Chapter 25 #2
Rack barked out a real laugh this time, shaking his head while we stood there, grinning like absolute psychopaths over the fact that we hadn’t murdered each other yet. Honestly, surviving the last few weeks without coming to blows was probably proof enough on its own.
“Come on.” Rack stepped closer and clapped a hand onto my shoulder, tipping his head toward the exit. “Clean-up’s already coming for him.” He threw his head toward Manshu’s husk. “Let’s get home before she wakes up.”
“Yeah.” I immediately shrugged his hand off with a look of disgust. “I love you, dude, but I don’t feel for you in that way.”
His laugh echoed through the room as he walked ahead of me. “You’ll share a woman with me, but touching your shoulder crosses the line?” He glanced back, still laughing under his breath. “Fucking psycho.”
***
Rack peeled the car away from the track the second I ducked into the backseat with Via in my arms. Behind us, the crowd poured out of the stadium entrance in loud waves, but the tinted windows and roaring engine cut most of it off until it sounded distant and unimportant.
Via rested limp against my chest while I stared down at her, unable to stop the smile tugging at my mouth.
Lately, everything had felt like it was pressing down on me. The blade. The Syndicate. The weight of being the one everyone expected answers from. Then Via crashed into my life like a meteor, and she was… Beautiful. Violent. Complicated.
Every emotion inside me had been clawing in different directions ever since, but now? Now, something inside me finally felt… lighter. Like I could breathe again. Like the version of myself everyone used to know wasn’t gone after all.
The car rolled into the garage, and the second the engine died, Via stirred. Her lashes fluttered before her eyes slowly cracked open. Confusion crossed her face first, then heat flooded her cheeks the moment she realized she was sprawled across my lap.
Her gaze dropped downward, and she immediately folded inward on herself, one arm flying across her chest while she squeezed her thighs together and twisted sideways like she could somehow hide her nakedness all at once.
“C-Calix…”
The embarrassed stammer barely got out before I leaned forward and lightly bumped my nose against hers.
“You don’t have to hide from us.” My hand brushed teasingly at the arm covering her chest. “You have a gorgeous body.” My eyes flicked toward Rack in the front seat before settling back on her. “And when it’s just you and your mates…” My grin widened. “You can show us whatever you want.”
Her entire face short-circuited. “M-mates?”
“Calix.” Rack’s voice carried that calm warning tone he used whenever I was being unbearable. “We agreed we’d explain after we got to the house.”
I spread my hands dramatically. “We are at the house. The garage counts as part of the house.”
Rack rolled his eyes so hard I thought he might actually injure himself. “You know exactly what I meant.”
“I know what you meant,” I shot back immediately, lifting my chin. Via tried to slide off my lap, but I tightened my hold and pulled her back against me without breaking eye contact with him. “But what was I supposed to do? Sit there and suffer silently?”
He pointed toward the door with sharp annoyance. “You couldn’t wait ten more steps?”
I looked toward the door like I was genuinely considering the distance before turning back to him in horror. “That far? Absolutely not. That’s basically torture.”
Rack climbed out of the car, muttering under his breath, but he opened the car door for me so I could carry Via into the house.
“And don’t act like it would’ve stopped there,” I continued loudly. “You would’ve wanted to get her upstairs first, then a bath, then some overly emotional quiet moment while steam filled the room and—”
Rack’s mouth twitched. Just once. I knew it!
“While this is very entertaining…” Via interrupted, her voice dry despite the pink still staining her cheeks. “I would actually like to know what’s happening.”
I looked down at her with a grin, pleased that we were so similar. “Of course you do. It only makes perfect sense.”
Kissing her forehead, I shot Rack the most obnoxious look possible. He only sighed like he regretted every life choice that had brought him here.
Before he could say anything else, I blurred into motion and carried her inside.
I dropped onto the couch with her still in my arms while she glanced down at herself, blinking. “Wait… Didn’t I have blood all over me?”
Without answering, I zipped upstairs and back down again fast enough to stir the air. I dropped a shirt and shorts beside her.
“I personally think this conversation would benefit from less clothing,” I announced while she snatched the clothes at lightning speed. “But Rack informed me normal people enjoy comfort and dignity.”
From the doorway, Rack closed the front door with a soft click and deadpanned, “You’re exhausting.”
“Yes,” Via immediately answered while yanking the shirt over her head in record time. “I would prefer clothes.” Then she pointed accusingly at me. “You’re wearing some.”
Wiggling my brows at her, my fingers hooked beneath the hem of my shirt. “I can fix that.”
Her laugh burst out before she could stop it, bright and helpless. She pointed firmly at the couch. “Sit down. Right now.”
Still grinning, I obeyed and dropped beside her. Everything inside me felt strangely buoyant. Loose. Happy.
“So,” she said carefully, looking between us, “explain what you meant by mates.”
Rack finally sat beside her, calm as ever, though I caught the tiny curve threatening at the corner of his mouth. He pulled a mirror from the table and held it up to her neck.
She looked down, and the second she saw the mark on her neck, she gasped softly and grabbed the mirror from him. Her fingertips carefully traced over the crown.
A tiny pulse tugged through the bond the moment she touched it, and her eyes flew straight to me.
I smiled slowly. “Yeah. That one’s mine.” Before I could explain further, she pointed sharply at my neck.
“When did that happen?” Her eyes narrowed. “That rose tattoo definitely wasn’t there before the race.”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it. I’d completely forgotten the mark had taken the shape of a rose. A vicious one too, wrapped in thorns thick enough to draw blood. Fitting for my mate, really.
“That tattoo?” I absently rubbed at the marking on my neck, feeling the faint pulse of magic beneath my fingertips. “I got it when we first became bosses.”
Via’s attention stayed fixed on it while I continued.
“It’s a mate-blocker tattoo. I had it done after what happened with Valentina. You remember what I told you?”
Recognition flickered across her face instantly. Her jaw tightened just slightly before she gave a short nod. I couldn’t tell if she hated hearing my ex’s name or hated the woman herself more, but either way, the reaction sent a sharp pulse of satisfaction through me.
“In that moment of weakness, I convinced myself I didn’t need a mate. Deep down, I didn’t think my mate even existed…” My voice lowered as I looked directly at her. “Not yet, I guess.”
Rack’s calm voice cut through the room. “Show her your back.”
Via immediately turned toward me with fresh curiosity burning across her face, so I tugged my shirt off and tossed it aside. The second I did, I felt her stare drag slowly down my body. I could feel the blood rushing down to my dick, so I turned before I did something about it.
A soft gasp escaped her.
Behind me, Rack’s voice stayed maddeningly composed. “That rose mark is yours, Olivia. It appeared after the mate-blocker broke.”
I could hear her moving before I felt her. Slow, hesitant footsteps crossed the room until she stopped right behind me, her finger hovering faintly near my skin.
Smirking, I deliberately leaned backward until her fingertips brushed the mark and we both inhaled sharply at the same time.
Pleasure shot through the bond like lightning striking exposed nerves. It ricocheted between us so fast I couldn’t tell what feelings belonged to me and what belonged to her anymore.
“Oh my god…” Her voice came out breathless. “I can feel you… inside me.”
I turned my head just enough to shoot her a wicked grin. “And that definitely won’t be the last time, little Via.”
Her eyes widened before her palm smacked against my back. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
I laughed under my breath, still feeling weirdly content.
She really was a mix of both of us. My chaos. Rack’s steadiness. Somehow perfectly balanced in a way that made everything inside me settle.
“I showed her mine,” I said, nodding toward Rack. “Now you show her yours.”
Via’s head whipped toward him so fast her hair swung over her shoulder, and Rack actually flushed.
He shot me the driest glare imaginable before sighing and pulling his shirt over his head. He turned around slower than I had, shoulders stiff like he already knew I was never letting him live this down.
The moment Via touched the rose mark between his shoulders, a long breath left him. Deep, full of relief, like he’d been holding it in for days, and maybe he had.
Via swayed where she stood, her lashes fluttering while heat spread across her cheeks. I could feel the bond surging between them now too, growing stronger and stronger as her body tried to process all three connections at once.
Then her knees began to buckle, and I moved immediately, catching her before she hit the floor and guiding her back onto the couch.
“Easy,” I murmured while steadying her. “Feeling the bond for the first time can be overwhelming for turned supes. Your body isn’t used to cycling that much magic yet.”
Her breathing came faster while her eyes darted between us. “I could feel both of you.” Her voice trembled slightly. “Your emotions… everything.”
I reached inward and shut down my side of the bond. The reaction was instant. Her breathing eased slightly, though confusion pinched her brows as she looked at me.
“I closed the connection.”
Her hand grabbed mine immediately, squeezing hard enough to hurt. The sudden fear in her expression hit me right in the chest.
I leaned forward and softly kissed beneath her eye. “Hey. It’s still there.” Another kiss against her cheek. “I can open it anytime you want.”
Her grip loosened just slightly while I brushed my thumb across her knuckles. “The bond doesn’t disappear. Not unless one of us dies.”
Before she could spiral further, Rack effortlessly scooped her into his lap, one arm wrapping securely around her waist.
“But that’s not happening,” he said calmly against her hair. “Calix and I are both extremely difficult to kill.”
That earned the tiniest breath of a laugh from her, and the room finally relaxed. I looked around, realizing how exhausted all three of us looked.
“Well,” I announced, clapping my hands together once, “this day has been insane.”
Via blinked up at me.
“I think the solution is obvious.” I pointed dramatically toward the kitchen. “How about some ice cream? Sugar always helps the soul.”
Her head snapped up, the fearful look in her eyes vanishing fast enough to make me grin. “What flavor do you have?”
I pressed a thoughtful hand to my chin. “Personally, I’m a pecan swirl with blood capsules kind of man.” I pointed toward Rack. “He likes chocolate because he’s tragically boring.”
Rack deadpanned, “Vanilla is boring. Chocolate is respectable.”
Via looked between us slowly before biting back a smile. “Can I have both?”
That hit me directly in the soul, and my grin spread wide. “Both?” I pointed at her approvingly. “See? She’s brilliant.”
I blurred toward the kitchen, tossing words over my shoulder as I went. “Rack, put on a movie. Something Via wants. Tonight feels like a cuddle-on-the-couch kind of night.”
When I glanced back, Via was smiling at me softly from Rack’s lap, her arms around him tight.
The look hit me hard enough I actually grabbed my chest.
Yep. I was a goner, and I was absolutely going to be the best mate possible.
And honestly? I was only competing with one other guy. My dads had it way harder with their ridiculous situation, which meant my odds were fantastic.