Surviving?Kendrick asked.
I clawed my way to the surface to answer.Barely.
My body begged to be ruined. I wasn’t so certain it wouldn’t get its wish.
Kendrick’s fangs brushed over my shoulder, sending a thrill down my spine. A desperate need for him to sink his teeth into my skin pounded in my blood. My own teeth burned with the desire to claim him.
I wanted both of them, but even when my brain was mush I knew Caden wouldn’t do it. He’d deny us both to protect me. I loved and hated it in equal measure. He wasmine. He should be in the bond with all the rest of us. His drive to keep me safe outweighed all his desires. Maybe I was selfish for wanting him to cast all that aside and claim me anyway, but I felt it nonetheless. I had wanted him from the start and that wasn’t going away because I had others.
They wereallmine.
My stag moaned, tongue gliding over my throat.I’m going to burst.
Bite me.
You actually want me in the bond with you? Might cause a mutiny.
This ismypack. They’ll learn to love you. We’re in this together, and I want you to be mine, if you’ll have me.
He shivered, lips dancing over where he had been teasing.Pretty bold assumption that Iwouldn’thave you. Fate is fucking weird. I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime already.
I felt the same. I had turned his whole life—alltheir lives—upside down in such a short time, and so many things had happened since my arrival.
Bite.
Omegas first, Kendrick insisted.Show me you mean it, that I’m not imagining you wanting me.
I gave in to the compulsion, my fangs breaking his skin as I latched onto his throat, coming hard in a wave of ecstasy that was only doubled, growing exponentially, when he finally bit me in return. My power crashed up against the symbols containing it. I was going to explode from the pressure, disintegrate in a surge of magic until nothing was left of me or anything else.
“Shit.”
I shrieked as cold water splashed over me. Everyone jolted awake around me and the fog of pleasure cleared to let me see Caden with two empty carafes in his hands.
“I’m so sorry. The blanket started smoking.” He blew out a tired breath. “I think it’s safe to say three new bonds is about all the power those markings can hold back.”
I shivered as Caden withdrew fully, clinging onto Kendrick, my stag locking his arms around me. He shivered too, his eyes squeezed shut. Surprisingly, Yelena was the one to reach out, resting her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around both of us.
“I know,” she whispered. “It will settle. Just breathe and give it time.”
Caden wiped me down with another blanket and stripped out the sodden one beneath us. I caught sight of the scorch marks on it as he tossed it out of the nest.
I purred for Kendrick, using what limited abilities I had to keep him calm while he adjusted to the cacophony of the bond. They weren’t detrimentally loud to me anymore, but I felt all of them, knew their emotions, and whatever thoughts escapedtheir control. Mostly they were happy, but tired, a contentment with an undercurrent of nerves whenever their thoughts flickered back the world we’d been ignoring during my heat.
Hey, roomie.Velda grinned as she crawled toward us, sprawling out on the blankets. She laid her hand over Kendrick’s arm.Bet you never thought we’d be here together.
Kendrick laughed.You weren’t the first person I’d have thought of.
Apologies to everyone for the chaos that is my brain.
It’s not that bad, said Haru.
That’s because I’m fucking exhausted and also touching our girl.
Shhh.My wordless request rippled through the bond, all the noise of everyone muffling as if I had lowered the volume on a speaker.
Whoa. Velda’s eyes widened.That’s a cool power. The bond feels so chill now.
I wasn’t sure how I had done it, but I wasn’t going to complain. Kendrick relaxed, leaning closer to lick over the bondbite he’d just put on my skin.
