This was her home stretch after years acting as a sleeper agent in our cities.
I might hate the bitch, but I’d give her credit for a plan well executed.
“I’ll let you know when—” A twinge along the bond cut me off. I jolted as a surge of power flooded my veins, and my beast howled.
Constantine raised his eyebrows as if he’d felt the boom of energy, but I knew it was from my pack. As the entitled alpha, I was innatelyconnected to all their essences, and with another surge of power, all five beasts stood beside my own in my mind. With Emme right in the core of us.
Kellan and Finley skidded into the room a second later.
“Holy fuck, did you feel that?” Kellan shouted, his hand pressed to his chest as he threw his head back. “So much power. And Emme is…”
My wolf stepped into the center with Emme’s white beast, and with that her thoughts flooded into my head. I lifted my hand to cut Kellan off, and when his tanned wolf tried to shuffle into the circle too, I crowded them back.
Slade’s dragon brushed over my flank.Snow briefly lost consciousness.
His voice in my head almost sent me spiraling, but I kept it together as my black wolf prowled up to the white one. Slade stayed with me, and while I had no idea how to communicate this way, I used the same approach as I had with my wolf: to talk like it stood in front of me.
Turning to the dragon, I asked,Is she okay?
I’m not sure if any of us are okay. But we are alive.The reply was in a register too deep for our bipedal form, and I knew I addressed them both.
His dragon backed up then and I focused on my omega.Little mate, are you okay?
There was a pause and then she replied, her voice growing higher with each word.Ah.I think so. Are we really communicating like this?
Instinct was all I had to answer that, along with the knowledge that our quintet was all but complete.Yes. I think this is part of our bond now. The power surge almost knocked us out, and Slade said you were unconscious.
She withdrew from me, and when I couldn’t handle the silence any longer, I tried again.
Little Omega?Can you hear me?
Her tone was rougher.I’m okay. But we need to figure out this mind-speak. It’s making me dizzy.
Without hesitation, I pulled away, but my retreat opened the pathway for Finley and Kellan. Their beasts poured into the bond, pushing through the circle around Emme.
I couldn’t hear what they said to her, as if we all held our ownunique connection to our mate. Along with one to each of our brothers, since Slade had spoken in my mind too.
When my phone rang, I wasn’t surprised by the caller. “Get out of her head,” he snarled down the line. “The mental communication is hurting her, so until we figure out how this mind link works, let’s keep our essences to ourselves.”
As I hung up the phone, I relayed this message to Kellan and Finley in a harsh command, and they backed away from Emme too. Letting the quintet essence settle.
“They bonded,” Finley breathed, his cheeks flushed as he shook his head. “The power is fucking intoxicating, and we can mentally communicate now.”
He turned to me, and his bear approached my wolf at the same time.Can you hear me?
I nodded, and double checked I wasn’t linking to Emme again before I answered.Yes, you speak through my beast, and I can hear you.
“When I tap into the quintet power,” I said out loud, “I mentally see all six of our beasts. Emme is in the center of us, and we can all connect to one another.”
“Holy fucking shit,” Kellan crowed. “This is group chat on steroids. No one can pretend they forgot their phone or leave the chat. In. For. Life.”
“We couldn’t hear what you said to Emme,” Finley added, his expression concerned.
“I couldn’t hear you either,” I confirmed. “It appears that we have to direct our thoughts toward a specific member, at least for now. I get the feeling Emme is the one who will be able to open us up as a full group, if and when she gets used to the new bond.”
“This is a good sign.”
Constantine’s statement captured all our attentions; I’d forgotten he was even in the room.
