Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rhea
A sh slips out of me without a sound.
Okay. That’s a lie. He slips out of me with a deeply awkward wet noise that no one warns you about when you sign up to be aggressively knotted by an emotionally repressed ex-military alpha. But still. No words. Just movement.
I flinch as his knot eases free - not because it hurts, but because my body reacts like someone just unplugged something from deep within me without properly ejecting it.
There should’ve been a countdown. A confirmation screen.
Possibly a prayer.
My nerves are live wires. Every inch of me is Too Much. Too awake. Too sensitive. Too... Hi, I just got run over by a truck made of alpha testosterone .
Ash, of course, moves like nothing happened. He dresses the way he does everything: efficiently and clinically, as if he’s mentally checking off a box labeled debrief and retreat .
Shirt. Pants. Boots.
No eye contact. No lingering touch.
He's dressed and halfway out the door before I manage to blink.
And he’s gone.
I don’t call after him. I don’t ask why.
Ash is a soldier. A literal s oldier. His whole personality runs on rules, discipline, and tactical avoidance of emotional vulnerability.
And apparently, also orgasms, which is a cool bonus.
Still, I feel him. His bond hums under my ribs like a well-behaved alarm system: not blaring, not breaking down, just existing.
Watching. Ready.
But also staying politely in its lane.
It’s not alone, though.
There are four bonds coiled around my spine like some very sexy, deeply inconvenient scarf I can’t take off.
Ash’s bond is quiet. Solid. The kind of presence that doesn’t ask anything from you but also doesn’t leave the room.
Lucian’s? Lucian’s is... heavy . Like someone dropped a velvet curtain over my entire nervous system and whispered, you belong to me now . It’s hot and coiled and deeply dramatic. Honestly, very on brand.
Kai’s is chaos. It zings through my blood like espresso shots and bad decisions. Warm. Loud. Probably wearing sunglasses indoors.
And Theo’s... Theo’s is a fireplace. Gentle. Glowing. The kind of bond that doesn’t pull; it wraps . And somehow, even when he’s not here, it feels like he’s holding me together with both hands and a steady heartbeat.
I groan and roll onto my side, limbs aching like I’ve been hit by a truck made of orgasms. My thighs are stuck together, and everything smells like sex, slick, and possibly someone’s expensive cologne.
This is my life now. I’m the girl who bonded four alphas in under twenty-four hours and lived to regret absolutely none of it... yet.
I smell like a very specific sin. My body feels like I got drunk on pheromones and made a bunch of ill-advised, deeply satisfying choices.
And now, I’m lying here marinating in it all.
And the worst part?
I wanted this. I asked for this. Somewhere in the middle of the chaos - between the heat and the instincts and the terrifying tidal wave of want - I reached.
And they reached back.
I didn’t know what to expect - what it would feel like to be tangled up in four different Alphas. It’s weird. Kind of overwhelming. Surreal. Nice , now I’m getting used to it.
A little like floating, a little like drowning, and a lot like knowing you’ve just rewritten the rules of your entire life.
Now I’ve got four bonds, zero pants, and a rapidly approaching existential crisis.
But... I’m okay.
I think.
Probably.
Maybe.
God, I hope Kai brought snacks.
*
I’ve showered. I’m clean. I’ve towel-dried my hair into the kind of chaotic tangle that screams just fought off three alphas and emotional trauma , and I’m back in the world’s fluffiest robe like it’s emotional armor.
I look like a bath bomb personified, and frankly, it’s the most put-together I’ve been in the past week.
Then the door hisses open.
Slower this time. Less dramatic. No Alpha fury storming in to growl over my scent trail or give me an orgasm and a lecture. No. This is… soup energy.
Theo .
I catch his scent before I see him: warm, calm, that gentle spice that always smells like safety and possibly cinnamon tea. He’s holding a tray full of soup, bread, and water.
Practical and perfect.
My stomach growls so loudly it could qualify as a declaration of war, and he smirks like he heard it from the hallway.
Honestly, I’m not even mad he knew I was hungry before I did. That’s kind of his whole thing, isn’t it?
I’m perched on the edge of the bed like I’m starring in the soft-core drama remake of my own meltdown, and he walks in like this isn’t the exact room where I’ve been thoroughly and repeatedly ruined.
No gawking. No tension. Just him.
Just Theo.
He sees me. Not the mess, not the heat, not the knots and the slick and the chaos, but me.
He sets the tray down, slips his hands into his pockets. “Hi.”
“Did you draw the short straw?” I ask, because my defense mechanism is sarcasm and soup shame.
He smiles, slow and sweet. “No. I rigged the draw.”
God help me, I laugh. Like, actually laugh. Even if it comes out more like a wheeze.
“You’re not here to…?”
“Only if you ask,” he says, stepping closer but staying just out of reach. Letting me choose. Always.
I glance toward the door. I can feel them - Ash, Lucian, Kai - moving around the house like territorial cats circling the same warm patch of sun.
They’re not fighting. Not exactly. But they’re… recalibrating.
Orbiting each other now when they never expected to share gravity.
And here I am. The sun. Or the black hole. Depending on the mood.
I reach for the water. My hands shake. Overload, probably. Too many knots, too many bonds, not enough carbs.
Theo watches from the armchair, silent and steady, but there’s something behind his stillness; as if he’s bracing for something.
Or maybe I am.
“This is real now, isn’t it?” I say.
He nods once. “Yeah. It’s real.”
I set the glass down. “If anyone finds out what I am…”
Theo’s jaw tics. “You’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Yes, I am,” I say, way too fast. “I’m unregistered. Unmarked and uncontrolled. I’m breaking, like, twelve laws by breathing in this robe right now.”
“You were surviving . There’s a difference.”
“My survival is a felony, Theo.” I huff. “Fake ID, illegal suppressants, lying to every medical professional since I turned eighteen. Honestly, I’m lucky I haven’t been tackled by an OMB drone in a Rite Aid.”
He frowns. “Why?”
It’s a simple question, and a fair one, too.
I blink down at the water in my hands before I clear my throat.
“My mother…” My voice catches, but I push through. “She was an omega. She was fierce. Smart. And loyal. But when my father died, and she was unmarked again… She didn’t choose the alpha who thought she would be his. She chose someone else. One that loved her - had always loved her, had been kind and sweet to her ever since they were young. But one night, the alpha she didn’t choose, he… he lost it. Snapped.”
Theo inhales deeply, and I push through.
“She didn’t survive.”
I swallow hard, but carry on.
“It wasn't really that much longer before I began to realize what I was. And I swore I’d never let myself be owned like that - that I’d never give anyone the chance to decide I was theirs, only to destroy me for not choosing them back.”
Theo’s gaze remains fixed onto me, but I can’t look at him. I can’t.
“I wandered around for a while, and ended up moving to the city once I turned eighteen. I found a supplier, locked it all down. Told myself I’d fake being beta until I died if I had to.”
He exhales, slow and tight. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” I blink fast. “I lived . I had friends. My own space. A life that was worth something. No being tied down, no giving away my best years, no alpha waiting for me to serve him dinner or carry his pups or beg for his affection.”
Theo doesn’t say anything - he just listens, letting me ramble.
I’ve never told anyone this before, and it feels… good. To get it all out and off my chest.
“I swore I’d never give anyone the power to break me,” I say. “I thought claiming would feel like a cage.”
“And now?”
“Now, I want four of you.” It comes out like a joke, but my voice cracks. “Which, by the way, is absolutely unhinged.”
He doesn’t laugh. Just leans forward a little.
Still steady. Still safe.
“I always thought a bond would erase me,” I admit. “But it’s not like that. It’s… loud . But it’s me. Still me. Just… with backup singers.”
Theo’s mouth twitches. “Your body’s adjusting. It’ll settle.”
“Is this forever?”
“It can be. If you want it.”
I chew on my lip. “And it’s not just heat brain making me want you guys?”
“No,” he says softly. “You reached. We all felt it.”
I blink down at the shimmer still drying on my thighs. The lingering scent of Ash. The ghost of Lucian’s hand at my throat. The echo of Kai’s laugh somewhere in my bones.
It’s a mess. I’m a mess.
And maybe for the first time, that’s okay.
Because it’s mine. All of it. My choice. My chaos. My pack.
Even if I have no idea what I’m doing.
“I didn’t really know what I was choosing.”
He smiles - soft, a little sad. “No one ever does.”
I glance down at myself, still vaguely sticky despite the shower, robe tied like it’s holding my life together, hair drying in a frizz halo because I got cocky and skipped the conditioner step. Again.
And beneath it all, four Alpha bonds pulsing in my bloodstream like I’m running some kind of illegal multi-user emotional VPN.
Honestly? It’s a lot. Like, should’ve-come-with-a-user-manual level a lot.
“But it is a lot,” Theo says, like he read my mind. “Four bonds at once? Most omegas bond one alpha, maybe two if they’re lucky and their nervous systems aren’t made of wet spaghetti.”
“Okay, so it’s not just me,” I say. “It’s weird.”
“Not weird.” He hesitates. “Rare. I think… you might be a rare-pack Omega.”
The words drop like stones.
I blink. “That’s not… real . That’s just something you all say on heat forums to excuse possessiveness.”
“It’s real,” Theo says gently. “Rare. Almost unheard of. But real . An omega born with the capacity to bond with multiple alphas - not just tolerate them, but balance them. Match them. Pull them into a pack that actually works.”
I try to laugh, but it comes out cracked. “You think I’m a fucking unicorn?”
He shrugs, eyes warm. “You’re something. And not because of what you can do - because of how you’ve handled it.”
I meet his gaze.
“You seriously think I’m handling this?”
“Better than most would,” Theo grins. “You haven’t screamed, tried to jump out a window, or marked anyone with a fork. That’s a win.”
Despite myself, I laugh.
“So: you are real. Rare. And... technically illegal. If you ask the Omega Management Board, anyway.”
I sigh. “Right. Because god forbid I form healthy connections with multiple alphas and don’t die of hormone-related shame.”
Theo’s smile falters. “They’re not going to like this.”
“No shit,” I mutter. “The second someone updates my registry, there’s going to be a full OMB meltdown. Probably with torches. And a very strongly worded press release.”
“We’re working on that,” he says. “I'm pretty sure that Lucian’s already drafting legal contingencies.”
“Lucian? As in, Lucian ‘ I Don’t Share ’ Vale?”
Theo smiles knowingly.
“Huh,” I say. “Daddy issues: surprisingly useful.”
Theo chuckles, but then sobers. “You’re not just some Omega caught up in heat, Rhea. You’d be the first confirmed rare-pack Omega the OMB will have seen in years - maybe decades. They’re going to fight this. But we’ll fight harder.”
I stare at him. “That’s incredibly romantic for a man holding soup.”
He grins and hands me the bowl. I cradle it like it’s holy.
“God, I forgot how good real food smells. I swear I’ve just been surviving on slick and adrenaline.”
“One spoon at a time,” he says gently.
“Is that your new alpha mantra?”
“It’s my new Rhea mantra.”
I stir the soup, my throat tight. “So… the bonds are in place now. This is done?”
“Almost.”
I narrow my eyes. “Almost?”
“The bond is emotional. Instinctual. But it’s not claimed yet.”
I tilt my head. “You mean through a bite.”
He nods. “A claim is physical. A mark. Usually done during or at the end of a heat, when everything aligns - biology, scent, blood. The bond links us, but the mark anchors us.”
“And none of you…?”
“No,” he says firmly. “We haven’t claimed you. None of us would. Not without your full consent. No heat haze. No desperation. No fog. Just you . Awake. Aware. Choosing.”
“Thank you.”
He nods. “That’s what this is about. Not just the Omega part. You .”
I look at him - really look - and feel that bond pulse between us again.
As though his soul is brushing mine, quiet and kind.
“I don’t know what to do with all of you,” I whisper. “I don’t know how to be… this . I want all four of you, and that’s… I don’t know. Bold? Ridiculous? A logistical nightmare?”
“Accurate.”
“But also?” I sigh. “It feels like breathing for the first time.”
He sits back, watching me. “You don’t have to figure it all out today. And there’s still time to walk away.”
“Are you trying to scare me off?”
“No,” he says. “I’m making sure you know you still have the choice. You always will.”
For a long moment, silence falls between us. Then -
“I don’t want to walk away,” I tell him.
Theo smiles. “Good. Because we’re going to need you sharp when the OMB inevitably shows up with a clipboard and a superiority complex.”
I groan. “If they make me fill out one of those Omega Behavior Self-Assessment Forms , I swear to god, I’m biting someone.”
“We’ll keep Kai in the hallway. He lives for that kind of chaos.”
“Wonderful. I'll have Distraction Alpha. Backup Alpha. Stoic Alpha. And CEO Alpha with courtroom rage issues.”
“The perfect team,” Theo agrees.
I lift the spoon. “One spoon at a time?”
He nods. “We’ll figure it out.”
“It's weird. They’re all so different,” I say. “ You're all so different. Ash won’t even talk to me about what happened. Kai wants to joke through it. And Lucian…”
Theo’s face tightens. “Lucian’s trying. In his way.”
“He doesn’t want to share me.”
“No.”
“And you do?”
“I want you to be happy, Rhea. ” Theo smiles.
“ If that means sharing, I’ll learn. It might go against all of my instincts, but… so be it. And if that means backing off, I’ll break my own heart for you. That’s what it means to love an omega.”
I look down. “Love?”
Theo shrugs. “I think I already did - before the bond. The moment I laid eyes on you. And the bond… it just made it louder .”
I want to say something. To reach for him.
But I don’t know what I need yet, and Theo - bless him - doesn’t push.
He just stands, nods towards the soup, and smiles softly.
“One spoon at a time.”