When Lexi woke the next morning her mind was a little fuzzy and her body ached as it never had before. The dull throb inside of her between her legs almost matched the steady throb of her pulse in her neck and she carefully lifted her hand to run her fingers over the soreness on the skin there.
She hadn't wanted to wake her mates as they slept peacefully beside her, but the wounds that she could feel on her neck and the dried traces of blood that lay atop the broken skin made her stomach flip uncomfortably.
Had they marked her and she hadn't even realized?!
As much as she wanted to throw their arms away from her and run to the mirror to see what it looked like, she held her temper. Her souls were at peace inside of her and didn't react to her anger at all which meant that this was all her.
Honestly, she felt like crying and she bit her lip as she pushed back the emotions angrily.
Ann had always told her how special and memorable the marking was but she couldn't remember a damn thing about it. The last orgasm had robbed her of her senses completely and the last thing she remembered was the earth shattering orgasm at their hands with Greyson's cock lodged firmly inside of her.
She couldn't help the curve of her lips at the memory of that and the flood of desire that rippled through her as she replayed the scene in her mind only served to widen it, washing the anger away and leaving only a hint of irritation.
"I can hear you thinking from here…" Allen's husky voice came from beside her, still thick with sleep, "Is everything okay?"
Lexi chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully before she answered.
"You marked me…and I don't remember it." she said quietly, "Ann had always said what a wonderful experience it was and I'm a little pissed that I remember nothing."
"As soon as we marked you, you passed out mid orgasm," Allen answered huskily as he planted a kiss on her shoulder.
"But I wanted to remember it." Lexi pouted sullenly as he chuckled at her reaction, gently sliding his hand across her stomach in a soothing motion.
"Lexi, I think you need to understand that when we mark each other, with just one mark you will see stars and it prolongs your climax until you both collapse from exhaustion shortly afterwards…even on she-wolves who are equipped for that." He murmured appeasingly, "But you took two marks at the same time, on top of your fourth orgasm all while Greyson's barbs were speared inside of you."
"Wait..barbs?!" Lexi blinked at him dumbfounded, "I thought you said it was a knot?"
Allen chuckled at the little frown of confusion on her face as he cupped her cheek gently.
"It's the same thing. I'm sorry…we should have told you beforehand but it didn't occur to either of us that you wouldn't know."
"Since when do cocks have fucking barbs on them?!" she breathed as she processed the idea of her pussy being brutalized inside.
Was it going to hurt next time? Had he ruined her?
"Stop panicking," Greysons gruff voice answered as he wrapped his arm around her tighter, "There's no permanent damage and over time, that initial pain that you felt won't hurt at all. You'll be begging for it eventually." He grinned as she swatted at him.
"I won't be begging you for anything." Lexi huffed as she swatted at him and pushed them both away angrily, "Honestly, why are you fucking shifters so protective of your mates if you're just going to sneakily stab them inside with your love sticks?"
She glowered at them both as they snorted at her and failed to suppress the grins on their faces.
"It's not funny! Why is knotting even a thing?" she demanded, trying to wriggle out from between them both but failing miserably as Greyson caught her tightly in his arms and held her over his chest.
Lexi swallowed nervously at the intensity of his gaze, feeling her stomach flip as he thrust his already erect cock to slide it against her folds that were already betraying her arousal.
"You might not beg for it baby, but your pussy knows what your body wants. The next time we fuck you and I finish inside of your soaking pussy after Allen has filled you,, I'll spear you again and lock us together because my cock knows that's the best way to put our pups inside of you." He smirked as his eyes flashed with a feral light.
Lexi stiffened atop him as a mixture of emotions flooded her. Her souls rang with ecstasy at the thought of a child of their own, but there was a small part of her that was terrified at the prospect.
How could they even think about this with Eromaug hanging over their head? She was almost positive that Eromaug wouldn't hesitate to kill any child she bore that wasn't his, whether it was living or still inside of her.
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Greyson frowned at her as his eyes flashed dangerously.
"You don't want our child inside of you?" he asked, his tone almost deadly.
"Greyson, give her a little time.." Allen interrupted helplessly as he felt the mood sour.
"I can answer myself, " Lexi snapped as she fought against Greysons hold on her, "OF course I want children at some point, but do you really think its a good idea to even talk about it while my fucking Uncle still breathes?"
"He won't get anywhere near you…" Greyson snarled, the possessiveness flashing in his eyes as he released his hold on her and she clambered over him and stood at the side of the bed.
"Listen, as much as I love you both and know that you will try your best to protect me, I know his capabilities and it fucking terrifies me that he might take you from me. It fucking terrifies me that if he still ives when we create a child, that he will stop at absolutely fucking nothing to exact a painful death on that innocent life." She hissed, "Can you fucking live with that? Having your heart torn out because of decisions you made even though you knew that it was a dangerous choice? Because I sure as shit know that I can't."
With that she turned and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Greyson exhaled steadily as his fists clenched tightly and he stared at the ceiling as if he could burn a hole through it.
"Smoothly done," Allen snipped as he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched.
"Well…at least she wasn't mad with us for not telling her about the knotting, "Greyson answered dryly.
"No…just the prospect of having children with us." Allen scowled.
Knowing that she had her reasons for not wanting to fall pregnant straight away didn't ease the hurt that pierced both of their hearts and it only made them more determined to wipe Eromaug's existence from the face of the earth.