daughter.”
Our daughter. Our little spark of life who would never see the sun if I didn’t go through with this.
I let my free hand slide over Annabel’s abdomen before I drew in a breath and nodded. It was as much acceptance as I could muster, but it was enough.
Annabel pressed a kiss to my chest and pulled away. Without releasing her grip on my hand, she turned back around and led me to the others.
“We’re ready,” she said, giving Bjarni a chuckle when he lit up in a wide grin filled with easy excitement and just a touch of heat.
“It’s been weeks,” my brother huffed at Annabel’s amusement. “If you didn’t want me desperate, you shouldn’t have gotten yourself kidnapped, sweetie.”
“Man has a point,” Magni added as he sauntered a step closer. “Even in Hel you make my body yearn, pet.”
“Take it slow,” Saga warned. He was the only one of them who was looking at me rather than our mate, and he wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was evaluating me, gauging the probability of me making good on my threats.
“If we can share her nicely, so can he,” Modi said, impatience coloring his voice. “No one went slow the last time we did this.”
“You and Bjarni weren’t exactly nice about anything at the beginning,” Annabel reminded him, her tone sharp. “And neither were Saga and Magni. Give him some space.”
“He’s had weeks by your side,” Magni protested. “Weeks. You don’t know how bad it’s been, Annabel. I wanted to claw through my own chest every single second of every single day—we all did. I want to tell you how much we’ve missed you, but that word simply isn’t enough to explain…” He trailed off with a grimace as he touched his ribs.
Annabel took a step forward and placed the hand she didn’t have clutched in mine against his chest.
“I do know,” she said. “When it looked like I would never be able to return, I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again. I need you too, Magni. I’m aching for you. But we need to take care of each other, and right now, Grim is struggling. So please, be gentle with him.”
I swallowed a growl and returned Magni’s irritated glare. I didn’t need any of them to be gentle with me. I needed him to get his hands off my mate.
Annabel patted Magni’s chest, drawing his attention from me back to her. She raised up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips that he quickly returned, humming with pleasure.
Anger churned in my gut at the sight of them, but before I could lose myself in it, Annabel pulled on my hand, urging me closer.
Hesitantly I obeyed, until I pressed up against her back.
“Closer, Grim,” Annabel groaned between kisses. “I need you closer.”
I obliged her—I could never deny her my body—and she hummed a happy note as the curve of her ass pressed tight against me and I buried my head in her hair. My hands slipped from hers to her hips, anchoring us both with my grip.
This felt… better. My fury still roiled under the surface, hot and bitter, but Annabel’s closeness kept it in check.
I breathed in against the side of her neck and wished I could smell her before I rubbed my nose along the tendon there, drawing goosebumps along her skin.
Annabel moaned into Magni’s mouth and moved her hips against me, drawing my attention to my already rock-hard dick. How did she do this? How did she make me yearn to be inside her even when she was surrounded by other alphas?
I pushed my contemplations aside and allowed myself to drown in the pulse of desire—forced my mind to focus on nothing but the feeling of my mate against my body and how much I needed her to sate me.
Soft footfalls drew nearer, and through my haze of ever-growing lust, I sensed the others surround us. Hands reached out, touched her, brushed against me in a soothing caress before someone pulled her armor off, letting her breasts spill free.
I drew my hands up from her hips to grab them both, groaning against Annabel’s neck at the soft sensation of them filling my palms.
In front of her, Magni bent and wrapped his lips around one of her nipples, drawing a shuddering gasp from Annabel.
I snarled, fury rising through the haze at the fact he thought I was offering him her breasts, but Annabel reached back to clutch at my