else will be here for you when you wake up.”
“Who?” Sophie asked.
Burton laughed. “That would be spoiling the surprise,” he said.
She pouted, feigning frustration. “Don’t I get to know anything?” she asked. “You planned this whole thing without me.”
“That was the idea,” Burton said. “We’re the alphas. We should be allowed to plan the mating ceremony. That’s the tradition.” His fingers entwined with hers and he gripped her hand. “You don’t need to worry, Sophie,” he added. “This whole thing was planned with you in mind. It’s all about what’ll make you happiest. If we came up with anything that you don’t like, all you have to do is tell us, and we’ll adapt.”
“I’m sure I’ll like it,” she said. It was impossible to imagine any of her alphas doing anything she didn’t like. They had always been so careful with her. They had always done their best to provide for her and take care of her every need.
Burton rolled onto his back. “Clouds are coming in,” he said.
Sophie looked up. Sure enough, the sky was darkening. “It smells like rain,” she said.
Burton nodded. “We should get back to the cave,” he said.
“What about the others?” Sophie asked. “The kids and the betas? Ryker and Marco? We should go get them and bring them back, shouldn’t we?” She grimaced at the thought of her babies out in the rain.
“They’re fine,” Burton assured her. “They have tents, remember?”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t know that. Where did you get tents?”
Burton got to his feet, clearly avoiding the question.
“You stole the tents?”
“We had to get them somehow.”
“Burton, you know how I feel about stealing.” Condoms were one thing—they were fairly cheap and absolutely necessary. But big-ticket items gave Sophie a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had lived too close to the human world for too long to look the other way on things like that. Her alphas didn’t seem to have that problem—but then, it had been a lot longer since any of them had tried to live a human life.
“We avoid it when we can,” Burton defended himself, holding out a hand to help Sophie to her feet. She sighed and accepted it. This was an old argument between the two of them. It certainly wasn’t going to be resolved today, and there was no point in staying out here under these ominous clouds when there was a nice warm cave to take shelter in.
They made it home just before the rain began to fall. There was a pile of tinder, as always, in the driest corner of the cave, and Burton began to arrange a fire as Sophie pulled on a pair of clean clothes. After a few moments, the
fire was snapping merrily. Burton sat beside it and held out his arms to Sophie, and she positioned herself between his legs, reclining against his chest.
“What do we do for the rest of the night?” she asked.
“Whatever we want, really,” Burton said. “The others won’t be back, so we have this time to ourselves.”
“Are you sure it’s all right?” she fretted. “The babies are so young.”
He laughed. “You’re being silly, do you know that?”
“How so?”
“The babies live in a cave, Sophie. They were born in a cave. It’s the only life they know. Weather comes in through the mouth of the cave all the time.” He kissed the top of her head. “You’re thinking of them as human again.”
“It’s hard not to.” None of the babies had ever shifted. They were too young. It was very uncommon for a shifter to take animal form in the first six months. When Sophie thought of the rest of her packmates, she was able to envision either humans or animals, as the situation warranted. But when she thought of her children, the only thing that ever came to mind was human babies.
Tiny. Helpless. Unable to fend for themselves.
She loved her wild life. She loved living in the cave with her pack. But she couldn’t deny that there was a tiny part of her that wished her children had a roof over their heads.
And now they didn’t even have the protection of the deep stone cave. Now they had nothing but thin canvas tents to shelter them against the elements.
“Hey.” Burton shook her gently. “Stop worrying. They’re fine. Marco and Ryker and the betas are with them. Everyone’s okay.”
She nodded. “You’re right,” she said. “I know you’re right. I just worry.” She laughed a little at herself. “I worry too much, don’t I?”
“You’re a new mom,” Burton said. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember how new all this is, given that we’re already trying to get pregnant again. We’ve only had the babies for a few months.”
“Do you think we’re ready to have a whole new litter?” Sophie asked.
“Well, they won’t be here for a while,” Burton pointed out. “The ones we have now will be about a year old by the time the new ones come along.”
“A year old.” She thought of her tiny children, still so new a part of her life. It was crazy to picture them as year-old children.
“We’re just lucky our pack is so big,” Burton said. “With the nine kids we have already, plus however many are in this new litter—well, it’s going to be a lot to deal with. I’m glad there are eight of us adults to manage the load.”
“Petra and Cam might be adding to that number soon themselves,” Sophie said.
“You think?” Burton asked.
“It could happen.” Petra and Cam, the two more peaceful of their betas, had become a mated pair only a month and a half ago. Ever since then, Sophie had been eagerly waiting for the announcement of their first pregnancy, knowing that the addition of an unrelated genetic line was a great opportunity for their pack to grow from within one day.
“At least they’ll only be having one at a time,” Burton pointed out. “That’s the one perk about betas.”
Sophie glanced up at him. “Do you wish I only carried one child at a time?” she asked him. She was teasing—she knew the answer. If her body worked that way, it wouldn’t be possible for her to have three mates.
He laughed and kissed her cheek. “Definitely not,” he said. “You know I’m into how big and heavy you get when you’re pregnant.”
She smiled, feeling positively adored.
“In fact,” Burton said, “maybe we should take advantage of this alone time to put in a little more work on that.”
He cupped her breast and stroked her nipple once, gently. Invitingly.
Sophie sighed happily and turned in his arms, accepting his invitation.
Chapter Two
RYKER
He stood outside the cave, staring up at the stars, awaiting his turn with his omega.
Ryker had been the first to meet Sophie and the first to imprint upon her. For only a few short days, she had belonged to him alone.
It was strange, he thought as he gazed up at the night sky. He would never have expected to feel such comfort with the idea of sharing his omega with two other alphas. He would have expected to feel territorial, jealous, even angry.
But those feelings had never manifested.
He had only to look at Sophie, at how happy she was in the life they’d provided for her, to be sure that he had made the right choice by letting Marco and Burton in. Being her alpha wasn’t about getting the most he could from her. It had never been about that. It was about providing her the best life, the most love.
Ryker had imprinted on her, but Burton and Marco had imprinted too. The bond Sophie had with each of them was precious, and Ryker would never have dreamed of trying to take that away from her.
Still, he did wish Burton would hurry up and get out of the cave. It had been too long since he had had his hands on his omega, and he had been looking forward to tonight with great anticipation.
He felt like he had been waiting for hours when Burton finally emerged from the cave. His fellow alpha was dressed only in a pair of Bermuda shorts, and he looked tired and satisfied.
“She’s sleeping now,” he told Ryker. “I told her you’d be there when she woke up.” He showed his teeth. “Well, I told her someone would be. She’s very curious to know who’s next.”
Ryker nodded. “How is she?”
“Tired,” Burton said. “It was a busy day.”
Ryker nodded again. It wasn’t their habit to discuss the details of their mating between each other. Out of respect for both their fellow alphas and their omega, they had agreed to keep some things private.
“The kids are all right?” Burton asked.
It was strange to watch Burton as a father. Ryker often thought of the younger man as a child himself. At twenty-two, he was only a few months older than Sophie, and he often seemed a lot less mature. Maybe that was because Ryker had watched Sophie carry and give birth to their children. It was impossible not to think of her as a mother.
“The kids are fine,” he said. “They’re enjoying their campout.”
Burton hesitated.
Ryker felt a stab of empathy. He knew full well how hard it could be to walk away from Sophie. Even knowing that another alpha was with her and that she was perfectly safe, it was difficult for any of them to be apart from her.
Her kidnapping had left its scars on the whole family.
The bears were gone now. They were certain of it. They conducted thorough searches of the woods every month, going as far as fifty miles away from the cave to look for any trace of bear. They had followed the scent south, and they were all confident that the bears had gone below the Arctic Circle. Everything above the sixty-sixth parallel was their pack’s territory now.
Still, the trauma remained. None of them could forget the feeling of shock and horror at the realization that Sophie had been taken from them.
“It’s all right,” Ryker reassured his packmate. “I’ve got her. You can go.”
Burton nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’m being ridiculous. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Ryker said. “I don’t like being away from her either. None of us do. That’s natural. But we’ve got to learn to handle it.”
“You’re right, I suppose,” Burton said. “Okay. I’ll head down to the campsite now. You two will let me know if you need anything, right?”
“Of course,” Ryker said. As if we’re going to need anything! She’s going to be all mine for the next twenty-four hours. He was looking forward to having this time with Sophie all to himself, to not having to share her with anybody else.
Burton jogged into the woods and disappeared. A few moments later, Ryker caught the scent of wolf and knew that his friend had shifted to make the run down to the campsite easier. He smiled at the thought of Burton clutching his fol
ded Bermuda shorts in his jaws as he ran and ducked into the cave.
Sophie lay in a nest of blankets, naked and breathing heavily. She was obviously exhausted, and for a moment, Ryker did wonder what she and Burton had been up to. They must have been very busy if their activities had left her so thoroughly worn out.
He crawled onto the pile of blankets beside her and wrapped his arm around her, fitting his body to the shape of hers. Without waking up, she relaxed into his hold, her legs curving to meet the shape of his, her fingers curling around his hand. She let out a soft, contented hum that ignited a low smolder in Ryker’s body.
He trailed his fingers slowly up and down the length of her arm. A part of him wanted to wake her up, to have his way with her right here and now. It felt like he had been waiting years instead of just one week.
But she needed her rest. He had to let her sleep. After all, the goal of this ceremony was to get her pregnant once again, and she would need to be healthy for that.
He waited, forcing himself to be patient even though he felt like he was burning from the inside out.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she stirred against him and rolled over, her eyes blinking open, taking in his face.
He didn’t wait for her reaction to the fact that he was the one who had replaced Burton. He couldn’t wait. Not another moment. Not for anything on Earth.
He wrapped his arms around her, drew her close, and kissed her.
He could feel her heart pounding against his chest. Her leg wrapped around his hipbone, pulling him closer, and now he could feel the heat coming from the core of her body. He thought he might melt, or perhaps catch fire. His mind felt swept away on currents of absolute pleasure.
Sophie rocked her hips to meet him. A low moan rose from somewhere deep within her. Their lips were still locked, and the noise escaped into Ryker’s own mouth.
He wanted to devour her.
But he couldn’t resist teasing her a little bit. “I guess you didn’t get everything you needed out of Burton,” he said, breaking the kiss so they could speak.