Chapter Thirteen

Lexa growled at Grigory as he carried her into the house and to the nest. The new furnishings had arrived, and she had an idea of what she wanted to do with them.

He set her down carefully, and she backed away. She rose to her knees and then grabbed pillows, making a wall between her and Grigory. Apparently, her omega’s instincts were that of a horny five-year-old.

He sighed. “Treasure, you need to speak to me.”

“I really don’t think I do. I am pretty sure that you can stay there, and I can stay here.”

Her little wall fell down. “Hey.” She pouted.

He was crouching there and looking at her. “No walls between us, Lexa. I am going to mark you now.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why? You don’t want me. You rejected me. You said you didn’t want me.”

He sighed. “I am sorry. I overrode my instinct, which said it was a foolish thing to do. I will not make that mistake again.”

“You scared me on purpose.”

“I did. It was a mistake, treasure.”

He held his hand out to her. “I swear to guard you and care for you the rest of our lives. I want you to laugh with me, love with me, and maybe have babies with me if you think you can fit them.”

She snorted. “That is the most backward attempt at reverse psychology I have ever seen.”

He shrugged. “Every word is truth, and after I mark you, you will know for certain.”

She bit her lip. “If you bond to me and you are lying, can I castrate you? I don’t want to breed with a liar.”

He winced. “If I am lying, yes, you can.”

She looked at him. “Really? Olivia is a farm girl. She can talk me through it.”

“I am sure. You can dispose of me as you wish.”

She was delighted. An alpha at her mercy, and she didn’t have mercy. She looked at him and cocked her head. She released her bra under the shirt and swept the strap off her shoulder on her right side. She let her hair loose and combed it over her left shoulder. With her preparations done, she looked at the wary Grigory. She removed the necklace and set it aside.

She bent her head and lowered herself to the soft floor of her nest, her hands out flat on the bedding in front of her.

She kept her voice soft and submissive. “Grigory Petrov, will you do me the honour of your bite?”

He exhaled softly, and she waited and then started to shake with panic. He grabbed her shoulders and pressed his mouth to her neck, licking slowly at her skin. He lifted her up and held her in his arms, pressing tiny kisses against her shoulder. She remembered Arthur’s marking, and she went to liquid honey in Grigory’s arms. He purred and kept his mouth against her while he opened his jaws, and then, he carefully closed into the bite. The moment that his long canines pierced her skin, her body throbbed, and she whimpered as he completed the slow pressure. Her neck and shoulder burned as he held her and slowly rocked his jaw against her. She felt her skin separating and his customized venom running into her wound. She sighed and felt around in her mind, and the golden strands of Grigory began to form. She shuddered and felt heavy pulses of desire inside the first of the strands. She reached back to meet the foreign emotion, and it widened the link between them.

Her pain reached him, and he released her, starting to clean his mark. His tongue scraped over the bite, and he smoothed more of his genetic material under her skin so that she would always recognize and accept him.

She hung in his grip and sighed as the feeling of warmth and joy spilled into her along their link. She threaded her fingers through his hair and purred her light purr so that she could hear and feel how nice it was to have a mate again, even for a while.

He lifted his head and whispered against her ear, “Why so sad, treasure?”

She swallowed. “I have felt this before. It didn’t last. It feels good, but it doesn’t last.”

He looked at her, and his thumb stroked the tears from her cheek. “It will last. We are not leaving. I am yours forever, Lexa.”

She swallowed. “Tell me that tomorrow and I might believe you.”

His blue eyes were sad, and she knew that he felt her sadness. He tried to pour comfort into her, but the memories were too much. The kiss widened her eyes. This was different. When gentleness wasn’t working, he gave her heat. That heat poured through their link. It touched off her own heat and blazed through her body. She gasped then pushed him to his back and fought her clothing. When she was done, she crawled across him, kissing, nipping, and licking. This had been the delay between asking and getting his bite. He had gotten naked.

The lust in his mind fuelled hers, and since he was possibly the most magnificent male she could have under her, the slick between her thighs was an indicator of her eagerness.

He lay back until she rubbed against him then rolled her swiftly to her back and drove into her. She moaned, and he gasped.

“Oh, treasure, it does feel good for you.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at the amazement in his gaze. She was startled into a giggle. Distracted from her own surety that this wasn’t going to last, his wonder at what her body was feeling was adorable.

He withdrew slowly and surged in deep. She arched up and sighed happily. She stroked his cheek. “More.”

He pressed her into the bedding and began to rut in earnest. She held his neck and kissed him, forcing him to bend to make contact. When his tongue slid with hers, she shivered and shook, arching her hips into his thrusts.

He grunted and lifted his head, gripping her hips and rolling with her until he was sitting up. His hands moved her, lifting and dropping her while elevating his thighs, so she was leaning forward on him, slipping and sliding on the sweat between them. He slid a hand into her hair and held her mouth as he moved her on him. She used her grip on his neck to pull and lower her over him.

He was going deeper with every thrust, but she shrieked and came without warning. She held as still as possible, but he kept moving, stroking in and grunting, and her internal spasms continued until she was growling and trying to get away. The moment that she grunted with a second orgasm, he drove deep and set his knot. Light sparked behind her eyes, and her body frantically squeezed at him. She clawed at him and mewled. He held her hands and licked at his mark, and she calmed.

She trembled and breathed deep as his tongue slowly scraped over her skin. He was purring as he worked her mark. Her sex tried to tighten around the nearly ten inches of iron bar that he called a cock.

She clenched rhythmically in time to his slow licking, and he grunted around his purr. When he lifted his head and growled, she felt the knot pulse, and the jets of cum spilled inside her. The strange feeling of heat inside her was something she was going to get used to. She liked the super sexy ache of the stretch around his knot, but the heat of his cum was just... odd.

Lexa squeezed again and another jet. He groaned. “You are killing me, treasure.”

She smiled and felt the pleasure ripple through him. Through their link, she felt his warm satisfaction. Grigory brought his fingers around to her clit and stroked softly around the slippery nub. “Your turn, mate.”

He stroked her, and her hips jerked against his fingers. She whimpered, and she licked at his jaw with short flicks of her tongue. The whimpering got faster as her hips moved against him. He kissed her, and her hungry mouth ate at his while he brought her closer and closer, her hips rocking against his knot, and then, she wailed into his lips as her body burst into pulses of heat that caused her to lie against him slowly and limply.

He kissed her softly and tucked her head against his chest. “Well done, Lexa. Do you still want to castrate me?”

She blinked and looked at him. “Surprisingly, no. I have other uses for your balls.”

He smiled and kissed her. “What are those uses?”

“I think you will make adorable babies. Big ones, but cute ones.”

Tears came to his eyes. “You would offer me that?”

“Well, yeah. I know what makes a good parent. You and Delun offer me an opportunity I haven’t had before.”

“What is that?”

“The opportunity to be a mom without worrying all the time. So, if I can be a good mom, you can be a good dad. You will definitely be a fun uncle.” She grinned.

“What about Arthur?”

“He and I are still working things through.”

“You want him?”

She blinked. “Of course. That was never in doubt. I have always wanted him. That is why it hurt so much.”

Grigory pressed his forehead to hers. “I am not letting you go. You are stuck with me.” He chuckled. “I am also willing to hunt you down and plead my case if you run.”

“I have not really heard of omegas running. Usually, they settle down happily. I am not sure what form my settling down will take. Right now, I am using this as a vacation. I haven’t had a vacation before.”

He teared up. “You haven’t had a vacation?”

“Uh, not since I was a kid. Why are you getting all weepy?” She stroked his cheeks.

“You have been missing so much fun in your life.”

She grabbed his face. “You guys have to become the fun in my life. It’s a heavy job. I can be difficult.”

He grinned. “I can manage a difficult treasure.”

His knot shrank, and the fluids they had both produced ended up on him. He chuckled and nuzzled her head and neck. “We are going to have to shower before going down for dinner.”

“Oh, geez.” She blushed. “I don’t have anything that hides my neck.”

“Good. Delun will need to heal it properly. You need to take him as mate and refresh Arthur’s association.”

“Why?”

“Your heat is coming on fast, and we need to be able to feel what you are feeling since we will be taking turns with you.”

She blushed. “Don’t remind me.”

“Ah, but I want to remind you. There will also be moments when you want more than one of us, and we need to know how you feel about it.”

“As long as one of the double team isn’t you, they should fit.”

He blushed and grinned. “I would like to help.”

“If you stick that thing up my ass, I will castrate you.”

“Ah, treasure, you loved it inside you just a few minutes ago.”

“In a place it was supposed to go. I know I produce slick in my butt, but it would take a lot more than I can manage to get you in there.”

He grinned and nuzzled her. “As long as I can be there when you need me, I don’t care where I end up.”

“Keep your up away from my end.”

He moved and rose up on his knees. “To a shower. I can negotiate for free access to all of you later. There will be other heats.”

She nodded. “Yes, there will.”

He lifted her and walked her toward the bathroom and turned on the multiheaded shower, sliding her down his body and holding her in place while he washed the sweat off her.

“Ideally, I would like you to wear my scent for days.”

“Ew.”

He laughed. “I will defer to your newly accepted sensibilities and that of my sloth mates. Delun was right. We have very strong scents.” He kissed her and turned her around to scrub her back. “Fortunately, so do you. I never thought I would feel so satisfied while smelling of roses.”

She blushed. “My sister said something about that once. Her scent was clover and sunflowers.”

“What did she say?”

“She figured that I would gain designation and smell like three thousand roses. She thought my roar of roses was hilarious.”

He laughed and finished bathing her. “I think I would have liked your sister.”

“Yeah, she would have liked you, too. She had a thing for broad shoulders. Apparently, it’s a family trait.”

“I am grateful for it.” He smiled.

She snorted. “I would have had to fight her for you guys.”

“I would have been voting for you to win the fight. I would have done whatever you needed. Shown up naked and everything.”

She grinned, and he finished his own scrubbing and rinsing. He turned off the shower and wrapped her in a fluffy towel, setting her on the edge of the counter. He took a second towel and fluffed her dry. “Go pick something to wear, treasure.”

She sighed. “That was my favourite of the new outfits.”

“There was a copy of the outfit in blue.”

She perked up. “Really?”

She tucked her towel around her and headed to the wardrobe. She found some underwear and slid it on then went in search of that super-soft outfit. She found it and something else. That would help with her next task.

She was dressed and wearing the jewellery again when Grigory joined her, and he saw the outfit she had put aside. “What are you doing with that?”

“Delun said he wanted me to ask for his bite, so I thought a bit of cosplay might not be amiss.”

Grigory smirked. “Will you do it where we can see it?”

“Yeah. Probably after dinner. Wait, did we miss dinner?”

He kissed her forehead. “The others may have eaten, but Yorgi will bring us something.”

“Okay.” She pulled on her soft velvet boots and straightened the panels of the skirt so that the slits lined up over her thighs.

Grigory looked and smiled. “I really like that outfit. You look all soft and sleepy.”

She glared at him. “I am hungry, mate.”

He chuckled. “Yes, my treasure.”

He lifted her and hugged her happily. The sparkling joy that came through their link was unmistakable. He was positively giddy. She hugged him back, and they shared that emotion.

She kicked her feet. “Put me down.”

He grinned. “What will you do to get me to put you down?”

“Nothing. You hold me long enough, one of the others will come and get me. You can’t wrestle them and me at the same time.”

“I could wrestle them if I put you up in a tree. We could wrestle naked.”

“I would rather see you guys in a swimsuit competition or some kind of lumberjack event...” Her eyes brightened. “Ohh. A dance-off.”

He looked at her in shock. “You have strange taste, treasure.”

“That’s why I am here, Grigory.” She patted his cheek.

He laughed and set her on her feet. She beamed up at him. “Good boy.”

His outrage flared, and he reached out to swat her, and she was already on her way out of her room. She waited for him in the hall and took his hand. He snorted, kissed her hand, and they walked down to dinner.

She tried to tell what the meal was, but it was just meat-related. Her nose was filled with cinnamon and mint. It was going to make for a weird meal.

The entire household was staring at the door when they came through, and she turned around and would have escaped if Grigory hadn’t caught her and guided her to the table. She sat at the head of the table, and everyone was staring. Grigory pushed some of her damp hair away from the mark, and his family started grinning and elbowing each other in amusement.

Grigory murmured. “They aren’t amused; they are happy. Since my mother joined the family, they gained a lot of station for having an omega in the family, and now, there is you. So, heads will be higher, and they will draw more alphas who want to see if you have daughters.”

She blinked and looked at Hailey. “So, they are going to target her?”

“They might, but she has dozens of cousins who will put themselves between her and danger.” He smiled. “She will get to go on adventures, and they will get to smash heads. Illyana has already been sharing her scent so that the family knows who she is.”

“Why?”

“So that they can watch out for her and take care as she can’t play as rough as they can. The teens are on high alert. They will watch for anyone who tries to mess with her and gain assistance immediately.”

She smiled. “Very nice how you pinpoint my issue.”

He smiled.

Delun said, “Introducing her that way with a mix of your and Grigory’s scents will have her seen as family immediately. It should squash any issues if she does manifest as an omega. With two in your family, it is more likely that she will be as well. The chance is still slim, but it is fifteen percent instead of five.”

Rya nodded. “Our family alphas have been getting scent packs for you, Delun, and Hailey as well. We all know you.”

She blinked, and she blushed. “Right, so what is for dinner?”

The occupants of the table laughed while Hailey was staring at Lexa. It was roast beef with potatoes and all the fixings. Lexa’s sense of taste came back when she was working on the roasted potatoes. She sighed with relief and ate faster.

Delun laughed. “I told you.”

“Fine, there will be a rule like for swimming. No frolicking for an hour before dinner.”

Arthur was looking at her, and there was a wistfulness in his expression. She looked at him and shrugged. “There is a time for everything. Your time will come again.”

He smiled softly. “You look lovely, Lexa.”

Her inner self preened, but she just nodded slightly and kept eating.

Hailey piped up. “Mom, can you come to my school for show and tell next week?”

“Um, I might have an issue next week. Can it be the week after?”

Illyana said, “That is an excellent compromise.”

Hailey asked, “Can you bring Grigory for your show and tell project, Mom?”

Lexa laughed, and Grigory paused mid-chew. “I think that is only fair. He intends to show me off, so I can return the favour. Grigory, you can spare a few hours in the day, can’t you?”

“For you, my treasure, all time is yours.”

She smiled and reached out to stroke his cheek. “Yeah, it is.”

The inhabitants of the table laughed, and then, Yorgi brought out a trifle, and she was fed to bursting when she stopped feeding herself. Family time in the living room had Hailey’s day. Hailey was cuddled against Lexa’s arm, and she said, “You smell like Grigory.”

Lexa stroked her daughter’s cheek. “That is going to happen a lot. Grigory, Delun, and Arthur are my mates, and they will spend a lot of time with me. In two days, I will be in heat, and you might not see me for a few days. Illyana and Rya will take care of you. I will be in the house, and I will see you when I can, but the scents will probably be worse. Sorry.”

“I know all that, Mom. They explained that in grade one.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, Hailey. Is your homework done?”

Illyana nodded. “She does it first thing when she gets home. That way, there is always time for you in the evenings.”

Lexa smiled and nodded her thanks.

Illyana asked Delun, “So, Uncle, how long do you think it will last?”

“Four days from the actual start. I have left all my contact information in the kitchen if it starts when I am not here. I am hoping she holds out until tomorrow night.”

Grigory nodded. “Nikolai and Rayd are watching over the clubs, so I have the time off.”

Delun laughed. “If I knew I was going to get a mate, I would never have become a judge.”

The other two turned to Arthur. He smiled. “I will be there. My calendar is clear for a week starting noon tomorrow.”

Grigory’s marks started getting hot, and he moved to her side and licked the marks. Lexa sat there in surprise. “Oh, that’s what’s supposed to happen.”

He nuzzled her neck and kissed her shoulder. “Yes, treasure, that is what is supposed to happen.”

Arthur just smiled, and she realized he could feel a trickle of what she was feeling through their thread of a connection. She was far more bubbly and delighted than she let on. It wasn’t a secret that she and Grigory shared; Arthur was in on it as well.

Delun smiled. “So, a good mark?”

Grigory nodded. “She’s a little melancholy, but she rallies quickly.”

Hailey asked, “What is melancholy? She doesn’t like melons?”

Delun explained, “It means she is a little bit sad, in little waves.”

“Oh. Yeah. She is. Then, she hugs me hard and says she feels better. She should hug you. You look like a good hugger.”

Lexa sighed. “Stop pimping me out, short stack.”

Illyana laughed, and Hailey frowned.

Lexa got up, sat in Delun’s lap, and hugged him. He hugged her back, and she felt immediately at ease and relaxed. He leaned down and licked the marks at the back of her neck and then Grigory’s marks. The heat on her neck suddenly faded, and there was a deep, happy throb in the marks. She muttered, “How did you do that?”

“I didn’t want Grigory jumping in to tend your marks with me tonight.”

Illyana grinned and looked at Hailey, who was watching Lexa with fascination. “Time to go to bed, Hailey.”

Lexa got to her feet and stood. “I will be right back, guys.”

Hailey reached up and took her hand, and she and Illyana walked her up to Hailey’s bedroom. Another hug, and they parted ways. There was less pain than the split the day before.

Lexa smiled and sprinted for her room. She had about four minutes to get ready before they suspected something. She just needed to find a few more things.