Chapter Twenty-Eight
Saoirse
The clock blinked at me, as if the power had gone out at some point. My phone lay on the nightstand, charging. So was Dusty’s.
Texts filled my phone–especially from my brother. I’d deal with that later. It was also early. I’d receive alerts about the weather. Oh, there’d been a bad storm.
My head pounded. We’d partied hard, gotten snowed in, and continued the party? That’s all that made sense.
My cousin had sent a text of our hit’s widow crying and an assurance that everything was taken care of.
A text from Finn Gallagher made me frown. He seldom texted me.
Finn
Where is my daughter? What is going on? Is it the snow? She’s not texting me back and I’m worried.
What? I sat up and realized I was in Fiona’s bed in the villa. With Dusty.
Bits of things came back to me. The festival. Partying with Dusty. Snow. Fucking Dusty. Fiona going into heat.
Fiona went into heat?
Oh, that would do it. If it came on suddenly, we probably wouldn’t have texted her fathers about a change in plans.
What day was it?
The twenty-eighth? Very short for a heat, but considering we were supposed to return yesterday, I could see why he was worried.
Was she still in heat? This could be a lull.
Why couldn’t I remember anything? A glass of water sat on the nightstand and I downed it. I should look for some pain relievers. First, I texted Finn.
Me
We were delayed due to the storm, which also caused communication issues. We’ll return as soon as we can and I’ll keep you updated.
There. Not sure Fiona would appreciate me telling her dads that she went into heat.
The twenty-eighth. Carlos had a game tonight. Shite. Could we make it back in time? Were planes even flying?
The door opened and Fiona came in.
“Breakfast is ready.” Fiona looked over at Dusty and smirked.
“That sounds good. What do you remember?” I asked softly.
She frowned. “We drank too much and had a sex party. Now I feel worse than hungover.”
Coming over to the bed, she flopped on top of me. I stroked her hair.
“The guys don’t remember shit, either. I guess we’ll try to piece it together over breakfast.” Giving me a kiss, she left the room.
Getting out of bed, I used the bathroom. I glanced at myself in the mirror. My body was marked up, and my hair was a mess. I’d really like a shower. But, if breakfast was ready I should go down. I put on some clothes.
“Get up. It’s time for food.” I shoved Dusty.
There was a big pile of sheets on the floor. The bed didn’t have all the blankets on it that I remembered, just a thin blanket, sheets, and two pillows.
He opened his eyes. “Hi. That is you, right, Mi Cielo?”
“It is.” I looked over at the nightstand. No glasses. “Let me see if your glasses are in the bunkroom.”
I went into the bunkroom which was a mess. The mattresses were missing, as were the pillows and blankets. I found Dusty’s glasses and a pair of PJ pants for him.
When I came back into the room, Dusty was staggering out of the bathroom. He pushed me down on the bed, and I tried to keep his glasses from getting smooshed.
“Hi.” He gave me this look that just… melted me.
I put his glasses on his face. “Breakfast is ready. Also, it’s the twenty-eighth. Are we squatting? Or did we somehow extend our stay due to… everything.”
“Twenty-eighth? I think Carlos has a game. Shit.” Dusty grabbed his phone. “Oh. Okay, past me had the villa extended because of the storm. They also sent us clean linens and food. It looks like we ordered food a few times? Congratulations package? Comfort feast?” He blinked. “No idea.”
Dusty continued looking through his phone.
“Okay, so our flight was delayed because of the snow. I’ll send a message asking if it’s okay to fly.
Hopefully we can get Carlos back for his game.
If not, I think being stranded for a snowstorm is a good excuse.
” Dusty texted someone. “Ugh. I have all these texts from Bailey and Kace, but I will deal with it after coffee.”
“Sounds good.” I kissed him. Even though I ached and my head hurt, I also felt… good. Happy even. Warmth flowed through me.
His fingers trailed down my neck, and he frowned.
“Fiona went into heat. But I don’t remember much,” I said. Dusty was marked up, too. Especially his neck. Did we all have a sex party together?
“Mmmm, you totally knocked me up, right? My moms are absolutely going to want us to get married if you got me pregnant.” He smothered me with his naked body, his dick hard. His usually neat facial hair was completely out of control.
“If I got you pregnant, I’ll marry you,” I laughed. While occasionally male omegas fell pregnant, to my knowledge none of the other male designations did. Including alphas.
He held up the pants. “These are for me?”
“Yes. We should wear clothes when we go down to eat.” Pushing him, I sat back up.
Dusty shimmied into his pants, then went back into the bathroom, staring into the mirror.
A strange feeling coated me, actually there were a few feelings. Love. Devotion. Confusion.
I rubbed my chest. How strange. Frowning, I shoved my phone in my pocket and stood.
Dusty wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck, kissing it. He then changed sides.
“Oh, right there,” I sighed as a delightful sensation shuddered through me, not an orgasm, but it was very pleasant.
His lips went back to the other side, which didn’t feel as good, before then returning to the other.
“What was that? Some sort of alpha superpower?” I murmured, wanting to throw him down on the bed and ride him.
He sucked in a breath and turned me to face him.
“Mo Shíorghra.” His forehead pressed to mine.
“You keep saying it wrong.” I corrected his pronunciation. “Also, why that one?” It meant my eternal love and was more commonly used between alpha and omega scent matches.
Dusty and I were not soulmates.
A frown twitched on his lips. “I love you.”
I sucked in a breath. Really? We were doing this now? Did he remember more than I did?
His arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight. “Hey, it’s okay. I know it’s scary. I love you, and if you’re not ready to say it back, it’s fine. Because I know how you feel. We will figure this out.”
He knew how I felt? How the fuck…
More love flooded me in a way I’d never felt before, silencing those thoughts. It was warm and comforting, like a hot bubble bath after a long night in the cold with a sniper rifle. Slowly it pushed out all my doubts, my fear, like warm water erasing a chill.
“What’s happening? I feel that,” I whispered.
Something happened.
Oh shite. Something happened.
I tried to push him away, but his arms tightened and more love flooded me.
“Just relax, Mi Cielo. One step at a time. You have to be jump-started, right? So, if we bonded with each other, it means you also bonded with Fiona. Why don’t we go downstairs? Have some coffee. You can check on her. And then we’ll figure out what happened.” He buried his face in my shoulder.
Instead of pleasure I just got reassurance, steadiness.
The air whooshed out of me. “We bonded. How the fuck did we bond?”
“Well, generally it involves sex and biting. Which I think we did a lot of.” He grinned at me.
“I know how it happens. But how did it happen to us? I can’t–” I stopped talking as hurt shot through me.
Not my hurt. His.
He knew how I felt. Just like I could feel him.
That was all part of the mate bond–feeling each other and sharing feelings.
Don’t be an arsehole, Saoirse. He’s probably just as surprised as you are. There’s a big difference between him wanting to be with you and wanting to bond with you. Especially since plenty of alphas didn’t bond with their long-term non-omega partners.
“Sorry. I… I…” I hugged him, not knowing what else to do. This was a lot and only the feelings he was smooshing into me, and his arms, were keeping me from falling apart.
I’d bonded with an alpha rockstar? Double shite.
“It’s okay. We will sort this out, okay. Given we can’t remember shit, it must have been really intense. We do have options, but for now let's eat and check on everyone. Because if we bonded…” His unfinished words penetrated my head.
“It’s one thing if I bond with Fiona. But if she and Carlos bonded, the wrath of Finn Gallagher is going to come down on him,” I breathed.
Dusty blinked. “Can kappas bond? Carlos and I have never had that conversation.”
“I feel like why not? It just adds to their chaos,” I replied.
“And if she and Hale bonded…” Dusty rubbed his forehead.
I exhaled heavily. “Exactly.”
Wincing, he rubbed his head. “Do you have anything for a headache?”
“I do. I’ll bring my kit down.” I grabbed the first aid kit out of my bag.
Dusty and I bonded. What had happened the past few days? Usually, not only did I remember what happened during Fiona’s heat, but I was the responsible one, making sure everyone ate, showered, and the sheets got changed.
“Breathe. While honestly I don’t think being bonded is a bad thing, I won’t force you to do anything. I promise.” Dusty’s arms wrapped around me again.
I took a deep breath, trying to be conscious of my feelings so I didn't hurt him. “How can you be so calm about it?”
“Because there is no use being upset before we figure everything out,” he assured.
“True.” There was so much to piece together.
We went downstairs and I sucked in a breath. There was stuff everywhere, including the missing mattresses. The dolls were on a snowmobile inside.
“Finally. We saved you a little food, but you might need to warm it up,” Hale said.
“Why is the car on the patio?” I asked. Yes, this was too much before coffee.
“We think we did it to protect the car from the snowstorm?” Carlos frowned. “Same with the snowmobile? Though I have no idea where it came from. Also, the power went out. So, I think we all moved down here at one point and slept by the fire.”
Fiona nodded. “And we made a nest under the table.”
“Yes.” Dusty snapped his fingers. “Saoirse and I went back upstairs when the heat came back on. I also opened the door at some point because it smelled funny.”
Sitting down at an empty seat at the table, I opened my first aid kit.