Prologue I. #2
Cole chuckles. “That’s us, Ariana. Our bond.”
“Our bond?” I repeat, confused. The words sink in slowly, sending ice through my veins as they do. My hands fly to the pain at my throat. Instead of finding the dull ache of bruises from hickeys like I expect, the tender skin has sparse grooves in it.
Scrambling, I throw the blankets off myself. Legs shaking, I stumble to the attached bathroom frantically. Leaning over the sink to look closely in the mirror, my hands tremble as they trace over my neck.
Next to my scent gland, the skin’s seared a vivid red. The imprints of teeth are unmistakable, wounds from three sets of them overlapping each other. Liam leans against the doorway, watching me.
“You marked me?” My voice shakes. I’m not sure why I’m asking when I can see the bites clear as day.
He raises an eyebrow, lacing an arm around my waist and ushering me back into the bedroom. “Yeah?” His nonchalance indicates he doesn’t see a problem with it.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I look between the three alphas. For a moment, I can’t find the words. “Why?” I settle on simply, unable to articulate the turmoil in my mind.
“Why’d we mark you?” Cole looks at me for confirmation. When I nod, he smiles at me. “You asked us to, Ariana.”
“I don’t remember doing that.”
“You were in heat,” Liam reminds me. “It’s normal not to remember everything.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders, but in my nervous state, I jump at the contact. He frowns, and the displeasure in his scent makes the bond ache. My heart starts hammering in my chest.
The mark screams with pain as I press a hand against it. “I wouldn’t do that.” I state confidently.
Once marked, an omega can’t break the bond. I adore these alphas, but I don’t want to rush into anything. We’ve only known each other for a month. That’s why I’ve been declining their repeated invites to move in with them.
“Babe,” Liam says gently, like he’s talking to a child. “You were begging us for it. You wouldn’t stop until we did. Your arms were wrapped around our necks the entire time.” His face breaks into a faraway smile, as if he’s reminiscing on a fond memory.
“We didn’t talk about it at all, though.” Clasping my hands together, I stare down at them in my lap. Dark bruises ripple over my bare thighs, shaped like fingerprints. “I thought you said you were just going to help me.”
Ian’s voice hardens. “We did. What did you expect, coming here? You knew what you were doing, Ariana.” The sudden coldness makes my body turn rigid. “You came to three unmated alphas during your heat on your own. We didn’t make you do anything.”
His words send a sinking feeling through me. I had agreed to come here, but I didn’t expect to be marked.
“You can break it, right?” Raising my head, I look at Ian pleadingly. Omegas can’t remove bonds, but alphas can. Like he said, I trust them. Maybe they misheard me and made a mistake. It’s an easy enough fix.
The question turns Ian’s whiskey scent bitter. “Why? Is being mated to us so horrible?”
Frantically, I shake my head. “It’s just so soon. We should still get to know each other.”
I think the bond has turned me more sensitive to their emotions. The pamphlets in my doctor’s office mentioned something about that. Reading about it is one thing, but experiencing it is another.
Considering I’m convinced I didn’t ask to be marked, I should be yelling at them. Instead, their displeasure makes me want to beg for their forgiveness. The bond is like a rope, tugging me towards them. Its pull is stronger than even the allure of the scent match was.
“We can still do that,” Liam points out. “This was bound to happen eventually, Ariana. It’s just sooner than you expected.”
Biting my lip, I look down again and don’t reply. Shoulders slumping in frustration, tears begin blurring my vision. I’m not getting through to them, and they’re not listening.
“Don’t cry, Ariana.” Cole rubs my back soothingly. “Are you mad at us? You kept asking and we didn’t think it through because of our rut. We can’t control that.”
“Your instincts took over and you wanted it. Our instincts took over and we gave it to you.” Ian states matter of factly. “It’s as simple as that. It’s natural, sweetheart.”
Liam pulls me into his side. “We only did it because we love you so much.” I look up at him, hearing the smile in his voice. “I know it’s fast, but it’s true. You’re our one and only match.”
All my omega instincts are preening at hearing him say he loves me. Doubt begins to gnaw at the back of my mind. Maybe I did ask them and forgot. Like Ian and Cole said, it would be hard for unmated alphas to resist while in rut.
“The bond stays.” Ian declares definitively when I fall silent.
“We’re meant to be.” Cole reminds me, apple scent filling with fondness. “That’s what the scent match is for. We’re soulmates, Ariana.”
They sound so sincere. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t falling for them too. When I smile weakly in acceptance, Liam and Cole wrap their arms around me tightly.
“Good girl.” Ian praises me, sitting back against the pillows. “I knew you would stay.”
My sensitivity to their scents has been heightened by the bond, and I find myself thrown into almost another trance from the pleased pheromones emanating off them now. A nagging awareness chews through the haze their scents send me into, dampening my spirits.
Of course Ian knew I would stay. If they won’t break the bond, I have no other choice.
It’s because they love me, I remind myself. My heart pounds in my chest, but I’m not entirely sure it’s because of their confession.
* * *
At their insistence, I move in with them. The idea’s more enticing now that I’m bonded, but it’s also for health reasons. Being apart from your pack members can cause bond sickness to develop. Little is known about the disease, so it’s better to not risk it.
Although technically, I’m not truly a pack member yet. I still have to mark them back. In every way except on paper though, they’re my pack. Our little bubble of domestic bliss has been so comfortable, I’ve almost forgotten the apprehension from my bonding.