“I’m worried about you too, Theo,” she whispered.
He just stared back at her like he was going to demand she prove it, but then he seemed to shrug off the compulsion, shaking out his arms until his talons retreated into blood-stained nails. Despite the situation, Moses felt a pang of pride. The sheer amount of effort it took to pull back from the brink like that was unbelievable, but there wasn’t a single line of strain on Theodore’s face.
“A safe word is necessary for playing with half-bonded or fully bonded Alphas.” Kalen drew the attention of the room easily as he surveyed them. “Regardless of personal tastes and proclivities, we tend to be aggressive when our emotions are heightened, and where bonds are concerned, mated Alphas are known to be dangerously territorial and possessive. If I had foreseen …” He paused for a moment, his discerning gaze landing on Cian. “Things progressing so suddenly, I would have arranged to speak with Isobel privately so that she could be better prepared.”
“It really wasn’t that shocking,” Isobel murmured weakly, her cheeks stained bright red.
She had found a seat close to the window, as far as she could get from all of them. Niko and Kilian were closest to her, both of them angled toward the other Alphas as though they might need to jump up and protect her.
“You quite literally went into shock afterwards,” Moses snapped, immediately regretting his sharp tone … but she didn’t glare at him or tense her posture. She just tossed him a quiet, thoughtful look. Which was so much worse. It made him feel like she was peering right through him, tasting his emotions, and silently categorising his thoughts. He did a quick mental check to see what he was putting out there, but he wasn’t feeling anything too serious or embarrassing.
Maybe he was in shock as well.
“A safe word is non-negotiable,” Mikel rumbled. “I suggest the traffic light system. Green for when you’re good, yellow for when you’re nearing your limit, and red to stop everything immediately, without repercussions. How does that sound?”
“G-Good. Green?”
Mikel and Kalen both smiled, Mikel flexing his hands like he suddenly wanted to grab her and squeeze her cheeks and say that she was disgustingly adorable, using her safe word in normal conversation. Or maybe Moses was projecting.
Ugh, he made himself want to vomit.
“I have a rule of my own,” Kalen announced, causing Isobel’s brows to jump up in surprise. He continued, “I know Cian and Moses, and even while Moses might not be the friendliest Alpha, neither of them would treat you badly after a sexual encounter, which means you robbed them of the ability to give you the proper aftercare you needed.” His voice grew softer, more like a gravelled purr. “You ran to the climbing room because I take care of you in there, isn’t that right, princess?”
Isobel nodded, looking both entranced and confused.
“Cian and Moses would have taken care of you in the same way, isn’t that right?” His amber eyes were suddenly boring into Moses and Cian.
“Obviously.” Cian spoke lowly, the blood finally ceasing its attempts to escape his fingers. He was the only one, other than Kilian and Oscar, who didn’t seem to have calmed down at least a little bit.
Oscar was frightfully quiet, like a predator stalking along the edges of a battlefield, waiting for them all to wear each other down before he pounced and feasted. Kilian just seemed generally unhappy with everything that was happening.
They were all watching him, Moses realised. Waiting for his answer. “I think Cian cared more than I did about that,” he admitted. “I would have taken care of her, but I think he needed to.”
“Aftercare is important for both parties,” Mikel agreed quietly.
“Let’s make things perfectly clear.” Kalen sighed, like he hated what he was about to say. “If you’re going to play hard,” he was directing his words to Isobel, who swallowed, “then you’re going to crash hard. Nobody is allowed to touch you until you can assure us that you won’t be running away from aftercare and won’t bury your own needs. It’s not safe. If you’re willing to ignore your needs afterwards, then you might also ignore your needs during and refrain from using your safe word, which is unacceptable.”
He watched her like he was waiting for her to verbally agree, but she seemed too overwhelmed.
“Nod if you understand,” Mikel spoke up, and she quickly jerked her head up and down a few times.
“Good.” Mikel stopped by her chair, his hand landing on top of her head. He bent closer to her, whispering something that sounded like brave girl. She closed her eyes, a slight tremor travelling through her body that made Moses want to toss her over the nearest table and aggressively interrogate her until he knew every single word that made her tremble like that.
His feelings were getting out of hand. Was this what Theodore felt like? It was impossible to tell with his brother. Oscar definitely felt it. It was written into every crease around his frowning mouth as dark eyes tracked anyone who even blinked in Isobel’s direction. And the others?
He swallowed back a frustrated groan, scrubbing a hand down his face. This was impossible. He needed to get a handle on it. They couldn’t all have her—and if she was going to choose any of them, it wasn’t going to be him. It was going to be his brother. Even though Moses kissed her first.
And an inch of his cock was inside her first.
Yeah, nice one, dickhead. Because that counts.
He had no chance. She didn’t want him to be her first kiss and the fact that he almost lost both their virginities in a closet in the back of a full classroom was exactly why she was going to pick Theodore.
Or anyone else.
Hell, she would probably pick Mikel before she picked Moses.
16
The Guilty Finger Points First
Isobel slipped out from beneath Mikel’s steadying touch, approaching Cian. He watched with a heavy, guarded stare that made her want to turn tail and run again, but she forced herself to step between his legs as he shifted upright, his eyes flicking over her face in question.
The wounds on his neck were now just red lines, but blood was soaking his shirt, so she kept her chest away from his as she wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes fluttering closed as his scent washed over her, still mixed with her own heady syrup.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
He gripped her hips, and Isobel stiffened, swallowing back a whimper as her body chose that moment to recall the feeling of him and Moses forcing her down over the crystal by her hips. A gravelled sound vibrated out of Cian’s chest, and she quickly skipped away, hurrying over to Moses. She fell clumsily into him more than anything, but he caught her easily, standing as she reached his chair.
He had said that Cian was the one who needed to take care of her, but he pulled her tight against his body, bowing her back slightly as he inhaled deeply against her neck, his hands tight on her waist.
“Forgiven,” he rumbled. “But just this once.”
She pulled back, giving him a searching look, which he turned away from. She didn’t understand him at all.
“Well …” Mikel cleared his throat. “It looks like my session is over. Does anyone have a change of shirt for Cian? He can’t leave looking like that.”