Ryker had been the first to meet Sophie and the first to imprint upon her. For only a few short days, she had belonged to him alone.
It was strange, he thought as he gazed up at the night sky. He would never have expected to feel such comfort with the idea of sharing his omega with two other alphas. He would have expected to feel territorial, jealous, even angry.
But those feelings had never manifested.
He had only to look at Sophie, at how happy she was in the life they’d provided for her, to be sure that he had made the right choice by letting Marco and Burton in. Being her alpha wasn’t about getting the most he could from her. It had never been about that. It was about providing her the best life, the most love.
Ryker had imprinted on her, but Burton and Marco had imprinted too. The bond Sophie had with each of them was precious, and Ryker would never have dreamed of trying to take that away from her.
Still, he did wish Burton would hurry up and get out of the cave. It had been too long since he had had his hands on his omega, and he had been looking forward to tonight with great anticipation.
He felt like he had been waiting for hours when Burton finally emerged from the cave. His fellow alpha was dressed only in a pair of Bermuda shorts, and he looked tired and satisfied.
“She’s sleeping now,” he told Ryker. “I told her you’d be there when she woke up.” He showed his teeth. “Well, I told her someone would be. She’s very curious to know who’s next.”
Ryker nodded. “How is she?”
“Tired,” Burton said. “It was a busy day.”
Ryker nodded again. It wasn’t their habit to discuss the details of their mating between each other. Out of respect for both their fellow alphas and their omega, they had agreed to keep some things private.
“The kids are all right?” Burton asked.
It was strange to watch Burton as a father. Ryker often thought of the younger man as a child himself. At twenty-two, he was only a few months older than Sophie, and he often seemed a lot less mature. Maybe that was because Ryker had watched Sophie carry and give birth to their children. It was impossible not to think of her as a mother.
“The kids are fine,” he said. “They’re enjoying their campout.”
Burton hesitated.
Ryker felt a stab of empathy. He knew full well how hard it could be to walk away from Sophie. Even knowing that another alpha was with her and that she was perfectly safe, it was difficult for any of them to be apart from her.
Her kidnapping had left its scars on the whole family.
The bears were gone now. They were certain of it. They conducted thorough searches of the woods every month, going as far as fifty miles away from the cave to look for any trace of bear. They had followed the scent south, and they were all confident that the bears had gone below the Arctic Circle. Everything above the sixty-sixth parallel was their pack’s territory now.
Still, the trauma remained. None of them could forget the feeling of shock and horror at the realization that Sophie had been taken from them.
“It’s all right,” Ryker reassured his packmate. “I’ve got her. You can go.”
Burton nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’m being ridiculous. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Ryker said. “I don’t like being away from her either. None of us do. That’s natural. But we’ve got to learn to handle it.”
“You’re right, I suppose,” Burton said. “Okay. I’ll head down to the campsite now. You two will let me know if you need anything, right?”
“Of course,” Ryker said. As if we’re going to need anything! She’s going to be all mine for the next twenty-four hours. He was looking forward to having this time with Sophie all to himself, to not having to share her with anybody else.
Burton jogged into the woods and disappeared. A few moments later, Ryker caught the scent of wolf and knew that his friend had shifted to make the run down to the campsite easier. He smiled at the thought of Burton clutching his folded Bermuda shorts in his jaws as he ran and ducked into the cave.
Sophie lay in a nest of blankets, naked and breathing heavily. She was obviously exhausted, and for a moment, Ryker did wonder what she and Burton had been up to. They must have been very busy if their activities had left her so thoroughly worn out.
He crawled onto the pile of blankets beside her and wrapped his arm around her, fitting his body to the shape of hers. Without waking up, she relaxed into his hold, her legs curving to meet the shape of his, her fingers curling around his hand. She let out a soft, contented hum that ignited a low smolder in Ryker’s body.
He trailed his fingers slowly up and down the length of her arm. A part of him wanted to wake her up, to have his way with her right here and now. It felt like he had been waiting years instead of just one week.
But she needed her rest. He had to let her sleep. After all, the goal of this ceremony was to get her pregnant once again, and she would need to be healthy for that.
He waited, forcing himself to be patient even though he felt like he was burning from the inside out.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she stirred against him and rolled over, her eyes blinking open, taking in his face.
He didn’t wait for her reaction to the fact that he was the one who had replaced Burton. He couldn’t wait. Not another moment. Not for anything on Earth.
He wrapped his arms around her, drew her close, and kissed her.
He could feel her heart pounding against his chest. Her leg wrapped around his hipbone, pulling him closer, and now he could feel the heat coming from the core of her body. He thought he might melt, or perhaps catch fire. His mind felt swept away on currents of absolute pleasure.
Sophie rocked her hips to meet him. A low moan rose from somewhere deep within her. Their lips were still locked, and the noise escaped into Ryker’s own mouth.
He wanted to devour her.
But he couldn’t resist teasing her a little bit. “I guess you didn’t get everything you needed out of Burton,” he said, breaking the kiss so they could speak.
“You know that isn’t how this works.” Her voice was nearly a growl, and Ryker realized to his amusement that she was angry with him for pulling away from her, for taking away the kiss that she had been so enjoying. Her fingers twined in his hair and she tried to pull him close again.
He held his distance. He was stronger than she was. “What do you mean, that isn’t how it works?” he asked, even though he knew the answer. He liked hearing her explain it. It was an explanation that made him feel good.
“It doesn’t matter how much Burton gives me,” Sophie said, tightening the grip of her leg around his waist, trying to force him closer to her. He could practically feel the ache in her body. “He can only ever give me Burton. He can’t give me Marco, and he can’t give me you. Only you can give me that.”
The way he felt when Sophie described their relationship that way...there weren’t words for it. He crushed his mouth against hers once more, losing himself thoroughly in her kiss.
He wrapped his arms around her and sat upright, taking her with him so that she sat astride his lap. Carefully, he lifted her hips, positioned her, and eased her down onto him.
She sighed with pleasure and went limp against him, draping herself against him like a blanket. Her body contracted around him, squeezing him, and the heat and grip of her sent him nearly out of his mind with pleasure.