by Treva Harte
“Damn, son. Where did you learn how to do that?” Dek looked at the opening that was now in the side of the pack’s office building.
Everyone seemed a bit stunned. What did they think he’d meant to do? He wasn’t here to play. The bomb had done just what he had intended it to do.
“From you. Well, sort of. Remember the summer we went to Alabama for your job? Folks weren’t taking kindly to the takeover there and there were bomb threats and explosive experts all over. I didn’t have anything to do except hang out and listen.” Rome couldn’t help but glance over at Mia and Grey.
They looked all right. Not too happy with him, but safe. Some of the adrenaline humming through his system eased.
“What did you think you’d get from doing this?” The tall, impossibly tall, thin Alpha called Hunt asked.
Icy voice. Icy look.
“Your attention. You seemed to have forgotten weres bite when they’re attacked.” Rome didn’t add that once he’d got the pack outside he’d planned to get a little more one-on-one with the Alpha.
“You got my attention. Maybe too much of it.” Hunt’s fingers tapped at his suit jacket. Rome wondered what lethal surprise he might have inside. “All we want is the female. Give her up and we can all go home. I might even forget about this. Eventually.”
“Give it up, Hunt. Mia is ours. She’s pregnant with my child. It’s over.” Grey’s voice was almost gentle.
“Damn it!” Rossi burst out. “You knocked my sister up? You’re lying. You couldn’t get it up for a woman—”
“Shut up.” Hunt didn’t even look over at the other man.
“I figure you’re the one who came up with this little plan to grab Mia to start with. You might even have been the one to burn her out.” Grey’s voice was almost gentle. His face wasn’t. “Me, I’m just a beta. I’m not in charge of saying what the pack will do to you next. But could be you’ll be getting another visit real soon. I wouldn’t sleep too hard for the next lifetime, if I were you, Rossi.”
Rossi glanced over to Hunt and Dunne but saw no support.
“Shoo.” Grey made a dismissive gesture. “Now.”
Rossi backed up. Slowly at first, then faster. A few yards away from them, he turned and ran.
“It’s time for us to talk, Hunt.” Dek ignored the interlude and jerked his head to indicate a spot further away. “Alpha to Alpha. Anything I say, Lowell will back when he arrives.”
“I hate negotiating.” Hunt’s smile glittered. “I’d rather try other methods.”
“Me, too. So let’s make it short and sweet before we remember how much we hate this.” Before Dek moved, he touched Rome briefly on the shoulder.
Rome watched his father walk away before turning to face the rest of the group. The adrenaline was all gone now, leaving nothing but flat bleakness.
No one said anything but the silence was an accusation in itself. We almost got killed. Your daddy had to be there to mop up after you. You screwed up. Damn it, he knew that.
They could have died. All of them. Watching his damned back.
“I can’t stand this. I can’t be like you.” Rome pushed his hair from his eyes. “This just proved it.”
“But you needed us,” Mia blurted.
“I fucking well did not. Not this time, babe. Not next time, either. I don’t need—I don’t want to need anyone.”
You’d rather die?
“Maybe I would.” Rome glared at her. “Anything is better than having to do what everyone else tells you to do. To breathe when they let you. To second guess what you do.”
To never measure up to what they want of you. He hastily tried to banish that thought in case Mia burrowed into his brain and heard it.
“But you’re part of us now. You can’t—”
“Mia, sweetheart.” Grey put his hand on her shoulder, sort of the way he had when they were in the burning house. It was more than a touch. It was an order.
She didn’t say anything more.
Then again, Mia could handle orders much better than Rome could. He felt as choked as when the smoke threatened to kill them. As smothered. He had to get out.
Before he went and blew their lives up.
“I know this is a cliché, but fuck it. It’s not you, it’s me. All right? Good-bye. Have a nice life. Be safe. Both of you.” Grey would take care of her. The whole pack would. And Mia would stick with Grey. Rome was sure of it. She and Grey’s baby would do just fine.
* * * *
“Do you think he’ll be back?” Mia didn’t want to ask. Had to ask. Grey knew Rome better than anyone else.
“What if he doesn’t return? What then?” Grey held her, but he didn’t look down at her.
She would have liked his full attention when she made her announcement but she knew it was already overdue. She shouldn’t wait longer for the right time. “I’m pregnant. Did you know you weren’t lying when you told everyone?”
Grey’s grip tightened for a moment. “You said you weren’t.”
“I—I must have been spotting. That’s what Leila tells me. It happens sometimes.”
“Does that mean something is wrong? With the baby? With you?” He looked down then, frowning.
“No. As long as it stops, everything is fine. I guessed what was going on after the bleeding stopped because I still felt a bit…off. While you and Dek were trailing Rome, I finally let Leila check me out the way I should have before.” Mia took a long breath. Let it out. “Anyhow, your duty here is done.”
“Looks that way.” He kept his hold on her.
“You aren’t going to go after Rome? Like last time?”
“I caught him, sure. Could do it again, most likely. But I can’t keep him if he won’t stay.” Grey ran his hand over her hair. “Guess you can’t, either.”
“No. I’m not good at making people stick around.” She was good at being lonely. Well, she’d been before. She could be again.
And she’d have a baby. She could manage. She would.
“I’m not going anywhere, Mia.”
“What—what does that mean?” It couldn’t mean what she wanted it to. She tried to keep from hoping.
“I miss Rome. Will miss him for the rest of my life if he’s fool enough to stay away that long. But you’re here. That’s good, because I’d miss you, too.”
Mia looked down at her stomach. “You mean because of the baby.”
“Because of the baby. And because of you.” Grey bent his head to kiss her hair this time. “We belong together.”
The two of us isn’t like three. But it’s a damn sight better than one. Especially when all of us were meant to be together.
Mia swallowed at the echoing of Grey’s thoughts. But she had to be sure. “You want me? Even if it’s just me?”
“Just you isn’t half-bad, little girl.”
Mia turned and let her lips graze his. “Show me you want me.”
Please. She had to feel. She had to know.
He didn’t hesitate. He deepened the kiss, slowly at first, so it was like being petted. His tongue strokes were soft and persuasive, coaxing out her response. Mia slid her hands into his hair and clung. Grey kept the kiss going, made it deeper and hotter.
He touched her breasts as he kept the kiss going. How did he know she was already getting more sensitive there? Just his touch was sending shocks of heat through her—from nipples down to her clitoris.
She was whirling, falling deeper and deeper into a velvet blackness that promised slow, sensual delights. She’d wondered if she and Grey would ever have sex alone. She’d wondered if it did happen whether she’d have to seduce him.
This was better than anything she had imagined. They weren’t just having sex. Grey was making love to her.
Her sigh mingled with his as she stroked the side of his head. He turned to kiss her palm. Then he laved it with his tongue.
“You, Mia. I want you.” He was hard against her, rocking slightly against her hips.
“Well, you have me
. Now what?”
“Guess we’ll find out.” He slid his hand under her shirt and unzipped her pants. She tilted her hips up, let him trace the edge of her panties with his finger. He ran them once, twice against her skin. Then he paused. Tease.
She rocked against him this time, rubbing against his erection through his pants. He was hard, so hard. He unzipped his own jeans.
“These are in the way,” Grey murmured, and with one lethal swipe, her panties were in tatters and he inched inside her. Perfect. His controlled ferocity was perfect. She clenched his hardness, wanting more, wanting everything, and he shuddered.
He suddenly withdrew.
“Wh—?” Mia opened her eyes.
“I like this.”
“Driving me insane?”
“Yeah. Tasting. You taste different. You smell different.” He licked his lips and Mia sucked in her breath. His eyes looked dazed. “‘s good. Real good. I like taking time with you. I like hearing—” he ran his tongue between her breasts and she bucked—“you whimper. I like hearing you beg.”
“You’re horrible.”
“Try again, sweetheart.”
“You’re wonderful. And if you don’t keep moving just that way, I’m going to kill you.”
“Beg me.”
Mia kept her mouth shut. She was good at that. She had self-control. She was the quiet one. The head of Grey’s cock tickled her clit, the traitorous clit that swelled and tingled at his touch, sending more waves of need through her. She clenched her teeth to keep from screaming.
“Meeee—ahhh. Mi alma.”
His soul.
“Please. Grey. Oh, please.” She spread her legs wider, knowing she was wet and ready and needy. “Please, I want you in me so badly.”
He entered her without hesitation, filling her up, making the ache better and worse at the same time. He paused before he moved. She arched her back, still silently begging for more.
“Look at me, mi alma. Keep looking.”
He kissed her, the stubble of his beard scraping against her skin. His kiss was tender and hungry and close to hurtful. All the ways there were to kiss a woman, all at the same time. And then he fucked her.
Without any more warning his cock was deep within her, pushing inside her, battering her body.
She stared at him. He looked back, the tension in his face matching the tension in her body as he kept up the strokes within her. His eyes were intent on her. He looked at her face and into her soul, memorizing just who he had up against the wall.
Close. She could feel his breath on her, feel his skin against hers, knew the ache of wanting in her, matched the need in him.
She mouthed the words to him, unable to speak as the beautiful pressure mounted.
I. Love. You.
He shuddered and thrust.
Hard enough to make her scream. Deep enough to make her gasp. And long enough to make her body shudder in response once, twice. Three times.
* * * *
He was sitting, quietly, when she opened her eyes. She crawled, still half-dazed with sleep and sex, and settled into his lap.
“I prob’ly don’t smell very good.” She was sweaty and cum streaked her thighs.
“You smell perfect.”
She smiled and let her head rest against Grey’s chest. Warm. Safe.
She couldn’t ever remembering feeling so good.
In the distance she faintly heard the sound of a wolf howling, all alone, up at the moon.
Oh, God. She couldn’t ever remember feeling so sad.
* * * *
“The house isn’t a total loss.” Lowell shook his head. “But it’s going to take months to restore.”
“The house never was my favorite anyhow. It was too—too cold. Impersonal.” Lin didn’t look bothered at all.
Mia hadn’t cared about the rest of the house but she’d miss her one refuge. And that was gone forever. Her bedroom would never be the same. Would never feel as safe.
Then again, she was getting used to sleeping in Grey’s bed. But how would that work now that everyone was back? She wasn’t part of Grey’s pack. Lowell had huge respect for Dek, his former Alpha as well his father-in-law, and the packs got along better than two packs ever should, but no one in separate packs ever lived together.
“Dek, how the hell did you keep Hunt from coming back to finish the job after Rome blew their office to hell?” Lowell didn’t look bothered, either. In fact her two Alphas looked strangely cheerful.
Mia frowned. Lowell was a good Alpha. Even though he usually kept himself carefully controlled, she’d always figured there was more to him than he showed most of the pack. Lord knows Lin seemed to adore him and swore he was funny and warm—all things he never revealed to anyone but Lin. But while he might be many things, cheerful had never been his style.
What was going on?
“I promised him something for the future.” Dek glanced uneasily at the women. “First choice of the next female we have available.”
Mia gulped. So did Lin.
Lowell just shook his head. “Why the hell would he wait on a possibility? And, even if it happens, why allow for something that won’t do him or his pack any good for a long time? Even if we have a girl, it will be almost two decades before they can do anything with her.”
“Desperation?” Dek shrugged. “There aren’t many other packs or were females out there.”
My baby. Bargained away before she’s even born.
Grey turned and looked at her. Even though they didn’t touch, she heard him.
I’ll make sure nothing hurts her. Not even something the Boss has promised.
Mia managed a nod back. How a beta was going to do that was beyond her, but it didn’t matter. The panic inside subsided. Grey would do what he said. She knew that.
“Lowell, before this goes any further, I need to talk to Mia.” Lin touched her mate’s hand.
Lowell nodded and Lin turned to Mia.
“Mia, I want you to know first. Before everyone else in the pack.” Lin’s eyes glittered as she grabbed Mia’s wrists, pulling her up and away from the rest.
Mia raced along, trying not to be pulled. Lin was powerful and she was determined. Whatever the Big Talk was, Mia had a feeling she wasn’t going to want to hear it. She hadn’t liked anything else she’d heard so far.
When Lin stopped at last, Mia braced herself.
“Don’t look so worried! It’s good news. The best. I’m going to have a baby.” Lin’s grin spread all over her face. “Given all that’s happened I figured you deserved to know before anyone else but Lowell.”
“That’s wonderful!” Mia smiled back. Then her smile faltered. “Oh.”
Lin had done it. Mia wasn’t needed for anything now.
What did you do with an Omega’s baby when the Alpha was pregnant too? Mia touched her stomach.
Her pack wouldn’t turn them out. They wouldn’t. The stories about the other packs—
Mia opened her mouth to tell her Alpha her own news and shut it again. Lin would find out soon enough. She’d keep quiet and let Lin shine. She’d—
No.
“So am I.” Mia’s chin firmed. “I don’t know what that means for you, Lin. I’ll go if you want. But I’m going to keep my baby. I’m not giving him or her away. And I’m not acting like it was a mistake. Because it wasn’t.”
This was something she had to stand for. Even if no one stood with her.
Lin shook her head. “Mia, dear, I’d never do that. I know how much having a baby means. Except for Lowell, it’s the most important thing ever.”
“I have to tell Grey.”
“We have to tell everyone!” Lin’s laugh bubbled over.
“No, I have to tell Grey first. Because if you can get pregnant, then maybe all those things Rome believed about himself are wrong.”
Things like not being a were. Not being able to father a child.
“You worried that I’ll step away if the baby might not be mine?” Grey asked b
ehind her back.
Mia jumped. She’d forgotten how quiet Grey could be.
She turned. Grey. He was unshakeable. Steady. Someone to depend on. And so sexy, even when all he did was look at her with that half-smile on his face.
“No. I don’t think you would. But I wondered if you’d want to.” Mia swallowed down more words. She wanted Rome back. For so many reasons. But a small part of her was thrilled that Grey had chosen and chosen her.
But a larger part didn’t want to make him choose. She didn’t want to choose one or the other herself. All. She wanted it all. Both of them, her pack, her baby. Everything.
“Think again, sweetheart. I always figured it was Rome’s baby as much as mine, no matter who provided the sperm. We’d never have gotten here without him. But I’d never leave you now.” Grey smiled a little wider. A real smile. “”Course if Rome ever finds out the news, could be he’ll finally realize who he is.”
“A real were?”
“Hell, he’s always been that. I mean he’s Alpha. Pure Alpha. Born to the role. He’s been fighting it for too long, pretending he couldn’t be.”
“He’s always been way too bossy, if that’s what you mean,” his loving sister muttered.
“Bossy. Protective. Knows what he wants and will barge in to get it. Alpha.” Grey shrugged.
“Do we need yet another Alpha nearby?” Lin asked.
“We don’t know yet if we’re going to have one.”
* * * *
The music blared. The yells at the bar were too loud. The lights were too bright.
He had a mother of a hangover. Rome ran his hand over the stubble on his face and ran his tongue over the fur on his teeth. He must look as good as he felt.
“Hi, honey. I bet you could use a friend.” The redhead smiled at him a little too blearily and hung over his table, showing a little too much cleavage for so early in the morning.
“Uh, thanks for asking but—”
“You trying to hit on my woman?” The bruiser who stepped up to them looked like he was ready for a fight.
A week ago Rome would have been happy to oblige both of them.
“Not at all. I’m leaving. I’ll tell the bartender to set you up with another round on me on my way out.” Rome got up, made sure his balance was all right before he put one foot ahead of the other and left a faintly puzzled, scowling couple behind him.