Page 77 of A Pack of Pumpkins
“Nothing’s the matter.” She says it softly, but she’s not meeting my eyes. “I just—I want to bond.”
She blurts it out so fast that I freeze. Did she just say that? Or did my alpha brain short-circuit and drop me into a dream?
Shelooks like a deer caught in headlights, and then, purrs start. One from Bram. Another from Jack. A third from Victor. She visibly relaxes at the sound. I wish I could purr for her, but when she wraps her arms around me and smiles, I know she doesn’t care.
Then another purr joins in. One I’ve never heard before. It’s deep, resonant, almost vibrating through the air like something coming from the next room.
It’s Finian.
Everyone’s eyes widen, but no one comments.
“We want that too, Ghost. We always have. We just didn’t want to spook you,” Bram says. I nod in agreement, and Finian’s ghostly purr affirms it as well.
Clara looks around, searching each face. My brother’s eyes are full of regret and longing.
His scent is tinged with sadness. Clara reaches a hand out to him, and his eyes flare before he takes it in both of his, bringing her knuckles to his lips.
“It’s okay,” he says, voice low and rough. “I understand.”
I frown and so does Clara.
He chuckles softly and runs a thumb along the little crinkles between her brows. “What’s that look for, Spooky Girl?”
“Do you really think I don’t want to bond with you?” she asks.
My heart soars.
Victor looks truly, heartbreakingly taken aback. His gaze drops to their joined hands. Jaw tight. Eyes shining. She pulls him closer, and between the two of us, she’s effectively caged in. One of her hands rests over his heart. The other slides up to the back of his neck.
“Of course I want to bond with you. I love you,” she says. Her gaze flicks to me and then to Bram and Jack, then into the ghostly air where I'm guessing she senses Finian. “All of you.”
Victor's eyes close, and a tear slips free, trailing down to his jaw. He tips forward, resting his forehead against mine over her.
“I don’t deserve it. I don’t—” He swallows hard. “I don’t think you want to be in my head, Spook. It’s not a pleasant place. I’m working on it, but it’s… it’s not nice.”
He means therapy. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I can see him trying so hard. I tell him so, and he swallows again, like he’s trying to clear the weight in his throat.
“I decide who deserves my heart. And you have it, Victor,” she says.
He bends to press a kiss to the crown of her head.
“You all do,” Clara says. “I need you all.”
Bram and Jack move in, boxing her in on the other sides, and I can sense Finian just out of sight. Close, but letting her have this moment.
Clara
Ineedsobadly.
The throbbing between my thighs is an insistent, mind-numbingly distracting ache. If I don’t have a knot buried deep in me right now, I might rip off my own skin.
Lucky for me, there are four knots within reach at this moment.
I go for the one closest to my mouth. My fingers tug hard at the material covering a sizable cock. It lies across the alpha’s thigh like it doesn’t realize it’s needed desperately by its omega.
A sleepy voice rumbles from above. “What’s the matter, Spooky Gi—?”
The groggy words cut off with a hiss as I take him in my hand, stroking his length, cupping his balls, and licking the tip. The alpha swells against my palm, growing to an impressive size I know from experience will satisfy me because even if I can’t remember his name in my haze, I remember the way his cock thrust deep into me.
