STORY EXCERPT

Being pregnant and without his mates utterly sucked. Adrian didn’t know how he’d once thought he could pull it off, but now that he had his Alphas, he hated their absence with a passion. 

Like he’d been asked to, he’d let Emily and Rachel Noble know that he was now on his own. The two women had shown up mere hours later. Adrian both appreciated their presence and despised it. He didn’t want anyone there, in his space, but he couldn’t pretend it wasn’t necessary, either.

“Come on, Adrian,” Emily coaxed him out of his nest with a platter of delicious cookies. “You need to eat.” 

She sounded disapproving—but then again, she often did as of late. She’d never been very thrilled with his decision to start a relationship with two Alphas who’d basically bought his ability to breed. But she was the only person in his life—other than Max and Bry—he truly trusted, and he couldn’t imagine going through this experience without her by his side.

“Let me check on your temperature,” Mrs. Noble fussed over him. “Are your mating glands swollen? Are you in any pain?”

Adrian wasn’t thankless enough to ignore her, just like he couldn’t ignore his friend. And so he ate, answered Mrs. Noble’s concerned questions, and retreated into his nest, gently petting his belly.

“Be a good boy now,” he told his son. “Your daddies are away, but we’ll wait for them, won’t we?”

His belly fluttered, and sometimes, Adrian imagined that his little love could hear him, and could actually provide an answer. It was just as likely that what he felt was only gastric juices, but hey, Adrian would take what he could get.

In the end, he contented himself with the knowledge that his mates weren’t too far, physically or otherwise. He could still feel them through their bond, and whenever their arousal spiked, that sensation sharpened. He knew what they were doing together—just like he’d known when they’d first entered the rut room—but he wasn’t jealous. It didn’t make him feel abandoned. If anything, it reminded him of everything he had now, of all the emotions that now inexorably bound them. Occasionally, he even came, though in the aftermath, he always felt a little discombobulated, not quite right in his skin.

Perhaps because of that distraction, Adrian didn’t immediately realize the moment the flutter became something more. He was cuddled deep inside his nest, for once alone. Emily was puttering somewhere in the kitchen, presumably trying to make him something to eat. He wasn’t sure where Mrs. Noble had gone, but she likely wasn’t very far.

A wave of heat erupted through him and, at first, Adrian thought it was once again a tug on his bond, something coming from his rutting Alphas. It only took a couple of seconds for him to realize that wasn’t true. The heat seemed to pool deep inside him, and a sharp bite of pain jolted him from within.

Gritting his teeth, Adrian crawled out of his nest. He took a couple of seconds to breathe, waiting to see if the cramp went away. Dr. van der Bilt had warned him that sometimes, these things happened, but as a male Omega, he needed to be far more careful than a woman.

The pain struck again, this time sharper than before. It was only for a second, but his whole lower body seemed to erupt in agony. Adrian cursed under his breath and got up. Okay. So there was a good chance he might be in a labor. It sucked like hell, since he had hoped his mates would be there. Worse still, it was ahead of term, so if Sev was born now, he would be premature. But he wasn’t going to panic, not yet.

Even if he tried to, Adrian couldn’t keep what was going on from his mates. At the other side of their bond, he felt the two Alphas tense even further as they realized something was wrong. 

He tried to send them a wave of calming emotions, and maybe if it would have worked if another surge of pain hadn’t exploded over him. Wetness pooled underneath him, and Adrian shuddered at the surreal, alarming sensation.

Almost instantly, alarms started ringing out through the penthouse. Emily and Rachel came rushing in. Emily gaped at him, losing color so quickly she looked like he’d seen a ghost. “Don’t tell me… You’re in labor?”

Adrian didn’t get the chance to reply, because Rachel pushed Emily aside and kneeled next to Adrian. She was a trained nurse, and part of her purpose here was to keep a personal eye on the progress of his pregnancy. She palmed Adrian’s swollen abdomen, scanned his pupils, and analyzed his mating glands without actually touching them. When she noticed the wetness now staining Adrian’s pants, she pressed her lips together so tightly they went white. “It certainly seems like the baby’s coming. He’s a little early.”

Adrian had been aware of that, of course. He wanted to ask if that would bring problems, but something held him back. He already knew the truth, and he had no desire to hear it from Mrs. Noble’s mouth too.

“I need Max and Bry,” he said instead. “I need them.”

ADULT EXCERPT

When Adrian had first met Max and Bry, he’d been in awe with how well the two of them fit together. Their close bond had filled him with such insecurity he’d never thought they could love him.

Against all odds, they had. And maybe that should have satisfied him. But Adrian was a greedy thing. He wanted to glut himself on his Alphas’ presence, on their touch, on their lust—especially now that they were going away.

Adrian banished the thought, not wanting to dwell on it. Instead, he kept his gaze on Max’s face, wordlessly telling Max what he needed.

That probably wasn’t necessary. Their bond was already burning with Adrian’s want, with the desire they all shared. His pheromones swirled around them and engulfed them like an intoxicating cocoon, and it wasn’t something he could have changed even if he’d wanted to—which he didn’t.

His Alphas started to move in and out of him, seeking their pleasure as much as they did his own. Each of Bry’s thrusts pegged Adrian’s prostate, and when Max fucked his mouth, the fullness alone was enough to drive Adrian to the brink. With his Alphas fucking him so deliciously, Adrian’s mind emptied of anything except the hunger. He focused on the bond, on how deeply it was anchored inside him. Their connection responded, and it reached back, just as hungry as Adrian was.

In front of Adrian, Max buried his hands in his hair and pumped his cock deep, all the way into his throat. Adrian had to breathe through his nose to make sure he wouldn’t choke, but fortunately, he’d had plenty of time to grow accustomed to Max’s girth—and his penchant for oral sex.

Underneath him, Bry groaned and tightened his hold on Adrian’s hips. He remembered himself mere seconds later and loosened his grip slightly, enough that he wouldn’t leave bruises. Adrian would have been annoyed if he hadn’t understood the reason, and if he hadn’t enjoyed his Alphas’ gentleness as much as he did their ownership.

It was a combination that only his Alphas could pull off, and that only Adrian could grasp. He craved their soft affection as much as he did their secret feral nature. And if he could have indulged in it forever, he would have died happy.

A feverish haze descended over him, almost as powerful as his heats. Adrian felt irrationally angry that it wasn’t actually what they were dealing with, that he wouldn’t go into heat and join his Alphas’ ruts. But his resentment over the situation mellowed as his mates claimed him.

Time diluted and melted, seeming to slow down, swirling around them like molasses. It was so easy for Adrian to forget it even existed. The taste of Max’s dick on his tongue and the feel of Bry moving inside him sent him into a world where only his Alphas could touch him. Their bond pulsed so beautiful, so right, as if it had a heartbeat of its own, as if it was alive. Everything wreaked havoc on his body and his mind, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. He met his mates’ passion with his own, impaling himself on Bry’s erection, sucking Max’s cock, welcoming everything they were and always would be.

And throughout it all, Adrian felt the presence of the little being that had brought them together, whether they’d intended it or not. Sev—named after Max’s late uncle Severus—was waiting for them, as much as they were waiting for him. That knowledge was just as powerful as the bond between them, and it stayed with him even as the pleasure spiraled higher and higher, even as Adrian lost himself and became Bry and Max’s Omega alone.

He didn’t know what finally drove him to the brink. Maybe it wasn’t anything in particular. Maybe it was just the built-up of sensation, the constant climb toward something greater that none of them could really fight off. Their bond curled around them, making their feelings feed on each other like an ouroboros. Either way, before long, he was so close to coming he felt like he was losing his mind. And yet, he couldn’t quite find his peak, his body craving his Alphas’ bite so much it refused to compromise.

Bry and Max read Adrian like a book. With him in Bry’s lap, it was easy for Bry to lower his mouth over Adrian’s mating glands and bite down. The moment Bry’s teeth pierced his flesh, white hot pleasure-pain exploded over him. His whole body convulsed, lost in the ecstasy only a claiming bite could induce.

At that point, he completely lost track of what Bry and Max were doing. He was only aware of the pleasure, of the way his nerve endings came alight, rendering him helpless against the onslaught. But maybe he should have paid more attention, because the pleasure he experienced echoed into his Alphas. 

Thrusting one last time inside him, both men fell over the edge. It was a minor miracle that Adrian didn’t black out the sheer intensity of their explosive orgasm, as he felt it through their bond. If he didn’t, it might have been only because Max came in his mouth, and he suddenly found it very important to swallow every drop of his Alpha’s offering.