Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (43 page)

He met her eyes. She was crying, but he didn’t mind. He was, too. This time, though, they were joyful tears. He had been in the blackness, in the void, and she had wrenched him back into the world. There could be no better testament of her love for him.

She was pushing him, pressing him, until he began to walk backwards. The back of his legs hit his bed, and then they were falling onto the furs. Kane was there too, helping Lia onto the bed, brushing the hair from her face and getting her settled on Ronan.

She was straddling him, her inner thighs searing him. He could smell her budding desire, and it made his mouth water. One side of her mouth quirked up, like she could read his thoughts, and she bent down for another kiss. She slid her tongue into his mouth, running it over his lips. A shiver went down his spine. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to be hers.

Lia sat up, winking at him. Turning, she leaned toward Kane, beckoning him until he submitted to her kiss.

Ronan watched them. Kane kissed her roughly, like he had been afraid he’d never get to kiss her again. Lia responded to his ardor, her thigh muscles twitching against Ronan’s skin. His cock hardened. He wanted her so much that it hurt. And he wanted to share her with Kane.

Lia returned her attentions to Ronan, leaving kisses on his chest and up his neck. Kane crouched behind her, caressing her ass and rubbing his hard cock against her. Lia sighed into her kisses, making Ronan’s skin tingle.

She made her way up to his mouth again, her lips sweeter than spring water. He reveled in the taste of her, in the mountain laurel scent of her hair, in the heat of her skin. He couldn’t be mad at her for bringing him back, not when the world was this beautiful.

Lia had brought him back. He was hers now. She could give him any order, and he would gladly obey.

***

She was with her Alphas, her two Alphas, at last. With Ronan beneath her and Kane pressing behind her, there was no room for pain. There was only love, and that’s what Della would have wanted. She ran her tongue over Ronan’s lips, tasting the salt on his skin. He was warm and alive. He was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

Ronan put a rough hand against her head, his fingers twining through her hair and holding her to him. She kissed him harder, desire making her arch her back and thrust her ass in the air.

Kane grabbed her hips, holding her steady as he pushed his cock against her entrance. She arched her back further, submitting to his needs. With a growl, he thrust inside her. Her two Alphas had made her so wet that his cock slid in easily. She moaned as he pressed in until his pelvis met her backside. He was so big.

She was worried Ronan would be jealous, or at least annoyed, but her moan only made him kiss her more passionately. He tightened his grip on her hair, pulling her closer, until she thought their lips might bruise. He kissed her like a man come back to life, and that only made her wetter. From the desperate way he clung to her, he needed her like he needed air.

Kane thrust hard, pushing Lia against Ronan. Her breasts rubbed against his chest, her nipples pebble-hard. Ronan wrapped his arms around her, holding her so she wouldn’t be too shaken. Between being so close to Ronan and being filled with Kane’s cock, she could barely control her breathing. The pleasure was so much that her breaths came in short bursts. She began to moan. She was about to come—

Kane retreated, stroking her back. She bit off a cry of agony. The sudden emptiness was too much. She needed to be filled.

“Don’t worry,” Ronan whispered. “We’re here. We’ll tend to you.” Reaching over, he lifted her hips, positioning her over his cock.

He set her down, and she slid into place with a satisfied shudder. She was full again, so full. His cock felt glorious inside her, throbbing with need. He required her, and she was going to give him all she had.

Ronan rocked into her, his face the picture of bliss. The angle of his hard cock pushing into her made her weak at the knees. She bent low over him. His thrusts were long and slow, like he savored each one. Their steady pace made her crazy for more. She wanted him to lose control.

Kane grabbed her hips again. She looked back, confused. What did he think he was doing?

Then she felt his cock against her, pressing to her other entrance.

“Kane,” she gasped. “Are you sure—”

He pushed his tip inside her. She cried out.

“Is that okay?” He ran a hand over her hip. “Do you want me to stop?”

She dropped her head, her hand spasming in the furs. “No. Never.”

“All right. Tell me if it’s too much.”

He pressed deeper, a tiny bit at a time. She didn’t know how he could fit. He and Ronan were both so big, and Ronan seemed to be taking up all the space. But Kane continued, slowly, so slowly. His cock was wet from her, but it still hurt enough that she cried out. He pulled back.

“Keep going,” Lia said, her voice hoarse. She needed them both inside her. She felt the need to have them both fill her more keenly than she felt the pain.

He continued, through her cries and her moans. At last, he was inside her to the hilt. He pulled out, then thrust in again.

Lia thought she might pass out from delight.

There was so much of them. She felt fuller than she’d ever been, full of her Alphas. They were one now, the three of them. She gasped at the beauty of it, at the onslaught of all her nerves blazing with fire.

Their cocks thrust in and out until they fell into a rhythm. They were completely in sync, and they made Lia sing with them. Their cocks pressed the air out of her, and she couldn’t help the screams of pleasure that they forced from her. She had no room for thought or movement, no room for anything at all but their powerful cocks.

Ronan was beneath her, his muscles taut with life. Kane was pressed against her back, his hard abs pounding her skin. They were her wolves. Her Alphas.

An orgasm crashed through her, a wave of bliss that caught her and took her to dizzying heights. It felt like she was above the clouds. From far away, she heard herself cry out. Pleasurable tremors ran through her, tiny earthquakes she was powerless to stop. The feeling receded, then swelled again, until the wave had taken her away once more.

Together, her Alphas made her come hard five times. On the fifth, they came too. Grunting with release, they filled her simultaneously. The sudden warmth made her come again. She collapsed on Ronan, Kane coming to rest on top of her. The pressure of him calmed her racing heart. Nestled between the two men she loved the most, she drank in their scent until her legs stopped shaking.

Ronan kissed her left cheek, Kane her right. She let out a contented sigh. She was with her Alphas. All was well.

***

By the time they descended the stairs, the sun hung low in the sky. Della no longer lay on the dais. The pack had moved her to the table so she could be close to Gaunt.

“Oh!” Lark said. “There you are. They’re all in the meadow, building the pyre. We’re going to light it soon. Someone has to paint Della, but I don’t think I’m qualified.” She held out the bowl of red clay.

“I’ll take it,” Lia said.

“Great.” Lark handed it over. “I’ll leave you to it. Let us know when you’re ready.”

She left. The bowl was heavy in Lia’s hands. She looked at Gaunt, at the complex symbols Della had drawn on his fur.

“What is it?” Ronan asked.

“I don’t know what the symbols mean,” Lia said, her voice shaking. “I won’t be able to do her justice.”

“Here.” Ronan took the bowl from her. “Why don’t you tell me what you want them to say?”

Lia told him what Della had written in her letter. She included the lonely girl, the man, the babe. The wrenching choice. Ronan listened carefully, dipping his fingers in the clay and tracing symbols on her arms, her sides.

“Now tell of her coming to the pack,” Kane said. “Show how she met Gaunt, and how she almost speared him.”

“What?” Lia sat back. “She never mentioned that.”

“How did she forget that little detail?” Kane asked Ronan. “We laughed so hard we cried every time she told the story. She and Gaunt would act it out, and once he almost got speared in the ass. We nearly died that night.”

Ronan chuckled. “She thought he was an actual wolf trying to poach her rabbit trap. She really was going to try to stick him in the rear.”

“Luckily, Gaunt had good reflexes. And forgave easily.”

“I mean, Della did let him do that impression of her, when she saw him turn into a man and nearly fainted.”

“Oh, right. That was always great.”

They sighed happily.

“I’ll paint us next,” Ronan said. “When Della took us under her wing.”

“Don’t forget to show her dreaming the prophecy,” Kane said, “and meeting Lia.”

“I’ll get there, Kane. There are things that happen before that.”

Kane and Ronan kept talking, each adding events and stories. Lia wondered if she should tell them that Della made up the prophecy, but decided not to. When she believed the prophecy, it had been nice to be so sure of something. She wouldn’t take that away from them. She’d just have to make sure that the prophecy came true regardless.

“I’m almost out of clay,” Ronan said.

“That’s okay.” Kane wiped an eye. “There’s only one more scene.”

They all knew what it was. Ronan drew it, lines of blood running between the symbols. His face was solemn. At the end, he drew three last symbols.

“This is us,” he said. “The three Alphas of the Twin River pack.”

They stood quietly, taking in the stories of Della’s life. It had been full. She was covered in clay.

“Now we just have to do her back,” Ronan said.

Lia and Kane helped hold her as he used the rest of the clay to trace the two lines of the parallel rivers.

He set the bowl down. They were done at last.

Lia put one arm around Ronan, and one around Kane. The red clay lines almost looked alive, like they could take to the air and spread Della’s stories themselves. She looked at Della, who seemed finally at peace. It felt like she was still here with them. With all the memories of her swirling on the air, part of her was.

***

Kane and Ronan carried Della to the pyre. Orion and Huck carried Gaunt. They laid them side by side as stars began to appear.

Ronan offered Lia a torch to light the pyre, but in the end she couldn’t. He and Kane lit it together, then stood back with Lia and the rest of the pack.

The pack held hands as their oldest members slipped into the sky. Lia’s vision wavered from smoke and tears. Who would perform the welcoming ceremony now? Who would stare down feast preparations unflinching? Who would comfort her when neither Kane nor Ronan could?

The meadow was quiet except for the crackling flames. Lia wished they weren’t taking her mother. She wished they’d had more time.

The flames leapt higher, eating greedily. They worked much faster than she’d expected. Before long, they were dying away.

In twos and threes, the pack began to drift away. Lia stayed. She didn’t want to leave Della alone in the dark.

At last, Kane spoke. “They’re cooking dinner,” he said. “We could all use a bite of food.”

Ronan’s stomach grumbled.

Lia sighed. She supposed Della wouldn’t be alone. She had Gaunt with her now. And maybe they’d even find Gale.

“All right.” Lia let her mates lead her to the warmth of the den, where friends and dinner waited.

Chapter Five

Lia rose early the next morning, stiff and chilled. Even though she’d slept between her Alphas, her blood kept her unbearably cold. She hugged her arms to her chest, determined not to complain. She owed the dark god three days for her escape from Shade, and she would pay them gladly.

“You awake?” Kane poked his head into the room. “Come downstairs and eat quickly. Shade promised to return today. We want to be ready to welcome him.”

Lia felt her lip curl. Her wolf was close to the surface, and wanted to rip Shade in two. Lia saw him slash Ronan’s throat again, like she’d seen hundreds of times last night in her nightmares. She clenched her fists. She was angry enough to tear him apart without the help of her wolf.

“I know.” Kane rubbed her back. “We’re all feeling like that today. If any of us get the honor of killing him today, we’ll be first in line.”

Lia grinned. “I’d like that.”

“Then it’s a date.” Kane offered her his arm and escorted her down the stairs. “Breakfast first, though. You need your strength if you want to kill an Alpha.”

She leaned against him as they walked to the table. Most likely they wouldn’t kill Shade today, but it was fun to dream. Very amusing indeed for her wolf, who was coming up with some inventive deaths for him, including a trapdoor and a fall onto some sharpened stakes. Lia sighed. It was a pity they didn’t have enough time to build such a thing before he arrived.

She’d just eaten a piece of smoked meat when a wolf howled on the heights. Briar raced down the stairs.

“Shade,” he panted. “Two wolves at his side.”

“Two?” Kane raised an eyebrow. “That’s rather arrogant of him. He thinks he can make us surrender with two wolves?”

“He has Finn, remember,” Lia said. “The mage boy. He could be concealing the rest of them.”

Kane growled. “I’m sick of these magic tricks.” He glanced at Lia, apologetic. “Not yours, of course. Those have turned out to be quite useful.”

“But I’m helping you, aren’t I?”

“Fair enough.” Kane turned to Ronan. “Any thoughts? I’d just run at them if it were me. Overpower them, rip them to bits, use them to fertilize the meadow.”

“We might want to be a bit more careful,” Ronan said, “but that can be plan B.”

Kane and Lia led the way out of the den. The five largest males followed in a backwards-V formation, hiding Ronan from view. Together, they stepped into the meadow.

Shade waited for them where they had fought yesterday. Lia noticed that he stood on the bloodied patch of earth where Ronan had died. Her wolf snarled inside her, wanting to be freed. She’d tear off Shade’s face, and make
him
bleed.