Lennox

Resistant Omegas 4

Lennox The Omega Network has gone into effect. Numbers of suffering omegas—like Lennox—are being rescued across America. Lennox Ashton has endured extreme levels of neglect and torture from his inner circle. All he wants to do is end the pain, but others refuse to allow him to give up. Hugo Cormac is the strong, protective new Alpha of the Oceanside, California, pack who is willing to do everything he can to show Lennox how much he loves him. Beta Blair Peregrine wants to be the caretaker of his budding family, tending to the needs of those he loves before his own. Falcon Beall, also one of Hugo's Betas, is the calm one of the group. He longs to love and to be loved. Just as these werewolves begin their life together, Lennox is captured. Will he be saved, or will his life end just as he is finding love? Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal Length: 36,004 words

LENNOX Resistant Omegas 4

Joyee Flynn

MENAGE AMOUR MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc. www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK IMPRINT: Ménage Amour ManLove

LENNOX Copyright © 2012 by Joyee Flynn E-book ISBN: 1-61926-668-7 First E-book Publication: March 2012 Cover design by Jinger Heaston All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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LENNOX Resistant Omegas 4 JOYEE FLYNN Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1 Four months ago I was finally rescued from hell on Earth. I didn’t think there was another way to describe it. I was trapped in an attic for five years, basically since the time I became the pack’s Omega. The moment the ceremony was over I was led to the Alpha’s room and locked in. That should have been my first warning to run, but I was young and naive. The rescue happened about a week after I posted to the Omega Network that came down as a special mandate. The funny thing was, well, there were a few funny things actually, according to the High Council… I was dead. And one of the people who hated me most, the housekeeper, was the one who helped me post on the network. She wanted the Alpha for herself and hated me. But how anyone could want to be with someone so evil was beyond me. Oh, and she thought I was about to die and didn’t want to have to clean up the mess. Yeah, she had it real rough. I guess one of the reasons I got rescued first of all the abused Omegas was mine was the worst story. Yeah! I took first place at something! And because of the fact that my Alpha had reported me dead four years ago. Car crash. So my pack never even fucking knew I was still alive, locked in that attic.

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The night of the rescue was a haze for me, and I only remember bits and pieces. I heard a lot of noise, guns firing, yelling, and my Alpha howling in defeat. Hell, I was so far gone, practically at death’s door, that I couldn’t even open my eyes or move. Then someone broke down the door to my prison and I remember bright lights. Even with my eyes closed, they were so bright after years in the dark with only one little window in the attic to give me any light. “Sweet mother of mercy,” a man whispered as I heard him move next to me. I started to whimper, thinking he was going to hurt me. “Don’t move, Lennox. I’m going to get you out, little one. You’re safe now.” It was probably stupid of me to trust that voice, but I did. He was true to his word and all, but after everything I’d been through, trust wasn’t something I planned on giving someone ever again. His voice was deep and carried a kindness I had not heard in so long, and I remember wanting to see his face. I wanted to know if the man was as beautiful as the voice. “Start up the chopper,” he called out as he lifted me into his arms. “We need to get him to the Council Hospital now.” And that was it. I blacked out from the pain of being moved. They kept me in a medically induced coma for the next month, trying to save my life. Not that I thought it was worth saving, but I remembered the voice. I shouldn’t have been able to hear anything when I was out of it, but I heard him. When the doctors woke me up, he was there, and I had been right. The voice came from the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He was muscular and tall, at least six four to my five four, deep green eyes, and black hair that looked wild and untamed and stopped at his chin. “You’re going to be okay, Lennox,” he said gently as he raised my hand to his lips. “You made it through the worst of it.” “Why did you bother?” I asked angrily, my voice sounding hoarse and my throat hurting from lack of use and the tube they used to give

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me fluids. “Death would have been better and we both know it. My wolf has died, and everything inside of me has as well.” “Don’t say that,” he whispered as he started to pull me into his arms. I panicked and started fighting him, not willing to take the chance that my rescuer was going to use me as my inner circle did. He immediately let go and sat on the edge of my hospital bed instead. “Things are going to be better now. You’ll see.” I huffed in disbelief, not having the strength to do anything else. That was all he said before the flurry of doctors, nurses, and tests started and another form of hell began for me… Learning how bad of a shape I was in. Once it was all over, the doctor pulled up a seat next to my bed and spoke gently as his kind eyes held sorrow in their brown depths. “We did the best we could, Lennox, but since you never shifted after you were beaten and we couldn’t get you to shift either, you healed slower than a human would.” I swallowed loudly a few times, trying to just bite the bullet. “How bad?” “Now keep in mind if you can communicate with your wolf and get him to come out, shift fully, then a lot of this might go away.” “How bad?” I asked again. I just wanted them to tell me so I could start processing. The doctor rested his elbows on his knees, folded his hands, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before opening them up again and speaking to me. His voice was very clear and calming. “Your knee was shattered, and while we tried to reconstruct it, the injury was a few years old.” Yeah, I knew that. One of my Betas had crushed it when I begged him just to kill me. He was pissed that his toy and fun might find a way to leave him. “You’ll never have full use of it again and will need to walk with a cane after some physical therapy. The stronger you get, the more likely your wolf will come back.”

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“He’s gone. He’s been gone for years,” I whispered, closing my eyes in despair. “What else?” “We had to remove some of your right lung because the tissue was damaged, so you’ll have to sleep with an oxygen mask to help your body get the full amount of air you need.” He glanced down at the chart on his lap nervously, and I understood. I wouldn’t want to look at the mess I was either. “The scarring is extensive across your body, but we were able to repair your penis and the internal damage in your anus. The fingers had already healed over and we couldn’t find the severed ones. Those might heal if you shift but we’re not sure.” I’d forgotten about my hands. With the hell I’d lived, it wasn’t like I could categorize all my injuries always. I raised them to my face, silent tears falling when I saw four fingers missing, two on each hand. “One for each time I got out of the attic and tried to escape,” I whispered, remembering how my Alpha had caught me four times and bitten off a finger. “Jesus,” the doctor gasped, his eyes going wide before he was able to school his features. “We’ll work with you on pain management and physical therapy, but for the first week, we just want you to relax and start eating again. The IV fluids we gave you when you were in the coma helped you to gain some weight, but you were severely dehydrated and malnourished, so go slow. We’ve got a diet all prepared. We’ll run some more tests once you’re feeling a bit better to see what else we can do to help you.” “Thank you,” I said as he stood. “I’d like to be alone now though, please.” The doc nodded and left with the two nurses that had been in the room, fussing about to tend to me. But my rescuer stayed. “Go.” “No, Lennox,” he whispered, shaking his head as he took the doctor’s vacated seat. “I know why you want to be alone and I can’t do it.”

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“What’s your name?” I asked him with a sigh, annoyed he was smart enough to realize I was going to end my misery. “Hugo. Hugo Cormac,” he answered. I nodded as I pulled back the sheet, not caring that I was naked. I wanted him to see the disaster I was. He breathed in harshly through his teeth. His gaze started at my feet, seeing how misshapen they were from all the beatings, then moved up to my knee, which was the size of a cantaloupe on my little body. I looked along with him, needing to see the extent of the damage myself. My cock bent funny, even soft, as if having been stitched back together, same with one of my nipples. And there wasn’t a space more than three inches big that didn’t have a scar, mostly from the whips they’d used on me. There were so many thin, white, raised lines covering my flesh that I’m sure some kid could have fun playing connect the dots on me. He paused when he got to my collarbone, and I felt along it. It had been broken so many times that it was at a funny angle from not having healed right. I held up my hands as well. “Would you want to live like this?” I asked quietly. “No, no, I wouldn’t,” he answered so quietly I could barely hear him. And then shocked the shit out of me when he wrapped his hands around mine. “But I wouldn’t give up either, Lennox. I think once you heal and see that there is some good in life, to being alive, that your wolf will come back and things will be okay.” “Things will never be okay again, Hugo,” I whispered, shaking my head. “For five years—” “Not five,” he said gently, interrupting me as he winced. “What?” I asked, shaking my head. “What are you talking about?” “What year is it, Lennox?” “No,” I gasped, my eyes going wide. “No, you’re not going to tell me I was there longer.” “It’s September 15, 2011.”

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“Almost seven years,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. “My birthday is the first week of October. That would have made it seven years. I thought I was only twenty-six.” “No, I’m so sorry.” “I’m tired,” I replied, pulling my hands away and reaching for the sheet and blanket. I covered my body, suddenly cold down to my soul. I felt myself start shivering. “I just want to rest. Stay, don’t stay, I don’t care anymore.” “Okay, sweetie,” he mumbled, kissing my forehead. “Get some rest.” I wanted to ask why he was touching me. I wanted to know how he could even stand to show affection to a mauled-up monster and why he was even here. Why was he being nice to me? But sleep won out and I drifted off. And that’s when the nightmares started. **** The next few weeks I did what the doctors told me to. I blindly followed their instructions, not caring in the slightest. My birthday came and went, and I cried in sorrow at my pathetic life when Hugo brought in a cake. He immediately got the hint and tossed it. I went through painful rehab to help my knee and learn how to use my hands with fingers missing. Granted, it wasn’t the hell of being beaten and raped all the time, but it was far from living a real life. I watched a lot of TV and caught up on movies I had missed. Hugo had brought in his laptop with a portable Wi-Fi device that he explained to me. Then he’d plug it into the TV and lie in the bed next to mine. It was a private room, but the nurses had brought in an extra bed for him after weeks of him sleeping in the chair. He also read to me. It was weird, but every night he would read to me, mostly bedtime stories and fairy tales. Again, I wondered what was going through his mind but didn’t ask. I rarely even spoke to anyone, but it didn’t seem to bother him much.

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Hugo was always there. He never left my side. I had finally asked him about that. He was my guard. He worked for the High Council, and after the rescue mission, Hugo had given them the option of them assigning him to my protection or he was going to take a leave of absence to watch over me. I didn’t think I wanted to know why he cared. The first week of November I woke up and he wasn’t there. I felt an ache in my chest that I had never experienced before. I missed Hugo. Which was stupid. He wasn’t anything to me. I wasn’t to him either. Nothing more than an assignment. The last thing I needed was to get attached to someone. It was lunchtime before he came into my room, looking equal parts worried and excited. We stared at each other for several moments before he walked over to the TV and turned it off. “We need to talk,” he said quietly as he clutched some papers in his hand. “I had a meeting with the High Council.” “You’ve been reassigned,” I whispered as I nodded. Why did that idea fill me with pain? “Yes, I put in the request and it was approved, but I made some stipulations before accepting it,” Hugo replied hesitantly. “You know you can’t just stay here forever, Lennox. You have to be placed with another inner circle.” “No!” I scurried out of the bed, trying to get away, but my knee failed me. I would have landed face-first on the floor if not for Hugo’s strong arms wrapping around me. “You know the laws, sweetie,” he said gently, pulling me onto his lap. “You need an inner circle to keep you grounded and help you with your powers.” “I don’t have any powers. I never did,” I whimpered. “I’m defective.” “No, Lennox, you’re not,” he whispered, his lips pressed against my ear. I shivered at the contact, a weird fluttering feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. “You were too abused and weak for them to

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develop, but they’re there. I know they are. They’re waiting for you to heal enough to come out, just like your wolf.” “I understand you believe that,” I replied, moving closer into his arms and against his body. “But I don’t. You’re wrong, Hugo. That part of me is dead.” “Give me a chance to show you otherwise,” he begged. “What does it matter?” I asked, my mind snapping back to our conversation. “You’re leaving.” “Yes, but I’m taking you with me if you’ll have me.” I said something very eloquent, a mature response. “Huh?” I turned in his lap, straddling him as I gazed into his eyes. “There were several Omegas that were rescued and inner circles that were arrested for their crimes,” he explained gently as he brushed his knuckles along my cheek. “Those packs need new leadership.” “So you asked to be assigned to one of them?” “Yes. It was the only way I could think to stay with you and keep you safe. I petitioned to become an Alpha of one of the smaller packs on the contingency you would be my Omega. It was approved today as long as you agree to it. When you are well enough to leave the hospital, we can start a new life, Lennox… Together.” “So you got to be an Alpha and have an Omega,” I said bitterly as I pushed away from him. “How nice for you. I doubt I have a choice.” “I never wanted to be an Alpha,” he growled as he lifted me into his arms. My trying to get away from him was ineffective given how fucked-up my body was. “I never wanted to lead. I was happy as a Council guard and enforcer.” “What?” I asked, now completely confused. “Then why petition the High Council?” “Because of you!” he exclaimed as he sat me on the bed. He moved away from me, pacing around the room, shaking his head in frustration. “The moment I saw you, Lennox, I knew my life had changed drastically. I had a hard time letting the medics help you because that meant you were being taken from my arms. I asked to be

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assigned as your guard so I didn’t have to leave your side. The idea of you being sent to another inner circle and away from me was killing me.” “So you asked to be Alpha for me?” I thought my eyes might pop out of my head in shock. “My god, why? Are you that fucked-up that you want some monster of a cripple in your bed? You that hard up for dates?” He spun on his heel, his eyes narrowed dangerously at me. “I don’t know if that’s more insulting to me or you, but I won’t stand for that kind of talk. It’s not like I’m asking you to thank me, but you don’t have to insult me. I’m trying to help here because I care about you. I thought after all this time the feeling might be mutual. My mistake.” Before I could say anything, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Balls.

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Chapter 2 The next few days I had a new guard. I didn’t like being alone with a stranger, especially one who looked at me with pity and like he might vomit if he saw any part of my body. While that was better than lust or having to worry he’d take advantage of me, it was still creepy. I finally begged him to send for Hugo. “About time,” he grumbled and left the room. Hugo showed up about a half an hour later, looking as if he’d been drinking and hadn’t showered or shaved since we’d talked. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’ve been a complete ass to you, and you’ve been nothing but nice to me and a good friend.” “Friend,” he parroted, shaking his head and looking away from me, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. “A good friend.” Obviously that wasn’t the right thing to say. He continued to stare at the wall. “I don’t want to be your friend, Lennox.” “What do you want from me?” “I want you,” he answered firmly as he finally looked at me and placed one knee on the bed. I didn’t freak out or flinch, so he moved forward, stopping once he was on all fours over me. “Tell me you don’t feel this, sweetie. I know you feel something.” “I–I missed y–you,” I stuttered, scared that he was so close but not because I thought he’d hurt me. “What else?” His voice had gone deep, husky even, as he leaned over and nuzzled my neck. I gasped at the contact, realizing that my dick might not be broken as it started to fill. “You make my stomach flutter and I feel safe with

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you. It scared me to have the other guard around rather than it being just the two of us.” “And how do you feel when you’re in my arms, Lennox? I need you to say the words.” He licked along my neck, stopping to nibble on my ear. “Safe. Loved,” I panted, reaching out to touch his chest, but then crying out when I saw my fucked-up hands. “No. I can’t do this and you deserve someone whole.” “I decide who I deserve,” he growled, taking my face in his hands. “If you aren’t attracted to me or don’t want me, that’s different. But don’t you dare push me away because you think I can do better. I can’t. You are who I want.” I don’t know what I would have said, and he didn’t give me the chance. Hugo kissed me firmly, but with so much tenderness it made me melt against the bed. It was my first kiss. And it was with my knight in shining armor. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to live. “Give me a chance to show you how good life can be, sweetie,” he whispered against my lips. “I made sure the High Council changed a lot of the rules given what you’ve been through. Please? Just give me six months, and if you’re not happy, then I’ll send you back here to live your life however you want. With whomever you want.” His voice sounded pained, but I could see in his eyes that he meant every word. “Okay,” I agreed, whimpering until he kissed me again. I could feel joy coming off of him in waves, but I still had one question I needed to know the answer to. “Why me?” “Because while death might have seemed preferable to the pain and abuse, you didn’t give up and take the out. Because the man I rescued still had some fight in him even when he was barely breathing. Because the man I read about in the file I was given was a beautiful person. Because I think you’re the most breathtaking sight every time you look at me, and I’ve fallen in love with you.”

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I wanted to say that he had really low standards. But I thought that would be cruel and would end up causing him to leave again. I was a mess, physically and mentally. There were whole days that I never said a word to him. How could he know me enough to love me? But for once in my life, I let things be. I decided to hope. Hope that maybe life wasn’t over for me and I had a chance with the gorgeous man who saved me, and not just that night, but every day to come. What other choice did I have besides rolling over and dying? And if agreeing to be with him got me more kisses, then I was so in. “Tell me what happens next.” I wanted more touching, but it was still hard for me, and I was scared because no one had ever touched me like this before. He seemed to understand that because he sat up, sliding behind me on the bed so I was leaning back against him instead of the pillows. I sighed and leaned against him. When he was touching me, the nightmares and horrors in my life were at bay. I finally had some peace, and the fear left for a while. “Well, there are a few available packs, but we have to pick fast otherwise we might just get whatever’s left.” He leaned in and buried his nose in my neck as if committing my scent to his memory. “You have a different, special contract this time. You don’t have to be with all the inner circle, just me and only once. I’ll claim you in private with just an Elder of the pack as a witness, and from that moment on, the contract states that I’m not allowed to touch you unless you want to.” “Why would you go to all this trouble for me?” “I believe I already answered that when I said I love you,” he replied in a husky voice and kissed my shoulder. His lips were so warm and soft. “They also agreed to record our mating so I can’t take another mate ever unless we end up deciding that whatever Betas we pick we want to be with. But that decision is for both of us, not just me.”

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“Thank you,” I whispered, tears burning in my eyes. “I want you, Hugo. I’m just so fucking scared and I have no idea what to do.” “What do you want to happen?” he asked seductively as he moved his hands from my arms down my stomach. “Do you want me to touch you here?” “Yes,” I whimpered, pulling up my hospital gown as I pushed down the bedding. “You know I can’t breach you until the ceremony, but there’s lots we can do until then.” His hands trailed lower until his fingers touched the apex of my thighs, twirling them around in my pubic hair. “Is this what you want?” I watched in awe as my cock filled and a drop of pre-cum formed in the slit of it. “I think you have your answer.” “Say the words, Lennox. I don’t ever want there to be any miscommunication between us or for me to push you.” I nodded, but I didn’t think that was enough. “What do you want?” “Touch me, my mate-to-be,” I whispered. He growled his approval and took my cock in his hand, the other moving to cup my sac. I blurted out something horribly embarrassing. “I’ve never come before.” “Then only I will have pleased you,” he purred, stroking me faster. “I hate what you’ve been through, but I’m thrilled that I get to show you what real loving is.” I felt the same way, but I couldn’t talk just then. I whimpered and moaned and came way too quickly. “So beautiful.” His tone was filled with awe as I arched my back and cried out his name as my seed spilled all over his hand. When I was spent, I flopped against him like a wet noodle. “Sleep, my love. When you wake, we will begin to plan out our new lives.” “I love you, Hugo,” I mumbled as I drifted off. It was the truth, and I had never loved anyone in all my life. It felt good. ****

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For several weeks I got better as we planned for what came next. We picked a small pack in Oceanside, California, that had only twenty people. Since he had never planned to lead anyways, it seemed easier to handle a smaller group, especially since we didn’t have any Betas yet. So here I sat, four months and change after I had been rescued, driving from the airport to our new home. Hugo and I had explored our relationship, and tonight, at midnight, we would have our claiming ceremony. We thought that it was the perfect way to bring in the New Year and move on with our new life. Our flight had been delayed, so the ten men we were going to interview for the role of Beta were probably already at our new house. Hugo had wanted to space things out, not overwhelm me with all the changes, but I had refused. The quicker we figured out who we wanted for our Betas, the more help Hugo would have and the better protected we would be. One of my previous Betas had been killed in my rescue, and my old Alpha was behind bars at the High Council jail, awaiting trial. But the other Beta, Roger, had disappeared, fled before the Council enforcers had raided the Alpha compound. He was still on the lam, and it frightened me, not that I told Hugo that. But he was smart, and I figured he knew. We pulled into a large estate, and I was excited finally instead of just nervous. This was going to be our home and it was spectacular. “The pictures didn’t do it justice,” Hugo mumbled with a slight smile. That was the truth. The place looked more like a resort than a house. And while it had said we were right on the beach, given its location on the small peninsula, we had thought it was on the smaller side beach. We were wrong. It was right on the ocean. I felt my jaw drop as I took in the expanse of sparkling blue water leading up to the powdery tan sand. I was also overwhelmed by the

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huge palm trees blowing in the wind near the house. Some of them must have been at least twenty feet tall. As for the house, I was amazed by the beauty of the architecture. The gently sloping curves of the outer stucco walls brilliantly combined with the sharp angles that comprised the roof. And then of course there was the size of the thing. “We could fit the whole pack in this house,” I whispered in awe as we pulled up the long driveway. It circled around a large fountain, where water was cheerfully spouting from the mouth of a dolphin propped up on a pedestal by its tail. We had a fountain, for fuck’s sake. “Good thing the Council gave me a sizeable stipend to get this place up and running,” Hugo said as he parked the car. “And I got the money from the Council that the Alpha paid for me,” I added. I had been an orphan, so I basically grew up at the High Council estate. They wanted the Alphas bidding for my contract to take it seriously and not just get a free Omega, so they made them pay just like if my parents had still been alive. It had pissed me off at the time, especially after how I’d been treated, but I was glad for it now. “Alpha Hugo, Omega Lennox, it’s a pleasure,” an older man with fluffy white hair and glasses wearing a Hawaiian-style button-up shirt and jean shorts said from the doorway as we approached the house. By now I was walking with a cane and it wasn’t so obvious how crippled I was, unless you looked at my hands. “Elder Alan, thank you for greeting the Betas in our absence. Our connecting flight was delayed.” Hugo smiled and shook the man’s hand. “I would have been here to greet you either way.” He chuckled and then reached for my hand. I slowly extended it, eyeing him over warily, noticing the sympathetic gaze he gave it when he saw my missing fingers. Nothing about him set off any alarms in my head, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t learned from my past. “The pack is thrilled that you’re both here. We’ve been a little lost on how to heal the pack

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after the last inner circle. I’m too old to deal with all this shit. Things went smoothly when I was Alpha.” “Why are you not still Alpha then? I thought the fight for Alpha was to the death?” I asked with a raised brow. “It is, but that’s not the only way to become Alpha,” Elder Alan answered with a smile. “I was getting up there in age and wanted to retire, enjoy the rest of my life with my mate and our children. I passed the torch to my Beta. Biggest mistake of my life. He had been a great Beta, and I thought he would be the perfect man to run the pack, but somewhere along the way, the power got to him. And when he ended up getting the contract of an Omega who didn’t love him, I think he went mad.” “I’m sorry, that’s rough.” I understood how one choice could affect so much and so many lives. Even if it hadn’t been my choice to be with my last inner circle, it had been a choice for someone. “Yes, well, we’ve all had a rough past,” he said gently, focusing on me. “But that is behind us, and it’s time to focus on the future and make this pack great again.” “The house is gorgeous and I can’t wait to check out the beach,” I replied enthusiastically, not sure how I could help the pack really. “Glad you think so.” He moved aside so we could enter. “My wife and I have been busy with the help of the pack to clean out the place after the last Alpha. We’ll have to get you some staff in here, but until then, there’s a lot of fixing up to be done.” “I won’t be much help with that,” I grumbled. Hugo moved his hand to my lower back in a sign of support. I appreciated it, but I still felt useless. The Elder led us to a receiving room where all the Beta candidates were waiting. They stared at us intently from their various seats around the room, nodding with respect to Hugo when they saw him walk in. So far it was going well. Which should teach me not to jump the gun.

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“No one said the Omega was a cripple,” one sneered as he eyed me over. “I thought we’d get a hot twink out of the deal.” “Get the fuck out of my house,” Hugo growled as he wrapped a protective arm around me. “Gladly,” the guy replied, shaking his head in disgust as he brushed past us to leave. “I wouldn’t want an Alpha who touched a freak like that.” We heard the door slam as the man made his exit. I hung my head in shame, tears burning in my eyes. I tried to pull away from Hugo, but he held me tighter. “Lennox was abused by his last inner circle. The people who were supposed to care did this to him. If any of you are assholes like that guy and have a problem with that, leave now.” The room was quiet, and I didn’t hear anyone move. Hugo rubbed his hand over my back and I finally raised my head. I saw no more looks of disgust. A few held pity, a few lust like when Hugo looked at me, and the rest were of intrigue. I could deal with that. For one, I was used to pity. “Alright, then let’s start the interviews,” Hugo said firmly. He took the files from the Elder and led me to a smaller room that looked to be a study. The Elder didn’t join us, and Hugo helped me down into the large, comfortable-looking seat behind the desk. Before taking his own seat he placed his warm hand on my shoulder and stared into my light-green eyes. “You okay, sweetie?” “Sure,” I lied, glancing down when I heard him growl. “Lennox, please don’t ever lie to me,” he said, trying to rein in his anger. “I need to know you’ll always be honest with me.” “Fine,” I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face. “That guy looked at me and spoke about me like I do every morning when I look in the mirror. I just keep waiting for you to do the same. Is that what you want to hear?” “No, but at least you’re telling me the truth. We can work on the rest of it later,” he answered gently, kissing my cheek and sitting in the chair beside mine. “Someday you will see yourself as I do—

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beautiful.” I doubted that, but I wasn’t going to say it right then. We had people waiting. I opened the first file, and Hugo called the guy in. I shivered, and not in a good way, at the looks the guy was giving me. He stared at the scars that were visible on my arms, and his eyes glazed over with lust as if he realized the gig came with a whipping boy. He was so distracted looking at me that he was barely paying attention to Hugo’s questions. “Thank you, you’re dismissed,” Hugo growled, having noticed what was going on as well. The guy thanked us for our time and left. The moment we were alone, I sighed with relief. “He’s a hell no.” “Thank you,” I whispered, shivering again. “He gave me the creeps.” “Me, too.” Hugo leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before calling in the next applicant. I really hoped at least one of these guys ended up going better than the first two we ruled out. “Blair Peregrine,” the handsome Beta said in a deep voice as he extended his hand to Hugo and then me. “I’m Hugo Cormac and this is my mate and Omega, Lennox Ashton.” Hugo introduced us with a kind smile. “A pleasure,” the man replied, practically purring as he ran his thumb over the back of my hand. “Ignore that asshole. He’s got issues that I doubt have anything to do with you. I’d guess he’s some closet case. He was bitching that the fag Alpha kept us waiting.” “What a charmer.” I giggled, rolling my eyes as he let go of my hand and stepped away. “I’m sure he’s a great guy deep inside.” Blair chuckled as he sat in the chair on the other side of the desk. “Deep, deep down where his head is up his ass.” “Amen to that,” Hugo agreed, shaking his head. “So tell us a little about yourself, Blair.” “I’m the eldest of five. My father is the Alpha of the Seattle pack. I helped out as his Beta when his old one retired, but I feel it’s time to

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spread my wings and find a pack of my own. It’s hard being always compared to my father and living in his shadow.” His eyes went wide and he spoke the next part rapidly. “Don’t get me wrong, my dad’s a good guy and I love my family. It’s just I want to be my own man. I learned a lot working at his side.” “So you don’t have any aspirations to be Alpha and take over somewhere?” Hugo asked, raising a brow. Yeah, the guy almost sounded like he wanted to be the boss. “No, I really don’t,” Blair admitted with a shrug. “I like being told what to do.” He groaned and smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand. “And I obviously suck at interviewing. I’ll stop wasting your time.” He went to stand, and I glanced at Hugo, who was smiling. Yeah, we both liked the guy. “Don’t leave,” I said quietly. Blair froze as his eyes met mine. “We want to get to know the real you, Blair. Not just some scripted bullshit answers. Just relax, okay?” “Yeah, thanks.” He shook his head and sat back down, taking a deep breath and then exhaling. “It’s just a little nerve-racking. I want to appear strong so you see I can be a good Beta but not so strong that you think I’m going to challenge you. I really don’t want to be Alpha. I’m good with being the man behind the man—” He snapped his mouth shut and turned bright red. “Really?” I purred, glancing at Hugo. I had a few flashes of what it would be like to watch Blair take my mate. This six-six, blond Adonis was gorgeous, and the idea of watching the two of them go at it was hot. I saw my mate flush slightly and guessed he was thinking the same thing. “I didn’t mean it quite as it sounded,” Blair mumbled. “But I am gay, and I like the idea of being mated to my inner circle. That was another reason why I wanted to find a new pack.” “You understand that if we offer you the job that doesn’t mean you’re automatically invited into our bed, right?” Hugo asked hesitantly.

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“I know that, but I’d like the chance to see if anything more than just a straight Alpha/Beta/Omega working relationship is here if given the opportunity.” He was so cute when he admitted it shyly. Yeah, he was hired.

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Chapter 3 We spoke to Blair for another twenty minutes before asking him to stay the night while we interviewed other candidates. He smiled like he’d won the lottery and agreed. Then we moved on to two more, who were complete duds. After those guys, it was time for a break. We grabbed a quick dinner in the kitchen, discussing everything we’d learned as we stretched out a bit. Finally, after making our way back to the interview room, we discussed the elephant in the room. “You like him,” Hugo said gently, no accusation or jealousy in his voice. He was being so calm about it I wasn’t about to play stupid. I leaned back in my chair and fiddled with the end of my shirt. “Yes, I do, but honestly I got more excited about his comment about being behind you, picturing what it would be like to watch the two of you,” I admitted as my cheeks heated up. “Whether we ever decide to take that step with him or not, I feel comfortable around him. He was cool and seemed easygoing. That might be hard to find in a Beta.” “I found him attractive, too,” Hugo said with a wink. “And yes, I thought the same thing you did with his comment, but then I thought about him being behind you, making love to you as you sucked me off.” “It might be hard for me to give you that fantasy until I get to know him better,” I replied, staring down at the remainder of the sandwich I had brought back with me. “All of this is new for me and scary.” “I know that, sweetie. I would never pressure you in that way. I like him as a Beta, but I’m glad we find him attractive, too. If we can

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find Betas we want to mate with as well, then you’ll be better protected.” He didn’t say it, but I heard the unspoken addition, from your last Beta. “Well, I’m happy we’re on the same page though. It will make things easier.” I thought for a moment. “Let’s say if the situation arises that we’re allowed to kiss Blair to see if the chemistry is there but anything further we need to discuss as a couple.” “That’s very mature,” he agreed, nodding as he licked his lips. “I didn’t think we could handle this so straightforwardly, but I don’t find I’m jealous.” “I feel the same way and I think that tells us something.” He gave me a wink, grabbed the next file, and called them in. The next five interviews were almost painful. Two were staring at me as if I was steak in a way that freaked me out. One growled everything and looked as if he wanted to kill the world. Yeah, I never saw myself being able to relax around that guy. One was so bored I thought he might fall asleep, and we found out that his dad practically forced him to interview. And the last one was so homophobic that he had trouble shaking our hands. Balls. This wasn’t working out as we’d hoped. At least we had Blair. One was better than none. “Last one,” Hugo grumbled as he called the guy in. I glanced up and almost swallowed my tongue. Holy Beta of huge! The guy had to be at least six eight and three hundred pounds of solid yumminess. He had sparkling, light-blue eyes and light-brown hair with some blond highlights. “Falcon Beall,” he said as he extended his hand. I bit back a moan at his deep whiskey drawl. Cowboy take me away for sure! I was going to ask how a wolf got named Falcon later though. “It’s a pleasure.” “Thank you for waiting so long. I apologize for the delay,” Hugo replied, shooting me a glance. Oh goodie, we were on the same page about being attracted to him as well.

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“No problem. I’m spending a few days in the area for a vacation. I’ve always wanted to see the San Diego Zoo.” And he loved animals. My, my, my! “I understand you’ve kinda been thrown in all of this and are needing support right away.” “It never occurred to me how close we are to the zoo.” I chuckled, glancing at Hugo. “You did promise me a fun outing day of my choosing.” His face fell but he nodded. “Yes, but not until after the claiming and we try and work on finding your wolf, sweetie. That was the deal.” “Yeah, I know,” I sighed, my good mood ruined. “You have problems with your wolf?” Falcon asked, raising a brow. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to overstep here, but I may be able to help.” “How?” Hugo replied suspiciously. “My mother was the medicine woman for her tribe and taught me a lot about spirituality and being at one with the self,” he answered, glancing at me. Well, that explained the darker skin tones, though a tan man with a Southern drawl wasn’t all that odd either. “Well, we can talk about this another time if we think you’re a good fit for our inner circle,” I said, looking at Hugo. He shook his head and gave me big puppy-dog eyes. “It doesn’t hurt to ask him what he means, sweetie.” “Fine,” I mumbled, sitting back with a pout, crossing my arms over my chest. “How can you help?” “Have you tried ordering him to shift since you’ve been his Alpha?” Falcon asked Hugo. “I’ve seen Alphas do that when wolves in their pack are injured.” “No, but it’s more than him being too hurt to shift. He can’t feel his wolf anymore.” I blushed, feeling like a defective freak again. “That can be common when someone has been abused or experiences a trauma,” Falcon said slowly. “The answer might simply

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be getting to know your wolf better after you’ve claimed him and bringing his wolf out of hibernation.” “So he’s not dead?” I asked, sitting up now and taking interest. “No, he can’t die if you’re still alive, Lennox,” Falcon answered gently, giving me an amazing smile that showed his perfectly straight white teeth. “He probably retreated somewhere deep inside of you when he couldn’t help you escape your abuse. There are different exercises you can try to commune with your wolf like we teach pups when they go through puberty to shift the first time.” “You know a lot about this,” Hugo hedged, shooting me a glance that we should take this into consideration on whether to offer him the job or not. “I am the Beta of my pack, but I also help with new pups,” he said, blushing a bit. “I’ve always wanted pups of my own but since I’m gay…” He trailed off, giving a shrug. “Why do you want to leave your pack?” I asked, realizing we’d not covered that yet. “Texas isn’t the best place for a gay man to live,” Falcon answered slowly, licking his lips nervously. “My Alpha has kicked members out for mating men, and I don’t want to hide who I am anymore. I’m tired of pretending. I’ve never even been with a man for fear of getting caught and kicked out.” “Because if you got kicked out you’d lose the title Beta as opposed to switching to a pack that doesn’t care that you’re gay,” Hugo finished for him. Falcon nodded, and I had no clue that’s how the rules went. That seemed stupid but so did a lot regarding werewolf culture. We kept talking, asking the same questions that we had for Blair. What did he think would help a broken pack? How would he go about strengthening the pack? Twenty minutes later, we knew all we needed to. I smiled at Hugo and we asked Falcon to stay the night while we decided. He grinned widely and shook both of our hands, holding them longer than needed before leaving us alone.

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“We found our Betas, right?” I asked, wanting to do cartwheels at the idea. “Yeah, we totally did,” Hugo exclaimed, lifting me up and swinging me around the study. “They’re a good fit, and it doesn’t hurt that we want to explore more with both someday.” “No, it doesn’t,” I whispered against his lips. “As long as it won’t hurt what we have, then I’m open to the idea.” “I agree.” He gave me a long, soulful kiss, using that talented tongue of his. “The only thing we need to decide now is whether we tell them now or after the ceremony. If we accept them before, they have to be there and witness our mating.” I bit my lower lip, my cock hardening at the idea. Hugo glanced down at my groin before raising an eyebrow and looking at me. “Yes, I like them and the idea of them being there turns me on. But, they wouldn’t get to touch or join in, right?” “No, baby. Just witness.” “Okay, then you tell them we want them while I go get ready,” I said excitedly, giving him a wide smile. I checked the clock on the wall and saw that I had less than an hour before the ceremony and the pack gathering for our first official meeting. “We need to hurry.” “I love you. You know that, yeah?” “Yeah, as much as I love you,” I whispered against his lips. I gave him a big smacking kiss and then he lowered me down to my feet. I grabbed my cane and headed out to find our room while Hugo cleaned up. Elder Alan had told us that it was ready and where it was when we took a break for dinner, but I had yet to see it. I made it as far as the stairs when the first creep we interviewed stepped out of the shadows. “Hello, Lennox. It’s good to see you again.” His voice was low, and it sounded like he was trying to be seductive. “Um, you, too,” I lied, already having forgotten his name. “I thought the candidates were supposed to leave after the interviews.”

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“Yes, but I wanted to get a chance to know you better before going back to the hotel,” he said with a purr, leering at me. “I thought I could help you get ready for the ceremony tonight.” Oh fuck. This is bad! My mind was screaming as I moved up the first few stairs. “No thank you. I’m not supposed to be touched or breached before Hugo claims me. But I appreciate the offer and all of that.” “Let me ask you something, Lennox,” he said, talking right over me. He took a few steps closer and I took several further up the stairs. “Did they use straight whips or floggers with sharp tips? Was it before or after they fucked you?” “They raped me and abused me,” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes as I shook my head. Was I just always going to be the victim? “I never agreed to what they did to me. You need to leave.” “But you can’t stop me or make me leave, now can you?” He gave me an evil grin like a shark catching his prey. “He doesn’t have to while I’m around,” Falcon snarled, rushing past me on the stairs. He caught the creep around the throat and slammed him into the wall. “Staying after the interviews was invitation only and you didn’t get one.” “I didn’t touch him,” the guy growled and tried to fight back. “I was just getting to know him better.” “Yeah, we heard what your idea of Q and A was,” Blair said with disgust. He moved in front of me in a protective stance. I hadn’t even heard them before they rushed in to help. I was glad that Hugo decided to call them instead of searching for them in this house since I wasn’t sure we knew where the guest rooms were. It saved my ass. “What’s going on here?” Hugo asked as he stepped out into the foyer. His eyes immediately found mine, and when he saw I was upset, his anger flared. “Just make the creep leave, please,” I whispered as I started to shake. “Make him go away and never come back. We don’t have time to go through this. We’re supposed to be mating soon.”

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“Okay, sweetie,” he said gently. “Blair, Falcon, if you accept, your first official duty as the Betas of our pack is to get this fucker out of our house. I don’t ever want to see him on the property again.” “You got it, Alpha,” Blair replied as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call the Council for prisoner transport.” “I didn’t touch the little shit,” the guy growled, staring daggers at me. “I just wanted to know how the whore liked his pain. Did he like to bleed when they fucked him or did the whippings just get him off?” I whimpered as Hugo snarled with rage. Falcon was the calm one, pulling his arm back and hitting the guy hard enough to knock him out in one shot. “I’ll show you the cells in the basement,” Alan said, and I hadn’t even realized he’d joined us. “We have a ceremony soon and this asshole can be handled in the morning.” “Thank you, Alan,” Hugo replied as my knee gave out and I fell to the stairs. I was able to grab the banister in time to keep from rolling down the half of a flight I’d already climbed up. My mate-to-be was there in a flash, pulling me into his arms. “You won’t ever have to see him again, sweetie. It’s over now.” “I’m not a pain whore,” I whimpered, curling up onto his lap. “We had a few minutes to be excited that we found Betas before it was ruined again. Why can’t everyone just leave me alone? It’s not my fault I’m like this. I didn’t ask for any of this. And we’re supposed to be mating soon.” “And we will,” Hugo cooed, rubbing my back as he kissed my blond hair. “And we’ve got two gorgeous Betas who are going to watch, Lennox. We’re going to be a family, and they’re going to help keep you safe. Falcon will figure out a way to get your wolf back so you can heal and we’re going to have a normal, loving, functioning pack.” “You can’t promise that,” I sniffled, trying desperately to calm down instead of letting the panic consume me. I never said I was fully healed, just physically as far as my body could go without shifting.

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“Yes, I can. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again, and we will have a good life here. I don’t care who I have to fight, beat, or kill to make it happen. But it will happen, my mate.” I smiled against his chest, thrilled at the fierceness of his tone. If anyone could do it, my knight in shining armor could. How could I not love Hugo with all my heart? “And we’ll help in any way we can, Lennox,” Blair said from behind Hugo. I lifted my head and met his gray eyes. I could see the truth in them, too. He didn’t doubt his words or my mate’s. It gave me hope. “Okay, then let’s get mated,” I whispered to Hugo, wiping away my unshed tears. “We’ve had months of foreplay and I’m dying to feel you inside me. I want to know what it is to make love.” “Oh shit, sweetie,” Hugo moaned, nipping my shoulder. “You keep talking like that and I won’t be able to wait any longer and will take you right here on the stairs.” “I think it’s amazing you were able to wait this long,” Blair mumbled as he moved down the stairs to give us space. “I’m having a hard enough time and I just met him.” I bit my lip as my eyes went wide, staring into Hugo’s eyes. My mate’s eyes shined with amusement. “I don’t think he meant for us to hear that. Or maybe he did as a subtle hint.” “Well, either way, we can talk about that later,” I said, rubbing my thumb over his bottom lip. “Right now is about us. I want to mate the man I love and wear his marks for the rest of my life.” “Sounds like music to my ears.” The smile on Hugo’s face was amazing, and it reached his eyes. They were shining with love and happiness in a way I’d never seen them. It had been hard for me to tell him how I felt about him after everything I’d been through, and he’d been very patient with me. But the closer we became and the more I started to believe he really loved me, the easier it was for me to express how much I loved him.

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Hugo stood with me in his arms and grabbed my cane. I knew that he wouldn’t hover while I got prepared, but he’d stay in the bedroom, not really leaving me alone. And that meant the world to me. Just as he did.

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Chapter 4 It took me a while to shower and stretch myself out for the plug that was needed for the ceremony. I still wasn’t able to do everything most people could with a busted leg and missing fingers. But I figured it out. We had five minutes to get downstairs before midnight hit when I stepped out of the bathroom in my ceremonial robe. “You ready?” Hugo asked me, his eyes showing that he was nervous and was experiencing all the emotions swirling around inside of me as well. “Never been so sure of anything in my life,” I whispered, shaking with anticipation. He smiled, letting out a whoop of joy as he lifted me into his arms. I saw he had my cane and realized we were ready. He smelled freshly showered, so I assumed he must have taken a quick one in a guest bath or something. Hugo raced down the stairs, still carrying me as if I was precious cargo. And for once, I felt as if I was. He stopped as we reached the library. I raised an eyebrow, thinking this was an odd place to hold a ceremony. He must have understood because he explained. “These have doors that lead to the terrace where the pack waits.” He pointed out over his shoulder where the drapes were pulled closed. “That way, when we’re done, we’ll step outside and Alan will check your mating bite and that you carry my scent. Then our inner circle will howl and we’ll go run off with the pack like a normal Omega claiming ceremony.” “But then I’ll be left all alone,” I whispered, my eyes going wide with fear.

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“We’re just going to do a lap around the property before having a meet-and-greet party,” he said gently. “Alan’s going to stay with you, so you have nothing to worry about.” “I should have known you’d have a plan so I’d be protected.” I immediately calmed down. My mate always thought of everything. I smiled at Falcon and Blair, who both looked nervous as I’m sure we all felt. But this was right. This was our inner circle, and something this special should be shared by all of us. “I have to take you from behind so I can bite the nape of your neck,” Hugo reminded me as he set me on my feet. “I picked this chaise lounge, thinking we could put some pillows under your hips so you’ll be comfortable and you wouldn’t have to put pressure on your knee.” “You’re so considerate of how defective I am,” I whispered. It wasn’t a slam against him, not in the slightest. I was just tired of my injuries affecting our lives. I couldn’t even give him a proper hand job with fingers missing. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Lennox,” Hugo said nervously. “I want this!” I exclaimed as I turned around so fast I ended up with my ass on the chaise lounge. I buried my face in my hands and screamed in frustration. “I just don’t get why you’d want someone so screwed up! I can’t even please you properly or have you claim me without taking into account I’m a cripple.” “Stop,” he growled as he knelt in front of me and pulled my hands away from my face. “Would you love me any less if I could never make love to you?” “No, of course not,” I answered, shocked he would ask such a thing. “Then why would you think you weren’t worth a few extra pillows to me?” he whispered as he cupped my cheek. Oh, right, he was proving a point. Good one. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. I like the

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idea of making love to you when we’re face-to-face anyways, so I don’t see all that much doggy style in our future.” “I love you.” “It’s a minute to midnight,” Blair said quietly. “Thank you,” I replied to him before focusing back on Hugo. “Mate me?” “Oh yeah,” he moaned and mashed his lips down to mine. I yelped as he pulled off the robe and got me into position. The pillows were comfortable but it really, really put my ass right up in the air for all to see. I was nervous until I caught Falcon’s and Blair’s matching looks of desire aimed at me. Okay then. Good to know. Hugo’s naked thighs brushed against my ass as he spread my cheeks wide. Guess he’d lost the shorts somewhere along the way. I gasped as he pulled out the plug and replaced his cock with it. We were finally here! He was really claiming me! “I love you,” I moaned as he bottomed out inside of me. I shivered as he leaned over my back, letting part of his weight settle against me. “Love you, too,” he whispered in my ear. “Ready? Feel good?” “Yes, amazing,” I hissed, hoping he’d move. I got my wish. He started out slowly but then picked up the pace as I opened up better for him. I rotated between wanting to let my eyes roll up in my head at the pleasure to glancing at our Betas’ expressions. “They want you, baby.” Apparently Hugo had noticed the direction my eyes were wandering. “I don’t think they just want me, Hugo,” I moaned, realizing I was getting close. “Hugo, almost there.” “Me, too,” he grunted, taking me faster as he licked the back of my neck. “Do you accept me as your mate and Alpha, Lennox?” “Yes, now and forever.” I gasped and then cried out as he sank his teeth into the nape of my neck. I came so hard I shook violently from the force of it. Hugo screamed around my flesh, pumping into me faster. Seconds later he threw back his head and roared out his release. I never thought I’d want to have sex ever again after what I’d

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been through, but what happened to me before wasn’t sex. This was and so much more. I smiled as my mate filled me with his seed, never wanting the bliss to end or him to leave my willing body. I slumped over the pillows, no longer able to even hold up my upper body. “Happy New Year, my love,” Hugo panted, his breath hot in my ear. “Happy New Year.” I giggled, glad we’d planned it this way. “We did it. We’re mated.” “Yes, we are,” he growled, licking his mating mark. “You’re mine now, baby.” “Good.” He chuckled as he pulled out of me and helped me to roll over and sit on the chaise. He grabbed a few tissues and moved to clean me up. “Don’t you dare. I want everyone to smell your seed on me and the proof of our mating and that I can please you.” “Fuck, that’s hot,” Falcon moaned quietly. Good to know he felt that way. “As my mate wishes,” Hugo purred. He helped me stand, making sure my legs could hold me as he slipped the robe back on me. I wasn’t shifting anyways, and we had agreed that until I got to know the pack better, we didn’t want to risk any adverse reactions to the scars. Blair handed me my cane and gave me a look that made me shiver with desire. Yeah, the lust he was shooting my way wasn’t creepy at all. It made me hard. Our Betas pulled back the drapes and opened the doors after I secured my robe. Then I took Hugo’s hand, the cane in my other one, and stepped out of the library and onto the terrace. I imagined it would be kind of a funny sight if I wasn’t used to werewolf culture. All the women were dressed, not being werewolves of course, and all the men were standing there naked, no issues with it at all. “My mate and Omega meets the needs of my inner circle,” Hugo announced loudly. The Elder, Alan, stepped over to me and smiled. He sniffed a bit and checked on my healing bite.

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“The ceremony has been performed. I welcome our new Alpha and Omega to the pack.” There were several whistles while everyone clapped. “We also picked two Betas today,” Hugo said loudly when the pack started to quiet down. “I’d like you to meet Blair Peregrine and Falcon Beall, my enforcers and guards for my mate. Our pack now has a complete inner circle and leadership.” “Thank god for that,” one man called out. I couldn’t help but smile. This was a pack that wanted us and change to happen. For the better, of course. “Let’s run.” Hugo laughed, then threw back his head and howled. Blair and Falcon joined in first, and I hadn’t missed that they’d lost the shorts that they’d been wearing earlier. Nice. I mean like holy shit, model and Greek god combined nice. Then the rest of the pack howled as well to celebrate. And I felt something tingle inside of me. I gasped, but no one heard me with all the noise. Then it was as if my wolf realized it was time to return and he was… No matter what I said or was happening right then. I cried out as I fell to my knees and distantly saw Hugo and Alan dive to try to catch me in time. I screamed as red-hot, intense, and maddening pain flooded my body. The air didn’t just shimmer with magic. It exploded. Then I realized I wasn’t screaming anymore… I was howling. My wolf was back. I had shifted. I was whole. He wasn’t dead. “Baby,” Hugo whispered, kneeling in front of me as his eyes filled with tears. “Oh, my beautiful mate. I’m so fucking happy right now.” I yipped as I moved forward and licked away his salty tears. Yeah, I felt the same. “I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did.” I yipped again, nuzzling my face in his neck, never happier to hear an I told you so. Hell, he could say it for the rest of the week and I’d still be over-the-moon thrilled. I hadn’t lost my wolf and I just gained a mate.

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“You are just as gorgeous of a wolf as you are a man,” he said quietly in my ear so only I would hear. I licked his face before hopping all around, letting him know I wanted to run. Hugo shot Alan a quick look, knowing it went against the rules and traditions of the ceremony. “I didn’t see anything other than a perfectly normal, completed ceremony.” Alan chuckled, giving me a wink. I trotted over to him and licked his hand before taking off. There wasn’t any more pain from the forceful shift or my injuries. I didn’t want to get my hopes up because shifting didn’t always heal everything, but my wolf coming back to me was worth the fact that I was a gimp in my human form. I heard a few howls and felt my mate gaining on me. It ended up being Falcon who caught up to me first, nipping my flank as if to let me know I shouldn’t have taken off like that. Instead of being mature about it and acknowledging he was right, I tackled him. Either he wasn’t prepared for it or just let me have my moment because it worked and we rolled together before finding our feet again. He was a handsome wolf. Big and sleek looking with the lightbrown coloring to his shining, thick fur. I saw Blair then, and my wolf and I were in agreement that we wanted to see more of them without clothes. Human form was better though. We made a few laps around the property, and I had a hard time running in the sand, not ever having done that in wolf form. When we got back to the terrace, I easily shifted and kept running right into the library. I needed a few moments away from all the eyes of the pack. “My feet!” I exclaimed as I started my observations at the bottom, deciding to check myself out all over. I turned to see Hugo, Blair, and Falcon coming into the library, closing the doors behind them. “My cute little feet are back!” “Yes, they are,” Hugo said with joy. “Your knee is healed, too.” I looked and saw he was right and noticed something else.

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“My cock!” I grabbed it, proud it was hard and no longer looking as if it had been sewn back together. I leaned over and pulled the cheeks of my ass apart. “What about my hole? Are there still scars from the stitches?” “Fuck, Lennox,” Falcon growled. “You’re going to kill us here.” “What?” I asked and then understood when I saw three looks of lust directed my way. “Okay, that can wait. Can someone focus and tell me if the scars are there?” “No, my love,” Hugo whispered huskily. He ran his fingers over my hole and I moaned. “It’s perfect.” “My nipple? What about my collarbone?” I asked, spinning around and facing him, refusing to get distracted by lust just yet. “You’re all better, Lennox,” he sniffled, grabbing my hands and holding them up to my face. “Five fingers on each hand, baby.” “Oh my god,” I wailed, my legs giving out from under me in shock. He caught me and pulled me into his arms. “I’m not a freaky cripple anymore.” “You never were,” he said gently, and I wrapped my body around him tighter. “I know you never felt I was and for that I’ll always be grateful,” I whispered into his neck. “I can give you real hand jobs now and hold your hand without wigging out.” “That’s why you never wanted to hold my hand?” He gasped as he leaned back to look into my eyes. I swallowed loudly and nodded. “Fuck, Lennox. I thought I was pushing you to show intimacy when you weren’t ready. Your hands never bothered me besides knowing they caused you pain.” “Anytime I had to use them or drew attention to them, like when I was holding on to your normal ones, it reminded me of how I lost my fingers,” I whispered, pleading with my eyes that he understood. “Just talk to me if something upsets you,” he said after a moment, nodding that he got it. “I can’t help or know what’s going on in your mind if you don’t tell me.”

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“Deal,” I said, rubbing my body against his. “Fuck me, Hugo. I want to feel you now that I’m whole. I want to ride you because I can now with my knee healed.” “Anything you want, my mate,” he growled, taking us down to the chaise lounge. I quickly grabbed the bottle of lube he’d left there just in case I hadn’t slicked myself up enough for him. I quickly scrambled to pour a bunch onto his hard cock and impaled myself on him. “Yes,” I hissed, throwing my head back as I leaned over and placed my hands onto his chest, no longer embarrassed by them. “Shit, sweetie,” he moaned, grabbing my hips to keep me still. “You could have hurt yourself, and I am ready to blow you’re so tight.” “Being with you could never hurt me,” I whispered, letting my emotions show in my voice as I stared into his eyes. I moved my body up before lowering it back down. “Just when I thought he couldn’t get any more beautiful,” Blair whispered. I felt Hugo’s dick twitch inside of me, realizing we weren’t alone. I turned to Blair and Falcon, crooking my finger at them to come closer. They did, looking hesitant. “Kiss my mate and your Alpha.” “Really?” Falcon asked, but Blair didn’t hesitate, moving so fast to mash his mouth against Hugo’s. “Oh fuck, that’s hot,” I moaned, moving my hips to ride my mate. Hugo was mostly sitting up since the pillows propped him up, and I got a front-row seat as their tongues dueled. Then I saw Hugo reach out and take Falcon’s hand, moving it to my cock. “Is this okay with you?” Falcon whispered as he moved closer to me. “Yes, fuck yes,” I answered with a gasp. “Touch me.” He smiled as he stroked me, moving his body to kneel behind me. Falcon kept one hand on my dick, moving in time with my hips as his other hand wrapped around my chest. His cock poked my ass and I

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had dirty ideas about them double stuffing me another time. But for now, he was moving so the cheeks of my ass gave him the friction he needed. Hugo and Blair stopped kissing, gasping for air, and I met my mate’s gaze. “Guess we’ve decided to move on past kissing to see if being with them is right.” “I guess we have,” he replied with a wide smile, looking past my shoulder to Falcon. Then Blair moved his face in front of mine and kissed me. I opened right up for him, moaning when he sucked on my tongue. I was going to blow real soon with this amount of attention. I moved in time with Falcon’s thrusts, feeling ten feet tall at the happy sounds he and Hugo were making. But how did we bring Blair in on the fun? And then it hit me. I pulled off his lips and opened my mouth wide for him. His eyes went wide and he glanced at Hugo. “Oh yeah, suck his cock, Lennox,” Hugo moaned as he plucked my nipples. Blair smiled and gently moved his dick past my lips. I smiled up at him as I licked around the head and took as much as I could of his nine-plus inches in my mouth. “Fuck, that’s good,” he moaned, carefully not thrusting into my mouth. “I never thought it would work out between us when I saw how in love you both are.” “I know, I worried about the same thing,” Falcon grunted. “But I knew it would kill me to keep my hands off all of you.” Falcon reached past me and cupped our Alpha’s head, pulling him forward for a kiss. “We’ll figure it out,” Hugo moaned when they were done. I couldn’t hold back anymore, crying out around Blair’s massive cock as I came. The vibrations must have set him off because seconds later he was coming down my throat as Hugo grunted and filled my ass. Just as my orgasm was starting to ebb, I heard Falcon whimper and shoot his load all over my lower back. All of us were glistening

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with sweat and breathing heavily as we recovered from the pleasure we had just experienced. Blair was the first to move away, pulling out of my mouth and practically collapsing onto the floor. I slumped back against Falcon, who was kissing my neck, smiling like the cat that ate the canary as I stared at my mate. “What are you so happy about?” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “Well, besides being healed,” I panted, giving him a wink. “I never thought I’d be so happy to be covered in and full of cum. I mean, it’s on my back, in my ass, and swallowed.” “Oh fuck, the little imp is going to kill us,” Blair groaned, lifting his head enough to stare at me. “But what a way to go.” I didn’t think it would kill us, but I liked the way he thought. I threw back my head and laughed, happier and feeling lighter than I ever had in my whole life.

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Chapter 5 We got cleaned up and joined the party that was now in full swing. Yeah, we’d started late, but it was New Year’s after all, so people had planned on staying up. The men were all walking around in shorts, not exactly formal party attire, but it was a werewolf thing. I shook babies and kissed hands as I stuffed as much catered food in my mouth as I possibly could. For one, I was exhausted. The drama, the sex, the excitement, the shifting, the sex again, and all the emotions had worn me the fuck out. Two, I couldn’t remember having food this good. I wasn’t even sure what it all was, but there were so many different colors, textures, shapes, and flavors. My taste buds were having a party of their own in my mouth. I’d been barely fed with my old inner circle, and then it was the hospital. I stayed there for rehab while Hugo had wrapped things up and packed to come to California. Hospital food sucks. Finally when the party started to thin out and people were heading home, I loaded up a plate and raced out to the terrace. I plopped down and really started stuffing my face. “Fuck, it’s so good,” I moaned as I ate another crescent-rollwrapped cocktail weenie. “Yes, yes, come to papa!” That was for the chocolate-covered strawberry. And then there was the dim sum. “Yes, stuff my mouth with your yummy goodness.” “And here I thought the moans I heard coming from out here meant you were having sex,” Hugo said. I turned my head slowly, my cheeks stuffed with food, to see that my inner circle was standing

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there all trying not to laugh. I shrugged and chewed quickly, like a kid who got caught with a cookie a parent might try to take back. “It’s just so tasty,” I groaned as I kept eating. “I’ve gotta keep my strength up for all the wild sex we have planned.” “Yes, but we also need sleep.” He chuckled. “Tomorrow we start getting this pack back in shape.” I still didn’t know what I could do to help, but I was all about getting some sleep, too. I stood, carefully protecting my plate as I sauntered past them, and kept eating all the way to our room. They laughed as they followed behind me, locking up the house as we went. It was a great ending to an even better day. And I fell asleep with a smile on my face, wrapped in Hugo’s arms. The next morning I woke with the sun, the bright rays coaxing me from my slumber. Mostly because our room didn’t have any curtains yet. And I was so excited to do the one thing I’d always dreamed of doing… Swimming in the ocean. I quietly slipped out of bed, knowing my mate needed more rest. Then I dug through the boxes Hugo had shipped before we’d moved out here. He had bought me tiny swim shorts as a present when we’d decided this was going to be our new pack. I pulled them on and snuck out of the room, glad I hadn’t woken him up. How he could sleep with the bright sunlight in our room was beyond me. I made my way downstairs, making a note that as soon as I was done swimming I was going to start cleaning up the mess from the party. The amount of plates, cups, and confetti scattered around the house was astounding. I unlocked the back door to the terrace from the kitchen and stepped outside. I knew it would be chilly given it was January, even if we were in Southern California. Then I took off, racing off the terrace, through the grass, and over the cool sand on the beach. We had our own beach! I kept going until the sparkling water hit my thighs and then dove in, my body momentarily shocked by the icy temperature of the water.

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I wasn’t the best swimmer, so I’d be staying to the shallow waters until I got better. Even though it was cold, once my body adjusted it was amazing. The temperature didn’t really bother me. Wolves ran much hotter than humans so it was harder for us to catch a chill or get cold. I swam, I dove underwater, I splashed around, and played like a little kid, laughing and having the time of my life for a good twenty minutes. Then suddenly large hands grabbed me and yanked me to the surface. “What the fuck?” I exclaimed, gasping for air in my shock as I pushed my bangs off my forehead so that I could see who had me in their grasp. “Did the nip I gave you last night not tell you that you’re not to be running off alone?” Falcon asked with a growl as he shook me. “It’s not safe, Lennox.” “I just went for a swim,” I replied defensively. “You guys were still sleeping. I didn’t do anything wrong.” “Someone was accosting you in the house last night, and you think coming out here, in the open, unprotected, is safe?” He looked at me incredulously as he dragged me back to shore. Okay, well, when he put it that way. I hung my head in shame, equal parts bummed that I upset him and pissed that I couldn’t seem to do anything normal without causing trouble. “I wasn’t thinking,” I whispered as he lifted me into his arms when we got to knee-deep water. Well, my knee-deep water, but for Falcon it was like shin/ankle deep almost. Fuck, he was tall. “You’re damn right you weren’t thinking,” he yelled with rage and then laid me down on the now-warm sand. His body moved over mine, surrounding me fully, and it didn’t make me feel safe. He was scaring me. “Do you know what it would do to any of us if you got hurt? What about Hugo? It would destroy him to lose his mate.” “Stop.” I shivered, and not from lust, trying to slowly move out from under him. I got about five inches before he gasped.

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“You’re afraid of me,” he whispered, pain lacing his voice as he moved off me more. “Yes,” I replied, shaking as I closed my eyes. “Baby, I’d never hurt you,” he said softly as he cupped my cheek. “I don’t care how pissed or upset I am. I’d never hit you or abuse you. I was scared. I woke up and grabbed some coffee, looking out to the ocean to see you popping up in the water before going right back under. I didn’t know if you were drowning or being attacked or what. I raced out here and dove in only to find that you’re laughing like a loon, alone, and I blew up. That doesn’t mean I will ever hit you.” “Okay,” I sighed, finally looking at him. His eyes were filled with grief and remorse at having scared me. “You have to give me time to understand that. I don’t know you all that well, and with my last inner circle, rage meant pain for me.” “I get that and I’ll curb it when I’m pissed,” he said gently as he cupped my cheek, moving so he was in between my legs again. “But we’re not them, Lennox. Whatever I can do to help you see that, just let me know.” “Kissing me never hurts,” I panted, a new feeling rushing through my blood…as it all went to my dick. “I can get on board with that.” He chuckled, brushing his lips over mine. I moaned and opened for him, squirming under his body to get more contact. I didn’t mean to turn something serious into being all about sex, but after I saw how upset he was, I wanted to make that go away. Falcon was just as good of a kisser as Hugo and Blair but in a different way. Both of them were hot and heavy, Hugo being the most dominant. Falcon was tender, hesitant, and exploring at the same time. Then I remembered what he’d said about his old pack. Was I his first kiss and last night was the first time he’d touched another man? I was going to have to ask him about that later because Hugo and I needed to take that into consideration. This could be really hard for him to join us then.

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My thoughts and fun were interrupted when Falcon was ripped away from me. My eyes snapped open and I saw Hugo had tossed him several feet away. And shit, was my mate pissed. I had never seen his beautiful features filled with such fury. I let out a yelp of fear and started to scramble away from him, falling over and over again in the sand. “What the fuck?” Hugo roared. “I wake to an empty bed, mate missing, only to find him outside making out in the sand as if not having a care in the world.” “Back off, Hugo,” Falcon said gently as he got to his feet. “Are you trying to steal my mate?” he asked, turning on our Beta. “No, I thought we were all going to be together now after what happened last night,” Falcon exclaimed. Yeah, that’s what I thought, too, but I wasn’t having too many coherent thoughts right then as I panicked. Fear isn’t always logical, and after years and years of being afraid anytime people were around me, much less people who were angry, I couldn’t help my reaction. I curled into a ball, covering my head, mumbling to myself. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I’m tired of being scared all the time.” I distantly heard them fighting. I didn’t think it was coming to blows, but the yelling and anger surrounding them was enough. It almost physically hurt me to feel it. Then I got pissed. I really didn’t do anything wrong. Hugo never said to not leave the bed if he was still sleeping. I wasn’t a child. No one laid down rules about how to act for my safety. And Hugo didn’t have any right to be pissed I was kissing Falcon when he’d given the man permission to jack me off last night while we were having sex. No more. I wasn’t going to be the scared, fragile, fucked-in-thehead man who went along with what everyone said for fear of getting beaten. “No more!” I screamed as I pounded the sand. I felt a flare of power and suddenly everything got blissfully quiet. Good, they were taking me seriously.

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I unfolded my body and turned to them, and gasped. Now I had a whole other reason to be afraid. Falcon and Hugo had fallen to the sand, their bodies shaking as if someone had used a Taser on them. It was as if they were having convulsions. “What happened?” Blair asked as he came racing from the house. “I don’t know,” I answered, shaking my head as I glanced at him. “They were fighting, angry, and I didn’t want them to anymore because it scared me.” “I saw sparks, and the two of them went down. It was as if they were struck by lightning,” he said, staring at me in fear. “Can you do that?” “My gift,” I whispered as memories and images swarmed my brain. I heard Blair shout my name as I bit my tongue hard and went into convulsions of my own. My body was fighting the memories that were too painful for me to handle. Yes, I normally remembered the pain of my abuse with my old inner circle, but most of it my mind had blacked out. I don’t know how long it went on. It felt like hours until my body calmed down. I heard Falcon and Hugo groaning in the background. “Just lie still,” Blair said gently as he ran his fingers through my hair. It took me a few tries, but I was able to open my eyes as I gasped for air. “We’ll figure this out, Lennox.” I nodded, swallowing loudly, my throat feeling dry as the desert when I tried to speak. “I remember.” “Shh, don’t talk yet. Let’s get you all inside and straighten this out,” he whispered against my hair as he lifted me into his arms. I nodded, wanting water more than I wanted air. My throat, my body, and my head hurt so fucking bad I wanted to scream. Blair carried me into the kitchen, and I saw Hugo and Falcon get to their feet, stumbling after us as if they’d been through the wringer as well. Once inside, he sat me on the counter and grabbed a bottle of water for me. I nodded my thanks and drank it down slowly, my hands shaking.

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“Tell me what happened,” Blair said to Hugo and Falcon as they joined us. “We were fighting, and the next thing I knew it was like I’d been electrocuted,” Falcon replied wearily. He plopped down on one of the kitchen-table chairs and shook his head. “I couldn’t move, it hurt like a bitch, and my body just kept convulsing. I was panicked and didn’t know what to do.” “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. “I didn’t mean to do it.” “You did this to us?” Hugo asked as his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “How?” “It’s my gift,” I answered quietly, not able to look at either of them. “When I saw what I did, some of my memories started coming back. I remembered the night of my ceremony I was taken to the Alpha’s room and locked in there. They kept me there for a week or so. I wasn’t happy about it, but it wasn’t like I’d been mistreated. Then one night, all three of them came to the room, they had whips, and they were pissed. They said I was a demon. “They said they couldn’t get any work done, that all they thought about was me. That I had possessed them or something. I didn’t understand any of it, but I was so fucking scared. One of the Betas raised the whip, and I remember screaming as power flared in my body. I like electrocuted them, but I didn’t mean to. When I realized what I had done, I knew they would kill me. I ran. I had just made it off pack lands when they found me. They beat me almost to the point of death, pissed that I’d hurt them, and then I blacked out. “I woke in the attic, missing a finger, barely alive, and that’s how they kept me the rest of my time there. Now I get why. If I was too weak to use my powers or have my wolf help me, they could do whatever they wanted without worrying I’d shock them. They barely fed me, the only drink I had was from the small bathroom in the attic. And that was just a sink and a toilet. Hell, the water tasted like rust.

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They’d abuse me at least every other day in case I healed and could get strong again.” “Jesus,” Falcon hissed, shaking his head. “So it happens when you’re afraid.” “Why were you scared?” Hugo asked with confusion. “Are you kidding me?” I snapped at him, my anger pushing aside my horrid memories and the pain in my body. He shook his head. “First Falcon grabs me out of the ocean and was yelling at me for swimming alone. We just make up, barely kiss, and you’re there, screaming at us. I’ve never seen you so angry that I curled into a ball in fear.” “Lennox,” he whispered as he moved toward me. I held up a hand and shook my head. “No, I didn’t do anything wrong!” I exclaimed, jumping off the counter. I turned to Falcon first. “If there are certain rules you would like me to adhere to for my safety, then you sit me down and explain them to me like a fucking adult. I am not a child, and I won’t be yelled at when I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.” I took a deep breath and faced Hugo next. “And you! You put his hand on my cock last night and we agreed we were all past the kissing stage. That was all he and I were doing anyways. I thought we invited them to be with us. Again, if this is not the case, then you talk to me about it. You don’t get all snarly and start screaming at me as if I was cheating on you. I’m an adult. “I couldn’t sleep when so much light was coming into our room, but you could and obviously needed the rest. I can move around my own house if I want to. I don’t need permission like a little kid. So both of you pull your heads out of your asses and realize that there’s no reason to shout or get pissed. I refuse to live my life in fear anymore, and blowing up around me won’t help.” I took several deep breaths as all three stared at me in shock at my outburst. “I am sorry I hurt you both. I would never consciously injure you. I didn’t mean to

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do it, but fuck off if this is the way you are going to handle any issues that come up.” I spun on my heel and stormed out of the room, grabbing a platter of desserts from last night that I was going to make my breakfast. “None of you are getting sex if this is how you behave. Maybe I’ll just get fat then!” I called over my shoulder. Once I got to the foyer, I stopped. I didn’t want to go to our room, and obviously the kitchen was out after I just left there in a huff. I decided to check out our new home. Down the main hallway was a set of double doors that intrigued me. I opened them up and almost dropped the platter. To say it was a private library just didn’t quite cut it. It was two stories tall with books covering the walls from floor to ceiling. The space itself had to be fifty by fifty feet, not that I was sure that was an accurate guess. I set down my treats on an end table by a huge, overstuffed chair that I was going to deem as mine. Then I went to peruse what the old inner circle had left behind. There were so many books of all kinds! Everything from first editions to newer books, all in beautiful hardcover. I picked a classic I remembered liking before I’d been sold to my last pack, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations. And it was a first edition! I held the book gingerly, not even able to fathom how much it could be worth. I brought it back to the table and realized I’d also be eating. I decided to pick a different book that wouldn’t be a big deal if I spilled on it. I almost squealed with glee when I saw the library had all of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books, which I’d only heard about. Picking the first one, I plopped down on my chair and picked up a brownie. I let myself have a moment to be sad before I started. This was what I wanted to enjoy my first real day in my new home. Relax, check the place out, have a little fun. And Hugo and Falcon had almost ruined it for me. Well, that and the fact that I fucking electrocuted them. Yeah, that would keep me awake at night.

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Part of me wanted to be with them, comforting them and apologizing. But if my gift came out when I was really upset, then the smartest thing would be to calm down, get lost in fantasyland for a while, and let things settle a bit. So that’s what I did. I was glad I’d grabbed the bottle of water along with the tray, though that wouldn’t last me much longer. And eventually I’d have to use the washroom, but for now, I was safe in my little cocoon with my book, my yummies, and my imagination. I had gotten about six chapters read when I smelled Blair approaching. It made me smile. I wasn’t smelling like a human anymore now that my wolf was back. He wasn’t even at the doors and I could sense him. It reminded me how far I’d healed and that made my mood just a little bit brighter. “Holy shit,” he gasped as he stepped into the library and looked around. “I know, right? Someone in the last inner circle had to be a big reader.” I giggled. “So you’re not mad at me?” Blair asked hesitantly as he stepped into the room. I tilted my head as I studied him, slightly confused. “Why would I be mad at you? You didn’t do anything wrong.” “I was a little freaked that you could electrocute them like that,” he answered with a shrug. “I didn’t think I handled it very well.” “I thought you did. I was upset about it, too, Blair. You didn’t do anything wrong, and I appreciate you rushing out to help.” “Okay, good,” he sighed and walked the twenty or so feet to where I was sitting, and leaned against the armrest of my chair. “I hate feeling like I’m in trouble.” “I’ll tell you if you piss me off.” “I saw that.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I thought it was impressive the way you laid down the law like that.” He held up a hand when I started to speak. “They deserved it, so I’m not siding with them. This is all really new to all of us, and people can’t just go

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freaking out all the time. I just thought you were hot when you got all pissed like that and stood up for yourself.” “Thank you,” I said and cleared my throat, ignoring the fact that my cheeks heated up at his praise. “So you just wanted to check I wasn’t mad at you?” “That and the Council guys are here for the prisoner transport,” he answered gently, giving me a sympathetic smile. “None of us wanted you to stumble upon them, and we decided one of us should stay with you until they’re gone. Since you’re pissed at them, I offered.” “That was really nice of you.” I gestured to the other armchair near mine before tapping the tray. “I wouldn’t mind the company. I was just enjoying that I can sit and read again. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had a book in my hands.” “I hate that they put you through seven kinds of hell,” he said quietly. “Are you sure you’re okay with the memories that popped up and what happened earlier?” “Honestly? No, not even a little bit,” I admitted with a sigh. He handed me one of the bottles of water he’d brought with him. I smiled and thanked him for it, setting it down next to my empty one. “I’m freaked out, scared, worried, and a shitload of other things along with being disappointed with Falcon and Hugo. It’s too much to process right now, so instead, I’m just going to escape a bit, let things settle, and then deal with reality.” “I think that’s smart.” I smiled brightly at him, glad that I didn’t feel everyone was against me right then. He roamed around the shelves, looking as excited as I had felt when I discovered this place. I went back to my book then, distantly noticing when he sat in the other chair a while later. I took a swig of water and set it back down, only to find that Blair’s hand was where mine had just been. “Everything’s going to be okay, Lennox. You’ll see. There’s going to be a few hiccups and adjustments, but we’ll figure it all out and be ridiculously happy.”

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“Happy sounds great,” I whispered as I intertwined my fingers with his. It made turning the pages of the book hard, but I was willing to tough it out for the comfort holding his hand provided. I was halfway through the book when his phone beeped. He let go of my hand to check it. “The Council guys just left and took the prisoner with them. You’ll never have to see him again.” “Good,” I sighed in relief, glad one thing was now off my stresses me out list. “Then let’s go grab some lunch.” “You have any room for lunch?” he asked with a chuckle, glancing at the empty tray. “Hey, it wasn’t full and it’s a small tray,” I replied, completely embarrassed. “It seems I might just be an emotional eater.” “Or you’re allowing yourself to splurge a little after everything you’ve been through.” His voice was kind and I appreciated that. Because while I might be a thin, tiny twink, I felt like a pig after wolfing down all those calories. We laughed as he grabbed the tray and water. I found bookmarks for what we’d been reading, carrying both our books and my empty bottle as we made our way out of the beautiful library. We checked out a few rooms along the hallway to the kitchen, realizing that there was a lot of work to be done in the house. It was stuffy, really dusty, and some of the rooms looked like no one had been in them for ten years. I took a deep breath before entering the kitchen. Hugo and I had never really fought besides the one time I said some shitty stuff to him at the hospital before we were a couple. I didn’t like the feeling of being on the outs with him. Same with Falcon. Setting down what I had in my hands on the kitchen counter, I was instantly pulled into his arms. “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry I electrocuted you,” I whispered, burying my face in his neck. “I didn’t mean to do it.” “I know you didn’t, but I deserved it for ever scaring you. I promised I’d be good to you and I broke that promise.”

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“No, you didn’t.” I chuckled, leaning back so I could see his face. “You blew up over something. That’s not breaking that promise and nothing that certainly deserves to be electrocuted over.” I ran my fingers down his cheek. “But we need to discuss what happened. What I said last night stands. I want to see where things with Falcon and Blair go, but not if it hurts you or risks what we have. So you need to decide, Hugo.” He bit his lip and searched my eyes. “I want us all to be together, but when I thought you left my bed to go make out with him, it hurt. I don’t want to lose you to one of them.” “Not going to happen,” I said firmly, taking his face in my hands. “We both have enough love in us for them as well. I’ll never stop loving you, my mate. But if that worries you, then either you don’t believe in my love or we can’t bring them into our bed.” “I do and we can. It’s just I slipped and got scared. That’s not a reflection on you, sweetie. There are going to be some bumps in the road, but that doesn’t ever mean I’ve lost faith in you.” I let what he said settle in. It made sense, and I believed Hugo. “Okay, so what do we do? What are the rules?” “We take it one day at a time. No rules, whatever feels right, and if something bothers us at any point in time, we talk about it like adults. No yelling.” “Sounds like a plan.” I smiled at him, letting him know I was on board for whatever he wanted and no longer upset with him. I meant what I was saying with all my heart. Did I want two more hot men for us to love and be a family with? Absolutely, as long as those hot men were Falcon and Blair. But I wouldn’t ever risk hurting my mate. Ever.

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Chapter 6 Hugo was good to his word, not letting little insecurities stop us from something good and becoming a family. Another problem arose over the next few days. Wasn’t that just always the case though? One thing handled and something else pops up? Hell, I’m almost embarrassed to even complain about it since most people would dream of three men constantly wanting them. But after four days, I was exhausted. All I did was fuck, eat, and sleep. While a sex marathon here and there sounded like fun, I so wanted more from life than constant sex. And it was exhausting! All three of them found me throughout the day. I couldn’t get anything done without one of them jumping me. It also brought up another issue. How were we going to be a family, four loving partners and maybe mates one day, if they all always turned to me? Answer—we wouldn’t. Here’s a quick rundown so no one ever accuses me of being a baby about this. The fight with Hugo and Falcon happened Sunday and we made up around lunch. After we ate, I went back to the library, thinking I’d dust and clean up a bit in between chapters of my book. Hugo found me in the laundry room when I was looking for cleaning supplies and fucked me over the washing machine. Good times were had by all. Then Blair found me in the library again, but this time, we made out and gave each other blow jobs. I decided to go take a shower before cleaning because I was a little wiped and sweaty. Falcon joined me. Oh, and I got the answer to the questions I’d been wondering

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earlier. I was his first kiss and the first time he’d ever touched a man. And then I was his first time having sex in the shower that day. I lay down for maybe half an hour before dinner. We ate, and Hugo asked me to take a walk on our beach with him. I was glad because I was a little stiff and sore from all the activities of the day. We walked about ten minutes before he jumped me and we were fucking on the beach. Then we went for a quick, naked swim in the moonlight. All incredibly romantic, but again, I was wiped. Blair and Falcon joined us, bringing waterproof lube. Then they joined in the fun, and I had wild sex with each of them in the ocean. Kinky, awesome, yes, but I was almost too tired to fully enjoy it. Hell, I feel asleep against Falcon, still in the ocean with his cock in me, the moment I came. I woke up Monday to Hugo stretching me out. We made love, slow and tender. Then he got up and showered, needing to get to work for the pack. I went back to bed. Falcon woke me up an hour later and we had sex. So that was two times before eight in the morning. When he was done, we showered and went again. Yes, I realized I could have said no at any point in time, but all of this was really tricky. I didn’t want any of them to feel rejected, and I did love being with them. The sex was so hot I swore matches could light just from being near us. And then, who did I say no to? Who wouldn’t get hurt by my denying them as if I cared for one but not the others? I don’t care what people say about big Alpha males, or Beta males in this case. They are just as fragile as the rest of us when it comes to matters of the heart. So after my third round of the day and my shower, Falcon was going to map out the property lines and look into installing some security measures. I was finally going to work on cleaning up the library and cataloging the books. Plus, some of the shelves looked as if they needed replacing, so I wanted to take good notes on that. I might not be able to help strengthen the pack or figure out what came

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next. But I could help make our house a home and fix what needed fixing. Blair found me in the kitchen. I hadn’t even gotten my fucking coffee yet. Moments later he had me spread out on my back, pounding his thick cock into me as I lay on the kitchen table. Just as we finished, Hugo came in for a snack and took Blair’s place when he was done. I glanced at the clock when my mate had climaxed and saw it was not even ten in the morning and I’d had sex five times. My poor hole. I mean, we healed wicked fast, being werewolves, but damn. I needed at least a good hour to recover! And I was having sex so many times, I couldn’t even get it up again always or orgasm! I grabbed my coffee and food, gave them both quick kisses, and booked it out of there before Falcon decided he needed a refill on the caffeine and found me naked. I escaped to the library, sitting down with a sigh as I ate my breakfast in peace. I was glad I had three virile werewolves with healthy sex drives, but they could just as easily have turned to each other rather than everyone turning to me. I knew we had higher hormones and needs than humans or real wolves. Since we were both, we kinda did it twice as much once we found a partner and especially after having mated. But damn. I ended up zonking out in the chair, not even having finished my coffee or breakfast. When I didn’t show up for lunch, Blair came sniffing me out and woke me lovingly for some great sex. Then we had lunch. Hugo then dragged me to his office, wanting to christen it. By then it was three in the afternoon. Then he gave me a present, my own laptop. I was over-the-moon thrilled. He asked that I use the accounts that had the Council money in them for fixing up the place, to start ordering what we needed. Starting with our bedroom. I couldn’t agree more. We needed some damn curtains or I was going to keep getting up at sunrise. He wanted to have me hire a crew to put in new tile in the foyer, too, and redo our bathroom.

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I realized I was going to have a major conversation later because I forgot I’d not told him much about my past before being sold to my last inner circle. Whoops! So I was in the foyer a little while later, taking measurements so I knew how much tile we’d need… When Falcon found me. We had hot, kinky sex on the stairs, and I have to say I was impressed that he didn’t even give me rug burn. By then it was dinnertime, and we were on the last of the catered food. I started making a list while we ate of what we’d need from the store. I didn’t cook worth shit and neither did my men. But talking with them, we decided even if we could get someone in here part-time just to make us meals, that would be a big help. Until then I looked up ordering some sandwich trays from the local deli and we could do takeout for dinners. We had just wrapped up, having a great meal with lots of talking and laughing. Then we did the dishes, and my men decided to play jump the Omega all night long. One more round with each and I passed out. That totaled my count to eleven times having sex…in one day. One day. I woke the next morning and it started all over again. Don’t get me wrong, I loved, loved, loved the fact that they wanted me that much. It got me so hot that they’d track me down and have their way with me. But that was all I did all day long. I was tired, sore in some places, and feeling like I wasn’t useful for anything but sex. Tuesday and Wednesday went the same. I never did get a chance to finish my measurements, the grocery list, order the sandwiches, or clean the library. Hell, I’d not even gotten another chance to swim, finish my book, or even enjoy the sun. This had to end, and I came up with a plan. So Thursday morning I got up with the sun again because I hadn’t gotten to the curtains yet either. I pulled on my swim trunks before heading down to the kitchen. I made a pot of coffee and grabbed an apple. While the coffee was brewing, I wrote a note and left it where I

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knew they’d all see it on the coffeemaker. Then I poured myself a mug and went out on the terrace. The patio furniture was falling apart, the wood faded with age and little bits of paint chipping off, and would need to be replaced, but it was useable. I lounged around, getting some early-morning color until I heard the first of my men in the kitchen. “What?” Falcon exclaimed and came racing out onto the terrace, his face conveying that he was feeling a great deal of distress. “What do you mean no sex with you today? Today is not National No Jumping Lennox Day!” “I will explain as soon as everyone is awake,” I said calmly. I felt his light-blue eyes on me, raking over my body like a caress. “It’s just mean to say we can’t have you then lie around looking that good with tiny shorts on,” he grumbled as he stomped back into the kitchen. Whoops! Yeah, that was mean, but I really hadn’t planned it like that. I just wanted to get some sun. I couldn’t be this pale anymore and live in Southern California. He must have run to go wake up Blair and Hugo because ten minutes later, I had three groggy, crabby men blocking my sun. And they wanted answers. “Go get coffee and we’ll sit down at the table and talk,” I said gently as I got to my feet. They did as I asked, and by the time I cleaned up my breakfast, they were all waiting for me. I sat down at the table, making sure I was out of arm’s reach of all of them. “I want each of you to add up how many times you’ve had sex with me over the past four days.” They all gave me funny looks but did what I asked, ticking off their fingers and looking adorable. I saw Hugo wince after he went through both hands. “Sixteen,” he admitted quietly. “Fourteen,” Blair mumbled. “Um, fifteen,” Falcon answered sheepishly. I think they were starting to finally get it.

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“That means I’ve had sex forty-five times in four days,” I said, raising an eyebrow at all of them. “Now how many times have you guys had sex with each other?” They all sat there with frowns on their faces as they shook their heads. “Exactly. None. Look, I care for you guys, and Hugo, you know I love you. But all I’ve been doing is having sex, sleeping, and eating. This morning was the first time I even just had a moment to relax.” “But you like being intimate with us,” Blair replied with a pout. “I do. Which is why this is so hard for me to bring up. And I did enjoy it, which is why I never said no. And who would I say no to without hurting someone’s feelings?” They glanced at each other and looked a little like kids who I’d told couldn’t have a cookie. “And since we all agreed to be each other’s partners, if you’re all having sex with me, you’re not even exploring what’s there between each other. I love our sex life. It’s just too much for me. I get nothing else done and feel a little like that’s all I’m useful for.” “We don’t think that, sweetie,” Hugo whispered, his face filling with pain. “I love you.” “I know you do, and I understand you guys don’t feel that way about me or mean for it to seem like that. But if we’re all going to be together, then we have to be together and not just all of you with me.” I took a deep breath, making sure to meet each of their gazes before I continued. “So today you’re going to have as much sex as you want, just not with me. I think you guys joined in that night with Hugo and me and feel comfortable with me because of it. “I see the looks of lust you give each other, but I think none of you know what to do about it. So today, for my own viewing pleasure, you’re going to give me what I want and let me direct. Once this morning, once after lunch, and then again after dinner. It should keep all my virile men sated and get over the nervousness or whatever is keeping you from being with each other.” “And if we agree?” Falcon asked hesitantly.

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“Then your prize will be you each get to come up with your kinkiest, deepest fantasy and I will make it happen sometime this weekend.” I stared at him and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not trying to punish any of you, and if you don’t want to be with anyone in this room, then speak now. I don’t think I’m exactly asking you to do something difficult, just nerve-racking. But being with anyone the first time is scary.” “I’m in,” Hugo agreed. “I didn’t realize we were all jumping you like this, and you’re right. We’re never going to move past our comfort zone and explore what else is there with each other if we always come find you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “It’s just that sex is so hot with you, how could we not all become addicted?” “I love it, too.” I chuckled, my face heating up at the praise and looks of lust they were giving me. “But just not so much of it. I’m only one man.” “So what do we do now?” Blair asked after a moment. “Do you all agree to what I want?” I waited until they nodded, and I mentally gave a fist pump of excitement. “Hugo, kiss Blair.” He gave me wide eyes, but then turned to the man sitting on his right. I smiled, seeing they were both nervous. I’d been so right in my theory. They wanted each other. A blind man could have seen that, but they were just scared. He reached out, cupping Blair’s cheek, and then slowly pulled him closer. Their lips met hesitantly, and I could practically feel the sparks coming off of them. They froze for a moment after the kiss and then attacked each other’s mouths. When they started pulling off each other’s shirts, I knew I had to intervene. “Stop.” They did, not looking happy about it. “Blair, kiss Falcon while straddling his lap.” “I’d crush him,” he said hesitantly as he pulled away from Hugo. “I’m too big for that.” “He’s strong enough to hold you,” I replied, rolling my eyes. He nodded, and Falcon pushed out his chair to make room for our big

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Beta. Blair was hesitant again, sliding one leg over Falcon’s lap before sitting down. Falcon shivered as he ran his hands up Blair’s sides and then down his back to cup his ass. Blair leaned in and brushed his lips against Falcon’s twice before diving in. Fuck, they were just as hot together. Blair started grinding his ass against Falcon, and I got so hard I was leaking. Okay, maybe no sex for me was a bad idea if I was going to be witnessing all of this. “Hugo, move behind Blair and tear off his clothes,” I ordered, my voice getting husky. I slid the bottle of lube I’d gotten used to carrying around across the table. “Then I want you to stretch yourself out while they watch. You’re going to suck Falcon off while Blair fucks you.” All three of them moaned loudly. Good, we were all in agreement. My mate did as I asked, tearing off Blair’s and then Falcon’s clothes without even having to move either of them. Then he yanked off his shorts and sat back in his chair. I watched as he put his feet up on the table, squirted slick on his fingers, and pushed one in his ass. I scooted my chair from behind the table so I got a better view. I was realizing I was quite the voyeur. “I think you both should go help your Alpha,” I groaned when Hugo was ready for another finger. They both nodded and scrambled to kneel by him. Blair moved Hugo’s legs, one over each of their shoulders, and slipped in a finger alongside Hugo’s. “Fuck, I’m going to blow,” Hugo gasped. “Do it. Come as often as you want.” He nodded as he stared at the two hot, naked men in front of him. Falcon ran his fingers over Hugo’s cock before using one finger on his other hand to help Blair. Hugo cried out, coming hard as he rode their fingers and his own. He was stretched then for Blair’s huge piece of meat, and it was time to change their positions. “Falcon, sit on a chair. Blair, stand Hugo up and bend him over so he can suck off our partner, and take his ass.” They all stared at me

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for a moment, lust glazing over their eyes before doing what I’d said. Falcon plopped back on the seat he had vacated. The moment Blair and Hugo got into position, Hugo swallowed as much of Falcon down as he could. I moaned at the sight, smiling when Hugo glanced up at me and winked. He cried out around Falcon’s cock as Blair pushed into him. “Perfect,” I whispered as I pulled down my little shorts and started stroking my cock. “Take him hard and fast, Blair.” “Yes, director,” he grunted, thrusting the rest of the way into our Alpha. I watched them move like a well-choreographed dance. It was a thing of beauty, and I wondered if there was a video camera around here somewhere. “I’m gonna come, need to come,” Falcon announced loudly. Hugo nodded that he was ready and kept sucking on him. He hollered out as he shot his load. Blair reached over and stroked Hugo in time with his thrusts, and it didn’t take long for both of them to find their release. And I did as they did. It was too hot not to get wound up over and find my orgasm. “Fuck, that was amazing,” Hugo panted as he and Blair slid to the floor. “I thought so, too.” I giggled, reaching over for a napkin to clean myself up with. “But we’re not done yet.” “We’re not?” Falcon asked as he looked over at me with a raised brow. “Nope. Sometimes you guys take me one after another, all three in a row most nights. I know what it takes to wear you guys out.” “Direct away then.” Blair chuckled, his eyes sparkling with joy and post-orgasmic bliss. “Falcon, I want you spread out on the table with your legs in the air. Blair, stretch him out while Hugo does the same to you, then fuck away.” They all moaned at the idea and got into position. “Can I ask one thing?” Falcon whispered as he turned his head and stared at me while Blair was finger-fucking him.

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“Of course. I’m not forcing you to do—” I started to ramble, scared I’d pushed them too far. “No, nothing like that, baby.” He chuckled, cutting me off. “I just hoped if you got hard again you’d let me suck you off. Or if you jack off, let us lick you clean when we’re done. You deserve some TLC after coming up with all of this and bringing us together.” I glanced at Hugo and Blair, who were both nodding, wide grins on their faces. Well, hot damn! It warmed my heart to see them so happy. “You can lick me clean and give me kisses afterwards, but right now is all about you guys exploring each other.” “Deal.” They all agreed. Moments later, everyone was stretched and ready to go. “Th–this is my f–first t–time bottoming,” Falcon stuttered as he stared up at Blair. “Don’t worry, baby,” Blair whispered, his voice full of emotion. He leaned over and kissed Falcon gently, lovingly. “I’ll go as slow as you need and make it good for you.” “Thank you.” Falcon looked way more relaxed now, and I wanted to smack myself in the head. I hadn’t even seen he was nervous, well, more nervous than when they’d all started touching each other. Would he even want his first time to be on the damn table? He seemed to know my unspoken question and answered it for me. “I like my first time, all three of us together with our baby watching. The table’s a nice kinky touch, too.” Blair chuckled, and I let go of my worries as he pushed inside of Falcon. I watched his face carefully, as did Blair and Hugo, for any signs of pain. There wasn’t. Only pleasure. “Full. Fuck, so full with some burning,” Falcon gasped. “The burning will go away,” Hugo said gently as he moved out from behind Blair and kissed Falcon. “Just give it a minute, and once your body adjusts, it will turn into pleasure.” “It’s not bad, but I don’t think I’ll be one of those people who ask for pain with their pleasure,” he panted. He glanced over at me and

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gave me another wink. “Except when someone bites me during sex. I love that you’re a biter.” “Oh yeah,” Blair and Hugo echoed with a groan. I felt my cheeks heat up. I didn’t even realize I was a biter. But when I thought about it, yeah, I did like to bite in the heat of the moment. Good to know. “Okay, move. I’m ready,” Falcon said a minute or so after Blair was fully inside of him. “Let me get in Blair,” Hugo replied as he quickly moved. “Hurry,” he gasped as Blair leaned over him so Hugo could have access to his ass. “Hi.” “Well, hello there, stud.” Blair chuckled, licking Falcon’s lips before diving in for more. They both moaned as Hugo started gently thrusting into Blair, as if testing that Blair was ready. “Shove it in, Hugo. I do like the burn and pain.” “Good to know,” Falcon growled, nipping Blair’s bottom lip. “I like fucking hard and fast.” “And he’s good at making sure you don’t get rug burn out of it,” I said with a snicker. When all three of them turned to look at me, so much lust and love in their gazes, my cock sprang right back to life. “You guys are so fucking hot.” “And here we were thinking the same thing about you, baby,” Hugo replied with a growl. “Stroke that cock for us.” “Push a finger in your ass, too,” Blair moaned. “Hey, I’m giving the orders here,” I said firmly, raising a brow as if daring them to deny that. They both nodded and focused on each other. “Now fuck like the animals you are. Just don’t break the table.” “Yeah, that might hurt for those of us on the bottom.” Falcon chuckled and then moaned as they started moving. I grabbed my cock when it started leaking, the erotic picture in front of me just too much to hold off my lust. I didn’t even bother starting off slow this time, whacking it as fast as I could. The wood creaked as they all moved together, thrusting and fucking faster and harder than any humans ever could.

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Falcon grabbed his cock and did as I was. A few minutes later, he was the first to pop, screaming until he was hoarse as he rode his orgasm. Blair followed him right over, and moments later, Hugo was thrusting erratically. He cried out and kept pumping his seed into Blair until I saw some of it start to leak back out. I glanced at Falcon’s hole and saw the same thing. That was all it took for me to blow. I moaned as I shot my load all over my stomach and hand, lost in my own bliss. I couldn’t believe how hard I came, and there just seemed to be more and more cum exploding from my cock. When it was finally over and I was spent, I slowly pumped my sensitive cock as I gasped for air. I opened my eyes when I felt a tongue moving up my stomach to my nipple. All three of my men had moved out of their positions and were on the floor, kneeling in front of me. Wow! “That was hot, baby,” Falcon growled before kissing me passionately. I giggled when Hugo’s tongue licked my hip bone. They’d all discovered I was ticklish there and loved to tease me and play with that spot. He moved and went back to licking. Then I got a kiss from Blair. Between the two of them they were melting me down to my toes. Then when Hugo took his place I thought I was going to pass out from all my nerve endings flaring to life at once. All the attention at the same time from them was a lot. Sure, they joined in together sometimes when one was taking me. But mostly it was one after another. This was the first time since that first night that all three of them were touching me and kissing me at the same time. “Okay, if we keep this up, then Lennox is going to end up with someone’s cock in his ass,” I said, gasping for air as I ripped my mouth away from Hugo. “You guys should all be sated at least until after lunch.” “Thank you for this, my love,” Hugo said seriously as he cupped my cheek. “The three of us might never have pulled our heads out of

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our asses and made a play for each other without your help. And I’m sorry we were all using you like our own personal toy.” “I didn’t say that,” I growled, grabbing his hair so he couldn’t move and would see that his words pissed me off. “No one used me in any way. Don’t you even think that. Everyone asked if I was okay with it, kissed me, made sure there was foreplay, cleaned me up, and took care of me. The three of you loved on me. I’ve been used, Hugo. This wasn’t even in the same realm. Don’t make what happened cheap. It wasn’t. One person just can’t handle that much sex.” “Okay, I’m totally turned on right now,” Blair mumbled, breaking the tension in the room. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, letting my mate go. “I overreacted.” “I’m glad you did,” Hugo said gently, running his thumb over my bottom lip. “I won’t feel guilty now about what happened. I didn’t mean you were our toy, like in a bad way. Just that we weren’t thinking as we should about how it would affect you if all three of us were jumping you all day.” “Well, now you know and we settled it like adults.” I chuckled. “Now let’s get some work done before another sexfest after lunch.” Falcon’s eyes went wide before he threw his head back and laughed. We all joined in, and I was blissfully happy. They’d finally given in to their lust, and while I knew they still wanted me and would come to me for loving… I had a chance to do other things during the day now. Not to say there wouldn’t be days that I wanted nothing but their loving. Just not every day, all day, constantly.

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Chapter 7 The after-lunch fun went just as great as before. And by then everyone had lost their previous nervousness. I even saw Blair give both Hugo and Falcon a deep kiss when he came into the kitchen for lunch. It made me sit back and smile that I wasn’t just a cute face. When it was dinnertime, I ordered pizza and cleaned up what I’d been doing in the library. It was a hard day’s work, but I felt really good about what I accomplished. I dusted and checked every bookshelf to make sure they were structurally sound and made notes on which needed to be replaced. I measured the foyer and our bathroom for tiles. Then I did the same for curtains, noticing that I’d need to put in new runner boards to support curtain rods because the current window frames were for shit. Once in the kitchen, I checked out all the appliances, made notes on them, and checked the flooring and the cabinets as well. “What are you doing?” Hugo asked with a chuckle as I stood on the counter and was looking over the anchors on one cabinet. “Um, yeah, I realized I kinda forgot to tell you something,” I answered as I sat down on the counter. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. Never a good sign. “So I know we’ve talked a lot about what happened after I was sold to my last pack. But did I ever tell you much about before that?” “That you were an orphan and grew up at the High Council’s estate and had tutors mostly. So?” “Yeah, but my only real friend was the guy in charge of the grounds and the estate. He helped me get my contractor’s license. It’s

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probably expired, and I know you said we could get a crew in here, but I know how to do it all.” “Really?” His eyes were wide with shock, and I saw Blair and Falcon had joined us. “You can fix the house up?” “Unless there’s major electrical or plumbing issues, yeah,” I said with a shrug. I hated when they all stared at me like they’d never seen me before or something. “I mean I can remodel our bathroom and change fixtures or add in lighting, but I don’t have the qualifications to rewire the house.” I looked down at my feet shyly. “Can we get you a tool belt?” Blair asked in a husky tone. My head snapped up, and I realized they were all staring at me not like I’d done something wrong or had shit on my face… But with lust. “You have a handyman fantasy?” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Umm, yeah.” “What fantasy don’t you have?” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “That would be a shorter list than the ones I have,” he answered with a cheeky grin. “So what do you have planned so far?” Hugo asked, stepping closer and gesturing to my notebook. “I took measurements and think we should start with our room and the tile for the foyer. It was put in half-assed and needs to be completely redone along with the runner boards. Our room needs work, too. The bathroom has to be torn out and a whole new one put in. The kitchen needs some updating. “I think whoever put these cabinets in was part blind or just had no clue what they were doing. There are about a dozen shelves in the library that need to be pulled out and new ones built in. Those were custom jobs and done well, but some of the wood is just old. “The appliances in the kitchen could probably last a few more years, but if we’re already updating, it might just be worth it to put what we want in while the place is torn apart. The bay windows need to be replaced in here and in the foyer. And the front door and frame

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is toast. A stiff breeze could knock it down.” I glanced up at them again. “Stop looking at me as if I’ve grown another head!” “Baby, we’re all thinking about the fastest way to get you naked and if we can talk you out of our no sex rule for today,” Falcon said with a chuckle. “You just spoke manly man, contractor stuff, and we’re all turned on.” “Really?” I squeaked and then covered my mouth in embarrassment, thinking that took me down a few pegs on the manly man scale. “Oh yeah,” Hugo answered as he sauntered over to me and inserted himself in between my thighs. “Smart men, talented men, who know how to use their hands are so sexy.” “Good to know.” I snickered, pushing him away as I hopped off the counter. “You can show me how you feel tomorrow after you guys’ day of fun is over. And after someone takes me to get some tools. There were none in the garage, and I didn’t see anything that resembles a workshop, so I’m starting from scratch.” “Can we be your construction crew and you can order us around all the time as you walk around shirtless with a tool belt?” Yeah, Blair really liked the idea of me fixing things it seemed. “Sure.” I rolled my eyes and handed him money when the doorbell rang. “I ordered pizza since we haven’t had time to get trays from the deli. Which I want to do tomorrow as well.” “Anything you want, handyman,” he purred, leaning over to give me a quick kiss before heading to the front door. “You guys are insatiable,” I teased. I loved the fact that I could turn them on all the time and they knew it. Blair came back in with the pizzas and we scarfed them down. I wasn’t the only one who’d been working hard and had an appetite it seemed. Then after we cleaned up, they were all ready for their fun. “Can I not direct this time?” I asked quietly, trying not to show how wiped I was.

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“Go to bed, sweetie,” Hugo said gently as he hugged me. “I can see you’re trying not to yawn.” “Thanks for understanding. There’s just been a lot going on and I keep getting up with the damn sun,” I replied with a sigh. It was so awesome that they were paying attention better and in tune with what I needed. “Go on.” Falcon chuckled as he gave me a kiss. “We’ll see you in the morning.” Then he whispered in my ear when Hugo let me go so only I could hear. “Thank you.” “Thank you for being so open about it all and wanting us to all be a family,” I said against his lips. We shared another kiss before I gave one to Blair and Hugo wanted his, too. I climbed the stairs, undressed, and practically flopped into bed. I was out the moment I pulled the covers over me. I didn’t even wake up when Hugo joined me because I woke at one in the morning and he was wrapped around me. I slipped out of bed, needing to pee and get something to drink. I hated when I forgot to bring something with me to leave on the nightstand. I was just one of those people who was thirsty all the time. I pulled back on my shorts because I just didn’t feel comfortable walking around the house naked. Yet. Maybe my men could change my mind on that one day. But then again, I’d really get jumped all the time for sex if I was naked. After I was done in the bathroom, I slipped out of the room and headed downstairs. I yawned as I opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. I hadn’t checked all the pipes and the water coming out of them yet, and with the way our bathroom worked, I felt better with the bottled stuff for now. “Hello, Lennox,” a voice I remembered all too well said quietly from the shadows as the fridge door closed and the kitchen was bathed in darkness again, the only faint form of light coming from the moon outside. I shivered and spun around, praying I was just hearing things.

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“How did you find me?” I asked, proud that I didn’t sound as scared as I felt. My heart was practically leaping up into my throat it was beating so frantically. “Oh, I’ve been watching you for some time, my little Omega.” My old Beta, Roger, chuckled evilly. “I especially liked watching your new inner circle fuck what is mine in the ocean.” “I’m not yours,” I hissed, my anger and hate for the man overruling my fear. “You’re rogue. The High Council has deemed you an enemy and anyone can kill you on sight.” I was hoping that he hadn’t noticed that I was slowly backing away from him toward the block of knives on the kitchen island. “You will always be mine, Lennox. You carry my mark.” “No, the moment the contract is voided the marks go away. That or in the event of death. You know that. I only have my mate’s mark now.” I was rambling to buy time so I could just get a little closer. It didn’t work. He saw what I was doing and moved in a flash. I realized he was going to get to me before I could reach the knives, so I threw my bottle of water at him. It startled him and slowed him down but not enough. He lunged for me and grabbed my foot just as I got to the island. I went down hard and screamed my lungs out. Fuck! I wished I knew how to use my powers. I would so fry this bastard without any regret. “Shut up, whore,” Roger snarled and punched me in the back of my head. I tried to keep screaming, but stars flashed behind my eyes and my body didn’t work like I wanted. Then everything went black. **** I woke up, chained down to a bed in some seedy motel room that was so gross I wondered how many bugs and critters were on the bedding. Pulling my arms as hard as I could, I tried the chains. Yeah, I couldn’t even lift them. Same with my head except that I could

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move a little bit side to side, and whatever was stuffed in my mouth to keep me quiet was oh so nasty. “Good, you’re awake,” Roger said with a leer, the way his eyes raked over my body making me realize I was naked. “Now we can start the fun of fixing what’s healed.” “It is fixed,” I said into the cloth, which of course made no sense so I wanted to roll my eyes at why I bothered. Then I saw the whip, and whether it was the most irrational thing in the world to do, I started talking away. “I’ll electrocute you!” “I’ll take it out, but if you scream, I will pull your eyeball out, and I doubt you could heal from that.” I nodded that I understood and he pulled the rag out. Yes, I saw it was boxer shorts, but in my mind it was just a dirty car rag. I couldn’t handle what else that taste and smell was. “I’ll electrocute you, Roger. You know I can.” “No, no, I don’t think you can,” he replied, slowly shaking his head. “If you could control it, you would have done at it your house.” Fucker. Weren’t evil guys supposed to always be stupid? “And besides, you’re tied up in heavy metal chains. If you send out a shock, you’ll get yourself.” Balls. “My inner circle will come for me. They will kill you if they see you’ve harmed me. There’s no way out for you unless you go now.” My voice sounded more confident than I was feeling. “I’ve been on the run for five months now and no one’s even come close to picking up my trail.” He gave me that creepy grin again, and I was just barely able to keep my shivering in fear at bay. “Now that’s enough talk.” He stuffed the rag back in my unwilling mouth as I tried to fight. It was pointless. If I struggled too much, one of the chains, which was placed over my neck, cut off my airflow. “Let’s get you back to the way you were before you healed. Shall we, demon?”

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I whimpered, praying to whoever was listening that my men hurried. He placed the whip on the bed and picked up a baseball bat. I closed my eyes, not strong enough to watch as he broke me again. The air changed as he swung it, and I screamed in pain when he shattered my right knee. My wolf howled inside of me, and I wanted to let him take over. But with the fear I’d been feeling and now the intense pain… I couldn’t focus enough to shift. When he broke the other knee and my hip, I realized he wasn’t just going to hurt me and rape me. Roger was going to kill me, slowly, with as much pain as possible. The first bite of the whip and I let the familiar wave of blackness carry me away into passing out. I don’t know how long it was until I regained consciousness, but I hurt so badly that I was scared to open my eyes. Even with the chains on, I couldn’t even wiggle around my lower body. And everything felt wet and sticky. I was still tied down faceup and I hadn’t been breached, so at least I knew I hadn’t been raped. After listening for a while and hearing Roger’s even breathing indicating that he was asleep, my eyes popped open. I was covered in dried blood and dozens of whip marks. Along with globs of white fluid that I would not think about or try and figure out what it was. Though I was pretty sure I knew. My stomach churned and I wanted to vomit. Roger was a sick fuck. I heard a noise and turned just as his eyes snapped open. Fuck! He gave me an evil grin, showing that his teeth had extended into his wolf ones. “You look delicious, my evil demon.” Yeah, I was the evil one somehow. “You were all I could think about while in my exile. What love spell did you put on all of us so that we would want you this desperately?” I turned my head to look at the ceiling and cried. I didn’t do anything. There was no love spell on them. Hell, if there was, it severely backfired because this wasn’t love. This was fucked-up torture to the nth degree.

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He slipped out of the bed, naked, and shifted into his wolf. I couldn’t believe I’d once thought his wolf was beautiful. He was a deep brown color and had gorgeous fur that shimmered in the light and looked soft to the touch. When I looked into his eyes and saw the vacant look there, the nothingness, I knew his wolf was as dark of a soul as Roger. The wolf snarled as I looked away, pissed that I wasn’t giving him the attention he wanted. Fuck him. I wasn’t going to play into his sick games. I cried harder as the first bite came on my arm. He just kept biting me over and over again, his teeth making contact with my flesh with enough force to break the skin and rip part of the muscle underneath. I got through twelve bites before I blacked out. The next time I woke, he went back to whipping. It seemed it wasn’t fun for him unless I was awake and he could smell my fear. But I was passing out faster, which scared me because the amount of blood I was losing was alarming. I was stronger now than when they had beaten me in the past, so some of my wounds were healing. I just didn’t think it was enough to save me and had a feeling that I was going to die soon. When I felt the whip against my hips and groin, I was out from the intense pain. The last thought I had was whether I was going to wake back up this time. I doubted it. But I did. I heard the door to the hotel room being kicked in and fought past my unconsciousness to open my eyes. A large, very attractive man with a flat-top haircut busted in the door. “Who the fuck are you?” Roger snarled as he raced out of the bathroom. The man didn’t answer, moving quicker than I could follow. I was trying my best to desperately hold on. Was this stranger my rescue? God, I hoped so. The man grabbed Roger around the throat when my old Beta tried to attack. I heard a sickening snap and Roger’s head hung funny as the man dropped him to the floor. It made me smile and sigh with relief. The fucker was dead.

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“I don’t know your name, little Omega,” the guy said gently as he approached the bed. “But I’m here to help.” I gave him a slight nod that I understood. I tried to keep my screams in as best as I could when he lifted off the heavy chains. He must have gotten the keys from Roger’s things when I wasn’t paying attention. When they were gone, he pulled the cloth out of my mouth. “Lennox,” I rasped, staring up at him. My vision was getting blurry, and my throat was so dry I could barely stand it. “Water?” “Hi, Lennox,” he said, his eyes darting around nervously. “We need to get out of here before the authorities or someone worse comes. Do you know where you are?” I shook my head slightly. “The shittiest part of LA. Can you shift?” Again I repeated the movement, glad my vision wasn’t swimming too badly. “Okay, then I have an idea but you might not like it.” “Call Hugo,” I whispered, rattling off his cell phone number. I’d never been so glad my overprotective mate had made me memorize it when he’d gotten it. “Well, I can’t,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m kind of a fugitive from out of Council and I think they would kill me on sight.” Balls.

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Chapter 8 “Why?” “I’ll explain, but I’m not here to do you harm, Lennox. Your injuries could be life threatening unless you shift soon. So can you just not fight me and then I’ll tell you whatever you want?” he asked gently. I raised an eyebrow at him. Yeah, because I had a choice right then. I was a mess and couldn’t move due to all my broken bones. He gave me a nod that he understood. “I’m going to get you out of here.” He pulled the ratty comforter off the other bed since the one I was on was covered with blood. I was very glad we couldn’t get infections or germs because the thing was gross. I bit my lip to keep from screaming in pain as he lifted me into his arms and covered me up. He carried me out of the room, and I was glad to be out of there at least. My rescuer carefully placed me in the passenger’s seat of his car and then raced around front of it and got in. “I saw a veterinary hospital a few miles away when I was tracking you down,” he said, his deep voice soothing me. That and he had a plan. The car raced along, and wherever we were, it wasn’t the nice part of town. A lot of the buildings were run-down and everything seemed to have this dirty, dingy quality to it. Plus there was graffiti all over the place. So I tended to believe what he’d said about it being the crappy part of LA. “I figure security there won’t be the same as a regular hospital. I hate to break in, but I don’t think we have a choice.”

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“Name?” My voice sounded awful and scratchy. It really hurt to talk. “Right, sorry. Carter Whelan.” My eyes went wide as I recognized the name. He must have noticed even in the dark car. “I never hurt our Omega. I’m stationed at Camp Pendleton. I spent most of my time there recruiting other wolves to transfer there and join our pack. Now I realize our Alpha was trying to create an army. But I didn’t know. I never hurt Sampson, I swear to you.” Before we had agreed to take over the pack in California, Hugo and I had done extensive research on all the open packs. We knew all the players, especially the old inner circle. The whole reason the pack was open is the Council interfered with the inner circle when they found out Sampson, the Omega of the pack, was being abused. I nodded that I understood. I wasn’t sure I was buying it, but the guy seemed nice and he did save me after all. I’m sure there was a story there as well and I wanted to know all of it, but right then I was fighting hard just to stay conscious and not scream in pain. Needless to say, my mind wasn’t firing on all cylinders. He pulled into a parking lot of a closed animal hospital. Okay, so it was night but late enough that the place was deserted. Hey, I didn’t blame them. I wouldn’t want to be around in this neighborhood at this time of night if I didn’t have to be. Then again, if I had just looked at the clock on the dashboard and saw it was two in the morning, I wouldn’t have had to use my brain to deduce the time. I was in pain and not thinking straight. So sue me. “I’m sorry this is going to hurt,” Carter said gently, his voice strained with emotion. I nodded as he got out and then lifted me into his arms. He was very careful not to jar me too much, especially when he kicked in the back door. I groaned, hoping this was going to be over soon because the black spots were back and I knew what came next. He laid me down on an exam table in the hospital’s main back room and went over by a locked cabinet. I wasn’t sure what the plan

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was, but most drugs didn’t work on us. So what was he thinking? I heard some rattling as he pushed things aside and then sighed in relief. “This isn’t going to be fun,” he explained as he grabbed a syringe and stepped back over to me. “It’s going to hurt like a bitch, but it’s the only way I know to jump-start your body enough to shift. The adrenaline will help your body speed up to heal, too, and then you can call Hugo yourself.” I nodded and then froze. Wait. Did he just say adrenaline? Oh big hairy balls. He wasn’t kidding that this was going to hurt. I whimpered when he filled the syringe up and positioned it over my heart. He gave me a sympathetic glance and then stabbed it into my chest, dispensing the drug. I screamed for several reasons. One, the shot hurt. Two, the adrenaline immediately started racing through my system, jarring my body back to life while still so injured. Three, my wolf howled that he could get loose now and help me. And he did. He practically tore out of my body to shift. Unlike when he’d healed me before, these weren’t old injuries that the doctors had patched up or helped along. These were new and fresh, so basically all my wolf could do was stop the bleeding and start the process to heal my body and bones. But the shifting itself took a lot of energy, and the next thing I knew, everything went black. Again. I had no idea how long I was out this time, but I woke back in human form. I was also cleaned up, on a bed, and not tied down. Things were looking up. My knees hurt like a bitch, but they weren’t broken anymore, nor was my hip. I heard low voices, one I recognized as Carter’s, so I wrapped the sheet around me and went to check things out. “Why can’t we keep him?” one guy asked with a grumble from his seat on the couch in what I was guessing to be some sort of living

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room. “He’s hot and his inner circle obviously didn’t do a good job in protecting him if you had to rescue him, Carter.” “We can’t just keep him,” Carter growled. Glad he was on my side with that. “He’s not a damn pet.” “No, but we could be in even greater trouble now,” another guy said with a sigh. “Look, I know you saw him get nabbed when you were doing recon. I get why you couldn’t go to his inner circle and raced to help him. But Captain Mace had to do some fancy talking as to why you were AWOL. We’re already on the lam from our Council, and if we piss off the Marines, we’re screwed.” “I know. I know this,” Carter whispered. “But you didn’t see what that freak did to Lennox. He wouldn’t have survived much longer.” “I get it,” the second guy said again. “What do we do now? We can’t just let him walk home to his inner circle. He’s going to have to tell him something and then they’ll know about us. We need a plan, Carter.” “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?” I asked quietly, stepping into the room. “I know a few Omegas who are in with the Council, and I promise Hugo will do whatever he can to help you after you saved me.” “Well, hello, hotness,” the first guy purred. “You sure you don’t just want to stay with us? We’ll keep you entertained.” I glanced around and saw six hot Marines. Yeah, I just bet they could. “Sorry, I have a mate I love very much waiting for me.” I chuckled. “Where am I?” “Our barracks at Camp Pendleton,” the first guy answered, changing to a more serious tone. I guessed he smelled my fear, because I was scared, and I realized this wasn’t all fun and games. It made me feel better about the people I was around. “I’m Lief.” He gestured to the other guy that had been speaking. “That’s Geoffrey.” “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Lennox Ashton,” I said awkwardly and then turned to the other guys. All of whom were incredibly handsome. “Ollie.”

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“Slate.” “Ciro.” They all responded one at a time, identifying themselves for my benefit. “Okay, cool. Now that we all know who each other is. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” I asked as I waddled gently, careful of my knees, over to the chair next to the sofa and sat down. “And I would be very grateful for some water.” “Shit, right. Sorry, little guy,” Lief replied quickly and raced into the kitchen. “So, I told you I was stationed here,” Carter said with a sigh as he plopped down onto the sofa adjacent to me. I nodded that I remembered even though he’d told me when I was in so much pain. “I was supposed to have a weekend off, so I was heading back to the Alpha house you now live in, which used to be my home. I freaked when I smelled strangers and started going in slowly, thinking we were being attacked.” “But you weren’t, right? It was the Council’s guards going in to rescue Sampson.” I was trying to help the story because I saw tears in his eyes as he got choked up. “I swear I never knew anyone was hurting him,” he whispered, shaking his head in dismay. “I’d only been with him during the Omega ceremony and then our Alpha sat me down and said that Sampson wanted to be just with him. I thought the guy was cool but he wasn’t really my type either, so no harm, no foul. I thought our Alpha was a little freaky in how overprotective he was of Sampson, but I figured that might just be how people in love were. “Sampson never said anything to me about it, not that I saw him very often. I thought he just kept to himself and didn’t have any interest when we met about the pack. He seemed like a quiet guy, and I thought maybe he was just an introvert.” “Hey, you couldn’t have known, man,” Lief said gently, patting Carter on the back as he handed me some water. “It’s not cold

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because I didn’t want to shock your system when you’re so dehydrated.” “Thank you.” I gave him a bright smile before focusing on Carter again. “I believe you, and all we have to do is verify with Sampson that you never touched him.” “That doesn’t mean that what happened to him wasn’t my fault. I should be punished.” Carter looked so distraught that I couldn’t even imagine how much he suffered with the knowledge that someone he was supposed to protect was being abused right under his nose. “I disagree, but I can’t make you forgive yourself. That will take time, and maybe after you talk with Sampson, things will get better.” He shook his head, and I knew we needed to move the conversation along because, as much as I was willing to sit and listen to Carter, my men were probably freaking out as they searched for me. “What happened next?” “I heard the guards saying our Alpha blew his brains out and the other Beta was killed trying to keep them from Sampson. Then one of the guys said that I needed to be found, so I could be arrested and charged as well. I freaked out. Most people who get detained by Council guards are never heard from again. They didn’t seem to know I was a Marine, so I hightailed it back here and have been waiting for them to come.” “Your inner circle just took over the pack, right?” Ollie asked, and I nodded. “And you guys were never told members of your pack were here?” “No, and I would think Elder Alan would have mentioned that. I don’t think he knew either. I need to call Hugo,” I said gently. They all froze and got worried looks on their faces at the mention of the name. “I promise he’ll help. We can talk with Sampson, but Carter wouldn’t be this upset if he was one of the bad guys.” “Right, okay. Call your Alpha and we’ll take you home and talk with him,” Geoffrey agreed and handed me a phone. I quickly

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grabbed it after I set down the glass of water I had drunk half of. I quickly dialed and waited. “Hello?” Hugo answered hesitantly since, of course, he didn’t know the number. “Hugo, I’m okay,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes. “Someone rescued me.” “Oh my god! Lennox? Is that really you, baby?” He cried, and I heard Blair and Falcon shouting in the background. “Are you hurt?” “Yeah, Roger did a number on me, but I’m healing. It might take another week and a few more times shifting for me to be all better, but I’ll be okay. He didn’t rape me.” “Oh thank fuck.” I knew what my mate meant. It wasn’t to say torture wasn’t as bad as being violated, but wounds and bones could heal. Some things the mind couldn’t heal from. Yes, what I went through was still traumatic, but being raped was a different beast to deal with. “Where are you? We’re coming to get you, sweetie.” “Actually, I’m just down the road. The guys who saved me are going to bring me home. Hugo, they need our help.” “Anything they need,” he replied immediately. “They can have my left nut for saving you.” “I don’t think they want that.” I chuckled, touched that getting me back meant so much to him. “The guy who tracked me down is Carter Whelan. He saved my life, Hugo. Promise me that you guys will hear him out.” There was a slight pause before Hugo responded. “Yeah, okay. We’ll listen and not call in the Council. If he saved you, he can’t be one of the bad guys. Just come home, my mate. We’ll figure out the rest. I love you.” “I love you, too, Hugo,” I cried, wanting to be in his arms. “Don’t cry, baby. You’re going to be here soon and I promise you’ll never, ever be away from us ever again. Okay?” “Yeah, see you soon,” I agreed and hung up. I handed the phone back to Geoffrey. “Can we go now?”

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He nodded, giving me a soft smile. “Yeah, there’s one more of us, but he might have to meet us at your house later. We’re done for the day so let’s get you home.” “Thank you.” I stood, and my knee gave out. It was better, but not at its best. Geoffrey swooped me up into his arms and made sure the sheet was tucked around me until I felt like a burrito. I sighed in relief that I was going home as he carried me out to their car. Twenty minutes later I was being lifted back out of the car as my men came racing out the front door. I’d never been happier to see their faces. “Mine,” Hugo growled as he pulled me out of Geoffrey’s arms. “Yes, all yours.” I chuckled until I saw the panicked, wild look in his eyes. “I’m fine, my mate.” “You smell like other men and they were the ones to rescue you,” he said emotionally as he buried his face in my neck. I wasn’t really sure what emotions, but I knew they were strong and warring. I did the only thing I could think of to help my mate. “Then show them who I belong to,” I purred as I licked his neck. “No, you’re hurt,” he whispered, shaking as he held me tighter. “My hip is almost all better and my knees are fine if I don’t put weight on them. I need you.” It was the truth and a lie. Having sex would hurt, and I wasn’t almost all better. But I did need him. I needed to feel loved and the bliss only my men, especially my mate since I was deeply in love with him, could bring me. “Please, Hugo?” “Yes, fuck yes,” he moaned as he lowered me to the ground. He unwrapped the Lennox burrito right there on the front lawn for everyone there to see. Then he claimed my mouth as he undid his pants. “I can’t. We don’t even have anything. I won’t hurt you.” His eyes were already shifted into his wolf ones. I couldn’t even imagine how hard he was fighting to keep some semblance of sanity. Wolves, especially male ones who were Alphas, were territorial. Someone had taken me away from him, hurt me, and then someone else rescued me. The human in him would just be grateful I was

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rescued. The wolf in him was freaking because it was someone else who rode to my rescue. “Here, I got some,” one of Carter’s friends said right before a small tube plopped on the ground next to us. “Do it, please,” I begged, seeing how badly Hugo needed this. He nodded and opened the slick up. I glanced over to Blair and Falcon and gasped. Both of them were shaking, their wolf eyes out as well. Oh shit. They were all freaking out. And then it hit me. How long had I been gone? I’d never even asked. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Hugo pushed a lubed finger inside of me. We didn’t have time for that. He was barely holding on. “Just slick yourself up, my mate. Give me what I need.” “No, you need to be stretched,” he growled, shaking his head. “I know you, Lennox. You need to feel me but cuddling with me would be enough. You’re doing this for me because I’m all over the place. I won’t hurt you on top of my insensitivity.” Damn, he was good. I wasn’t going to lie to him, so instead I did everything I could to relax. He did stretch me out, but it was the quickest stretching known to man. Hell, he hadn’t even gotten naked more than unzipping his jeans and pushing them down a bit. “I love you,” he whispered before thrusting into me. I gasped, making sure it sounded more like pleasure than pain, though there was lots of both. “You can’t ever get taken again. You’re not ever leaving my sight, Lennox. We were falling apart and dying without you. From now on, you need to pee and one of us is there holding the soap out for when you’re done.” “Okay,” I agreed as he started thrusting. What else was I going to say? There was no way any of them were joining me in the bathroom to pee, but he was scared and upset after what happened. The sheet was bunched up under my lower body so at least I had a soft cushion. That and Hugo moved his hands under my ass, trying to be as gentle as he could.

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“Mine,” he snarled, his wolf riding him hard… As he rode me hard. I shivered in delight, his strength and the fierceness of his statement thrilling me. “Yes, yours,” I moaned. Hugo took me fast and forcefully but not as hard as he had in the past. I knew the restraint he was showing. “Come for me,” he ordered, and I did. I cried out his name as I shot my load, very aware of the audience we had. Hugo followed me right over, roaring out his release as he filled me with his seed. When he was spent, I realized he was sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have protected you.” “I wanted that just as much as you did,” I said gently, rubbing my hands down his arms. “And we couldn’t have known Roger was watching. We just moved in and none of the security measures were up yet. It was stupid of me to be wandering around the house at night all alone. No one is to blame but him.” He nodded as he pulled out of me and sat up, taking me with him onto his lap. Blair and Falcon had moved closer to us while everything was going on. “Please,” Blair whispered, and I looked up at him. There was such need in his wolf eyes, the same as Falcon. Hugo nodded as he let me go. In a flash I was out of his arms and in Blair’s. “We were going insane without you, baby.” “I’m here now,” I said gently against his neck. “I’m not ever leaving any of you. I’m yours forever.” “Are you really though?” I knew what he was asking. I glanced down at Hugo, who nodded as he gave me a smile. Yes, we were a family. “Claim me. I’m yours as I am Hugo’s and Falcon’s.” “Thank fuck,” he groaned as I heard his zipper come down. He pushed inside of me and leaned me back against Falcon’s chest so I was comfortable. I tilted my neck so he had access to the right side, and he didn’t even hesitate. He sank his teeth deep into my flesh, giving me a mating bite as he took me.

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I cried out in bliss, the bite giving me an overwhelming sense of pleasure as I found my orgasm. Blair growled his approval as he thrust into me, coming as he kept his teeth locked into place. It wasn’t up with his normal stamina, but given the circumstances and emotional toil this had taken on all of us, I could understand it. He rode out his climax before releasing my neck and licking the bite closed. “I love you, Lennox. You make us a family, and I feel things for you I never have before.” “I love you, too,” I whispered, exhausted but happy. I did love both my Betas. It wasn’t at the same level I loved Hugo, but it would be. I knew that without a doubt. He gave me a quick kiss, full of love, before pulling out of me and turning me around so I was facing Falcon. “You have to know that we were doing everything we could to bring you back home,” he said, tears brimming in his wolf eyes. “I never doubted that,” I replied gently, cupping his cheek with my hand. “I knew the men I loved would come for me. Carter just got to me first.” “You love me?” He gasped, his eyes going wide. “Of course I do,” I answered with a smile. “We’re a family, Falcon. You three own my heart, body, and soul.” “Will you claim me?” he blurted out. “After you claim me and we handle everything with Carter.” I bit my lip to keep from giggling. I’d never topped before, but I liked the idea of trying, and he was so cute with the way he asked me. “Maybe some food and a nap, too. But yes, I will claim you.” “Good,” he whispered and thrust inside of me. I hadn’t even noticed he was partially naked. Guess he was prepared for when I gave him the green light. “The whole pack was looking for you. We followed every lead, anyone who ever knew Roger or—” “We’re not talking about that right now,” I said firmly as I moved my lips to his. “This is our moment and the only thing I want to talk about is how we feel about each other.”

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“I fell in love with you the moment you shifted into a wolf,” he admitted as he lifted me up and down on his cock. Well, that was one I hadn’t been ready for. “You were so full of life and love, and when you took off before the rest of us, my heart dropped into my stomach. It wasn’t because I was your Beta and needed to protect you, Lennox. It was so much more than that. And I knew if you would just give me an ounce of the love inside of you, I would be the happiest man on earth.” “You talk so pretty,” I moaned, his cock nailing my sweet spot on each thrust. “Now bite me and prove to me that you want me as yours.” “Gladly,” he growled. I didn’t mean to rush him. I wasn’t trying to be an ass, but by then I was hurting, exhausted, and worried I might not be able to hide what I was feeling much longer. Falcon bit the side of my neck on the side opposite where Blair had. We peaked together, and it was almost more than I could handle. I rode it out, loving that they had both claimed me. “Well, that was an interesting way to say welcome home,” Lief joked, shaking his head. I couldn’t have agreed more, but I wouldn’t have changed a damn thing they did.

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Chapter 9 “A week?” I asked again about ten minutes later. I was sitting on Falcon’s lap, nibbling on some toast because my stomach was empty and I had to get back into eating slowly. Hugo had grabbed me some shorts and we were all cleaned up, sitting in the kitchen. “Yeah, sweetie,” Hugo answered again. I’d been stuck in this loop for a minute or so after finally asking how long I’d been gone. “He took you Thursday night or technically Friday morning. It’s the next Friday.” “How long was I with you at Camp Pendleton?” I asked Carter, hoping he was going to say a few days. “Just today,” he answered with a wince. “I got you from Roger last night.” “Damn,” I whispered, snuggling back against Falcon. “How did you find me?” “Well, let me explain to your inner circle what I told you first.” I nodded, lost in my thoughts as I finished my toast and took the final sips of my ginger ale. Then I moved on to the next piece just as Carter was wrapping up. “That’s easy enough to verify,” Hugo said with a shrug. “I’ll call Tristan, the one who’s giving Sampson sanctuary, and see if he says the same thing. Then we’ll tell the Council.” “What about the rest of us?” Lief asked hesitantly, glancing around. “I never even met Sampson, but if we weren’t on record as being part of this pack, doesn’t that make us rogue?” “No,” Hugo answered with a smile. “I accept you all into our pack. That’s it. No issues with the Council.”

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“Um, he was training us to be Betas,” Geoffrey said slowly, pointing at Carter. “You already have some.” “Why were you training them though?” Blair asked carefully. We were all on the same side here, and I was glad no one was trying to pick a fight or anything. But yeah, that seemed kinda odd to me, too. “I thought it was Council sanctioned,” Carter answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We have more than a few wolves in the human military, but they don’t have a pack. We’re taught leadership but to follow orders so we make great Betas. Since this pack was so close to one of the largest Marine bases in the country, the old Alpha told me he talked to the Council about getting all our people in one location. “The idea was to train Betas who could be fillers. Say Falcon needed to go to his home pack and attend to something with his family for a month. You wouldn’t want to be down a Beta that long, so I was training ones that could rotate in. Or if something was going on and you just needed a little extra protection around the Alpha house.” “But that wasn’t what was going on. Your old Alpha was building an army,” I said, remembering Carter mentioning that earlier. “I can’t come up with any other theories,” he admitted with a sigh. “The Council guys didn’t know to look for me at the base. You guys didn’t know you had pack that was there. It seems fishy and we were meant to be hidden until the right time.” “But your Alpha blew his brains out first,” Falcon said and then winced when he realized how bad that came out. “Look, I didn’t know the guy was fucked in the head. I didn’t particularly like the guy, but he didn’t seem bad. Elder Alan had put him in charge and I trusted that Alan knew what he was doing. Now I feel stupid for blindly following, and Sampson was hurt because of that.”

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“And we screwed up by letting someone kidnap Lennox,” Hugo said gently, giving Carter a sympathetic shrug. “We all make mistakes. It’s how we fix them and learn from them that matter.” “It wasn’t your fault,” I whispered, so upset that they blamed themselves. “You guys need to get over that. I don’t blame you, and blaming yourselves will tear all of us apart inside.” “We will, but we’re just going to need more than a day to do it.” Blair gave me a wink I knew he wasn’t really feeling. Fair enough. “So now, tell us how you knew where Lennox was.” “We’ve been doing recon on you guys,” Carter answered slowly, trading looks with his friends. “We knew we were in deep shit, me more than the rest, but we couldn’t just walk up to the Council estate in Boston and announce we were there. We needed to know more of what was going on and who we could talk to to ask for help.” “Why not go to Elder Alan?” Hugo asked Carter, but I had already guessed the answer on that one. “The man he chose to be the next Alpha ended up going crazy. I didn’t think he’d be willing to go out on a limb or give anyone else the benefit of the doubt.” Yup, that had been what I thought.” “Fair enough,” Hugo agreed. He waved his hand in a circle as if to say go on. “So you were watching us.” “We were hesitant after we saw Council guards show up and drag some guy out of here,” Carter explained. “So we wanted to make sure you wouldn’t just call them on us either.” “Yeah, that guy was nuts, too, and verbally accosted Lennox,” Falcon explained. “Always a good interview technique.” Carter snorted. “So it was my turn to watch when I see this guy snooping around Thursday night while you three were, um, playing around on the terrace. I had just been ready to head back to the barracks and crash when I smelled him and so much anger that it worried me.” “Okay, I’ve got a great nose,” Blair said, getting worked up. “It’s hard for me to buy that I never smelled any of you.”

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“Would you know us from your new pack that was here the night Hugo claimed Lennox and you guys took a run?” Lief asked before taking a sip of his pop. He didn’t wait for Blair to answer. “No, you wouldn’t. That’s why we chose now to watch you guys before all the scents from that night faded. We keep a good distance away but it helps.” “Right, okay, fine,” my man grumbled. I gave him a wink and my pout lip. It worked because he sighed and smiled. “So this guy is watching, all kinds of pissed off,” Carter said, getting back to his story. “I texted Geoffrey that something was up and I wasn’t coming back at the normal time. You guys went to bed and Roger, not that I knew his name at the time, was going all around the house trying to get in. Then he broke a lock on one of the side windows and snuck in when Lennox turned on the hallway light in the front. Before I could even get close enough to the house, he was racing back out with Lennox under his arm, unconscious.” “Fucker punched me in the back of the head when I went to get some water,” I explained. I thought of something else. I wanted to control my gift. Maybe that was another reason to call Tristan when things calmed down. He might know someone who could help me. He’d told me a list of gifts that Omegas had, and mine was no worse. I could do this. “We heard you yell, but by the time we got downstairs, a car was peeling out of the driveway and it was too dark to see the plates or get the make,” Falcon replied, hugging me tightly. “I didn’t know what to do, so I shifted and chased after the car,” Carter said, shaking his head. “I would have wasted time trying to explain everything to you and you probably wouldn’t have believed me then anyways.” “No, we would have thought it was you,” Hugo agreed. “I’m a good tracker so I just kept on the trail, but I was in wolf form and going after a car. I followed it to LA but then there are so many scents there that it took me a while to locate them. When I did, I

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busted in the door and got Lennox out of there after snapping Roger’s neck.” “He didn’t deserve a quick death,” Blair growled. “No, he didn’t,” Carter agreed. “But I’d made a lot of noise and even in the shitty part of LA they were in, it could have raised suspicion.” He went on to fill everyone in on what came next with the vet’s office and up until I’d shifted and passed out. “Lennox couldn’t call you then and we couldn’t stay there. So I drove the stolen car about ten miles from base and left it right in front of the police station. Then I carried him back to the barracks.” “Thank you for saving him,” Hugo said, his voice choked up with emotion. “All our leads were coming up empty and we wouldn’t have found him in time. You took a great risk given your situation, and we won’t forget that.” “I just couldn’t not do anything when I knew the guy was nuts,” Carter replied, staring at his feet. “Let me use your phone,” I said to Hugo. “We need to call Tristan.” He nodded and slid it across the table and I pulled up the number. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed with my men, but this couldn’t wait. “You got him?” Tristan asked as he picked up the line. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered with a smile. I’d only met the man once when I was in the hospital, but I wasn’t surprised to know he’d been involved and was worried about me. Tristan was just that kind of guy. “Glad to hear your voice,” he sighed. I heard him whisper that I was fine. I assumed he was filling in his inner circle. “What happened?” I gave him the short version, leaving out that Carter was still here with us and all of his friends. “So can you ask Sampson about Carter? We need to verify what he told us before we call the Council.” “You got it, little buddy. Let me call you back.”

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He hung up without a good-bye, and then there was an awkward pause. Um, so what did we talk about now? But then again, everyone seemed to have a lot to process. When Tristan called back a few minutes later, the loud ring in a silent room startled me. I had slipped into my own thoughts along with everyone else. “I missed you,” I teased Tristan as I answered. “Yeah, me, too, Lennox,” he said gently, and I could hear the relief in his voice that I was fine. “Sampson says Carter’s story is entirely feasible, that he thought the guy knew what was going on but was never around. Now that Sampson heard Carter’s version, he thought back and realized the Alpha was never freaking out around Carter that he witnessed. “He didn’t know anything about Carter being stationed at the base or the other Marines, but since the old Alpha never let him leave his room, how would he have? Do you know where Carter is now?” “Sitting across from me in our kitchen,” I answered, glad to hear Carter hadn’t been lying. “What’s the next step?” “We’ll handle everything and get the guy off the Council’s wanted list. They’re going to have some additional questions for him, but they’ll be careful not to blow his cover with the Marines.” I gave Carter a thumbs-up, knowing full well he could probably hear Tristan because of his enhanced wolf hearing. Tristan asked for Carter’s cell number, which he rattled off, and then we hung up. “I don’t know about you guys, but my contract with the Marines is almost up and I want to get out,” Lief said as he leaned against the counter, looking tired. “I hate not having a real pack, and after all this shit, I refuse to blindly follow anyone again.” “Yeah, I feel you,” Ollie agreed, rubbing his hands over his face. “I went in to serve my country and get some leadership training since there’s no real Beta training program. It’s time to live a real life. I’m a gay wolf in the United States military. Being cooped up at the full moon is a bitch and I’m constantly having to hide something about myself.”

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“How long until you guys are able to get out?” Hugo asked as I stood to get some more food. He immediately pulled me into his lap and nodded for Blair to get me what I needed. “You need to take it easy on your knees. We could have made things worse from jumping you when you got home, but for the next week or so, you’re not walking anywhere.” “Yes, Alpha.” I giggled, rolling my eyes. “I just got notice they want me to renew up, so I could be out in a few weeks,” Lief said. Everyone else answered, and they ranged from Lief’s timeline to a few months out. “Well, you’re all welcome to stay here until you decide if this is the pack you want or to move on. We could use some help around the house and getting this pack back into a healthy state.” I rubbed my face against Hugo’s shoulder, silently telling him I was happy with what he said. He was a good Alpha, whether he had ever wanted to be or not. It made me proud to be his mate. “For now, Falcon and Blair will show you some guest rooms. It might be nice for you just to hang away from your barracks and get some perspective. We can talk more after my mate gets a nap.” “Thanks, we appreciate it,” Carter said as he shook Hugo’s hand. “Most of us have basic manual labor skills. Ollie’s and Ciro’s dads were construction foremen, so they have more know-how than the rest.” “Talk to them about you-know-what,” Hugo whispered covertly to Falcon. I bet he thought I was asleep already since my eyes were closed. I was close, but I’d caught that. I just didn’t have enough energy to ask what he meant or what was going on. Let them have their secrets… For now. **** I woke up the next morning with the sun, alone in bed. I had had a nightmare about so many different things, mostly centered around

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Roger, and I was feeling raw. I hopped in the shower, a little peeved that already they’d broken their promise to never leave me alone. Maybe I was being a baby, but I’d been through hell and back, several times, and I needed them. After I got dressed, I went in search for them to remind them of their promise. I stepped into the hallway and screamed my head off when someone was standing there. “Jesus, Lennox,” Ollie said, his eyes wide as he held up his hands in surrender. “It’s okay, buddy. Hugo asked me to watch you while they ran a quick errand. He didn’t want you left alone.” “So why are you in the hallway like a burglar ready to pounce?” I asked, gasping for air as I clutched my chest and supported myself against the wall. It didn’t hold me up for long though. My weak and sore legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor. Sure, it was daylight and he wasn’t Roger, Roger was dead and all, but that’s where my brain immediately went to. The fear had been so strong I was still trying to think past it and let it dissipate. “I was sitting in the room until you rolled over and the covers slipped off of you,” he answered sheepishly, his cheeks heating up. “Then it just seemed like I was a staring perv, so I came and sat out in the hallway. I could hear you and knew you were safe.” “You are a perv.” Carter chuckled from the right of us. He held up his hands as my head snapped to look at him. “We were off rotation today, so we offered to hang around and help out any way we could. Your men didn’t want to leave but there was something they had to go do quickly. They were panicked you were sleeping this long. They thought you were just going to take a nap yesterday, not sleep all the way until this morning.” “Yeah, but it helped,” I said as I tried to stand. It wasn’t working. My legs felt so weak and I shook horribly when I attempted to move them. “Well, it did help until the big guy here scared the crap out of me. I had no problem standing in the shower.”

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“Why don’t you shift again and walk around the house a little. It will help.” I nodded and pulled off my clothes. Carter was right, and I should have thought of that myself, but I’d been a little peeved at waking up alone. They both averted their eyes and I almost laughed. We were wolves. Nudity didn’t bother us. But then again, it was hard to pretend someone wasn’t interested when they were and the person was standing naked right in front of them. I was flattered. They were both very attractive, but I loved my men and wasn’t looking to add any more to my plate. I let the shift flow over me and turned into my little white wolf. I gave a happy yip and jumped around a bit. It was nice to feel the ease and simplicity of being my wolf. Sure I was sentient, in control, and knew what was going on. But being in my wolf skin, certain things took precedent and became very black and white. Like right then, my wolf wanted to play and enjoy the sun. Yes, he knew what I’d been through and all the worries on my mind, but he understood I couldn’t solve everything in one day. It was nice outside, we’d been chained down, it was time to stretch our legs. Simple. I danced around Ollie and Carter as he picked up my discarded clothes. I raced down the hallway and back just in time to see Ollie shifting as well. He was a pretty black wolf that was more than double my size. “You kids have fun and stay on the property,” Carter called after us in a singsong voice as he jogged to keep up with us. I mentally laughed and wanted to answer, yes, dad. But of course all that came out was a few yips. Ollie’s was more of a bark. We ran down the stairs and out the back door to the terrace and into the yard. I figured it was a California thing or maybe just being on the beach and the ocean, but the grass was really hard crabgrass. It didn’t really bother my paws, but it would hurt my human feet, so I made a mental note to see if we couldn’t fix it and reseed for some nice, healthy grass.

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Ollie nipped my butt when I went to pass him and head for the sand. I spun around and stayed close to the house. I understood. I was okay with everyone being overprotective for a while… Or forever. And especially Ollie and Carter since they were really just my sitters and had to be extra careful that nothing happened on their watch. I heard a truck pull into the driveway but didn’t immediately go racing over there. I got down low and started edging my way around to the front of the house, very aware that Ollie was right next to me. As soon as the door opened and I smelled Hugo, I went racing toward him. Blair and Falcon got out of Falcon’s SUV that had been following the truck. And why was my mate driving a truck from Home Depot? I leapt at him, taking him by surprise and knocking him down to the ground. After I gave his face a few playful licks, I shifted back and rubbed myself all over him as I growled. “I woke alone. I thought none of you were ever leaving me alone again? Then Ollie was being a gentleman and staying in the hallway while I slept and showered, but he scared the crap out of me when I came out of the room. And I had no idea where any of you were or what was going on.” “I knew I should have stayed,” Blair said, cussing under his breath. I glanced up at them and saw the matching three glances of worry and grief. Immediately I felt a twinge of guilt. Shit. I was being a baby. “No, it was fine,” I replied instantly. “Just how about a note next time? And what’s with the truck?” “We can write notes,” Falcon agreed immediately as he pulled me off Hugo and into his arms. I wrapped myself around him as he plundered my mouth. “Dear Lennox. Went to get you a surprise. Don’t be mad we left you because we’d never leave long and we’ll always come back to our hot man.”

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“Okay then,” I said with a pout as I moved his hand between my legs. “No one was even around to take care of my morning wood. Fix that and you’re all forgiven.” “Glad you’re feeling better, baby,” he whispered as he sucked on my ear, stroking my cock. “Much better. My hip doesn’t even hurt anymore.” I gasped as Blair and Hugo moved behind me, so I was completely surrounded. “I heard mention of a surprise, so I’m really not upset. And I’m not trying to be a baby, but just please don’t leave me to wake up alone again for a little while. I had a nightmare and this was the first time I woke up at home and—” “We’re sorry,” Hugo said gently as he licked his mating mark. “We were excited and wanted to make you smile, not upset you. You seemed so calm yesterday that it never crossed our minds that you’d have nightmares. But it should have. I know you still have them after being with your last pack.” “I don’t mean to be weak,” I whispered, my erection wilting. “You are not weak,” Falcon growled as he licked my neck. “Most people wouldn’t even have been able to get out of bed today. It’s because you are so strong that we weren’t thinking. You handle everything with grace, Lennox. Sometimes we’re going to forget that. Just because you’re handling things better than most doesn’t mean you still need things from us now and again.” “Like morning TLC,” Blair purred as he licked down my naked back. I shivered, my hard-on perking right back up. “You are not weak,” Hugo reiterated as he massaged my ass. “We felt weak for falling apart when you were taken and not being able to find you. We wanted to do something special to make it up to you, sweetie.” “Nothing to make up for,” I moaned as Blair licked my hole before pushing his tongue into me. “Just love me. That’s all I want is the three of you to love me. I feel safe when any of you are around and that’s all I need.”

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“So you don’t want me to eat out your ass?” Blair teased, and I unwrapped one leg from around Falcon and tapped him with my foot. “Okay, I can take a hint.” I moaned like a slut, humping against Falcon’s hand as Blair went back to eating me out. I tilted my neck as Hugo started nibbling along it and pinched my left nipple. “You are so breathtaking when you let go and just feel, baby,” Falcon said with a groan as he stroked me faster. “You like all three of the men who love you showing you attention at once, don’t you?” “Uh-huh,” I mumbled, my brain melting as Hugo nipped my earlobe while Blair pushed a finger in beside his tongue. “Feel special for once in my life.” “What?” All three of them gasped and stopped what they were doing. “Huh?” I asked, not really sure what just happened, but the fun stopped and I didn’t like that. “What do you mean you feel special for once in your life?” Falcon asked, moving his hand under my chin when I looked away to bring my face back to his gaze. “Talk to us, Lennox.” “Everyone always focused on me for the wrong reasons,” I answered with a shrug. “Growing up, I was the orphaned Omega. Then the Omega who was about to be sold. Everyone always gave me a big berth when I lived at the Council estate, like I didn’t belong and they were shipping me off soon. Then my inner circle paid attention to me in the worst ways, thinking I was some demon who put a love spell on them.” “And now?” Hugo asked, his eyebrows still drawn together in confusion. “Don’t we make you feel special now?” “Yes, that’s what I was trying to say,” I answered firmly with a nod. “The three of you make me feel special because you focus on me, Lennox, the man, not the Omega. You see me and your eyes light up, not caring about my past or my issues. I always feel loved and wanted.”

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“Then we’re doing something right at least,” Falcon mumbled before slanting his mouth back over mine. I moaned as my men kept their attentions on my body again. “Come all over Falcon, my love,” Hugo ordered in my ear before running his tongue around it. I cried out as I did what he wanted, my body so in tune with them that the littlest thing they wanted I gave them. Not that I didn’t want to orgasm as well. I did. And it was glorious. I rode it out, humping my hips in time with each wave. When it was over, I slumped back against Hugo’s chest, moaning when Blair pulled his finger and tongue out of me. “Someone mentioned a surprise?” “Yes, but then we’re going to continue the loving on Lennox sexfest day,” Blair purred as he pulled off his shirt. He dressed me in it and I laughed at how he glanced over at Carter and Ollie, who were doing everything they could to look anywhere but at us. I unwrapped my legs from around Falcon and was immediately swept up in Hugo’s arms. “I can walk, you goof. The shifting helped a lot.” “The rocks on the driveway are too pointy,” he replied, shaking his head. “And I like having you back in my arms. I was so scared I’d never get to hold you again.” “Then by all means,” I purred, knowing what he needed and wanting to lighten the mood. “Carry me around all day, my big, strong man.” “Ready for your surprise?” he asked with a wide smile. That’s what I’d been going for. “Is it cock?” I asked with an impish wink. All three groaned as Hugo tripped over his feet, catching himself before he dumped me on the ground. “In a little bit and all day long,” he mumbled. We walked around to the back of the truck. Blair and Falcon were both shirtless now since Falcon’s shirt was covered in my cum. Blair opened the door

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and Hugo stepped up with me. I wasn’t liking the dark, small space, but I changed my tune when I saw what was inside. “Shut up!” I gasped, squirming in Hugo’s arms until he set me down. “You guys did not buy me all of this!” “We saw what your wish list was in your Internet browser when we were looking for clues of places Roger might take you,” Hugo said with a shrug. I glanced back at them and saw they all looked a little worried. “The guy at Home Depot warned us this might backfire because most people who know what they’re doing like to pick out their own tools.” “No way! You got everything I would have,” I replied, giving them all a smile. When I saw they were relieved that I was happy, I turned back to my haul. And what a haul it was! There were three huge tool chests. I opened them up and saw everything was there, wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, drill bits, ratchets, screws, nuts, bolts, nails, and anything else I could ever need. There was a table saw, drills, sanders, and all kinds of electrical tools. “This is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” I whispered, sniffling quickly and wiping my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry over a present. I might have been emotional and all over the place after being kidnapped and tortured, but this was a manly man gift and I was going to act like a man. “To be fair you are going to use all of it to fix our home so we had some selfish reasons as well,” Hugo said quietly. “And I wanted to get you the big workbench because it gave me ideas,” Blair added. “And an extra tool belt for you to wear in bed.” “I love you guys,” I blubbered and ran into their waiting arms. Fuck being tough and hiding how I felt. I loved them and this was the best gift of my life, given to me by the men I loved. “We love you, too, sweetie,” Hugo whispered as he kissed my hair. Okay, so I gushed all over them, but I didn’t really cry even though my eyes did tear up. But that was more because I was back in

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their arms where I belonged and no longer being tortured. Now it was time to look to the future and start rebuilding our pack and home.

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Chapter 10 “How did you get the name Falcon?” I asked the next morning as he helped me set up my tools in my newly designated workshop off the garage. “My mom is Native American and she said when I was born, I opened my eyes and had this sharp gaze like a falcon,” he answered with a one-shoulder shrug. “Personally, I think it was all the drugs she was doped up on for the pain and thought it would be funny to call a werewolf Falcon.” “But it’s a hot name.” I chuckled, giving him a wink. “And it does suit you. I see what she means about the sharp gaze. I’ve thought that a few times—that you could see more than most people because you really pay attention.” “Thank you. That’s a really great compliment,” he replied. We were quiet a few minutes, opening packages and putting tools away in their designated spots. They’d also gotten me an iHome for my space to go with the iPod Hugo had given me months ago back in Boston. They really knew how to spoil a guy. I liked it. “Do I please you? I mean sexually?” Falcon blurted out of nowhere. I was so shocked that I dropped the wrenches that were in my hand and they fell to the floor with a loud clank. I just stared at him for a few moments, my mouth agape. Falcon seemed embarrassed by my reaction and quickly looked away from me. “Never mind. Sorry I asked.” “Falcon, of course you do,” I answered, snapping out of it. “Whatever made you think that you didn’t?”

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“I don’t know,” he mumbled, turning away from me. I grabbed his arm and spun him back around. “No, you don’t get to shrug this off. Something is obviously making you question your abilities or my enjoyment, and I want to know what it is. I can’t fix this if I don’t know.” “You just seem to enjoy it more when you’re with Hugo or Blair than you do with me. You’re more vocal with them from what I’ve seen, and you scream and talk dirty with them. With me you’re almost quiet the whole time until you finish.” I didn’t have to think about that for more than a second to come up with the answer. “Falcon, sit,” I said gently as I pointed to the floor. I didn’t have any chairs in here yet, so the floor it was. He raised an eyebrow, setting down the tools he had in his hands, and did as I asked. “I don’t love being with you any less than I do with them. You all have different styles in the way you take me, each one special and satisfying beyond words.” “Then why—” he started to ask but stopped when I held up a hand. I took off my shirt, a thrill racing through me as I saw his eyes glaze over with lust. Then I toed off my shoes and socks before getting rid of my jeans. “Because you of all my men tend to go caveman on me,” I purred as I straddled his lap. It was so erotic being completely naked when he still had all his clothes on that I loved it. “Sure we have foreplay, but you’re always so intense and we tend to go right to the best part. You fuck me so hard and fast that I hold on for dear life, gasping for air the entire time. It’s hard to be vocal or scream if I’m trying to make sure I’m still breathing.” “I’m too rough with you,” he whispered, looking crushed and trying to scoot out from under me. “That is not what I’m saying,” I growled, grabbing onto his hair to keep him in place. “I’m saying making love with you is wild and passionate and the good hard fucking that has me climaxing so

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forcefully that my body shakes for minutes afterwards. I love the way you take me. I love it no more or no less than what Hugo or Blair do. It’s different from them just as you are. But that’s why I’m not talking dirty to you or screaming much. Your passion and intensity rob me of my senses sometimes.” “So it’s not because I’m bad in bed?” he asked hesitantly as he kept his eyes on mine even as I moved his hands to my ass. “You were the first man I was ever with, the first time I topped, and I just needed to make sure I was pleasing you.” “Yes, Falcon,” I whispered against his lips before licking his bottom one in a show of submission. He growled as he moved his fingers so they were rubbing my hole. I shivered at the immediate desire he showed for me. “See what I mean? You get all caveman and dominant on me to where I shiver and gasp just from your touch.” “You really do love me,” he mumbled, burying his face in my neck. “I can’t believe you really love me. I wondered if you said it to me because you wanted to tell Blair but not just leave me out.” “No, Falcon,” I cooed gently as I ran my hands over his back. “I really, truly love you.” “We all do,” Hugo said from behind us. I turned and looked over my shoulder to see him and Blair standing there smiling. “I love both you and Blair, Falcon. The moment we realized Lennox had been taken, you were the strong one who pulled us together. You were the calm one who didn’t yell or point fingers. All you did was focus and help us. You’re an amazing man.” “And I love the way you go all caveman on me, too,” Blair admitted as the tips of his ears turned red. “As much as I love you.” He looked over to Hugo and took his hand. “And I love you.” “I love you both, too,” Falcon said with a nod. “It took all of us to hold it together while we tried to find Lennox. Blair kept making sure we all ate as he fielded all the calls. Hugo used his sexy brain to think of any possibility and talked it out with us so we didn’t feel left out. It was a group effort. But the moment he came back and we all

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understood that our wolves were riding us and we needed to claim him was the moment I realized we were a family.” “Because everyone said yes and no one got jealous,” I agreed, having felt the same thing. “Exactly.” Everyone nodded, smiling widely. “We all love each other,” I said with glee. “We all love each other!” “Yes, we do.” Hugo laughed as he and Blair knelt down on either side of Falcon while I was still on his lap. I watched as my men traded kisses and repeated their love for each other, excited and needing to hear it again. “Now that we’ve settled that and realized we’re all a family,” Blair said calmly when the moment had passed. “What was this about making Lennox scream?” All three of them were staring at me like hungry wolves who found their prey. I yelped and quickly jumped off Falcon’s lap before any of them grabbed me. I raced out of the room and toward the kitchen. “Help!” I playfully cried as I raced past Ciro and Lief, who were helping us out on their day off. “Three hot men want to fuck me.” “And you’re running away, why?” Lief asked, eyeing me over as if I’d just escaped the loony bin. “Good point,” I agreed and turned back around, running toward the loud footsteps giving me chase. I jumped into Hugo’s arms since he was the first one through the doorway. “You caught me.” “We always will, my love,” he growled. “I didn’t doubt that for a second,” I whispered against his lips. Blair and Falcon surrounded me, immediately touching me as if needing the contact as much as I did. This was home. This was what I had always wanted. And I knew they would always be there for me, keeping me safe and making sure I was loved. Just as I would always love them.

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THE END WWW.JOYEEFLYNN.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joyee Flynn grew up in Chicago living in the same house all her life until she left for college. Though she has a great life, she loves to get lost in fantasy that only books could bring. Her wide interest in reading was reflected in her writings. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series. She dreams of one day living out in Montana, enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee’s all about them in any form in her books. Vampire, werewolf, military, doesn’t matter at all as long as they are hot, hard, and sex fiends!

Also by Joyee Flynn Ménage Amour ManLove: Resistant Omegas 1: Tristan Ménage Amour ManLove: Resistant Omegas 2: Carson Ménage Amour ManLove: Resistant Omegas 3: Edric

For all other titles, please visit www.bookstrand.com/joyee-flynn

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