Brennan’s eyes bulge in terror, but it doesn't stop him from obeying the uber command. I see the knife flash, but Bram swings him away and dumps him on the floor. Probably to save me from witnessing his messy end, but I’m not interested in Brennan. I’m watching Bram, who stares back atme, his vengeance slowly turning to something hotter, wilder, hungrier…
“Take me home, mate.”
I could be talking to any one of them, the way they close around me like a pack. But it’s Bram who scoops me into his arms, his heart pounding like a drum under my ear. He grunts as he tears the cuffs from my wrists, the metal twisting and tearing like paper in his grip. I burrow against his chest, his ink and leather scent overlaid with a menacing smoky flavor. It should probably frighten me, but it zips across my skin, leaving electric sparks in its wake. Now that my mates are here, I don’t even care if they take me on the dirty floor, and I wriggle in Bram’s arms, licking a hungry stripe up his neck.
I think I’m about to get my wish until a large alpha steps into our path. As he inspects Brennan’s body, he has a fading glimmer in his gaze – eyeshine, or something close to it - but then cocks a brow at Bram. “You finished causing mayhem, Webber?”
“Not even close,” Bram growls. “I want bank details. Names, accounts, the works. I want to know everything about every prick who ever had anything to do with this operation.”
“Patrick will do that. You focus on getting her into a nest.”
Bram shows his teeth again, but Corbus touches his arm, turning those menacing eyes back our way. “He’s right. She needs you,mijn broer. She’s in heat and she needs her mates.”
Bram gives the other alpha another soft growl, but he backs away with his hands up, only breaking eye contact when Declan throws an arm over his shoulder. I wait until his bright green eyes land on me and then give him a thumbs up. “Thank you.” I’m not really sure what I’m thanking the pretty alpha for, but I think he’s responsible for some mayhem of his own.
“My pleasure, spitfire.” When Bram curls his lip at him, Declan just laughs. “You should come by the club, big guy. We can always use another battering ram in our arsenal.”
I have no idea what that means either, but Bram just shakes his head and carries me down the stairs. I curl my face against his neck, soothing myself with the angry thud of his heart until we’re out in the fresh air. A circle of men in black vests escort us to an SUV, but Lachlan jumps behind the wheel. The men pile into the next car, and Bram wedges me between my two alphas on the back seat. “Everyone buckled in?” Lachlan asks, already gunning the engine.
“I’ll cover the speeding fine,” Corbus says, and we pull away just as a row of police cars arrive.
“We don’t have to give them a statement?” I’m already concocting the lies I’ll spin to keep Bram out of jail. “Are we allowed to just leave the scene of a crime?”
“We were never there,” Corbus tells me with a reassuring squeeze of my hand. “Close your eyes, my love, and we’ll wake you when we get home.”
But now that my adrenaline is fading, sleep is the last thing on my mind. I stare up at Bram, his eyes the same shade as his golden halo from the passing streetlights. “Can you stop it, Bram?”
I’ve just watched him command a man to slit his own throat, after all. Can’t he force my heat to stop? Or at least postpone it for a few weeks until I’m ready to face it?
He presses a thumb to the pulse in my neck, but gives a slow shake of his head. “You’re too far gone. And if I tried, I'd be worried about hurting you worse.”
My heart squeezes with disappointment, and Lachlan looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Dr. Green is on her way to our place. She's going to help, Katie.”
“But my last heat is happeningnow,” I whimper, that bravado in the warehouse crumbling under the cold, hard reality. “And I'm not ready to lose this part of me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - KATE
I know I should try to accept my fate, and in theory, I believe that I’m more than my designation… But try telling that to my omega when she’s deep in the throes of her last heat.
If I thought it was painful back in the warehouse, being in the presence of my pack is so much harder. Maybe it’s because I can now focus on them exclusively, or because their pheromones are thickening in the enclosed space. Everything feels so much brighter and hotter, and I gasp as another wave of agonizing heat builds under my skin. Corbus has pulled a blanket across my knees, but now I thrust it onto the floor, my back arching against the restraint of my seatbelt. Bram still had a hold on my thigh, and I sink my fingers into the meat of his forearm as I unsnap my belt and climb into his lap.
“Sweetheart…”
I attack him, sucking on the thick vein in his neck while I try to claw him out of his vest. It’s like trying to break into Fort Knox, and I have to wonder when Velcro became such a bitch to work with. Maybe I mutter that out loud, because Lachlan snorts from the front seat, while I give up on the sticky straps and focus on Bram’s pants. I can feel the hard bulge of his knot under me,and I grind down on it as he cradles my hips. Not pushing me off, but not gripping metighter, and I give a frustrated whine as he eases me away from his zipper. “But Ineedit, Bram.”
“I know, sweetheart.” His own frustration is written in every line on his face. “But if I knot you here, I’ll bond you, and you don’t want that…”
“I do!” I protest, dragging his hand down between my slick thighs. The rasp of his palm against my aching skin tears a groan out of my chest. “I want you, Bram, and I want this pack. That’s not going to change after my heat.”
A lot of things might be different, but I know in my heart that my feelings for them are forever.
“Please, Corbus,” I beg, turning to look at the other alpha. “I want you to claim me.”
He makes a humming sound as he cups my ribs and eases me down into his lap. They’re both handling me as if I might shatter at any moment, and I need to get that out of their heads. Their protective instincts are on high alert, but I don’t need soft and gentle now. I’ll never get them to bond me if they think I’m too fragile to take their knots.
Before Corbus can buckle me back in, I slide onto my knees. It’s a big car, but I’m pushed up against Lachlan’s seat, and I take a hungry gulp of his scent as I grip Corbus’ thighs. “I need this, Alpha,” I say again, ready to drum the truth into them any way I can. “And I want to be with you, now and always.”
“I want you too, my love, but we’re nearly home…”
