“Even though,” Tristan says with a dark look at Jax, “We’re naturally drawn to her, as any alpha is drawn to an omega. This arrangement will take some time to adjust to.”
Alicia tosses her hair back. “Not too long, I hope. The Trials are only for four weeks.”
“And we’ll be much more settled in by then, I’m sure. In the meantime, why don’t you settle in for the evening? We’ll bring a tray to your room.”
I frown. “You look… dusty.”
Alicia stands abruptly, nodding. “I think you’re right, Tristan. I need to make sure I get my full allocation of sleep. I’ll see you all bright and early in the morning, hmm?”
Leaning forward, she offers puckered lips to Tristan. He eyes them like they’re poison before quickly brushing his mouth against hers. “Goodnight.”
“Good fucking riddance,” Jax murmurs as she leaves again, and Logan kicks him under the table.
“So…,” Logan looks around, making eye contact with everyone that isn’t me. “What’s the plan?”
Tristan steeples his fingers, his brow drawn. “Are we all certain that we’re her Soul Bonded?”
Jax smirks. “One hundred and fifty fucking percent. Tell me you didn’t feel it sucker punch you in the dick as you walked towards her.”
Logan hesitates, but he nods in agreement. “I felt it.”
I look away, ignoring the feel of Tristan’s eyes on me. “Gray?”
Shrugging, I stand and push myself away from the table. “I felt something. I wouldn’t say it was strong enough to be Soul Bonded.”
Lie. Lie, lie, fucking lie.
Everything about her, from that wild fucking pink hair to her delicious raspberry scent with a hint of warm vanilla – everything about Sienna Michaels screamsmine.
But I’m not giving up on Logan without a fight. And if that means I have to push her out of my thoughts, then I’ll do it without question. This whole charade actually makes it easier, no matter that my words from earlier still taste bitter on my tongue.
Tristan’s shoulders roll back, a considering look on his face.
“We need to leave Sienna alone as much as possible. If she’s around, then we have to keep up the pretense. The next Trial is nesting.”
“She has a nest,” Jax insists. “It’s there, waiting to be used.”
“Alicia nixed it.” Tris sighs again. “She wants to use the garage.”
“The garage?” Even I balk at the idea. It’s chock full of all sorts of shit we’ve collected over the years. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t buried under a mountain of useless tat the second she opens the door.
“She’s probably going to fail,” Logan whispers. “We’re not exactly making her comfortable enough to feel the nesting instinct.”
And if she fails, we lose her altogether. This is a fucking knife edge, and we have to tread carefully.
“We can’t win this,” I point out. Jax glowers at me, and I shrug. “We can’t, Jax. We can’t treat Sienna the way that we want to because of Alicia. Us treating her badly means she won’t develop the instincts she needs to bond with us. Therefore, she fails her trials and we lose her anyway. She has enough of us, she withdraws, and guess what? We lose her anyway. We. Can’t. Win. This.”
“But she’s our Soul Bonded,” Logan interjects. “That means she’s probably going to feel those instincts, right? Soul Bonding isn’t built up over time, it’s instant.”
Tristan mulls it over before he nods. “It’s a risk we’ll have to take.”
Jax groans loudly. “I’m not made for shit like this. I just want to go and find her.”
Tristan waves his hand at the door. “Be my guest. Put her – put all of us – at risk. Or you can help me by distracting Alicia tomorrow so I can visit Erikkson and see what I can dig up.”
Jax’s face is a picture. “Distract her? You mean by knocking her out, right? Tying her up and dangling her off the roof?”
Ignoring him, Tristan moves to the door. “I’m going to my office.”
