Chapter 196: I Didn’t Collect Anyone!
"But still, I want to thank you," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, laced with the gratitude I’d been holding back.
"You want to thank me?" Lily echoed, her lips curling into a predatory smirk. She rose from her seat with deliberate grace, her alpha presence filling the room like a storm cloud. She sauntered toward me, hips swaying, until she loomed over my chair.
Her hands gripped the armrests on either side, caging me in. Heat radiated from her body, her scent—rich, musky, and intoxicatingly dominant—washing over me. I felt my cheeks burn as I averted my eyes, staring at the floor to escape the pull of her gaze.
She wasn’t having it. Her fingers caught my jaw in a firm pinch, tilting my face up to meet her eyes—those piercing amber depths that promised both salvation and ruin.
"Look at me," she murmured, her breath hot against my skin.
Instinct kicked in. I shoved her away with trembling hands and bolted to my feet, heart pounding like a war drum. "What do you want from me?"
"I want my reward from the omega I saved—not just two times, but three." Her voice dropped low, a velvet growl that sent shivers racing down my spine.
"Three?!" The word escaped me in a gasp, disbelief twisting my gut.
"I’m one of the compatible alphas who donated my pheromones for you," she revealed, stepping closer, her confession hanging heavy in the air like a claim already staked.
"What?!" My mind reeled. Those treatments, the haze of relief they’d brought during my heats—her essence had been woven into me all along? Betrayal and desire warred inside me, making my knees weak.
In a blur, she closed the distance. Her body slammed mine against the cold wall, the impact jarring a yelp from my throat. She buried her face in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply—long, deliberate drags that made my skin prickle.
Her eyes locked onto mine, dark and possessive, pupils blown wide with hunger.
"Mine," she rumbled, her pheromones flooding the space, thick and commanding, forcing my omega instincts to submit even as I fought them.
"Why are you running?" she demanded, her grip iron on my wrists, pinning them above my head.
"Me? I... I-I’m not... r-running, Lily..." The lie stuttered out, weak and unconvincing, as my body betrayed me—traitorous heat pooling low in my belly.
"Then why won’t you let me mark you?" Her free hand traced my collarbone, nails grazing just enough to tease.
"No!!" Panic surged, but it tangled with longing, my voice cracking.
"Why shouldn’t I mark you?" She leaned in closer, lips brushing my ear, her breath a torment.
"Because you don’t like me..." The words tumbled out, raw and vulnerable—the fear I’d buried since she first saved me.
"Oh?" A dark chuckle vibrated against my throat.
Without warning, without mercy, her fangs pierced my nape. Pain exploded—sharp, searing, like fire lancing through my veins—but it melted into a wave of ecstasy, my body arching involuntarily.
I moaned, the sound torn from deep within, muffled against her shoulder as she held me crushed to her chest. Her arms banded around me like steel, possessive and unyielding, her pheromones surging to seal the bond. Am I going to be marked again? The thought flickered through the haze, terror and thrill blurring into one.
"P-people... a-are going to h-hear..." I gasped, glancing toward the door, voices echoing faintly from the hall beyond.
"Let them," she snarled, her tongue lapping at the fresh bite, soothing the sting even as the mark throbbed with her claim. "Let them all know you’re mine now."
"Will you fuck me?" The words slipped out in a breathless rush, my body still humming from the fresh mark, traitorous need overriding my fear.
"You want me to knot you?" Lily’s voice was a husky purr, her fangs grazing my earlobe as she pressed her hips against mine, letting me feel the hard evidence of her arousal.
I hesitated, my hand instinctively drifting to my still-flat belly. "I... I’m pregnant."
Her eyes widened a fraction, the feral hunger in them softening—just for a heartbeat—as her iron grip eased into something almost gentle.
She pulled back slightly, searching my face, her thumb brushing my cheek. "How long?"
"Almost two months," I whispered, the confession hanging between us like a fragile thread. The uncertainty twisted inside me, mingling with the ache of the bond now searing my nape.
"Oh." The syllable was soft, loaded with surprise and something deeper—possession flaring anew, now laced with protectiveness. Her hand slid down to splay over my abdomen, warm and reverent, as if claiming the life there too.
Heat flushed through me despite everything, my omega instincts craving her despite the risks. "So... do you want to knot me now?"
Lily’s lips curved into a wicked smirk, her eyes darkening with renewed fire. She scooped me up effortlessly, my legs wrapping around her waist on instinct as she carried me toward the table.
"I will," she growled, laying me down with surprising care before looming over me, shedding clothes with impatient efficiency. "Gently at first—for you. Then? I’ll knot you so deep you’ll never doubt who you belong to."
She eased me onto the table with surprising care, her hands steady at my waist before she stepped back just enough to look at me properly. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was calm when she asked, "How many alphas do you currently have?"
I blinked at her, still trying to gather my thoughts. "Five of them."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were doing the count in her head. "You have five alphas with you."
I lifted my chin, defensive more than anything else. "That’s including you."
The air between us shifted for a moment, the kind of pause that made it obvious she had not expected the answer to come so quickly. Her mouth curved faintly, not quite a smile, but close enough to make my stomach do something strange. She looked amused, maybe even a little impressed, though she did not say so right away.
"Then you’ve been busy," she said at last, her tone dry but not unkind.
I frowned. "That is not what I meant."
"No?" She tilted her head, studying me as if I were something she was still trying to figure out. "Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like you have a whole collection of alphas circling you."
I crossed my arms, though the position was difficult while sitting on the table and trying to look intimidating at the same time. "I didn’t collect anyone."
"You didn’t deny it very strongly," she replied.
That made me glare at her, but the glare lacked conviction. Too much had happened, too much had changed, and there was no easy way to explain how one moment of chaos had turned into this strange, complicated little group around me.
They were protective, overbearing, jealous sometimes, and exhausting almost always—but they were mine in the only way that seemed to matter now. And somehow, saying that out loud felt far more dangerous than admitting I had five alphas to count.
