Page 197 of Knotting the Cowboys

"She's ready," Mavi says quietly. "We all are."

Then I'm alone with Cole, who continues his measured undressing as if we have all the time in the world. My body disagrees, the final wave of heat crashing through me with intensity that steals my breath. I've been claimed by three alphas, found release more times than I can count, but something deep in my omega instincts knows this is different. This is the one that matters most.

"Cole," I breathe, reaching for him, but he catches my hands gently.

"Let me look at you first." His eyes travel over me with reverent intensity, taking in every mark, every sign of claim. Instead of jealousy, I see satisfaction in his expression. "My pack took good care of you."

"Need you too," I whisper, squeezing his hands. "Need all of you, but especially—" I can't finish, can't articulate the bone-deep certainty that he's the missing piece.

"I know." He releases my hands to finish undressing, and when he's finally bare, I lose my breath entirely. He's magnificent—all controlled power and leashed strength, his arousal evident in the hard length of him, the tension in his muscles. "I've known since the first night. Felt it when I pulled you from that fire."

He kneels at the foot of the bed, hands gentle but firm as he arranges me how he wants—legs spread, pillows supporting my back and belly. The position leaves me completely exposed,vulnerable in a way that should trigger old fears but only makes me wetter.

"First," he says, voice dropping to that register that makes my insides clench, "I'm going to taste you. Taste them on you. In you. Make sure you understand that this isn't about erasing their claim—it's about completing it."

His mouth descends without further warning, and the first swipe of his tongue makes me cry out. He's not gentle, not hesitant—he devours me like a man starved, tongue delving deep to taste the mingled evidence of my previous claiming. His hands grip my thighs, holding me open when I try to close them against the overwhelming sensation.

"Cole, oh god, Cole—" His name becomes a chant as he works me with lips and tongue and just the edge of teeth. When he sucks my clit into his mouth while thrusting three fingers deep, I shatter instantly. The orgasm rolls through me in waves, each pulse drawing groans of approval from him as he works me through it.

"Perfect," he says against my sensitive flesh, placing gentle kisses on my inner thighs. "So responsive. So ready." He crawls up my body with predatory grace, pausing to nuzzle my belly. "Still doing okay in there, little ones? Daddy's about to make it official."

The casual claim of fatherhood breaks something in my chest. Tears spring to my eyes—not from pain or fear but from the overwhelming rightness of this moment. When he reaches my face, he kisses away the salt tracks with infinite tenderness.

"Happy tears?" he checks, though his knowing smile says he already understands.

"The happiest," I confirm, pulling him down for a proper kiss. I can taste myself on his lips, along with hints of the others, and the combination makes me moan into his mouth. "Please, Cole. I need—I don't even know what I need, but?—"

"I do." He positions himself at my entrance, the broad head of him pressing just inside. "You need your alpha. Your pack. Your knot." Each word accompanied by a shallow thrust that makes me writhe. "You need to belong completely."

"Yes," I sob, trying to pull him deeper, but he maintains that maddening control. "All of that. All of you. Please."

He slides home in one smooth thrust, and the relief of finally having him inside me nearly makes me come again immediately. He's big—maybe not quite as thick as Mavi but longer, hitting places that make me see stars. When he's fully seated, he stops, holding himself still despite the way I clench around him.

"Look at me," he commands, and I force my eyes open to meet his. The intensity there steals my breath—possession and protection and love all tangled together. "This is forever, Willa. Once I knot you, once our bond completes, there's no going back. You'll be ours, and we'll be yours, for life."

"Good," I manage, rolling my hips to encourage movement. "That's what I want. What I choose. You, them, us—all of it."

Something shifts in his expression, the last wall crumbling. When he moves, it's with purpose—long, deep strokes that claim every inch of me. His hands frame my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks as he watches every expression that crosses my features.

"Mine," he says, but it's not possessive like Blake's claims used to be. It's a promise, a vow, a declaration of intent to protect and cherish. "My omega. My mate. Mother of my children."

"Yours," I agree, then gasp as I feel something change. He's swelling inside me, the base of his cock expanding in a way I've never experienced. "Cole, is that?—"

"My knot," he confirms, voice strained with the effort of control. "It's okay. Your body knows what to do. Just breathe through it."

The stretch is intense, borderline painful, but my omega instincts sing with recognition. This is what I've been craving, what my heat has been building toward. I force myself to relax, to accept the invasion that's really a joining, and am rewarded as the discomfort shifts to pleasure.

"That's it," Cole praises, still swelling, locking us together. "Such a good girl. Taking your alpha's knot so perfectly."

The praise combined with the sensation pushes me over again, but this orgasm is different. It starts where we're joined and radiates outward like golden light, touching something deeper than physical pleasure. I feel it—actually feel it—as our bond snaps into place. Not just with Cole but with all of them, four distinct threads weaving together into something unbreakable.

Cole roars his own release, pulsing inside me as the knot locks us completely. We're one being now, joined in the most primal way possible.

"Do you feel it?" Cole asks against my neck, his body shuddering with aftershocks. "That sense of completion."

"All of you," I whisper in wonder. "I can feel all of you."

As if summoned by my words, the door opens. Austin, River, and Mavi file in, drawn by the completion of something they're all part of. Without discussion, they arrange themselves around us—Austin to my left, River to my right, Mavi by our feet. Their hands find skin wherever they can touch, anchoring the bond with physical contact.

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