Page 19 of Feral: Part One

Kael just grunts as he stalks off and I sigh, leaning back against the couch until my knot goes down. “Just one more year,” I tell myself, running through everything that will change now that I’m bonded to Slate.

The Omega shifts in my lap and then groans before mumbling something I’m not sure I’m supposed to hear. “We’re not getting out of here. It’s all a lie. They wouldn’t do all of this for a year.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Snores answer me and if I wasn’t locked to Slate, I would wrap my fingers around his neck and demand an answer. And yet, just the thought of causing him pain hurts me. Well,fuck.

Slate

It’s been 24 hours since Thane knotted me. His teeth left a mark on my shoulder, a sore reminder of the bond as my fingers brush the tender skin. I belong to him now.To them.

I curl up tighter under the guest bed, wrapped in a nest of stolen blankets and clothes. My stomach twists with hunger, but the idea of food sickens me. I’m acutely aware that something is off again, the bond swirling with chaos. I barely feel Malik and Kael, yet their emotions flood my mind and muddle my thoughts. The peace I’ve always yearned for is a distant idea and even hiding in the safety of this darkness does nothing to settle me.

Every creak of the floorboards has me on edge. I’m bracing for Thane to barge in, declaring that it’s time for me to return to Veltmoor. That nightmare keeps me from resting—the thoughtthat I’ll be put through one last surgery to strip away this bond mark and leave me for dead. The worst part is my body. It yearns for Thane, craves his touch, his knot, his dominance. I hate it. I hate how my cock twitches at the thought of him, how slick gathers at the memory of his hands on my hips. I don’t want to need him, don’t want to be tethered to an Alpha who sees me as a liability.

But my biology betrays me, pulling me toward him, begging for relief from this aching void. Malik’s voice came through the door yesterday, promising food but I couldn’t find the strength to exit my safe, dark cocoon. Preston knocked too, almost pleading with me to let him in. But I have no idea how to accept them when I know this is just a means to an end. This is also the first bond I’ve ever had that feels right. I just can’t let myself hope.

Hunger gnaws at me again and then the panic follows, the need to make all this go away growing until I can barely breathe. I claw my way out of the pillows and blankets, looking around for something to ground me, something to make the pain stop, to make the chaos in my head return to nothingness.

A tear slips down my cheek as I frantically search through the drawers, looking for something to cut through the noise in my head. The blade has always been my safety, a moment where I can breathe as crimson coats my flesh.

But then I remember Kael’s words:Preston can feel everything through the bond. If I hurt myself, he’ll know. He’ll feel it and I can’t do that to him. Not to the one person in this house who doesn’t look at me like I’m a problem.

Tears burn my eyes, spilling down my cheeks as I stumble to the door. My fingers fumble with the lock and then I push it open, heading for the kitchen and hoping that Kael’s promise is one he’ll keep. They look up as I enter, Kael’s blue eyes narrowing, Thane’s dark gaze locking on me. I’ve robbed Thaneof nursing his bite on my shoulder but I can’t be bothered by that right now.

I need somethingmorethan that.

I move in front of Kael, the Alpha raising an eyebrow in silent question. All I can do is say one word to him. “Please.”

Kael leans back as his expression darkens. “Pleasewhat, Omega?”

“I can’t… I need it to stop. The bond, the pain, all of it.”

Kael’s hand clamps around the back of my neck, before dragging me close, his blue eyes boring into mine. “Do you need it to hurt, Slate?”

I nod, my throat tightening. Pain is the only thing that ever quiets the chaos, the only thing that feels real. “Please,” I plead again.

Kael’s hand tightens a little before he releases me. “On two conditions. One, we do this in your room. Preston doesn’t like pain or seeing it. Two, you let Thane nurse that bite. If it doesn’t heal, the chaos you’re feeling is only going to get worse. Not to mention, I’m not going to let you make my cousin suffer.”

I nod again, my body starting to shake with the promise of what they’re offering. Kael nods to the hallway, the silent command enough to get me to move. He shares only a few words—‘strip’, ‘come’, ‘wait’ and I obey every one, knowing that Kael can give me what I need.

The door shuts behind us as I stand naked beside my bed, my eyes locked on Thane as he sheds his clothes and lays down on the bed. His gaze burns with hunger, sending a shiver through me, his lips curling into a smirk that twists my stomach. Slowly, at Kael’s direction, I climb onto the bed and straddle Thane’s waist, not ready for the way he grips my hips to lift me before slamming me down on his cock. A howl tears through me, followed by immense pleasure. I had no idea how much I needed this, how much I needed my bonded Alpha’s touch.

Kael steps up to the side of the bed and roughly grabs my chin, forcing my eyes to his. “I have some frustrations to work out. Any limits?”

Tears spill down my cheeks and I shake my head. “I just don’t want to think right now, okay?” Thane’s fingers dig into my hips, the Alpha thrusting up into me, his knot fluttering against my hole. Jesus Christ, it feels like heaven.

Thane gently guides me to lay against him, his mouth finding the bite mark on my shoulder, his tongue soothing the raw skin, and I moan, the pain easing under his touch.

The bed shifts as Kael climbs on behind me, his hand firm on my back, pushing me forward until my chest presses fully against Thane’s. A small cry falls from my lips as two fingers are pushed into my ass alongside Thane’s cock, Kael slowly scissoring me further open, the contrasting thrusts threatening to undo me.

Thane pulls back, his eyes meeting mine. “Breathe, Slate. I know you need to get out of your head, and we all have our reasons for this, but you need to breathe, or it’ll hurt more than you want. Tell me you want this, or we’ll find something else.”

I’m too far gone between the two of them to find something else. I just need to stop thinking and Thane asking me a question defeats the purpose. Humming my answer, I bury my face in his chest, Thane attaching his lips to my shoulder once again.

If they can make the pain stop, I’ll take anything.

Kael’s fingers continue to work me open, the stretch pushing me to the edge as I come all over my and Thane’s stomach. Thane’s hands stroke my back through the orgasm, anchoring me, pulling me away from the darkness as the pain of Kael stretching me beyond what I’m used to takes over.

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