His breath caught, his scent spiking with hope before he carefully controlled it. "Are you sure?"
"I want to see if it helps." I swallowed. "And you took care of me…I think I can say I trust you now." The words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning. I trust you. Three words I hadn't said to an alpha in twelve years.
"Okay." His voice was rough, thick with emotion. "How do you want to do this?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I've never... I don't know how it works."
"It's simple." He shifted closer, slowly, giving me time to pull away. "I'll put my wrist against your neck, where your scent gland is. Our scents will mix. That's all it has to be."
"That's all?"
"That's all." He held up his free hand, showing me his wrist, the pulse point where his scent was strongest. "May I?"
I nodded, my heart pounding. He moved slowly, so slowly, lifting his wrist toward my neck. I could smell him more intensely now — thunderstorm and petrichor and rain on hot pavement. His wrist made contact with my neck, just below my ear, and?—
Oh.
It was like a circuit completing. Like a key turning in a lock. His scent flooded through me, not just around me butintome,mingling with my own in a way that made the bonds in my chest hum with contentment. The low-level ache I'd been carrying — so constant I'd stopped noticing it — eased significantly.
A sound escaped me, something between a gasp and a sigh.
"Okay?" Jae-won's voice was strained, and I realized this was affecting him too. His eyes had gone slightly unfocused, his breathing shallow.
"Yeah." My voice came out breathy, unsteady. "That's... that really helps."
"Good." He pressed slightly closer, his wrist warm against my neck, his scent surrounding me completely. "Tell me when you want to stop."
I didn't want to stop. That was the surprising thing. I wanted to stay here, wrapped in his scent, feeling the bonds settle into something peaceful instead of painful.
"A little longer," I murmured, letting my eyes drift closed. "Just a little longer."
"As long as you need," he promised, his voice soft. "I've got you."
We've got you.The words echoed in my mind — the same ones he'd said in the park, when he'd found me on that bench. The same promise, repeated and reinforced.
This time, I let myself believe it completely.
Chapter Eighteen
JAE-WON
She was asleep.
I stood in the doorway of the nest room, watching the steady rise and fall of her breathing, the way her fingers curled loosely around a pillow that smelled like all five of us. The indigo bond pulsed in my chest — satisfied, protective, aching with a tenderness I hadn't known I was capable of feeling.
She'd let me scent her. Had tilted her head back and bared her throat and trusted me not to hurt her.
I still couldn't quite believe it.
Mine, my alpha rumbled, the word reverberating through every nerve ending.Ours. Pack. Complete.
Not complete. Not yet. But closer than we'd been this morning, when she was unconscious and feverish and we didn't know if she'd ever wake up. Closer than we'd been three days ago, when she was a ghost we could only reach through letters and food deliveries. Closer than we'd been a week ago, when she was running and we were forbidden from following.
She'd chosen to stay. Had asked for time to know us before completing the bonds. Had set terms — her pace, her choice, no pressure.
I would give her all of that and more. First, I needed to talk to my pack.
I pulled the door almost closed, leaving it cracked just enough that we'd hear if she called out, and made my way to the living room. The others were already gathered — Hwan pacing by the window, Jin-ho sitting perfectly still on the couch with his hands clasped between his knees, Tae-min perched on the arm of the chair like he couldn't decide whether to sit or stand, Min-jun in the kitchen doorway with a dish towel over his shoulder.
