God, I love this woman.
"You'll like this one," she promises, then softer, "Trust me?"
And just like that, the fight goes out of me. Because I do trust her. Completely. This woman who walked into my life through a dating app mishap that turned out to be my luckiest break and somehow became the center of everything.
"Always," I tell her, meaning it.
"Good." She kisses me again, quick and sweet. "Because we're going to show everyone that The Brick belongs on that ice, omega or not."
"Our omega," Zayn corrects, and there's fierceness in his voice. "They come after one of us, they get all of us."
The others make sounds of agreement, and I have to look away because my eyes are doing something suspicious. Probably the suppressants. Definitely not emotions or anything.
"Speaking of pack," I say, once I'm sure my voice won't betray me. "There's something else I want to talk about. While we're all here."
The atmosphere shifts, everyone picking up on the change in my tone. Lexie settles beside me on the couch, close enough that our thighs touch. The others arrange themselves around us.
"What's on your mind?" Jax asks, growing serious.
I take a breath, trying to organize thoughts that have been spinning in my head since Vancouver. Since before that, really, if I'm being honest.
"I want us to make it official," I say finally. "All of us. As a pack."
"We are a pack," Aidan points out, looking confused.
"No, I mean..." Fuck, why is this so hard to say? "I want you to mark me. And I want us to mark Lexie. Properly. Binding us all together."
The silence that follows is deafening. I can hear my own heartbeat, rabbit-quick and too loud. Lexie's hand has gone still in mine, and I can't bring myself to look at her. What if it's too soon? What if she's not ready for anything so permanent? What if?—
"Darren," she says, and her voice sounds strange. Shocked, maybe. Or worse, scared.
I force myself to meet her eyes, bracing for rejection. "If you're ready," I add quickly. "No pressure. I know it's a big step and we've only been together a few months and maybe you need more time to?—"
She presses her finger to my lips, cutting off my rambling. Her eyes are wide, but the wonder in them is genuine.
"Are you seriously asking me to let you mark me?" she asks. "To officially join your pack? Permanently?"
I nod, not trusting my voice. I'm pretty sure everyone in the room can smell my anxiety despite the suppressants. I've never been this nervous before a game, or anything else. Then again, the stakes have never been as high as losing her.
She stares at me for another endless moment. Then, just when I'm about to take it all back, pretend I never said anything, her face breaks into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
But she doesn't say anything. Just sits there smiling while my heart tries to explode.
"Lexie?" I manage. "Is that a yes or…?”
Chapter
Forty-Four
LEXIE
"Lexie?" Darren asks warily. "Is that a yes or…?”
The smile on my face feels frozen in place, like my brain short-circuited and left my facial muscles stuck on "holy fucking shit" mode. Darren's looking at me with those blue eyes full of hope and terror, and I realize I've been sitting here gaping like an idiot for way too long.
"Yes," I finally manage, my voice coming out breathier than intended. "Gods, yes. I want that. I want you to mark me. All of you."
The relief that washes over Darren's face is almost comical. He looks like someone just told him Christmas came early and brought a Stanley Cup with it. "Really? You're sure?"
