Chapter 24 Sharon
SHARON
Iwake up first.
Which is honestly wild, because usually I sleep through earthquakes, thunderstorms, and Pine's snoring. But this morning something feels different. Warm. Heavy. Important.
I'm tucked between all three alphas like I'm the center of some very muscular, very protective universe.
Pine is behind me, one arm draped over my waist, his chest pressed to my back like he's guarding me even in his dreams. His breath is slow and even against my neck, and I can smell that pine scent even stronger this close, mixed with sleep and warmth.
Jett is in front of me, curled close, his leg between mine, breath warm against my collarbone.
His hair is a disaster and tickling my chin.
And Cassian is at the foot of the bed, one big hand wrapped around my ankle like even unconscious he's refusing to let me drift too far.
And I just take a second.
To breathe them in.
To feel the weight of them around me, solid and real and here.
To realize that I've never felt safer in my life.
My heart does this stupid soft flip that I refuse to examine too closely.
Cassian is the first one to stir. His eyes open slowly, unfocused at first, then zeroing in on my face like waking up to me is his favorite thing he's ever done. His hand squeezes my ankle gently.
"Hey," he whispers, voice rough from sleep.
"Morning," I whisper back.
He shifts closer, eyes narrowing a little as he studies my face. His thumb rubs a slow circle against my ankle bone. "You're thinking too loud."
I release a shaky breath. Might as well say it.
"I want it," I tell him quietly. "The ceremony today."
Cassian goes very still.
Behind me, Pine wakes like someone flipped a switch with just a soft inhale, then his hand tightens on my waist. His fingers spread wide against my stomach like he's trying to cover as much of me as possible.
Jett lifts his head, hair a mess, eyes sharp and focused instantly. He pulls back just enough to look at me properly.
None of them speak at first.
They just look at me.
Like I've handed them something sacred.
"Sharon," Jett says softly, his voice still scratchy with sleep, "are you sure?"
"I'm sure." My voice doesn't even wobble. "I want to be yours. All the way. No halfway versions."
"Okay," Pine says quietly, still holding me close. His lips brush the back of my neck when he speaks. "I'll make the calls."
"Let's get this show on the road!" The excitement bursts out of me before I can stop it, loud enough that all three of them grin.
I'm so fucking excited. Everything I could ever want and more is happening today.
We drive to a small chapel on the outskirts of Pine Hollow. It’s beautiful and simple, the kind of place that looks like it was built for moments exactly like this. Warm light glows through the windows, and for a second I have to remind myself to breathe.
Inside, familiar faces wait for us.
Xavier is the first to grin and pull all three alphas into a hug like this is the best day of his life.
Logan and Griff are right behind him, offering quiet congratulations and squeezing my hands like they’re welcoming me into some secret club I didn’t know I wanted to join.
Savannah practically bounces toward me, arms wrapped tight around my shoulders before I can say a word, whispering that she’s proud of me and that I look gorgeous.
Jessica hangs back at first, but when she steps forward, she hugs me too, quick and warm, her smile surprisingly soft.
It hits me all at once that they’re here for us. For me. For this pack we’re building.
The officiant, a woman with kind eyes and an expression that says she sees this sort of thing all the time, steps toward us and smiles like she already knows we’re ready.
“Ready?” she asks, and she looks at all four of us as if we’re one unit already.
We take our places. I stand between Pine and Jett, their shoulders brushing mine, steady and grounding. Cassian stands across from me, his gaze locked on mine with so much tenderness it nearly sends my heart into orbit.
My pulse is thundering. I swear the whole chapel might hear it. This is real. This is happening. In a few minutes, I’m going to be officially, legally, permanently bonded to three alphas.
"A pack bonding doesn’t follow the rules of a traditional marriage," the woman explains. "It’s a vow that binds three alphas and one omega into a single unit. Scents merge. Lives merge. The pack becomes the center of everything. It’s a commitment that rises above all others and a promise to put each other first, always. "
She turns to me.
"Sharon, do you choose these three alphas as your bonded pack? Will you stand with them and let them stand with you? Will you honor the bond you're about to create and place your pack at the center of your life, even when it asks more of you than anything else?"
"I do," I say, and my voice is steady even though I'm terrified. "I choose them. I choose this. I choose pack above everything else."
She turns to them one at a time, her expression soft but steady.
“Jett. Pine. Cassian. Do you choose Sharon as your bonded omega? Do you promise to protect her and respect her and love her for the rest of your lives? Do you promise to put her at the center of your choices and your hearts?”
Their answer comes together, perfectly aligned.
“We do.”
The sound of it sends a warm shiver through me. There’s no hesitation in any of their voices, no uncertainty. Just absolute certainty that I belong with them.
The officiant nods once, almost reverently. “Then we make it official. The first bonding bite goes to the primary alpha.” Her gaze settles on Jett. “Would you like to honor Sharon?”
Jett steps forward and gently pulls down my dress collar. He exposes the soft skin where my neck meets my shoulder, the place where my scent is strongest. I can feel him breathing in deeply, inhaling my scent like he's been waiting for this moment since the day he met me.
He leans down, and his teeth find the junction between my neck and collarbone.
The bite is quick and precise, and it doesn't hurt.
It's not supposed to hurt. It's a connection, a claiming, a physical representation of the bond that's about to form.
I feel his bite like electricity through my entire body, like my scent and his scent are literally merging into something new.
When he pulls back, there's a small mark. His mark. The bonding mark. It's going to fade eventually, but right now it's there, and it's his.
Pine goes next. He bites my other shoulder, on the other side. His bite feels different from Jett's. More intense somehow. More possessive. When he pulls back, his mark sits next to Jett's like evidence that I'm theirs. Like evidence that I belong to all three of them.
Cassian is last. He bites my collarbone, right where my dress is starting to expose skin. This bite feels like a promise. Like a completion. Like the final piece of something that was always meant to be. His teeth sink in carefully, and the mark he leaves is right over my heart.
When all three of them have marked me, I feel different. My scent is different. It smells like pack now. Like belonging. Like home.
The woman has us sign paperwork, which is funny because we're about to be legally married to each other, but the paperwork makes it official. We're now a pack. On paper. But also spiritually. Also in every way that matters.
Savannah is sitting for the ceremony, and she stays seated afterward too.
I do not blame her. She still pulls me into a tight hug when I reach her, and I hold on longer than I mean to.
Jessica hugs me next, bright-eyed and trying not to sniffle.
Then Savannah’s pack gathers around me with warm congratulations and the kind of gentle affection that makes my throat tighten all over again.
By the time we step outside, my face is damp and my chest feels too full. I cry a little as we walk to the car. Actually, I cry more than a little, and none of them call me out on it. They just hover close, letting me feel everything.
Climbing into the car feels different now. I am not going home as an omega who is still half-waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am going home as their omega. Mine in name, in scent, in bond. A place I never thought I would reach, wrapped up in three people who choose me again and again.
And it feels like the best part of the entire ceremony.
On the drive home, I can smell them. All three of them. Their scents have permanently mingled with mine, creating something new. Something that's uniquely ours. When I breathe in, I smell cedar and sandalwood and pine mixed with strawberry and honey. I smell like pack. I smell like belonging.
By the time we get back to the house, the last lingering effects of my heat are completely gone. My body has settled. The frantic need has been replaced with something calmer. Something more like contentment and satisfaction.
We order pizza, which seems appropriate given how things started between us. We sit on the couch, and they surround me like I'm the most precious thing they've ever held. Their hands are on me constantly, touching my arm, my hand, my leg. Making sure I'm still here. Making sure this is real.
That night, we go to bed together. Not to have sex, but just to sleep. To be together. To exist in the newness of this bonding. We're all covered in each other's marks, all carrying each other's scents, all permanently linked in ways that go beyond the physical.
"I love you," I say to all of them.
"We love you too," they reply in unison.
Over the next week, I adjust to being bonded. My life has shifted into something I didn't know was possible. I wake up with three alphas. I go to work at the wedding planning office.
Then, I come home to a house that smells like all of us mixed together.
The scents have become so intertwined that I can't separate them anymore.
Pine's sandalwood is mixed with Jett's cedar, which is mixed with Cassian's smoke, which is all mixed with my strawberry and honey. We smell like pack. We smell like home.
The bonding marks fade to silvery scars over the week. I wear them proudly. They're evidence that I belong to someone. That I'm loved. That I'm no longer alone.
Tangle Peak's wedding is only one week away now. The flowers are finalized. The cake is ordered. The seating arrangements are perfect. Jessica and I have worked through every detail, and everything is on track for the wedding of the year.
And I'm happy. Because this happiness isn't dependent on one person's presence or absence. It's dependent on three people who chose me. Three people who love me.
Thank you, universe for the peace in my heart, for the first time in my life.