I blink. "What?"
"You won't have to wait anymore," he says. "No more five-year deadline. No more uncertainty. You'll bepermanently bonded into this pack just like her. Marked. Official. Ours."
My brain struggles to process. "But you said—five years ago you said if you bonded a non-match first, you'd lose the scent match possibility forever."
"Correct," Ragon says evenly. "If we bonded you first, the scent match door closes. We could never bond Marie, and our instincts would suffer. But if we bond the scent matchfirst, the pack structure still allows us to bond additional omegas after. You can both be ours. Permanently."
"The bonding order matters," Eli adds gently. "Scent match first preserves the biological connection while still allowing the pack to expand."
Drake leans forward. "You'll both be ours, Vee. Officially. Marked and bonded. No more waiting. Both of you will be pack."
"And Jasper?"
"We're bond him in officially after Marie," Ragon says. "That's important. If we bonded him before her, there's a chance he could end up scent-matched to her too—the timing of pack bonds can affect compatibility. But if we bring him in after she's already bonded, he'll be connected to the pack as a whole, not specifically to her."
Understanding crashes over me. "So I'll have at least one alpha who isn't pulled to her."
"Who isn't biologically pulled to her first," Ragon finishes. "Yes. He'll be on even ground. Not scent-matched to either of you, bonded to the whole pack. It's the fairest way we could structure this."
"Marie gets three alphas who are scent-matched to her, and I get one who isn't matched to anyone."
"You get all four of us," Eli corrects. "The scent match doesn't mean we stop caring about you. It means our biology recognizes her. Our choice—our conscious, deliberate choice—includes you."
"When?" My voice is barely a whisper.
"She's moving in Friday," Drake says. "I know that's fast. But she's been at the registry for two months while we figured this out, and I can't leave her there anymore."
Friday.
Two days.
"And the bonding?"
"We'll take time," Ragon says. "Let everyone adjust. Let you and Marie figure out how to share space. When it feels right, when everyone's settled, we'll mark her. Then you. Then Jasper to complete the pack."
"You've got it all planned out."
"We're trying to be fair," Eli says softly.
"By making all the decisions without me. About my pack. My home. My life."
Silence slams down.
"We were trying to shield you," Ragon says, voice clipped. "Your first pack did enough damage. We thought—"
"You thought you'd handle it. Like I'm some fragile little thing you can put on a shelf until the messy parts are over."
His eyes flash again. "You are not fragile. If you were, I wouldn't expect you to behave like the omega you are."
My jaw drops. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you don't get to throw tantrums because reality is uncomfortable. You don't get to snap at Drake like he deliberately set out to hurt you. You don't get to refuse to treat another omega with basic respect."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I being inconvenient? Am I not making this easy enough? Should I bake a cake that saysWelcome Marie, Congrats On Being the One Who Matters?"
"Vee," Eli says, horrified.
Drake looks like he might actually cry. His scent is sour with guilt. "Please don't say that. You matter. You both—" His voice breaks. "You both matter."
