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I turn away from Ferris and tuck my face against the underside of Dair’s jaw to whisper, “Just a little longer.” The truth is, my instincts crave him fiercely, but my heart is still tender from his betrayal. He’s trying, though, giving me more than I thought I’d ever get from him, and every day that he’s here for me, the bruise on my heart heals a little more.

Dair chuckles darkly. “That’s my girl.” One of his large hands trickles down my back to grab at my ass, and I moan softly into his neck. “The way he’s looking at you”—he pauses, breathing hard—“Fuck. It’s so hot.”

Emboldened, I ask, “Ferris, how are you looking at me?”

He expels a long, ragged breath and then his scent explodes around me, soaking me in tangy tea. “Like you’re mine,” he growls. My head turns to look at him, and I gasp at the feral intensity in his eyes. He continues, voice deep and sure, “Like I would kneel at your feet every day if it meant I simply got to scent you. Like if you give me the second chance I don’t deserve, I’ll spend every day of forever caring for you the way you deserve. Like my body doesn’t know how to exist without yours.”

That thin connection between us thrums and glows with warmth as it floods with our combined emotions. This is the first time I’ve been able to feel him through the bond like this, and it feels like a major victory, like he’s finally tearing down his walls enough for our connection to grow.

“I mean it, Raine,” he says, and I can feel the sincerity in our bond as surely as I can smell it in his scent.

I carefully slide off Dair’s lap and cautiously crawl over to Ferris. Bashfully, I climb into his lap and slowly slide my arms around his neck, pressing my cheek into his beard. I gently rub my scent back and forth, working it into his soft whiskers until my omega feels content. Ferris remains still as a statue, like he’s worried about making a wrong move, but when I press a small kiss to the corner of his mouth, his arms band around me to hold tight as his mouth takes mine in a sensual slide of lips.

It’s fast but so impactful it brings tears to my eyes. “This is the beginning,” he proclaims while his thumb rubs back and forth over his bite on my neck.

“Beginning of what?” I ask, leaning into his touch like a flower tilting toward the sun.

“Our forever.”

[ 37 ]

RAINE

The Wilds

We start looking for a place to make camp as the sun sinks toward the horizon, but there are truly few options out in the open. Dair suggests that he shift and scout ahead, and although my omega doesn’t want to part from either of my alphas, I know this is the best plan.

I watch, unabashed, as he strips naked and hands his pack over to Ferris. He says, “Keep walking west. I’ll find you. I don’t want to spend too much time looking, so I won’t be long.” He pins Ferris with a cryptic stare and adds, “Maybe have a talk.” Then he bends down and gives me a soft kiss on the lips before shifting into his wolf.

As his massive form lops away, I feel Ferris’s stare on the side of my face. This is the first time he and I have been truly alone since he bonded and then abandoned me, but it doesn’t feel painful, not after this afternoon, when I switched between my alpha’s laps while they let me excessively scent-mark them.

“What do we need to talk about?” I ask carefully, as we begin walking again.

“Yesterday Dair helped me figure something out about myself that has answered a lot of questions,” he starts. “One of my recurring nightmares is of the day that I was exiled from my family’s compound. I had that dream when we were at the farm, but for the first time, the dream unlocked a memory.”

“You’ve never told me what happened that day.”

His scent sours a little, but he persists, “The day I was exiled, I killed my father.” He pauses, like maybe he expects me to freak out or feel afraid of him, but all I feel is relief—relief that the source of all his pain no longer breathes.

“Okay,” I simply say, eyes softening with understanding.

“You’re not scared of that? Scared of me?” he asks. I look over at him to see pain shining through his amber eyes.

“You’re my mate, Ferris. I have known you for years, watched you for years. How could I possibly be afraid of you when you’ve spent the entire time I’ve known you cutting yourself to pieces to be something that you think everyone wants? Are those the actions of a nefarious man?”

“What if I finally accept my alpha, and it makes me like him?” he asks, voice full of emotion.

“If you wanted to be like your dad, you would be. If you were like your dad, it would be impossible to hide. You don’t even have to try because every day you choose to be yourself whether you realize it or not, and you are nothing like him. You know how I know that?”

“How?” he rasps, looking desperate for some truth that will finally put his mind at ease.

“Do you think the universe is so cruel that my fated mate would be an alpha like your father?”

His body stiffens, reluctant to admit. “No. I don’t think that.”

“Good, now finish your story.” I look away again, giving him time to regroup. I feel his eyes on me, scrutinizing my every reaction, but he won’t find censure on my face.

He takes a slow, deep breath. “That day, my father’s entire leadership was also murdered and I was blamed. In truth, after I killed him, I kind of blacked out, so I believed I had murdered the others too. But in my dream, there was someone else there that day: a wolf.”