Rather than giving in to her tears completely, she closed her eyes and steadied her expression before opening them again and meeting my gaze.
“Promise me something,” she said. “Don’t let Tony leave the house without talking to him.Properly. If he wants you, and you want him, then for god’s sake,have each other. This world sucks too bad to throw the good things away when you find them.”
I couldn’t refuse her. Not when she was so very, veryrightabout that.
“I promise,” I told her, and there was nothing artificial about her relief through the bond.
“Good,” she said, sniffling.
After taking another moment to compose herself, Jez led the way back to the TV room. The others were, miraculously, still asleep. She didn’t waste any time, shaking them both awake with practical effectiveness.
“Wha...?” Tony muttered, coming back to consciousness to find himself in a different pair of arms than he’d fallen asleep in. He twisted around to look at Gage in the early morning light. “Um... hi?”
Gage, who always woke up just about as gracefully as a hibernating grizzly, blinked at him. “Hi. You’re good to cuddle.”
Pink flooded Tony’s cheeks. Gage let him go and he struggled into a sitting position.
“... thanks?” Tony said uncertainly.
Affection flooded through me despite my best efforts, followed closely by a wash of smugness not my own.
“Get up,” Jez commanded, grabbing Gage by one meaty bicep and tugging. “You’re taking me back to your room. Tony and Heath need privacy for a talk.”
“Oh,” Gage said, still noticeably out of it. “Okay.”
Jez got the big guy upright and marched him out of the room efficiently. Just like that, I was alone with Tony.
He scooted back until his shoulders rested against the front of the sectional couch, rolling his lower lip between his teeth nervously.
“Erm...” He hesitated, then spoke in a rush. “I’m really sorry I lost my shit with you over the phone. I meant what I said at the time... but it wasn’t fair, and I was upset.”
“You had plenty of good reasons to be upset,” I said, trying not to wince as I thought back to all the things Tony must have seen while Jez and I were out of our minds with lust.
“I know,” he said. “But I still shouldn’t have unloaded at you like that. What happened, happened. And anything you and I might have had together—”
“Stop,” I said.
His jaw clicked shut.
My stiff joints creaked as I lowered myself to sit next to him, within arm’s reach but not touching.
“Someone just told me that the world sucks too much to throw away the good things when you find them.” I met his eyes—deep brown and slightly bloodshot. “Now, I wouldn’t normallytake advice from this person, but in this case, she was absolutely right. I want to be with you, if that’s what you want, too.”
His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed noisily.
“But... the mating bond,” he said hoarsely.
“Is temporary,” I retorted, not acknowledging the wave of unpleasant emotion that came on the heels of the words. “Maybe we need to talk about how packs work. Sometimes I forget you’re a beta.”
“You guys don’t really act like a pack, though.” Tony’s eyes darted nervously away, and then back. “I mean, no offense. But I didn’t think any of youdidrelationships. Like,at all.”
The sad part was, he was right.
“Well... maybe that needs to change.” Saying it felt like jumping off a cliff; the water churning far below. I took a deep breath and forged onward. “Packs sometimes include betas. I would like you to be my—our—beta.”
Tony’s breathing grew faster; a little ragged. He licked his lips.
“I, uh... I knew a pack in St. Louis. They... helped me. They had a beta, but I thought it was a special case. He was already married to their omega before the pack met them.”
