"I can feel her," Sean says suddenly from the bottom of the bed, his voice hushed with wonder. "In my head. Like... a warm spot."
"Me too," Micah nods. "It's different from our pack bond."
"More complete," Killian murmurs, his eyes never leaving Regina's face as he tenderly strokes her hair. "Deeper."
I close my eyes, focusing inward. They're right. The bond with Regina feels fundamentally different from the connections between the four of us. Where our pack bond is a sturdy rope, this is more like roots. Something organic, living, growing deeper with each second that passes. I can sense her essence, even in unconsciousness. Her intelligence, her fierce independence, her carefully hidden vulnerability. And beneath itall, there's a wellspring of power and magic unlike anything I've ever felt.
"What was that at the end?" Sean asks, voicing the question we've all been avoiding. "You guys felt it too, right? Like something else was watching us?"
"I don't know," Killian admits, his brow furrowing. "But I felt it. In the bond. Something that wasn't any of us."
"I felt it too," Micah confirms. "Like a fifth presence."
"Villeneuve?" I suggest, though it doesn't feel right. The presence had been within the bond itself, not observing from outside. And we were all already acutely aware of the mysterious professor.
"No," Killian shakes his head. "I don't think so. He doesn't even have a scent. This thing, whatever it was, was… intense. It smelled like old magic. Really fucking old. And… fire, I think."
We lapse into silence again, each lost in our own thoughts. The questions are going to have to stay unanswered, at least until Regina is awake, and shifters don't do well with uncertainty. If something else has attached itself to our bond, what does that mean for Regina? For all of us?
I brush it off and close my eyes, trying to rest even if I refuse to sleep. Tonight, all that matters is that Regina is safe and the bond is formed. Anything else, we can deal with.
Hours pass in quiet vigilance. Sean eventually falls asleep first, snoring quietly even though he usually sounds like a lumberjack operating a buzzsaw. It's like even his sleep apnea somehow knows Regina needs rest. Micah dozes in the armchair, glasses askew on his nose. Even Killian's eyes grow heavy, though hefights sleep with the same stubborn determination as the rest of us.
I remain awake, watching over all of them. My pack. My family. Expanded now to include the woman who lies at the center of our protective circle.
Regina's breathing changes subtly over time, becoming deeper and more relaxed. Her eyelids flutter in dreams I can almost feel echoing through our new bond. Whatever she's experiencing, it doesn't seem to be a nightmare. Her expression remains peaceful, occasionally shifting into something that might almost be a smile.
"You're safe now, beautiful," I whisper, brushing a dark strand out of her face. "You're ours."
Chapter 9
REGINA
I waketo the weight of muscular arms draped over me from either side, and a heavy rock on my feet. Nope, not a rock I realize when I move my feet and hear a pained groan at the foot of the bed.
A head.
Sean's head, to be exact.
Killian and Rowan flank me on either side, clearly trying not to touch even in sleep, while both being wrapped protectively around me. Sean is curled up at my feet like a giant golden retriever. There's no sign of Micah, but I can tell from his glasses on the bedside table and the blanket rumpled on the chair that he slept here, too.
My neck throbs with a pleasant ache, and when I reach up to touch it, my fingers brush against tender skin. Four distinct marks, slightly raised, sensitive to the touch.
The bonding ritual. It wasn't a dream.
I bolt upright, suddenly wide awake, and the room spins momentarily before settling. I'm in my bedroom at the pack house, wearing an oversized shirt that isn't mine. The scent of it—ocean breeze and clean laundry—tells me it's Sean's. Sunlight pours through the windows, suggesting it's well into morning, maybe even afternoon.
"She's awake!"
Sean is sitting up, rubbing his head and grinning as if he's been waiting for hours even though I'm pretty sure I heard him snoring a second ago.
Killian and Rowan stir immediately, and Micah appears in the doorway, his hair sticking up at odd angles. Killian's ice-blue eyes scan my face intently.
"How do you feel?" he asks, his voice rough with concern.
I take a moment to actually consider the question. HowdoI feel? Different. Completely, utterly different.
The hollow emptiness that had plagued me since fleeing Kyle's coven is gone, replaced by a steady hum of energy that seems to flow through my entire body. I can feel them, all four of them, like warm spots of light in my consciousness. Killian burns the brightest, probably because he's the pack leader, but the others are there too, distinct presences that somehow feel both separate from me and part of me.
