Page 47 of Knot Without My Permission
“Marie,” he groans, caging Ransom and I with his body. “Princess, you’re the boss, baby. Fuck, I’m so sorry.”
Wilder cups the hand not wrapped around the column of my throat tenderly to my face, sympathy and shared pain in his eyes. A drifting piece of me wonders if he’ll ever be as lighthearted again after Lore’s brush with death.
He knows exactly how heavy the mantle of leadership is.
My eyes roll back as Lore’s thrusts become hard enough to fuck Ransom’s knot in and out of me as my cunt attempts to suck it back inside of me.
My release crashes down on me as the world burns, until I black out. I suppose I trust my alphas more than I thought, because I’m fully aware of how vulnerable I am.
One day later
The deep murmur of voices pulls me out of sleep slowly. Someone is playing with my hair, and I’m surrounded by the scents of my alphas. Lore hasn’t left me since he arrived, andhas been the only one who can get me to drink water in between moments of awareness.
My heat is finally breaking, and I sigh as I open my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling intense shame.
“For what?” Storm asks, looking horrified as he sits up so he can see over Wilder. Lore is plastered against my back, making sure I can feel his body heat and smell him.
Fuck, I’m a mess.
“I feel so ungrateful,” I admit. “You?—”
“It’s bond sickness,” Ransom says, cutting me off as he moves around Lore. He forces Wilder to move over and I turn slightly so he can lay between my legs and lay his head under my breasts. “No matter what we do, you’d still want Lore, Sugar. It’s not your fault.”
“We weren’t bonded before,” I argue, my fingers moving over his buzzed hair.
“Doesn’t matter,” he sighs, his eyes dropping to half mast as he leans into my touch. “Bond sickness can happen without a completed bite for scent matches.”
“I had no idea,” Lore rasps.
“You did what a good president would do,” Wilder grunts. “You made sure the danger was handled.”
“The murders,” I realize. The guys did explain before we left Devon’s clubhouse what they’d found, because they’ve learned not to keep secrets from me. I thought the hammer was a bit over the top, but it was both a hint and a warning. “That was you.”
“I should have found a way to tell you sooner,” Lore says. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize it would affect you like this.”
“We weren’t bonded, so it shouldn’t have,” I sigh.
“We couldn’t stop thinking about you or needing you after we met you,” Storm says. “The need to be with you got stronger once we arrived in Minnesota. It all makes sense to me. We’ll need to figure out if this is permanent or not.”
“Ugh, how am I going to work?” I ask. “You also have to work, Lore. I can’t be a barnacle on your ass for the rest of our lives.”
“Ah, me wee Irish lass. There ya are,” Lore teases me. It’s actually a decent Irish accent and I snort in response. “Barnacle, Marie? Honestly. If I have to leave town for some reason, you’ll come with me. The boys have been telling me you’re a decent shot. I guess we’ll have to get you a motorcycle too.”
“Wait, what? You don’t mind that you’re stuck with me?” I ask.
“No one is stuck. You need to realize we want you and only you as our girl,” Storm growls, pressing against Wilder in an effort to get closer to me. “Showing you how to ride a motorcycle means you can get out with us if shit hits the fan. You’re close enough to help without being in danger. Life is all about being flexible, Kitty.”
“So you’re going to turn this into a good thing?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
“What’s so bad about always having us with you?” Storm asks. “No one is left behind when we have a job.”
“And what about whenIneed to work?” I ask.
“You don’t technically need to work,” Wilder grumbles.
Lore reaches over and flicks him between the eyes, making me chuckle.
