"Hi," she whispered.
"Hey, Sweetheart." My hand moved to cup her face automatically. "How are you feeling?"
"Sore." A small smile. "Exhausted. But the heat is..." She paused, as if checking her own body. "Quieter. Still there, but manageable."
"It'll come in waves for a few more days," Jaxon said, his voice rough with sleep. "But the worst is over."
Reina's hand came up to touch the bites on her shoulders. Left shoulder, right shoulder. One from each of us.
"We really did it," she said softly.
"Yeah, Pretty Girl." Jaxon's fingers traced the bite he'd left. "We really did."
I couldn't find words. Just tightened my arm around her, feeling the bond hum between us.
We were mated. All three of us. Permanent. Forever.
What the fuck had we done?
Eventually, we had to move. Had to get up, use the bathroom, face the day. Reina pulled on one of my shirts, the fabric hanging to mid-thigh on her smaller frame. The sight of her in my clothes did something to my chest.
Mine.
Except she wasn't just mine. She wasours.
I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, watched Jaxon do the same. We moved around the small cabin kitchen with surprising ease. Jaxon found eggs in the fridge and started cooking. Reina made coffee. I set the table, grabbed plates and forks.
Domestic. Surreal.
Small touches happened without thought. Jaxon's hand on Reina's lower back as he moved past her. Her fingers brushing my arm as she reached for mugs. My shoulder bumping Jaxon's as we both reached for the same cabinet.
The bond made us gravitate toward each other. Like magnets. Like we'd been doing this for years instead of hours.
This could actually work, I realized. This strange, complicated thing we'd created.
But then my phone buzzed on the counter where I'd left it.
I'd turned it off yesterday before everything happened. Before the heat. Before the bonding. Before everything changed.
Now I picked it up, powered it on.
Forty-seven missed calls.
My stomach dropped.
Texts from Marcus. From Coach. From my brother Noah.
Where the fuck are you?
Game tonight. You better be there.
Luca, answer your goddamn phone.
The game.
Frost Kings versus Steel Wolves.
Tonight.
