Page 83 of The Bright Omega

thirty-nine

Piers

“Ican feel you,” Cammie says softly.

We’re still tangled together in the middle of her new nest, a pandemonium of bright pillows and blankets that already smells like all of us. My knot is locked deep inside her, pulsing with every aftershock that runs through her body. The bond snapped into place the moment I bit her. One way. For now.

I pour everything I have into it. Every quiet, fierce wave of love. Every protective instinct that’s been roaring since the day I first walked into her hospital room. Every moment I watched her laugh, fight, heal, and choose us. All of us. I let her feel how deeply I want her. How proud I am of her strength. How much I need her in my life. In our lives.

Cammie shivers in my arms, a soft sound escaping her throat as she feels the full weight of what I’m giving her. She can’t send anything back yet, but I feel her body respond. It’s in the way she clenches around my knot, the way she presses closer like she’s trying to crawl inside my chest.

I’m still pressed against her back, bracing so my full weight doesn’t crush her. Beck is pressed against her side, Finn is on her other, Leith curled around Finn’s back, arm thrown across Finn’s body so his hand can rest on Cammie’s thigh. The four of us surround her completely, exhausted, sweaty, and perfectly content. Our scents are everywhere, hers brightest of all, sweet and warm and woven through all of ours now in a way that will never fully separate.

I stay buried inside her as long as I can, savoring the warmth of her still wrapped around me and the new bond humming from me to her. When my knot finally begins to deflate, I kiss her temple and gently ease out of her with a low groan. Cammie makes a small, reluctant sound at the loss, but I pull her closer, tucking her against my chest.

She turns in my arms almost immediately, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before trailing her mouth down my jaw and across my collarbone. Her fingers trace the LIV tattoo on my ribs with reverence. Then, without hesitation, she sinks her teeth into the skin above it.

The bond flares open both ways. Her feelings crash into me like a tidal wave. The fierce love, trust, desire, and joy are so pure and so perfectly complicated, it steals my breath. I feel the sting of tears I haven’t shed in years, and I don’t even try to hide them.

“Now you have two things that are important enough to wear on your skin,” she whispers against the fresh mark.

I pull her tighter against me, burying my face in her hair.

The rest of the pack collapses around us in a tired, satisfied heap. Beck has shifted to the foot of the nest, gently lifting Cammie’s feet onto his chest so he can rub lazy, soothing strokes up and down her calves. The rest of us stay close, hands and bodies touching her wherever we can reach. No one is willing to break any physical connection with our omega.

Beck sighs happily, looking around at the bright pillows and blankets. “It already looks really nice in here.”

Cammie’s expression softens. “There are still a few things I realized I need when I was setting it up, but it already feels like mine. Especially now that your scents are in it.”

No one speaks after that. We hold each other, breathing deep, bodies heavy with satisfaction and the new bonds humming warmly between us.

After a long, peaceful stretch of silence, Finn’s voice rises from her other side. “Want to tell us more about your dream?”

Cammie tenses slightly against my chest. She takes a shaky breath before answering. “It was at Tinto’s. The alpha was there. Laughing. Coming toward me again. I tried to run but my legs wouldn’t work. Then she pushed me. I was in the bar and then suddenly outside standing in traffic, so when she touched me...”

Leith immediately grows restless beside us. His body shifts, muscles coiled tight. His alpha is riding close to the surface anytime Cammie’s stalker is mentioned. I feel my own protective instincts flaring hard.

I catch my packmate’s eyes over her head and give them a firm look. Say nothing about the teddy bear. Finn and Beck both give tiny nods of understanding. Leith clenches his jaw tight, but he nods.

Cammie lifts her chin, words steady despite the lingering fear. “I’m not going to stay scared. I refuse. I’m going to power through this and start living again. I won’t let her take that from me.”

Her determination makes my chest ache with pride. And quiet worry. I tighten my arms around her and press a kiss to the top of her head. “Until then,” I say firmly, leaving no room for argument, “no going out without us. No exceptions.”

Cammie nods against my chest, but the tension in her body has already started to ease. We settle deeper into the nest, bodies tangling together in a warm, exhausted pile. For a while, it’s quiet, only the sound of breathing and the occasional soft kiss pressed to skin. Cammie is relaxed and happy between us, her scent rich.

Then Beck ruins the peaceful silence. “I’m starving,” he announces dramatically. “We need breakfast. Immediately.”

Finn lets out a tired laugh. “It’s two in the morning, Beck.”

“Exactly,” Beck says, undeterred. “Prime hours for the most important meal of the day. I vote for pancakes. Or cereal. Or… Cammie. Cammie sounds delicious right now.” He puts his mouth against her ankle and pretends to bite her.

She giggles, the sound light and sleepy. “You’re ridiculous,” she murmurs, but there’s nothing but affection in her voice.

Beck grins against her skin. “Yes. And now I’m your ridiculous.”

Leith’s low rumble comes from behind Finn. “I could eat.”

Cammie lifts her head. “Pancakes do sound good.”