Two bonds are incredible. But there's space for one more. And my omega knows exactly who belongs there.
River helps me into one of his shirts and we make our way downstairs, though I have to lean on him. Seth trails behind us, his hand on my lower back, steadying me.
"Told you that you needed energy," Grayson says when we reach the kitchen. He's set out plates on the table—sandwiches, fruit, water.
I slide into a chair gratefully. "You're a mind reader."
"I can smell how much energy River burned through." He sets a plate in front of me. "Eat. All of it."
I do, suddenly ravenous. The three of them watch me with varying degrees of satisfaction—Seth content through our bond, River pleased with himself, Grayson quietly territorial.
"What?" I ask around a mouthful of sandwich.
"Nothing," River says, grinning. "Just like watching you eat. Means we took good care of you."
The next weeksettles into a new rhythm.
I wake up in River's bed most mornings—he's clingy in the best way, always pulling me back when I try to get up. Seth checks in through our bond constantly, little pulses ofaffectionandconcernthat keep us connected even when he's at work. And Grayson...
Grayson watches.
Not in a creepy way. Just... aware. Present. Like he's waiting for something.
"You need to talk to him," River says one morning as we're making breakfast.
"About what?"
"About the fact that you've been thinking about bonding him for three days straight." He taps his temple. "I can feel it through our bond. The want. The fear. The anticipation."
"It's complicated."
"It's not." He turns to face me fully. "You want him. He wants you. The only thing stopping you is fear."
"What if I'm not ready?"
"Then you're not ready, and that's okay." His hand finds my hip, grounding. "But Bea? I don't think that's what this is. I think you're scared of how much you want him."
He's not wrong.
Grayson is different than Seth and River. Seth needed me—his sweetness and nervousness made me feel safe, needed, cherished. River wanted me—his confidence and playfulness made me feel desired, beautiful, claimed.
But Grayson... Graysonseesme. Every part of me. The good and the bad and the ambitious and the vulnerable. And bonding him means letting him see even more.
"I'm terrified," I admit.
"I know." River kisses my forehead. "But you're also brave. And when you're ready, he'll be there."
A few days later,I'm deep into a marketing proposal when I hear footsteps on the stairs.
Grayson appears in my doorway, leaning against the frame with two coffee mugs in his hands.
"Brought you coffee," he says, holding one out. "You've been up here for three hours."
I glance at the clock. Shit. "Has it really been three hours?"
"Yep. River tried to bring you lunch but you told him to 'go away, I'm working.'"
"I did not?—"
