Chapter 60
sixty
“She has a scar here.”
Dair touches Ivy’s wrist, a question lifting his brow.
I’m pretty certain, if I could hear him, he’d be asking, Who do I have to kill?
I nuzzle Ivy’s neck, hiding a smile against her nape. “It’s from a swan. She tried to make friends with it.”
Bast practically whines, “I miss her. And I swear to God, if she begs me to bite her one more time , I might lose it.”
He has a point. Ivy has been just lucid enough to start pleading with us over the last twelve hours. I’m optimistic that means her heat is about to break, but resisting her gets more impossible by the minute.
The truth is, I miss her, too. Desperately. But I also love this time with her—caring for her every need, with nothing to do but touch her and make her feel good. I suspect it’s been healing for all of us after the way this started.
Dair sighs, but the sound is more pensive than impatient. “I’ve been thinking… about the coronation…” He flips his gaze up to mine. “Do you think we could wait? Just a little while… until she feels more ready… and I feel more ready?”
The urge to blink in shock is overwhelming. In ten years, I don’t know if my packmate has ever asked me for anything . He’s complained and insulted and bailed on promises, but I’m fairly sure Dair’s never felt he had the right to make any requests.
Bast clears his throat. “I’ve actually been wondering the same thing. It’s enough for me that Ivy doesn’t feel ready, but if you don’t either, Dair…” He meets my gaze. “Can we wait, Asher? Enjoy some time being newly bonded?”
For once, I don’t feel the need to analyze or overthink. Instead, I nod, deciding, “If that’s what’s best for our pack, that’s what we’ll do.”
I’ve been bred to be king, but as relief darts across Dair’s face and Bast flashes an approving grin, I’ve never felt more like a true leader. Part of me believed I was ready and thought I’d make a decent ruler.
But now I know I will be.
We will be.
It’s Ivy. She’s the one who’s brought us together—to the point where not being bonded to these guys is almost as painful as not being connected to her .
My lips graze her shoulder. I feel how cool her skin has gotten and tuck her closer, soaking in her sweet scent and how she snuggles back into my embrace.
Our mate gives a sleepy hum, rubbing her cheek over my biceps. “Mmm, Ash.”
We all freeze. Bast and Dair’s eyes leap to one another’s faces, then over to mine. Our blond packmate rolls closer, putting himself right in her line of sight.
“Ivy? Angel?”
She makes another quiet thrumming sound. The hand tucked near her chin reaches for him, but the other goes for Dair’s. When she kisses the flower inked on the back of his knuckles, hope swoops through my chest.
That feeling explodes in a burst of true joy when her eyes manage to connect with mine, and a soft, hesitant smile curves her mouth.
“Alpha,” she says, then blinks as if correcting herself. “ Ash .”
“Both, darling. Always your alpha. And always your Ash.” I kiss her temple, scent-marking her there. She whimpers quietly, her belly contracting against the arm I have banded across it.
Fresh perfume and slick fill the space between us as she whimpers, “Want you. Want the bonds.”
Bast shushes her sweetly, bending to run his nose along hers. His blue eyes snap to mine, full of optimism and eagerness. “Can we? Is it time?”
I read about omega heats extensively to prepare for this. Some of it helped—knowing when and how to bark to keep my packmates on track, using my omega’s desire for approval to get her to eat and help keep her clean. But as much as I learned about knowing the right time to bite her and seal our bonds… none of it could have helped.
This feeling? It’s indescribable and undeniable.
And there’s no science in the world that could possibly make sense of it.
This whisper in my soul. The same one I heard all those years ago when I found a girl in a garden. The silence of the world falling away. Until there’s only her and this and us.
“Yes, it’s time.”