Page 43 of A Nest of Maple & Mist

“Jason.”

My name came out as a shattered moan as he detonated like a firework. Ropes of hot cum spurted from his cock, coating my fist and the sheets as he trembled. Seconds later, I spilled deep inside him, my knot swelling, wishing it could lock me and my beta together.

The sound of ragged breaths filled the quiet space. I draped over his back, pressing wet kisses anywhere I could reach. Eventually, I found my way to my bond on his neck, and my lips caressed the spot.

I pulled out of him, my cum dripping down the backs of his thighs. My arm banded around his waist, catching him before he collapsed. I lay down, bringing my spent beta with me.

Ty curled into my side. For a beta, he rivaled the size of some alphas, but still felt small in my arms. I stroked his hair, guiding his head to rest on my chest. Our bodies glistened, the sheets a messy tangle at our feet.

“Mia needs a daddy,” Ty whispered, his voice thick with sleep.

My free hand slid to his hip, pulling him closer.

Mia had spent so long doing it on her own. Dark smudges always marred the underside of her eyes, and her tiny frame ached from the physical and emotional weight she carried.

It made my alpha uneasy. We could take care of her. The pack would do anything for her. But she had to let us. She had to want it. I’d spoil our omega, make all her worries seem less if she let me.

Let us.

“I know. And when she’s ready, I’ll take such good care of our good girl.”

FIFTEEN

SHANE

Afew friendly faces smiled in my direction, and like the grump I was, all I managed was a tired grimace. I picked at the dirt under my nails, trying and failing to roll out the knots from my shoulders.

Nothing stopped the constant ache in my muscles—even the scorching bath Ty forced me into the other night. Between preparing for the frost, the Maple Festival, and the hours I’d spent hunched over a workbench on a courting gift I wasn’t sure I’d have the balls to give, I was running on fumes and self-loathing.

The dull throb in my joints was nothing compared to the constant weight in my jeans.

Mia’s presence left me with a constant hard-on.

Her scent stripped away the last dregs of my sanity. It followed me into the woods, into town… everywhere.

I’d never escape it. I’d never escape her.

Mia Birch was a beautiful torture I’d suffer for the rest of my life.

I deserved nothing less after what I’d done to her.

And to make things worse, Jason and Ty refused to drop it. Every time I set foot in the kitchen, they were there, hovering like two mother hens.

Ty continued to push, saying things like, “Just talk to her. Explain what happened. She’s our omega. She’ll understand.”

That conversation always led to the same thing: me shutting up my beta the one way I knew how—with my cock in his mouth. The quiet was a temporary thing, however, because there was no getting Jason off my back.

Our Apex rarely asserted his dominance, preferring to coax us rather than demand it. But lately, his unspoken commands hung thick in the air. Jason’s gaze made the hairs on my arms tingle.

It wouldn’t be long before he compelled me to talk to our Mia. Before he used that unrelenting Apex dominance that I couldn’t ignore even if I wanted to.

Tall glass windows beckoned me from across the street, and I forgot what I’d originally come into town for. My feet moved of their own accord, coming to a stop in front of the bookshop.

Sweat coated my palms. I wiped them on my thighs. My heart jumped when a mane of curls floated into the frame. A bright smile lit up Mia’s face as she rocked up onto her tiptoes, struggling to reach a book on a high shelf.

The emerald cardigan she wore slid back to reveal the pale skin of her wrists. My nostrils flared as I imagined nuzzling the glands there, marking her. Claws scratched at my ribs, my alpha thrashing like a caged beast, needing to swoop in and steal our omega away.

I groaned, adjusting my dick so the tip no longer dug into my fly.