“We want to bond,” Sam says much more confidently. “We wanted to show you both how much we love you. And that we’re ready when you are.”
My entire body lights up. “Oh my god, this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“You silly alphas,” Kit laughs. “We thought you were doing something way more suspicious than this!”
Thatcher tilts his head. “Like what?”
We both look at each other and shake our heads as we discreetly put our weapons behind our backs. “Never mind that.” I try to slyly change the subject. “I want a glass of champagne.”
“Alright, we’ll table that conversation for now, but I will be interrogating you both later,” Sam says pointedly.
We all get some champagne and lie down on the bed riddled with rose petals. They’re soft and velvety under my palm, making me smile foolishly and my omega to preen like the princess she is. There’s a tiny raspberry in my glass, and I admire the way it sits in the bubbles, gathering up the flavor as the pretty decoration in the center.
“So,” Sam says, looking as serious as ever. “Are you guys ready? Do you want to bond?”
“And to have your first heat?” Thatcher asks Kit.
We look at each other, and Kit’s eyes glaze with a happy shimmer. It makes the hole in my heart close completely, realizing that this is it. This is every omega’s dream and we get to live it together.
“Yes, but on one condition,” Kit says.
Sam nods. “What is it?”
My omega looks back at me, nothing but love reflecting in his eyes. “We get to bite each other first.”
My hand immediately goes to my chest. I think that might be the most romantic thing Kit has ever said, and he has said a lot of beautiful things. Everything feels so full, and my head immediately nods up and down.
“Yes.”
Next thing I know, someone is taking the champagne flute from my hand, and I’m scooting closer, taking in Kit and how handsome he is. Now that it’s been brought up, I can’t go another minute without his bite. He smiles, bashful as he pushes my hair behind my ears.
“Since the moment I first saw you, Opal,” he whispers. “I wasfascinatedby you. It was like becoming aware of a string between us that wasn’t there before, and it was pulling me to you with every mention. And I must confess… at that party when I invited you to come live with us, I knew you would be there. I didn’t want to be anywhere else after discovering I might have the opportunity to speak to you again.”
My jaw drops. “What? You were pining for me even then?”
“Yes. I didn’t know what shape my obsession would form into, but I wanted to be close to you. I felt like I needed it to breathe. And then with every conversation and every touch between us, I realized that you were mine. That what I had experienced was love at first sight, just like I had experienced once before.” His eyes look over at Sam for a moment, the first time they met flashing in their gaze, before he turns back to me. “And I can’t wait to be obsessed with you for the rest of my life.”
My eyes shine with fresh tears and I scoff with teasing surprise. I had no idea that my most playful and unserious mate was going to make me cry right off the bat, buthere we are.
“Kit,” I start, getting so close that his skin rubs against mine, just as electric as the first time. “If we’re confessing, then I have something to say, too. I was also fascinated with you. After discovering that my scent match already had an omega, I was bummed, but then I saw you at a Halloween party. You were dressed as Gojo, and some small part of meknewthat you were the omega that I had thought about so much for months. Instincts are such a scary thing, and I realized that there was more to this mystery than I thought. I felt something toward you then, but I avoided it because you were happy, and I didn’t want to mess that up. But I was wrong.”
He nods, wiping the tears from under my eyes. “You were, because I have never been happier since you showed up,” he says. “None of us have. You complete us, Opal.”
“I know that, now. And I’ll never let the fear or worry keep me from you guys ever again,” I say, looking around at all of them.
“It all starts here,” Kit says, taking my hands in his as our foreheads push together.
“I love you,” I whisper to him.
“I love you, too,” Kit says back, adoration lacing his tone. He pulls my wrist up to his mouth and hands me his own in return. “Let’s do it at the same time.”
I nod, glee filling me as his teeth meet my skin. It takes me a second to realize he’s waiting for me to do the same because the happiness I feel is rendering me temporarily dense.
“Sorry,” I laugh.
He starts counting down. “3… 2… 1.”
We both bite into each other, and it’s an explosion that I’m not expecting. My hold on his arm tightens as we both bear down, making sure our bond is secure. It’s overwhelming. Every single molecule in my body shifting into something else, into something more.
