Page 175 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

He turns my palm face up, cradling it in his massive scarred hand, and with the tip of his index finger, he writes on my skin.

M…

I….

S….

H…

A.

My throat closes up.

When he finishes, he holds my hand open, his finger resting at the center of the last letter. His eyes lift to mine and there's something in them I've never seen before.

He looks… shy.

He signs with his free hand. It's associated with bears.

I blink.

Common name for bears, he clarifies, and the way he ducks his head slightly, the way those burning blue eyes flick away and then back⁠—

He's embarrassed.

He's embarrassed and he's cute, and I'm going to die.

"Misha," I whisper.

The name is soft and gentle. Completely at odds with the appearance of the giant feral alpha whose scarred face is inches from mine.

But not the rest of him.

Not at odds at all.

"Misha," I say again, smiling, pulling him closer. "Can I call you that? When it's just us?"

He nods, pressing his face into my neck, and purrs.

The sound vibrates through my entire body. Deep, resonant, rattling my sternum and spreading warmth through my ribs. His arms tighten around me, pulling me flush against his chest, and his face stays buried in the curve of my throat where my pulse beats against his ruined mouth.

I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on.

When the purring finally gentles to a low, steady hum, I lift my head and rest my chin on his shoulder, staring at the loft around us. His heartbeat thuds slow and solid against mine.

My thoughts drift downstairs without permission. Whiskey, Plague, and Valek tangled together somewhere below us, all connected by this impossible thing none of us expected.

That's four of my alphas accounted for.

Which means Thane is alone.

"Hey," I say, tilting my head back to look up at Wraith. "Thane."

His eyes shift.

"He went to bed early," I continue. "He has another headache. He's down there by himself, isn't he? If Whiskey, Plague, and Valek are… um. Bonding."

He does that, Wraith signs. He's more introverted than me, sometimes.