Page 33 of A Promise of Forever
Then his mouth is on mine, kissing me with a passion that steals my breath and makes my knees weak. I desperately kiss him back, pouring every confused emotion into the contact. Fear and hope and desperate need all tangled together until I can't separate them.
When we finally break apart, both of us breathing hard, Forrest rests his forehead against mine. "You don't have to love me back," he whispers. "Not yet, maybe not ever. But I need you to know that you're not just temporary or convenient. You're becoming everything to me."
Caelan
I stare out the small window of the locker room into the fight ring, a big smile spreading across my face as the staff sets up rows of chairs for tonight's crowd. I've never seen my brother so goddamn vulnerable or happy in his entire life. The way Forrest looked at Sterling earlier, like the Omega hung the moon and stars, was something I honestly never thought I'd witness.
Sterling is perfect for him. I knew it the moment I saw how protective Forrest became, how his entire world shifted to revolve around keeping that particular Omega safe. It's the kind of transformation that only happens when someone finds theirtrue match, biology and emotion aligning in ways that can't be faked or forced.
I turn around from the window to find Bryn standing inches away from me, my Valla wearing that sloppy grin he always gets when he's about to devour me whole. The look in his dark eyes promises things that definitely can't happen in a locker room full of fighters getting ready for tonight's matches.
"Jesus fuck, Valla, back up," I laugh, trying to put some space between us before his intentions become obvious to everyone in the room.
Bryn just grunts in response, that wonderfully articulate communication style he defaults to when words seem unnecessary. Then he presses me against the wall with a heavy kiss that makes my knees weak and my brain shut down. I groan into the connection as his knee slides between my thighs and starts rubbing with deliberate pressure.
Heat floods my system, my body responding to Bryn's dominance the way it always does. But we're surrounded by fighters who are already too interested in our pack dynamics, and the last thing I need is to give them more ammunition for locker room gossip.
"Valla, not here," I manage to gasp out between kisses. "Not fucking here."
Bryn growls, the sound vibrating through both our bodies, but he pulls away just as laughter erupts from some of the other fighters getting dressed nearby. They're trying to be discreet about watching, but several of them are grinning with obvious amusement at seeing me flustered.
"Fuck off, all of you," I call out, reaching down to adjust myself before my arousal becomes even more obvious.
Astra attaches himself to my side a second later, appearing from wherever he was exploring with perfect timing. His presence helps ground me, pulling me back from the edge ofdoing something incredibly stupid in a semi-public space. I still remember when Astra was like Sterling, skittish and terrified of his own shadow. He wouldn't even leave the house for the first week or so after Bryn claimed him.
I met Astra through Bryn originally, back when my Valla was still fighting regularly and Astra would come to watch from the safety of the locker rooms. One look at the scared Omega hiding behind Bryn's massive frame, and I knew I wanted him in our pack. Now, Astra is maybe a little too confident and mouthy and absolutely perfect for us.
One of the newer fighters, a cocky Beta named Fabien, pipes up with a question that puts everyone on edge. "So, when do we get to meet the new Omega? I never thought Forrest would find someone so... sturdy."
Laughter ripples through the locker room, but Fabien isn't wrong in his observation. I definitely thought that if anyone, Forrest would stumble into an entirely submissive, cuddly Omega who would somehow magically change everything about his life through sheer sweetness and devotion. The kind of fairy tale mate that exists more in fantasy than reality.
And yet Sterlingischanging everything, but in completely different ways than I expected. Sterling is a lot more like our Omega father than Forrest probably realizes yet. Beneath that scared, traumatized exterior, there's a certain fierceness waiting to emerge. A core of strength that Wilson and the others couldn't quite break, no matter how hard they tried.
Sterling is going to be really good for Forrest.Reallygood. He'll challenge my brother in ways that force growth rather than just enabling his worst tendencies. And Forrest will give Sterling the safety and devotion he needs to heal and discover who he really is beneath all that trauma.
I sigh, then glare at Bryn when he starts moving closer again with intent written all over his face. I'm already pent up withneed after not getting to fuck Astra earlier today or even on the way over here. One more kiss from my Valla and I might very well bend Astra over a bench in this goddamn changing room, audience be damned.
I press a kiss to Astra's temple and then gently hand him off to Bryn, needing the physical separation before my control completely crumbles. Then I step up to address the fighters who are gathered in various states of preparation for tonight's matches.
"Alright, listen up," I call out, waiting for everyone's attention to focus on me. "You all know about Dorian's failure to pay at midnight and his subsequent removal from our organization. His fighters will be on a later docket tonight, but they will be under Forrest's protection going forward. That means every single one of you will give them respect regardless of what Dorian did. Their former manager's failures are not their fault."
Grunts of acknowledgment ripple through the room.
I continue, my voice taking on a harder edge. "There's still a complete ban on any and all drugs in this establishment. If you're found with anything, you will be thrown out of the club immediately and your name will be spread to every other local club within our network. You'll be blacklisted from legitimate fighting opportunities across the entire region."
More grunts of acknowledgment, these carrying an undertone of wariness. Everyone knows Forrest's stance on drugs, only reinforced after some of them caught Dorian hanging around just outside. No one wants to test whether Forrest's serious about enforcement.
I beam at them, checking in with Tatianna and Beck, two Alphas recovering from injuries before double-checking that the newest fighter has everything they need. This is the part of the job I genuinely love the most. Taking care of our fighters and keeping them in line gives me a sense of purpose thatmanagement and business negotiations never quite achieve. For a while after I first joined the organization, I had to fight hard for respect, especially when Bryn and Lorcan were both part of the active fighting roster. Having a Valla as a mate while trying to manage other Valla and Alphas created even more complications that took time to navigate.
It got even worse when Bryn officially became my Valla rather than just my lover. People assumed I'd gotten soft, that I'd let Bryn make decisions for me or use his dominance to override my authority. But I made it very clear who was in charge of fighter management, and Forrest backed me up by letting everyone know that disrespecting me would result in immediate termination.
After I stepped into the ring just once to prove my worth against one of the more vocal doubters, everyone put their comments to bed. Turns out beating the shit out of someone in front of an audience is an effective way to establish credibility in this world.
I go over a few more logistics, covering match order and payout structures and emergency protocols. Then I wrap up with the most important reminder of the evening.
"Stay safe out there, and remember to respect Forrest's new Omega. Sterling is off-limits to everyone except approved pack members. No approaches, no questions, no attention of any kind unless he initiates contact. Anyone who makes him uncomfortable will answer to Forrest personally, and trust me when I say you don't want that."
I end with that, walking out into the arena and seeing some of the early patrons filing in and finding their seats. Several people recognize me and call out greetings, clapping me on the back as I make my way through the crowd. Bryn walks behind me with Astra held protectively in front of him, creating a small bubble of space that keeps people from getting too close.
