Had I pushed too far? I’d been careful, so careful, but not enough. Not if it had caused her pain. Not with the baby, our pup, still inside her.
I slowed my hips, the instinct to keep moving buried beneath a wave of concern. I was still hard, still aching, but I forced myself to hold still, to focus on her instead of the primal fire roaring in my blood. We were locked, and I couldn’t pull out, couldn’t ease her burden that way, so I gentled every other part of me.
My hands smoothed her sides, my forehead resting against hers as I whispered, “Tell me you’re okay. Please, baby. I need to know you’re okay. Did I hurt the baby?”
“No, Damon. That’s not it. It’s twins.”
The words didn’t register right away. I stared at her, then at my hand still pressed to her belly where two distinct movements played out beneath my palm. Twins. Two children instead of one. Double the miracle and double the danger for an omega carrying alpha offspring.
“Twins? But the healer said...”
I trailed off, remembering that I’d never actually heard the full report, too overwhelmed by the simple fact of pregnancy to ask for details.
“I kept it from everyone. I was afraid of giving you more power over me.” Her admission carried the weight of months of secret-keeping, of facing the terrifying prospect of twin alphas alone.
The revelation sent me into action. I shifted beneath her carefully, rolling us with deliberate slowness until she wasstraddling me, still joined, still locked tight around my knot. I kept my hands firm on her hips to guide the movement, easing her to settle fully atop me.
She gasped softly at the shift, the weight of her belly cradled between us, her core still snug and pulsing around my length. I sat up slowly, wrapping one arm protectively around her back while the other came to rest over the gentle curve of her stomach.
We stayed like that, her seated on my lap, my knot buried deep inside her, her weight grounding me, her breath fanning across my cheek. My hands spread across her belly with fresh wonder, reverent and still, feeling the separate movements of two lives we’d created. They were strong already, their activity speaking of alpha genetics making demands her omega body struggled to meet.
“Two,” I breathed, awe mixing with terror. “Rhea, carrying alpha twins... the risk...”
“I know,” she said quietly. “The healer in Millbrook told me. Without the father’s support, the chances...”
I leaned in to kiss her, not letting her continue. She made a small sound of protest that melted into a sigh as my lips found hers. But even as our mouths met, I felt her shift, her hips beginning to roll slowly. A low moan vibrated in her throat as she moved over me, her body chasing another wave of pleasure.
“Rhea,” I breathed, breaking the kiss. “Careful. Don’t hurt yourself.”
She pushed me gently back against the bed, her hands bracing on my chest, her belly brushing against me as she found a stronger rhythm. “I need this,” she whispered fiercely, her voice trembling with emotion. “I need you.”
The look in her eyes stole the air from my lungs. Determination. Desire.Love.
I gripped her hips, steadying her, then began to thrust up into her, the motion restricted by the knot but urgent all the same. Each roll of her hips met the upward grind of mine, and the friction built between us again, sharper, deeper.
“God, Rhea,” I rasped, tightening my hold. “I love you. I fucking love you.”
Her body bowed over mine, her arms clinging tight around my shoulders as we moved together, still joined, still locked, but no longer still. The pressure built until I spilled inside her with a growl, heat pulsing deep as my knot swelled one last time. She cried out softly, clutching me as aftershocks rippled through both of us.
She collapsed against me, panting, her cheek pressed to my chest, and I held her there, arms cradling her as if I could shield her from the world. We stayed like that for minutes, wrapped in silence and sweat and the undeniable bond between us, until the throbbing subsided and the tight lock of my knot began to ease.
Only then did I move, flipping us gently so she lay on her back. I kissed her stomach first, soft presses of my lips to the roundness of her belly. “I love you,” I whispered between kisses. “I love you. I love you. I love both of you. All three of you.”
I moved lower, kissing the inside of her thighs, then the glistening folds between them, coated with the mix of our pleasure. I groaned softly at the taste of her, of us, and began to lick her with slow, deep strokes of my tongue.
She trembled beneath me, already so sensitive, but I didn’t stop, I wanted to feel her fall apart again, to give her back the pleasure she had so freely given me. I licked and sucked and teased until she shattered on my mouth, her thighs squeezing around my head, her moans breaking loose in helpless cries of release.
36
— • —
Rhea
The bed sheets tangled around us like evidence of the night’s emotional storm, still warm from bodies that had found each other after months of separation. Neither of us had slept, the hours consumed by revelations that rewrote our entire history. Damon’s hand hadn’t left my belly since learning about the twins, his palm warm against skin stretched tight with their growth. Every small movement fascinated him, each flutter proof of the lives we’d created in one explosive night.
His other arm anchored me against his chest, as if I might disappear if he loosened his hold. I could feel his heartbeat against my back, still racing despite the hours that had passed. The steady rhythm spoke of decisions made, of wheels set in motion that couldn’t be stopped. He’d been quiet for the past hour, but his mind worked furiously, planning something that had his entire body tense with determination.
“Breakfast is in two hours,” he said finally, voice rough from the night’s emotional extremes. “The entire pack leadership will be there. Council members, department heads, senior guards.”
