The bond snaps into place and Liam floods into me. Not just calm, something deeper. The cozy feeling of a library at night. The patience of someone who watches and waits and sees everything. And woven through it, a tenderness he guards so carefully, now offered to me.
"Angel," Felix says when Liam pulls back, and his voice cracks on the word. "I don't have the right words. I've never felt like this. Never knew I could. And I don't want to lose it."
"You won't," I promise. "I'm not going anywhere."
I bare my throat to him, right over my pulse, and his eyes widen.
"Are you really one thousand percent sure you want me, angel?"
"I do," I tell him. "And I want everyone to see, to know I chose you. All three of you. My pack."
He makes a sound that's half laugh, half gasp, then his mouth is on my throat.
His teeth sink in over my pulse and the bond bursts to life, bright and warm and fizzing with joy. Felix feels like… a golden retriever tackling someone at the door. I feel his boundless energy… how much he loves making people smile… his fierce loyalty.
Three bonds. Three alphas, now mine as I am theirs.
And I feel them all now. Silas's protective fire. Liam's steady depth. Felix's golden warmth. They're woven into me, a part of me, and impossible to separate.
"Holy shit," Liam breathes, pressing a hand to his own chest. "I can feel you. All of you."
"Same," Felix says, eyes wide. "This is... wow."
"A pack," Silas says quietly. "A real one. Family."
"Speaking of family," Felix grins, "we should do stockings. And presents. And one of those cheese boards with the little crackers."
"You're thinking about cheese boards right now?" Liam asks.
"I'm thinking about everything right now. It's Christmas Eve and we just all bonded. My brain is doing a lot."
I laugh, the sound bubbling up from somewhere deep. These ridiculous, wonderful men. My ridiculous, wonderful alphas.
"Christmas dinner," I say. "A tree. Stockings. All of it. But—" I shift my hips, reminding Silas that he's still locked inside me. "We're going to have to get creative with logistics. This heat isn't ending anytime soon."
Silas groans. "And I wouldn't have any other way, angel."
Outside, snow keeps falling, painting the window white.
Christmas Eve. My first Christmas with my pack.
"I love you," I murmur, the words meant for all of them. "Merry almost-Christmas."
Silas presses a kiss to my temple. "I love you. More than I have words for."
Liam's hand finds mine, squeezing. "You make me believe in things I'd given up on. I love you, Naomi."
Felix grins, bright and brilliant. "I love you, angel."
I pull them closer, laughing, crying, full of joy.
This is already the best Christmas ever.
Epilogue
7 months later
The roar of the crowd engulfs me.
