CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Abel took his place across from Bax’s uncle, with Bax between them. The crowd gathered around again, buzzing with excitement.
“Should we start from the beginning?” Alpha Buffalo Gap asked.
Abel shrugged. As long as he got to sign the papers, he didn’t care. “What do you want?” he ask Bax, and then was silently amused by the pained expression on Mitchel’s face. Oh, his reputation was going to take a beating tonight, or would have, if it hadn’t been for Sebastian. He shoved back the still volatile anger that thoughts of the man roused in him, and focused on Bax.
“I’d like to just keep going,” Bax said in a quiet firm voice. His gaze skated over to Holland and the slightly twitchy form of Fan in his arms.
“Dabi!”
Abel twisted to see Teca running toward them across the grass, Jason right behind her. Behind them, right at the front of the crowd, stood Becca and Jason’s dad with Macy, Beatrice, and Noah. Abel let out of sigh of relief that Jason looked unharmed; in fact, completely unruffled. Maybe he didn’t know Montana Border had attempted…something. He’d dig into that later.
Jason caught up with the little girl just as she reached the circle. “Dabi’s busy, but he’ll come for you as soon as you can. You come watch the fun with me, okay?”
Her lower lip trembled and Bax went to her. “Hey, baby girl, it’s fine. I’m going to do some stuff with Abel, and then we’ll have a party.”
“You’re keeping a dance for me, right, Teca?” Abel called, and gave her a thumb’s-up when she nodded excitedly. “Good.”
“See?” Bax said. “You hang out with Jason, and we’ll get you as soon as the party starts.”
She nodded and flung herself on him to press a loud kiss on his cheek, then let Jason carry her back to the edge of the surrounding crowd. Bax came back to his place, visibly easier now that he’d had a chance to check on his babies. He glanced at Abel, let out a long breath, and bowed his head. “I’m ready.”
Abel went to the table, where the Mate’s tunic waited. It, too, was a family heirloom, soft doeskin dyed in the symbols of his great-great-great-grandfather’s packname, a huge silver moon bleached out on the back with a row of trees around the hem, each one of them growing from a wolf’s footprint. It was plain, but lovely in its simplicity. He carried it back, hanging from the shoulders so it was visible to everyone. Bax’s eyes went wide when he saw it and he almost missed stepping into the mating ring when Mitchel called him. Abel grinned at him and Bax blushed, then came to stand between Mitchel and Abel.
Mitchel untied the knot holding Bax’s mating tunic closed and reached for the edges. “Alpha Mercy Hills, in the removing of the garments in which I have clothed this omega, I do hereby withdraw my claim on him and leave him free of impediment, that you may claim him.” Slowly, he slipped the tunic off Bax’s torso, revealing the swirls of body paint covering him. Bax shivered briefly in the chill, but held his arms out to Abel.
Abel lifted the tunic. “Alpha Buffalo Gap, I claim this omega as my own, and in symbol of that claiming and the shelter I offer, I clothe him with my hides, and thus he will know he is mine.” Carefully, he held the tunic out for Bax to slide his arms in. Dammit. Quin had the belt; he was supposed to come play this part before going back to security. Abel looked up in consternation, his eyes flicking through the crowd, hoping Quin had come back.
“Alpha?” Holland stood beside, his head lowered. Fan’s head lolled against his shoulder, but under one of his paws sat the belt. “Your son brings you a cord to bind the omega in your care.”
“Lisoonka bless you,” Abel muttered, and slipped the belt out from under Fan’s paw. Holland blushed and moved back to his place.
Abel wrapped the belt around Bax’s waist, making sure the tunic was closed—it was getting colder. “With this hide and with this belt, I claim you. You are mine, for now and always. I will shelter you and defend you, and raise your pups in the right ways, both the old and the new.” He made the first twist of the knot. “You will sleep by my side, and your days will be filled with plenty, with good work, and useful work, and I will see that you tread the path of virtue.” He had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes at that last line, but Bax had insisted on the traditional form, saying they both knew what they meant.
Abel tied the knot off the rest of the way and stepped back. The next part was Bax’s.
Bax swallowed and gazed up at Abel. “Alpha Mercy Hills, I do hereby deliver myself to you, to be your companion and your aide, to bear your pups and keep your household in prosperity and joy.” He held out his hands, palms pressed together, and Mitchel began to wind the original belt around him. “With this cord, I give you myself in all that I am and all I may provide for you, submitting my own desires to the peace and prosperity of you and yours.” Mitchel pulled the cord through the bindings, creating a sort of leash on Bax’s hands. Abel might have objected despite his agreement to let Bax have his way on this, except that Bax looked so serene at the moment, standing patiently in Abel’s hides with his hands bound, waiting for Abel to claim him entirely.
Holland came forward with a bowl of food, small squares of meat coated in Duke’s barbecue sauce. Abel picked out a chunk and held it up to Bax’s mouth. “You will not hunger.” Bax opened his lips and accepted the meat, a movement shockingly sensual for such a serious ceremony. Abel’s hand shook as he reached for a second piece and held it to Bax’s mouth. “Nor will the pups that you bear for me.” He ran his thumb over Bax’s mouth to collect a few stray smears of sauce. Holland reappeared with an old carved wooden mug, the smell of some sweet, fruity juice drifting on the night air. Abel took it and held it to Bax’s mouth to drink. “Nor will you thirst, for I will provide for you and yours in all ways, as you provide for me.”
Bax’s eyes looked like stars, bright shining green in the lantern-light. “I offer my gratitude and my desire in recompense of your generosity. Pups to increase your line, and my care to ensure their health and prosperity. This I do promise.”
“Alpha Mercy Hills, he is yours.” Mitchel passed the end of the belt over to Abel and turned toward the tents where the contract waited. It was tradition that the omega’s guardian left the circle first, then Abel would lead Bax over to watch as he and Mitchel signed the mating contract, and then the party could begin. He looked over at his mate, relieved and proud. “You ready?”
Bax smiled back at him. “Since forever.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
I jumped at the cheers of the crowd as Abel led me over to see the contract signed. Fan yipped and squirmed in Holland’s arms until Abel put a hand on his head.
“Hush, give us a minute, then we’ll get you.” He signed at the bottom of both copies of the contract, then picked up his copy and folded it, tucking it inside his shirt. Then he turned to me. “Come here.”
I went to him joyfully, and melted into his kiss. My bound hands rested against his chest, and his heart pounded beneath them as it wanted to leap out of his body to embrace me itself. It was done, we were mated, my pups were his, and I was the happiest I’d ever been.
Abel ended the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. “Time for the bonfire.”
I giggled in excitement and tucked myself in under his arm. He extended the other one and Holland carefully transferred Fan to it. “Get your gifts,” Abel told him, then led me back out to the mating ring, which has been transformed from flat grass to a heaping pile of wood as if by magic. The last pieces were being tossed onto the mound as we arrived, and Quin appeared carrying a red plastic can of gas. He sprinkled it over the wood, then picked one specific branch out of the pile. The end had been wrapped in cloth and he soaked it in gasoline as well before bringing it to Abel. I ducked out of his hold to leave him a free hand, the belt on my still-bound hands dangling almost to my knees.
Abel took the unlit torch and held it high to the cheers of the assembled pack. Quin grinned, a rare occurrence I gathered, and lit the cloth.
> “In honor of my great fortune, and in prayer for our continued prosperity and the increase of our people, let us dance and take joy in the night, and the moon, and the fire, the child of the moon and sun.” He tossed the torch on the bonfire and it went up in flames with a roar that almost outdid the one coming from our pack.
Then one by one, the omegas in my rozvennya came to hand Abel my offerings to the fire and he tossed them in, repeating the old words that begged safety and fertility and plenty from the air and the moon and earth below us. Then, other young shifters approached, because I’d spread the word of our old customs in Buffalo Gap. They tossed slips of paper into the fire and watched as the smoke and sparks rose into the air, carrying their wishes and dreams to the moon above.
As the pack spread out to begin the celebration, Abel used his free hand to undo the belt around my wrists. “I think this can come off, Baxter Mercy Hills.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.” I wrapped my newly freed arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. “Is it time to go?”
“It is,” he said with a grin. “Though I don’t know if we’ll get up to much with this little fellow around.”
“I know what to do.” I took Fan from him and looked my little pup in the eye. “Abel and I have to leave the party for a little while and go back to the apartment. Do you want to come with us and go to bed, or do you want to stay and play with the other pups? You’ll have to stay wolf, though, so your sling stays on.”
Fan wiggled in my arms and yipped, asking to get down. I laughed and set him on the ground, watching to make sure he made it over to where his new friends were scampering around the edge of the bonfire. Becca sidled over near them, and waved at us to go do our thing.
She didn’t have to tell me twice.
My face burned red at the comments and congratulations tossed our way as Abel led us out of the park and toward his apartment. Our apartment now.
I liked the sound of that too.
He threw me over his shoulder as we got out of the elevator, laughed at my squawk, and groped my ass. I chewed my lip and waited impatiently for him to get the door open.
Finally, he put me down, and I turned to see his apartment transformed. The corner had been fenced off to make a safe place for the babies. Fan’s Lego took up the opposite corner, underneath one of the windows. Bits and pieces of my life had been scattered here and there, as if we’d lived here for ages.
“Oh, Abel,” I breathed, and walked forward to touch the stuffed animals seated on the couch as if they lived there.
“Our home,” he said. “Until I can build you a house. But this will do, right? Until I can give you a proper place.”
I laughed and turned to him. “You are the silliest Alpha ever. Home is here.” I touched his chest. “I’d be happy living under the trees with you.”
He chuckled and took my hand. “Maybe, but I want better for you and our pups. Especially since I seem to have broken one of them.”
That made me laugh again, part joy in his claiming of my babies again, but especially in the wry humor he only let out in rare moments. I wanted to hear him joke more, but not right now. Tonight, this hour in the middle of this great change, was just for us.
“Come claim me, Alpha,” I said, my voice breathy and low. I began to back toward the bedroom, toying with the knot of the belt holding my tunic closed. His followed me, his movements gone fluid and wolf-like, power swirling around him in a tightly-controlled cloud. I found it incredibly arousing.
He caught up with me at the foot of the bed. “Come here, mate.”
I grinned. “Catch me, mate.” I spun and made a not-too-serious attempt to bolt past him, but he picked me up and tossed me onto the bed, then attacked the knot in the belt.
“I made sure it was an easy knot,” he told me with an air of seriousness completely belied by the sparkle in his eye. The belt disappeared and then he spread the tunic apart to bare me to his eyes. I held my breath—I could almost feel his gaze as it wandered over me. Then he groaned as if unable to contain himself and laid himself on me to take my mouth with a barely restrained passion.
Something in me, the part I’d always labeled omega, rose up to meet him, power and submission mixed together. I beat back the power like I always did, but offered him my submission freely. He was my Alpha and my mate, and I loved him entirely.
“What was that?” he asked, nuzzling at my ear until my eyes rolled back in their sockets.
“Unh, wha?” I babbled. “Oh, do that again.”
He laughed against the side of my neck, a rough tickle that made my hips rise of their own accord to grind against him. He let a little more of his weight come to bear against me, swallowing my moan in another kiss. When it finally ended—far too quickly for my tastes—he peppered tiny kisses over my face and asked, “I felt something from you.”
“Just me wanting you out of your clothes.” I suited actions to words, grabbing for the hem of his shirt and trying to pull it up against the friction of being trapped between our bodies.
Obligingly, he pushed himself off me and knelt between my legs. I sat up and helped him pull his mating shirt off, if running my hands and mouth over any bare skin in reach could be considered help. He undid the tie at his waist, then the one at mine, and then we were both naked and I was lost in his scent and the warmth of his skin and the way he handled me, slipping my clothing away and laying me back on the cool sheets.
Abel settled between my legs again. I sighed and spread my thighs to bring him closer, my hands gliding down the muscle of his back to cup the hard curves of his ass. No guilt tonight, now that our desire had been sanctioned by ritual and contract. My mate—and oh, how I loved being able to say that—began to nibble on my neck once more, traveling down to the thin skin over my collarbone, then down farther, to torment me with licks and brushes of fang over my nipples. It seemed that even when I wasn’t nursing, it only took the lightest of touches to send me crazy with anguished desire. I cried out for him and arched my back, seeking more of that tortuous joy.
The paint on my body had smeared on his chest; the corner of his mouth was green with it was well. I lifted his face with a finger under his chin and wiped it away with my thumb, then tugged him up to kiss me some more.
He did so, but he also shifted his hips, bringing his cock down between my thighs, as hot as the bonfire outside. Immediately, I could think of nothing better than that final, ultimate connection. No matter that we’d been having sex regularly since January, whenever I could sneak away from the pups or he could sneak in without waking them, there was something special about tonight.
Mates.
In wordless plea, I thrust myself against him, my hands on his hips pulling him closer until I could feel him brushing against me.
He chuckled into my hair. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” And to emphasize the point, I reached between us and took him in hand. “You know I love to make love with you.”
“You’re terrible for my ego, but I don’t care.” He reached down and wrapped his hand around mine where I’d encircled him. “Bring me home, love.”
I nearly wept at the word, even though he’d called me that before, but it seemed I’d waited my whole life to hear it on this night. Carefully I guided him until I couldn’t reach anymore, then he took over and pushed inside with slow authority.
The feel of him this night, with his Alpha’s power still swirling around him, made me whine in the back of my throat and scrabble at his back in search of more. He obliged with a thrust that shoved me up the bed and I laughed and trotted out all my omega wiles to encourage him. I dug my fingers in the muscle of his back and wrapped my legs around his waist as he rode me. He made a small noise each time he slammed into me, something rough and brutal sounding, but he never gave me more than he knew I wanted.
“Yes, oh, Abel!” I cried and tensed against the uncontrollable rush of pleasure he brought me. He made a breathy noise and shifted his weight forward and bega
n to move faster and faster. One of his arms wrapped around the top of my head and he held me tightly against him as we groaned and writhed in unison. I bit his shoulder, then buried my face in the crook of his neck and wailed my ecstasy as Abel came inside me, his pleasure triggering mine in turn.
After, we held each other, both grateful for these few moments of peace. Abel stroked my hair while I listened to his heart beat beneath my ear, the frantic pounding slowing gradually to a gentle, comforting rhythm.
Abel laughed softly. “Well, we’re definitely mated now.” His hand wandered down, to splay over my still-flat stomach. “And you, child of mine, are now legitimate.”
I snorted. “Better be.”
He kissed the top of my head and pulled me closer. “You know what the best thing about this is?”
“What?”
“I get to wake up with you tomorrow.”
My heart melted, but I couldn’t help a small joke. “Just wait until Fan’s in here bouncing on the bed to get us up to open presents. He thinks it’s Christmas again.”
Abel laughed again, this time louder. “Let him. It’s a big day for the pups too. Can’t wait to see their faces when they open their presents.”
“Me neither.” I sighed and snuggled close. “I suppose we’ll have to go back out soon.”
“In a bit. At least to get the pups to bed.”
I played with the hair on his chest. “But not right away, right?”
He lifted his head off the pillow and stared down at me in bemused hilarity. “Again already?”
“Maybe,” I relied, drawing the word out. Not exactly, though we still had missed opportunities to make up for. “But I just want to have you to myself a little longer.”
“That I can get behind.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
Abel shooed Bax out of bed and into his clothes just before the crowd arrived at the door to fetch them for the dancing. They were jostled and teased all the way out of the building and into the park by the combined members of their rozvennya and bratvuk. There, he and Bax danced the traditional newlymated’s dance to the tune of hoots and bawdy comments and, somewhere under the noise, the notes of a violin and a guitar.
Abel's Omega(Gay Paranomal MM Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 2) Page 30
