Page 41 of Knot My Type

The next hour passes in a haze of pleasure and claiming. They take turns with me, each one different but equally devastating. Kael is commanding and intense, his knot thick and demanding as it locks us together. Fen is wild and passionate, his claiming fierce and possessive. Rhys is gentle but thorough, his knot the largest of the three, stretching me to my limits.

By the time they're finished with me, I'm boneless and sated, my body marked inside and out with their claims. Their scents have merged with mine until I can't tell where one ends and another begins. We're a tangle of limbs and satisfied sighs in our carefully constructed nest.

"How do you feel?" Rhys asks softly, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my skin.

I consider the question seriously. How do I feel? Claimed, yes. Owned in the best possible way. But more than that—

"Complete," I say finally. "For the first time in my life, I feel complete."

Kael presses a kiss to my forehead. "Good," he says simply. "Because you're ours now. Completely and forever."

"And you're mine," I counter, surprising myself with the possessiveness in my voice.

"Yes," all three of them say together, and the unity of it makes my chest tight with emotion.

I close my eyes and let myself drift, surrounded by the warmth of their bodies and the security of belonging. The nest we built together cradles us all, a perfect sanctuary from the world outside.

For the first time in my life, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

RHYS

It has been two months since she arrived—two pleasurable months waking to the scent of her.

Not just Eliana—though her honeyed sweetness is the strongest note in the symphony that fills our nest. No, I wake to the scent of us. Pack. Family. Bond.

The realization hits me like a physical blow, stealing my breath and making my chest tight with an emotion I don't have words for. This is what I've been searching for my entire life without knowing it. This sense of rightness, of belonging, of home.

Eliana is curled between Kael and Fen, her dark hair spilled across Kael's chest while Fen's arm circles her waist protectively. In sleep, she looks younger somehow, more vulnerable. But there's a peace in her face that wasn't there before—a settled contentment that speaks of needs finally met.

The marks on her throat are vivid in the firelight, three distinct claims that announce her belonging to anyone who might see. My own mark, high on her shoulder, is partially hidden by her hair, but I can see the edge of it. The sight sends a possessive thrill through me that I don't bother to examine too closely.

She's ours now. Completely and irrevocably ours.

But the bonding isn't finished yet. I can feel it in the restless energy that still hums beneath my skin, in the way my alpha paces impatiently in the back of my mind. The physical claiming was just the first step. The real bonding—the melding of souls that will tie us together permanently—that comes next.

And it has to be done right.

I ease myself out of the nest carefully, trying not to disturb the others. My body protests the movement—I'm sore in places I'd forgotten I had, thoroughly wrung out from the intensity of our claiming. But there are things that need to be done before we can complete the bond.

The fire has burned low, barely more than embers now. I add fresh wood, coaxing the flames back to life. The den fills with warm light again, dancing shadows playing across the stone walls.

Next, I check our supplies. Water—we'll need plenty of that. Food—something light but nourishing for when the bonding is complete and we're all starving. Clean cloths and bandages, just in case.

I'm just returning from the small alcove where we keep our stores when I hear her stirring.

"Rhys?" Her voice is thick with sleep, confused. "Where are you?"

"Here," I say softly, crossing back to the nest. "I'm right here."

She blinks up at me, her eyes still hazy with sleep. "Don't leave," she whispers, reaching for me with one hand.

The vulnerability in her voice nearly undoes me. "Never," I promise, settling back into the nest beside her. "I'll never leave you."

She smiles, a soft, contented expression that makes my chest warm. "Good," she murmurs, snuggling closer to me. "I dreamed you left."

"Just a dream," I assure her, running my fingers through her hair. "We're not going anywhere."

She hums happily, the sound vibrating against my chest where she's pressed against me. For a moment, I think she might fall back asleep. But then her breathing changes, becoming more aware, more alert.

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