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The air changes with every step. It’s heavier. Hotter. Tighter with instinct and heat and history. By the time I reach the center of the room, I feel it: the shift. They’re not just watching me - they’rewaitingfor me. Like I’m the one who gets to decide what happens next.
Kai grins. “So, boss lady. We doing this? Or did you just come down here to dramatically stare into the moonlight like a haunted debutante?”
Lucian growls so low it makes the windows vibrate. Theo pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Kai…”
“I’m just saying,” Kai mutters. “There’s a lot of pressure in the air and no one’s shirtless yet. It’s suspicious.”
I laugh - because I can’t not - and immediately all four of them focus on me again.
“I’m ready,” I say.
The words aren’t loud, but they’re real; and the second they’re out of my mouth, something clicks into place - as though the world just agreed to rearrange around them.
Lucian moves first.
He crosses to me in two steps - graceful and terrifying, like a king deciding he’s ready to kneel. He lifts a hand, slow and deliberate, and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.
“This is permanent,” he murmurs.
“I know.”
His thumb traces the side of my jaw. “We won’t be able to undo this.”
“I don’t want to.”
His eyes flare. He tips his head slightly, just enough to brush his nose against mine, and the scent of him floods my lungs.
The bond hums to life between us again, fierce and molten.
“I tried not to want this,” he says quietly. “But you’re mine, Rhea. You always were.”
I lean into him without meaning to. “Then mark me.”
Silence stretches again - sharp, electric. And then, Kai whistles low.
“You sure you can handle this, Vale?” He flashes a grin at Lucian. “Sharing’s hard. Especially when you've got a whole lot of control issues and a stick up your ass the size of a country club.”
Theo sighs. “Kai, maybe let’s not start the fightbeforewe seal the pack.”
Kai throws his hands up innocently. “Just making sure everybody’s clear on the rules before we start biting each other.”
"You won't need rules when you're unconscious," Ash mutters darkly.
Kai grins. “That’s a different kind of marking, sweetheart.”
Theo sighs again.Loudly. “Can we not make this weird?”
“I think that ship sailed, like, three days ago.”
Lucian growls, but this time, it sounds almost affectionate. Like he’s annoyed, but also sort of impressed.
I just breathe.
Because this is my pack. My mess. My family. Somehow.
And I wouldn’t change a damn thing.
