Page 21 of Crave

“You’ll get used to it. Don’t be so soft,” I teased, and it was so easy falling back into that naturally playful friendship we once had. Susannah had always been a stubborn, prideful Beta. She hated to think she was weaker in any way than her Alpha brothers, or me and Merrick for that matter. That hadn’t changed with her new Omega designation.

She splashed water at my face, and I ducked away with a laugh. “Just because you’re part lizard,” she grumbled, floating on top of the water to allow the sun to warm her skin.

I clenched my hands to stop myself from reaching for her. I wanted nothing more than to pull her close, to wrap her body around mine, to kiss her until she begged me to lay her on the warm rocks and make love to her like I’d dreamed of for so many years.

Instead, I looked over at the rocks. “Are you coming in?”

Merrick shook his head, which I knew he’d do. He would stand guard. I looked at Quinn, and he shrugged. As he pulled off his clothes, the waft of Omega pheromones hit me hard.

“Holy shit,” Merrick grunted, reaching down to adjust his dick in his pants.

I gritted my teeth as my dick hardened even more. I wasn’t getting out of this water anytime soon. “Are you close to the yearning? My Beast is going crazy.”

Susannah sat up until she was treading water again. I reached out an arm to her lazily, and she took it, using my body to keep her afloat. It was just a single hand, and not wrapped around me the way I’d like, but I’d take it.

“Tanner said that now he was off the meds, his hormones might act up and throw him into a yearning.”

There was so much there to unpack. “You’re going to reveal yourself as an Omega?” I asked softly, knowing how big of a deal this was going to be for them.

Quinn swallowed hard, then dragged his shirt over his head. I growled low at the tape on his ribs that couldn’t hide the bruises on his flesh, putrid shades of green and yellow. I’d seen the ones on his throat, and they’d made my Beast rage. But to see the full damage Wilkie had caused made me so fucking angry I wanted to give all that pain back to him, tenfold.

Who was I kidding? My Beast wanted to rip out his goddamn heart.

Quinn’s sadness burned the back of my throat. “I don’t want to be helpless ever again.”

Merrick gripped his shoulder, pulling him into a hug. I stared, because Merrick wasn’t a hugger, not really. But he held Quinn’s tense body until he relaxed into his arms. I had no doubt that he was thrumming for the Omega, a soothing, silent purr that Alphas did for their Omegas.

“I’ll end him before I ever let him touch either of you again,” Merrick growled, his voice dropping to a low timbre that told me his Beast was closer to the surface than he would have liked.

Susannah’s hand on my arm tightened, and I turned to face her. Fear, sadness, and anger all played across her face, and I pulled her closer, needing to hold her at the very real evidence of Wilkie’s brutality. I knew in my soul it wasn’t the first time for Quinn, and probably not for Susannah.

She let me hold her, and something happened in the stillness of this little cove.

No one said anything until Quinn pushed gently away from Merrick, clearing his throat. “Okay, that's enough of that,” he said in a rough voice. “The water is calling to me.”

He took a run-up and jumped into the deep water right by us, splashing cold water up over our heads. Susannah sputtered, rubbing water out of her eyes. “Quinn, you shit!” she screeched, diving at the other Omega, and they wrestled around in the water until we were all laughing.

I looked over at Merrick, wondering if he felt the same thing I did at this moment. How very right this felt, our tiny Pack, laughing and playing. I wanted this every single day for the rest of my life.

Merrick was watching them with a soft smile, but his eyes moved to mine, like he could feel my gaze on him.

Can we keep them?I mouthed in his direction.

He grinned back at me, before mouthing back,Absolutely.

13

MERRICK

Escorting a freshly bonded Omega into a human town was not high on my list of favorite duties, especially when I’d made progress with my own Omegas a few days ago at the swimming hole. I didn’t want to piss them off by smelling like another Omega. Everyone always said that Omegas were notoriously territorial.

But the new Wiley-Fletcher-Reid Omega was a cute little thing. She had sass, and as her name, Kitten, would imply, she had some claws too. Not my type, but she fit with her Pack perfectly.

The stench of humans here was strong, and it was always a little like stale beer and death. Give me a room of humans, and at least one of them was dying, even if they didn’t know it yet.

Murphy had the Omega on his arm like she belonged to us, keeping her positioned between us so we could protect her efficiently. The scent of the Fletcher-Wiley-Reid Pack was so thick on her, it was burning my nostrils. They’d marked her up good before sending her out into the world with two unmated Alphas.

I looked at the bartender, an older man with a three-day-old beard and a dispassionate attitude. “I’m looking for Sam,” I grunted, threading a little of the Alpha into my words to grease the wheels, as they say.

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