“How are we going to tell Ellie?”

It was the first I’d spoken since Nicolae had taken me to a house on the border of Romania. I didn’t know if he owned the place or if it belonged to one of his many “friends,” but I was still too shaken up to care.

I’d killed Francesca. Francesca was alive as of a few hours ago, and now she wasn’t because I had shot her. How was I supposed to reckon with that? How was I supposed to make sense of any of it at all?

And Ellie…

Nicolae considered my question in silent contemplation for a few seconds. “We’ll tell her it was me,” he finally said.

“What?”

“There’s no reason she needs to know you’re the one who did it. After all, you were only saving my life.”

Every damn time. Every time I thought it was impossible for my heart to open any more to him, the bastard had to go and prove me wrong. “We’re not doing that. She’s already been lied to all her life,” I muttered. “For another thing, she already hates you. If she thinks you killed Francesca, she’s never going to stop trying to get revenge.”

“A fair point. I suppose that means you’re going to tell her the truth about her paternity.”

I thought about it. It had slipped my mind in all the shock, but it was a good question. “She already knows it’s likely…”

“But knowing beyond doubt is different, isn’t it?” he said in an understanding tone, sitting next to me on the couch to rub my shoulders. Relief washed over me like healing waters. I was far more prone to the effect of his touch in this state, and I could only guess whether it was from heat or exhaustion. “You don’t have to tell her. Certainly not on my account. Perhaps I could, if you really want her to know.”

I shook my head. “No. I have to. She deserves that.”

Nicolae leaned in and pressed his lips to my cheek. God, he was so cool to the touch. He healed every part of me his hands and lips swept over, even if it was only temporarily. I wished I could put my soul in his hands, because that was the only way it ever felt like it would be whole again.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said quietly. “Any of it.”

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me close, tucking my head beneath his chin. “Let’s face it, Jack. We both knew she was twisted, but she still played us both. She played me against the Majerus pack, and us against each other.”

“For what?” My voice cracked but I couldn’t make myself sound strong when I felt like I was crumbling. “I still don’t understand what made her do this.”

“I do. It’s the same reason I fought so hard to get her back. She recognized early on that if she wasn’t out for herself, no one else would be, and she lived every day of her life by that principle. She did not care who she hurt, only what others could do for her. I know because I was the same way, before you. And before Ellie.”

I swallowed hard, leaning back against him. “You’re nothing like Francesca,” I murmured.

He kissed me. “And you deserve better than us both, but I’m afraid I haven’t evolved quite enough to let you go now that I have you.”

“I’m not complaining,” I said with a small smile. It faded as soon as the grief set in again. “You know what’s fucked up?”

“Hmm?” he asked, stroking my thigh as he held me in his arms.

“I always felt like the worst person in the world when she died. I didn’t feel anything I was supposed to feel. I felt the anger and the loss, sure, but not the grief, no matter how I tried. I thought I was just in denial and that it was going to be a process, but now… I don’t know.”

“She marked you,” Nicolae said thoughtfully. “The link between you was faint because you’re human and you weren’t destined mates, but it was enough that you subconsciously felt the truth. That she was out there still.”

“Fuck,” I breathed. “Is that why it hurts this much now? After everything she did, is that why I finally feel the pain I should have felt then?”

He wrapped his arms tighter around me. “It will end,” he whispered. “Every day, it will get a little easier, and I will help you through it.”

I nodded, touching his hand. “I’m sorry, Nicolae.”

“For what?” He sounded genuinely confused.

“For killing her. I know why it happened, but I know you still loved her.”

He said nothing for a long time. If he pulled away from me, I would understand. It would kill me, it would hurt worse than the pain and guilt I felt now over Francesca’s death, but I would deserve it and bear it with dignity. Instead, Nicolae turned me to face him, pressing his palm to my neck as he so often did when he wanted my attention. I wasn’t sure if it was simply a wolf gesture or just his need to claim the most vulnerable part of me with his touch, but either way, it made me shiver.

“I love you.” It was the first time he’d said it, but his words were so deliberate and his gaze so full of the echo of them that I couldn’t doubt it. “And she nearly took you from me. I would have killed her myself if you hadn’t, even if she took me down with her. You are my mate, Jack. My destined one. Nothing short of death itself can stand between us, and I’d fight that, too.”

“Destined?” I asked in disbelief.

His gaze softened. “I didn’t think it was possible. In the beginning, I hated you so much that I was able to explain away the intensity with which I was drawn to you. I don’t know how you are an omega, or how you are mine, but the reasons don’t matter.”

“Nicolae—” I began to protest, until he kissed me and I found myself capable of accepting things my stubborn and insecure heart was too fragile to hold on its own. I returned the kiss, fingers brushing over his aquiline features to remind myself of them so I wouldn’t need to open my eyes and break off the kiss. Alone, the intensity of the changes that had come over me were overwhelming and unpleasant, but in his arms, they were new and thrilling and intriguing.

As my heat reignited, I wanted more. I wanted to fully awaken to this state I was so ill-prepared for because I knew he’d keep me safe. Body, soul and mind. The fire of our bond drove out my guilt, my grief and the shame until all that was left was the all-encompassing beast I had fallen for.

He pushed me onto my back and brought his weight down on top of me. I ground against him, no longer caring how needy and desperate I seemed. There was no point hiding the truth, and at least now I knew why I craved him so fiercely. I was his omega, and he was the answer to every question inside me, the cure to every ache and the weakness I’d grown tired of resisting. Even so, his passion energized me and I felt damn near immortal in his arms.

Once more, his teeth scraped my neck and I wanted the bite more than I ever had, even knowing it would kill me. Every caress and nip and growl drove away every last shred of logic. When he kissed me instead, I must have groaned in defeat, because he laughed huskily in my ear.

“I don’t know how I ever doubted what you were,” he remarked, removing our clothes casually like he was plucking the petals on a rose while I kept trying to pull him back for more. I was too feverishly hungry for him to realize that delaying him was only prolonging relief.

“Hold still,” he scolded gently as I guided his hand down to my cock. I needed his touch, even though the brush of his fingertips pushed me dangerously close to an unsatisfying climax. He seemed to notice I was too wound up for direct contact and worked a finger into me instead. That just proved to be another kind of torture, so I grabbed his wrist and made him withdraw. He looked down at me in confusion as I rose up and maneuvered his body back into the same position he’d had me in.

I knew if he was the one taking the lead, he’d insist on preparation I didn’t need, teasing and torturing in his attempt to be gentle. Awareness touched the lust on his face as I straddled him and he propped himself up on his elbows, allowing me to come down onto his cock on my own terms. It hurt so fucking much more than it had before, but the relief of having him inside of me was worth it.

I snapped the tie that bound his hair and watched it unravel against the wine-colored sofa as he gasped from pleasure. Once I finally managed to work his entire shaft into my ass, his nails bit into my sides until they drew blood and as he moaned my name, I kissed him hard to swallow down the sweet sound of it. For once, I was the one who’d taken his breath away and I was never going to get sick of it. I rode him as aggressively as I would fuck anyone else and I realized what it meant to be Alpha and omega in an instinctive understanding that surpassed the language our tongues didn’t have time to form, all tangled with each other.

Nicolae ravished me with his hands and his tongue, and when he flipped our positions to fuck me on my back, I was more than happy to trade the lead. He’d always been somewhat careful with me, and he still was, but there was something different this time. As he thrust into me, his fist tangled in my hair as he bent over my writhing body to kiss my bare neck, it was like he’d finally given himself permission to take what he wanted without worrying he’d break me. To take what I needed so desperately to give him.

His knot inflated against my prostate and my cock shot hot streams of white cum onto his chest. I hoped the neighbors weren’t the shy types because the cries of climax that came out of my mouth were absolutely filthy. Nicolae growled and clutched me to keep me in position as his hips jackhammered into me, his balls striking my quivering ass with each trust. His orgasm infused me with his energy and his scent, and for the first time, I could feel it permeating everything. Claiming me, for him. For my Alpha, my twin flame, my world.

Nicolae shook with release and trapped my body against his as I wrapped myself around him and breathed him in greedily. If it was possible to come again that soon, I would have just from the way he whispered my name, like it held all the meaning of a sonnet.

“That was…” I couldn’t think of the word. It was always amazing, but there was something else this time. Something more that I couldn’t put into words and wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“Yes,” he whispered in agreement, nuzzling my neck. Every time he moved, his knot pressed into the right place and made me tremble.

“Why?”

I knew he understood my question. He kissed me again and touched his lips to my ear. “Because it’s the full moon and, to put it in scientific terms, omegas always get incredibly horny.”

I snorted. “Why didn’t I last time?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s just part of what we’re going to have to figure out.”

His answer satisfied me enough and I relaxed in his arms to enjoy the fulfilling sensation of him inside of me while we were tied. My bliss possessed me and I decided I could live with not knowing the answers right away. Especially if the investigation involved more experiments like this.