Jess meets my eyes in the glass. “This is it, Si,” she whispers. “This is your day.”
13
GRAYSON
Taking a last look in the mirror, I close my eyes and blow out a deep breath. A shrill tone sounds from the floor underneath me and I grimace at my reflection. No matter where Alicia may be, her voice can still be heard from at least a mile away. At least I can hear her coming and head the other way.
For fuck’s sake. How have we gotten into this mess?
I got us into this mess.
I can’t even blame Logan – it was me who persuaded him into a moment of madness outside the protective walls of our home. I just wanted to feelnormalfor a single moment, to be an alpha who could be with his chosen partner in public, even if we thought the car park was empty.
And now my whole pack is paying the price.
And not just us – Sienna Michaels too. Regret dulls my chest as I take a final moment to straighten the collar of my black shirt. Our long-awaited mate has no idea that she’s walking into a living hell. Our only hope is that she withdraws immediately after the Bonding Trials – and she’d be fucking crazy not to, with what Alicia has planned. Once Sienna is free and far away from us, we can look for a way out of this whole fucking mess.
A brief knock sounds at the door, and I pull it open to Jax. His eyes barely glance at me before he looks away, his anger still pulsing in waves that fill the corridor around us.
“You ready?” His words are jerky, his normally vibrant violet eyes shadowed with the knowledge of exactly how today will go down. Like a fucking shitshow.
“Yeah.” Hesitating, I reach out, setting my hand on his arm. “Jax, we didn’t want to hide it from you. Logan wanted to tell you. I just didn’t want to put you or Tris in a difficult position.”
He shakes his head, pulling back from me. “We’re supposed to be a pack, Gray. Even though I get it, I’m still fucking furious at you for not telling me. But we can’t talk about it now. Let’s get this over with.”
Nodding, I follow him down to the kitchen. Tristan and Logan are there, matching in black tuxedos with black shirts. Normally alphas wear as little as possible on top to give the omega the best chance at scent matching – but this isn’t a normal Bonding ceremony.
Tristan, his face dark but resolved, glances between us.
“Let’s go.”
“What about Alicia?” I ask, and Tristan scowls.
“She can meet us in the car.”
“No need!” she trills. “I’m ready.”
Turning, I bite back my snippy response. Alicia is clearly determined to stand out like a sore fucking thumb – her white gown billows around her, yards upon yards of tulle and sequins and I don’t even know the fuck what.
Nobody wears white to a Bonding Ceremony. Only the omega.
“You look fucking ridiculous,” Jax snarls, and Alicia pouts, her scarlet lips glistening.
“Don’t be like that, Jaxy,” she coos, patting him on the chest as he recoils in disgust. “That is not the look of a man in love.”
“That’s because I fucking hate you,” he shoots back, and she scowls.
“We have an agreement,” she snaps, stamping her stiletto-heeled foot. “Do we not, Tristan?”
“In public.” But Tristan turns, wordlessly pulling open the front door as his shoulders bunch. Alicia drapes herself in a long green cape and marches after him, struggling to pull herself into the car thanks to the fucking meringue she’s got on. We all stand there and watch until she screeches for help, Tristan reluctantly shoving her in before he gets behind the wheel.
Sliding in, I manage to claim an inch of space that isn’t crammed with sequins. All of us sit in silence for the ride to the city, Alicia checking her makeup in the mirror.
“Now, do we all remember the plan?” she preens, clicking her compact closed. “Everybody understands what they have to do?”
“Unfortunately,” Logan mutters.
Wordlessly I nod, keeping my attention outside the window. I’m not doing this shit for Alicia Erikkson. I’m doing it for Sienna, even if she never knows it.
