“This doesn’t make sense.” Ezra paces back-and-forth. “How can you bond without an alpha bite?”
“Actually, there are a few times this has happened in history,” Riven pipes up.
Everyone’s head swivels to face him.
“What are you talking about, Riven?” Calder snaps. “You’re the science guy. You should know how bonding works by now.”
Ignoring him, Riven continues. “During my recent research, I did come across an extremely rare case where an omega’s bite did create a bond.” He scratches his chin thoughtfully. “Scientists struggled to explain it, but they hypothesized that it might have occurred because the omega also had a particularly strong alpha gene.”
“Of course, this would be my dad’s fault,” I mutter.
Dad’s about as alpha as you can get. His bark is more powerful than anyone I know. That’s why he never bothered to create a pack. He’s able to command most alphas at will.
“What else did you read?” Hale presses for more information. “Did their bond last?”
“It’s hard to say given the limited evidence.” Riven shrugs. “From what I recall, it wasn’t as strong as an alpha bond. The emotional connection was weaker, and it didn’t come with the same aftereffects, like needing to be close to each other during the transitionary period. In the case I read about, the alpha eventually sealed the bond with his bite, so it’s hard to know how lasting the connection would’ve been. Theoretically, I assume it’s a weaker version of the alpha bond that may possibly fade or break over time.”
“This is fascinating,” Ezra muses, his gaze bouncing between me and Hale.
“I knew you weren’t like other omegas.” Calder shakes his head in disbelief. “Our girl is so strong that she can create bonds with her bite.”
Calder may mean it as a compliment, but it only makes me feel worse.
“I’m so sorry, Hale,” I sigh. “I didn’t know.”
“Hey.” Hale wraps his arms around me, enveloping me in his anchoring scent. “I’m not mad.”
“But we’re basically bonded now.” My throat clogs, despair slipping in.
“We don’t know for sure what this means.” Hale pulls me in closer. His grip his firm, yet I detect a slight disappointment.
“Look on the bright side, baby girl,” Ezra says. “If what Riven read is correct, you get the best of both worlds. Other alphas will leave you alone because they’ll think you’re bonded, yet you’re not fully tied to us.”
“It’s not that I want to bond to anyone else.” I detect the shift in Hale’s mood, nuzzling into him to provide some reassurance. “It’s just…” Not what I planned? An accident? “A shock. You have to understand that bonding is one of my biggest fears.”
My mind rattles and spins, but Hale’s grounding presence stops me from spiraling. Maybe this emotion sharing thing does have some advantages. If I can feel him like this now, how would it feel to have more of a connection through an alpha bond? And to feel the others too?
“This changes nothing, Kady.” Hale squeezes me tightly. “We’re not going anywhere. Whether we choose to seal the bond in the future with an alpha bite, that’s your choice.”
I pull in a deep inhale, my breathing starting to return to normal. If I couldn’t sense his emotions, I might question them, but I can feel how genuine he is.
“Hale’s right.” Riven nods. “This doesn’t really change anything.”
My other alphas edge closer until they’re all sitting around us in a semicircle. With the heat radiating from their bodies and their delicious scents so close, the world no longer feels like it’s about to crumble down around me at any second. Although I’m still internally freaking out a bit, it’s comforting to know I’m not alone.
“What if I’m never ready to seal the bond?” I voice my fears.
“You’re enough, Kady,” Hale reaffirms. “You always will be. Bond or not. We love you.”
“You l-l-love me?” Aside from the Stella girls, no one has told me they love me since Mom did. “We’ve only really spent a long weekend together.”
“That doesn’t change how we feel.” Hale smiles down at me. “You’re our scent match. There will never be another omega for our pack.”
I swallow hard. Do I love them too? Is that the fluttering feeling in my stomach whenever they’re around? Does that explain why I’m drawn to them and why I’m not losing my mind at the possibility of being tied to them through some rare omega bond?
“You don’t have to say it yet,” Calder says. “You never have to say it at all, if you don’t want to.”
I peer down at the sheet covering my legs, twisting it. “It’s not that I don’t feel…”
