Page 199 of Unmarked
“Better than most would,” Theo grins. “You haven’t screamed, tried to jump out a window, or marked anyone with a fork. That’s a win.”
Despite myself, I laugh.
“So: you are real. Rare. And... technically illegal. If you ask the Omega Management Board, anyway.”
I sigh. “Right. Because god forbid I form healthy connections with multiple alphas and don’t die of hormone-related shame.”
Theo’s smile falters. “They’re not going to like this.”
“No shit,” I mutter. “The second someone updates my registry, there’s going to be a full OMB meltdown. Probably with torches. And a very strongly worded press release.”
“We’re working on that,” he says. “I'm pretty sure that Lucian’s already drafting legal contingencies.”
“Lucian? As in, Lucian ‘I Don’t Share’ Vale?”
Theo smiles knowingly.
“Huh,” I say. “Daddy issues: surprisingly useful.”
Theo chuckles, but then sobers. “You’re not just some Omega caught up in heat, Rhea. You’d be the first confirmed rare-pack Omega the OMB will have seen in years - maybedecades.They’re going to fight this. But we’ll fight harder.”
I stare at him. “That’s incredibly romantic for a man holding soup.”
He grins and hands me the bowl. I cradle it like it’s holy.
“God, I forgot how good real food smells. I swear I’ve just been surviving on slick and adrenaline.”
“One spoon at a time,” he says gently.
“Is that your new alpha mantra?”
“It’s my newRheamantra.”
I stir the soup, my throat tight. “So… the bonds are in place now. This is done?”
“Almost.”
I narrow my eyes. “Almost?”
“The bond is emotional. Instinctual. But it’s notclaimedyet.”
I tilt my head. “You mean through a bite.”
He nods. “A claim is physical. A mark. Usually done during or at the end of a heat, when everything aligns - biology, scent, blood. The bond links us, but the markanchorsus.”
“And none of you…?”
“No,” he says firmly. “We haven’t claimed you. None of us would. Not without your full consent. No heat haze. No desperation. No fog. Justyou. Awake. Aware. Choosing.”
“Thank you.”
He nods. “That’s what this is about. Not just the Omega part.You.”
I look at him -reallylook - and feel that bond pulse between us again.
As though his soul is brushing mine, quiet and kind.
“I don’t know what to do with all of you,” I whisper. “I don’t know how to be…this. I want all four of you, and that’s… I don’t know. Bold? Ridiculous? A logistical nightmare?”
