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“It’s taboo, something the assembly would never allow.”
I shake my head, confused. “What could possibly be so taboo that the assembly wouldn’t allow you to be with them? Are they already mated? That’s no problem, you can just join their pack,” I trail off as Clay begins to shake his head.
“Maybe in time I’ll be ready to explain more, but it’s really complicated,” he sighs. “For now, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to offer for you. My hope is that our similar ages and prior friendship will win the assembly over so that we can be bonded as friends who are in the same impossible situation. They’re going to pair the both of us off eventually, so we might as well help each other.”
My mind whirls with the revelation that Clay knows exactly how I feel and is willing to risk offering for me so that neither of us will have to endure a real mating that isn’t with our scent-matches. He’s offering me the greatest gifts anyone can in our fucked-up situation: protection and freedom.
He must take my silence as unease, because he quickly adds, “To be clear, this is me officially offering a fake mating. If River accepts my offer, there are ways to trick the assembly and everyone else, make them believe our relationship is real without either of us being uncomfortable. I don’t think we’ll be able to avoid mate bites, though.”
“Clay, stop rambling,” I breathe. “I accept your offer.”
His shining eyes widen with surprise. “You do?”
“Yes, of course. This is a genius plan!”
Clay wraps me up in a giant hug, his huge alpha body wrapping around me and infusing me with comforting warmth and the cool woodiness of his scent. Tears stream down my face as I soak up the connection like a wilted flower. I’m not often allowed the grace to be soft and embrace my omega instincts in a world so fucking harsh. My designation needs are at the bottom of my list most days. I mean, when was the last time someone hugged me like this? The last person was probably my mother.
His arms tighten further, and he declares, “We can be whatever the other needs, okay? I will fight for this with the assembly, even lie, if it means we can make this work, I promise.”
“Okay,” I agree, melting when Clay presses his cheek right into my temple in a friendly scent-mark.
We stand like that for a little while, each soaking up the comfort of human connection. Is he as touch starved as I am? He must be. But now that’s something we can cure, together as friends.
Clay walks me home and something like hope glows in my chest. That ember of happiness floats me up the stairs of the deck and through the front door. No matter the outcome, I’ll still have to endure the pain of being without Ferris, but maybe I can endure it alongside a teammate instead of a stranger. My face stretches into a bewildered smile, but it promptly melts away when I hear a deep, rumbling growl coming from the cabin’s main room.
I spin, staggering backward into the tiny kitchen when I see Ferris, teeth bared and nostrils flared wide, staring at me with nothing short of malice on his face. I’m stunned into silence.
“What the fuck is that stench?” he grumbles.
“What?” I gasp when he stalks toward me, backing me all the way into the kitchen counter. His body crowds me tightly against the wood, and my lower back aches at the force.
His hands grip the counter on either side of my hips, trapping me there. The growl never stops as his face bends down and he inhales at my temple, right where Clay scent-marked me. Oh.
“Why do you smell like an alpha?” he snarls. I can’t even answer before his face drags down the side of mine, pressing firmly into my skin until the tip of his nose grazes across my lips.
“Fuck,” he grunts, and I moan when the warm, soft, wet glide of his tongue swipes over my tingling lips, up my cheek, and across my temple.
My scent explodes in a cloud of aroused perfume, the spicy depths giving way to the sweet, creamy signature of my slick. And holy fuck, am I slick. I can feel the wetness gathering at my core, building alongside the warmth low in my abdomen. The difference in my body’s reaction to Clay’s comforting gestures and Ferris’s feral claiming is stark.
An omega whine bubbles up, and I tilt my head to the side, baring my neck in an instinctual submission and desperate plea. How does he still have so much power over me? Ferris makes a pained noise, and his mouth immediately latches onto my exposed skin while his lips, tongue, and teeth vibrate with the depth of his possessive growl.
“You. Are. Mine.”
It’s that guttural claim that finally snaps me out of my hormonal haze, and I push at his chest to escape his grasp. He stumbles back, surprised. “No,” I exclaim. “No, you don’t get to do this. I am not yours.”
“Bullshit,” he growls. “You’ve been mine since the moment your omega pheromones hit my tongue, tasting like the most decadent melted sugar.”
Pissed and confused, I snap, “I’m nothing to you. In a week or less I’ll be matched, on my way to being mated. Do you understand?” His hands flex into tight fists and the tendons in his forearms flex and strain.
“Then tell me to fuck off,” he challenges, amber eyes igniting fiercely. His scent deepens into tea so rich I could drink it. This is the Ferris that only I see. The wildness and dominance of his alpha that he tries to keep under control.
I straighten my shoulders as I gather my confidence. I even open my mouth to tell him off and reiterate that I’m done with him, but I can’t say it. I’ll never be able to actually say it. Even knowing that he’ll never publicly claim me, I can’t.
“Say it,” he taunts. My body sags as the dark pheromones of his scent wrap around me. “Tell me, Raine.” And now it doesn’t feel like he’s asking me to tell him off. It feels an awful lot like he’s asking me to give him permission. To just give him one single indication that I want him.
All I can think about is the last time we were like this, tugged together in a hidden corner like waves destined to crash against each other again and again. It was the day River left with the funeral procession to take Mother’s body to the burning grounds. Ferris had kissed me after consoling me. I’d wanted him so badly, but he’d stopped himself and promised it would never happen again.
Did he know he was lying then?
