West cursed softly, his wool and smoke scent gaining an edge of distress. I hated to upset him, but I wouldn’t change my mind.
A ten percent risk of dying was nothing compared to a lifetime with Benjamin haunting me. Even if he was imprisoned in a hole so deep no one would ever find him, I’d never be able to forget him, and he’d always have sway over me.
Until he was dead, he’d never be gone from my life.
“Will you trust me?” I asked in a small voice. “I know it’s a risk for you too, to bond me and then watch me go through the pain of a broken bond. But I’ll fight for you, always. I won’t be in that ten percent.”
West buried his face against the side of my neck, his hold on me tightening. His lips were close to my tainted bondmark, but I found it affected me even less than the last time.
He was my chosen mate; I was convinced he would have been my second chance scent match. One day soon, his markwould be on me too, and I’d have positive memories to erase the trauma of the night I’d been bonded by Benjamin.
Mercer came closer too, laying his hand on my side and pressing his forehead to mine. Conrad came up last, completing my chosen pack by wrapping all three of us in a giant bear hug.
“We’ll do whatever you want, princess,” Conrad claimed.
I clutched his shirt in one hand, my other resting on Mercer’s chest, right over his heart. Tears beaded in the corners of my eyes.
“If that’s what you need to do, I’ll support you,” Mercer agreed in a pained whisper.
West stayed silent, and I leaned more heavily back against him. His scent hadn’t settled yet, still sharper than usual.
“West? If you can’t, I…”
I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. If he couldn’t trust me, what? What was I going to do? A few tears dripped down my cheeks.
“I’ll do anything for you, Talia,” West whispered. “Thought you knew that by now.”
“I’m asking a lot this time.”
“You could never ask too much of me. I’m yours. And I… I trust you to be able to fight for a life with us.”
I gave in to the urge to sob, covering my mouth with my hand. My alphas herded me over to the bed, laying me down on West’s chest with Conrad and Mercer splayed out on either side. I was under a heated blanket of my mates—the perfect place to break down and build myself up again.
Crying my eyes out, I didn’t stop until there were no more tears left to shed. Until I’d felt every emotion under the sun, letting them course through me in all their glory.
I’d even let down my walls a little, allowing Benjamin’s black hole of negativity to creep closer to me. I could handle it. I couldhandlehim, the bondmate I’d never wanted, and I could be strong enough to bring him down.
For my future with my pack, I could do anything.
Focusing on my breathing, I kept each inhale and exhale at a steady rhythm. West matched it, his chest rising and falling beneath me.
“I have something I want to do with you tomorrow,” West mumbled after a while. “Is that OK?”
I rubbed my cheek against his chest, sniffling. “Yes.”
“Leave time for me to steal her away,” Mercer ordered.
“And what about me?” Conrad complained. “Do I not get time with our omega tomorrow?”
I laughed. A full day of activities would be nice. I wouldn’t be able to overthink it, and while I was with each of my mates, the others could go over the plan with Lavinia. “I’ll have time for everyone.”
“I’m first,” West grumbled.
No one denied him the right.
Chapter
Forty-Three
