Chapter 47

“Iknow we live close, but we do need to go if we don’t want to be late,” I called back into the house.

Bonding right before Ellie’s rehearsal dinner probably wasn’t the best plan, if only because the six of us were so insatiable stopping to breathe was hard.

Other than the moments Isolde called her friends to tell them what happened—and the inevitable happy screaming that followed—one of us had been touching her. It was a need I couldn’t describe, the feeling of wanting her close and safe. When she was in the center of the five of us it felt perfect. Like she was our sun, and we orbited around her.

The forecast for tomorrow and the wedding was perfect. Crystal clear and sunny—the ideal Clarity Coast summer day. But today? Clouds rolled in from over the ocean, painting the day in muted grays. Rain would fall before the day was over. Maybe even a thunderstorm. But quick storms were the norm here in the summer, and I was intrigued by the idea of my Omega in the rain.

My Omega.

It didn’t seem real, but there she was. Her bright spark in the middle of my chest, surrounded by the echoes of the rest of our pack. It was strange being able to feel them for the first time as well, but I liked it. I already knew this would help our communication going forward.

Isolde was so sweet, like a hit of sugar I could keep with me at all times. Right now she was overwhelmingly happy, and we were all going to make sure she stayed that way. She more than deserved it.

“Let’s go, St. James Pack, your chariot awaits.”

Cade came around the corner, smirking. “Blame Vaughn.”

“No, I won’t take the blame here. I blame whoever created the dress she’s wearing. I didn’t know she would have to redo her lipstick entirely.”

Isolde came around the corner, and any thought of blame slid out of my head. She wore a spring green dress that hugged her curves before ending in a flouncy skirt right above her knees. The off-the-shoulder neckline displayed all of our bites like they were jewelry. Her own necklace made of us. She didn’t wear a necklace either, highlighting them. Instead, sparkly earrings dangled and drew even more attention to the bite marks on her neck.

I laughed. “Now I know why you said you won’t have to tell him.”

“Yup.” Her eyes sparkled, and I felt her delight at the vicious bit of satisfaction she was about to have. “This wasn’t what I had planned to wear, but I think it highlights things well enough.”

“More than enough.” I snagged her around the waist as she walked past, holding her against me. For all our sakes, I hoped the rehearsal and dinner didn’t go too long. I needed my Omega underneath me again, my cock sinking into her perfect heat. And again once she was asleep, making sure her body had its fill. “You’re perfect.”

Isolde’s cheeks turned pink in a flush, but I felt how much the compliment sank into her and made her feel so much more than loved. Along with her sensing my desperate need.

“Ready to rehearse?”

“Bet your ass. Especially since Beau is walking me down the aisle.”

I couldn’t stop my growl while I helped her up into the car. “Did we know about that?”

“Ellie dropped that particular bomb at the bachelorette, so probably not. We were busy. But now I can’t wait, if only to rub it in his face.”

Leaning in and kissing her shoulder where I marked it, I savored her shudder. “If he puts his hands on you anywhere other than where it’s necessary to get you to the end of the aisle, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”

“Try to keep his face intact. Five on one isn’t a fair fight, even if he is an ass.”

Cade buckled her seatbelt. “We never promised anything fair when it comes to you.”

Our Omega didn’t hate that idea. She hadn’t been outwardly possessive yet, but I liked knowing she felt like she owned us just as much as we owned her. Any way she wanted to express that was fucking fine with me.

The drive only took a few minutes, and there were nearly as many cars here at the estate as the day we’d arrived.

Sudden nerves danced through my bond with Isolde. Nothing too bad, but I didn’t blame her. Walking into your sister’s wedding rehearsal, bonded, and not having told anyone, was a bold choice. I pushed confidence through to her.

“I need to get used to that,” she muttered, waiting for Vaughn to open her door.

“What?”

“All of you feeling what I’m feeling and then making me feel better.”

Hawk helped her down and made sure she was balanced on her hot-as-fuck high heels. “You do need to get used to it, cause we’re not going to stop.”

Geoffrey opened the door for us, and if I hadn’t been looking for it, I wouldn’t have noticed the slightest freeze when he saw Isolde and her still-healing bites. Then he smiled. “Nice to see you, Miss St. James.”

Her small intake of breath hit me right in the gut. Damn, that sounded good. Isolde’s legal name wouldn’t change unless she wanted it to, it was Geoffrey’s way of letting both her and us know he acknowledged the bond.

“Thank you, Geoffrey. I assume everyone is already outside?”

“They are.”

“Thank you.”

We went straight through the mansion out back. In the days we’d been locked away for the heat, the back of the Caruso estate had been transformed. A giant tent now dominated a large portion of the backyard. Lights were everywhere. Curled around the tent poles and along the walkways—new stone ones that had been laid just for the wedding.

Beyond that, an area down by the beach where the actual wedding would take place. It was clear there would be flowers and decorations here tomorrow, but because of the weather and wind, it was a little bare. The bridal party congregated there, waiting for everything to start. Isolde’s parents too, along with Ellie and Warren.

Here we go.

Ellie spotted us and waved, coming over. We all stood back, watching when she got close enough to see.

The ungodly shriek Ellie released had Warren running and confused when he saw his fiancée hugging Isolde while jumping up and down.

Everyone else converged around her, people offering congratulations. Her parents. Everyone. She was full of joy and surrounded by joy.

Rowan chuckled. “I’m glad Ellie said what she did. Otherwise, I don’t think she would have asked yesterday.”

“No,” I agreed. “Definitely not.”

“I bet the five of you are fucking pleased with yourselves, aren’t you?”

We knew who it was before we turned. Beau stood to the side, having circled around the chaos to get to us. I spotted Angela, still standing among the chairs, looking a bit lost. Beau’s expression was pure poison.

“We are,” Cade said. “Thank you for asking.”

He shook his head, looking away. His eye looked better, the bruise Hawk left turning yellow and nearly healed. I wouldn’t mind adding another one, but we wouldn’t. For now.

The wedding planner started calling everyone forward. We would sit in the audience and watch. Wait.

“I guess I was right about her. A few weeks with you and she commits when she runs away from us after four years? What a fucking joke.”

Shrugging, Vaughn looked at him. “When you know, you know.” He didn’t need to know we were scent matched. It wasn’t his business.

But something nagged my brain.

People were paired off, and the planner searched for Beau. But the bridal party was still messing around while she made sure she had everyone.

“What do you mean you were right about her?” I asked.

The way Beau smiled, my stomach dropped. It was the face of someone who was about to do damage.

Beau sneered at the five of us. “You know who her family is, right? And you probably don’t know mine, but let’s just say we’re equals.”

I struggled with the urge not to roll my eyes. We knew exactly who Beau was. I’d done research on him as soon as I knew Isolde was hiring us to deal with an ex. Yeah, his family was powerful in their own right. Half the population of Clarity could say the same. He wasn’t nearly as special as he believed.

“Beau,” Warren called, tone harsh. “Get your ass over here. The faster we do this, the faster we can get to dinner.”

Beau didn’t move. He remained fixated on us.

“Us together?” He laughed. “I don’t need to explain why that’s a good idea. But her doing this? Choosing you? A pack of nobodies? After all the time I put into her, and still not willing to hear me out? It means I was right. Even with everything a match like ours could bring, she’s not worth the trouble.”

I saw red, my body tightening with the need to defend my Omega. But he just kept fucking going.

“Turns out those years I spent fucking people who actually got off during sex was time well spent.” He snorted and looked at Rowan. “I have no problem pleasing a woman. Ask my fiancée. So enjoy dealing with a cold, broken Omega for the rest of your life.”

“Does Isolde know?” I snarled at him. When we asked her if Beau had cheated she said no, but that had also been before she trusted us completely. I wanted him to confirm it, like the piece of shit he was.

Beau just smirked at me, his answer written all over his face. No. She didn’t fucking know.

Without another word, he turned and went, adjusting the cuffs on his suit as he stepped into place beside Isolde.

Vaughn was ready to lunge. We all were. I placed a hand on his chest. We had to wait. “Fuck me, I want to hit him too, but she can’t find out like this,” I said. It was aimed at Vaughn, but they all heard me.

She deserved to know, and before he started spreading it around just to be an ass. But in the middle of the rehearsal when she was about to walk down the aisle with him wasn’t the time to deliver that news.

“Later,” I said. When we could hold her and comfort her in her grief.

Our Omega didn’t care about her ex. But going from thinking he was an ordinary piece of shit to knowing he’d spent your entire relationship cheating on you wasn’t something easy to hear. It would hurt, and he knew it. It was why he told us. One last parting shot.

Isolde looked over her shoulder and smiled, but even from here I could see her brow furrow. She didn’t understand why we felt like this right now.

“Later,” Hawk ground out.

We moved around the side to where we could sit out of the way. Sit and watch and plan the ways we could smother our Omega in love. And maybe a few ways to bury a body.