He pulls away from me, lifting his finger to trace along the Arcane bond.
“I hate that you feel this defines you. That you felt you had to cut yourself to remove it.” He leans in and bites down on top of the black hideous mark. His teeth sink into my flesh, painful at first, but it quickly turns intoxicating as the bond locks into place. He pulls away, and it feels as if there’s an invisible thread linking us together.
“It’s beautiful,” Roman whispers huskily.
My eyes drop down; his teeth marks have turned into a shimmery translucent opal color, but that’s not all. The black veiny threads that were part of the Arcane bond are there, but now they’re the same opal color.
I don’t even know I’m crying until the wet tears hit my hand.
“Don’t cry, baby.” Holden wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to him.
“They’re not sad tears, they’re happy ones. Can I bond with you now?” I ask, needing his permission. I’d never want him to bear an Arcane bond mark.
“It’s all I want, River.”
I turn to face him, coming up on my knees as he smiles at me. “Can we do it at the same time?” he asks and I nod, wanting nothing more than to do that.
He takes my arm, bringing it to his mouth, as I place my mouth at the base of his neck.
“On the count of three. One. Two. Three,” he says, and we both bite down. Painful at first, but quickly replaced by an overwhelming calm. When we pull apart, we’re both marked.
“You don’t even have to ask. The answer is yes,” Nash quickly says. “Lay back for me,” he whispers huskily. He takes hold of my legs, spreading them, as he crawls between them, his tongue licking along my sweaty, slick-coated thigh. He stops at the scarsfrom my cutting and bites down, marking me. Replacing an old part of my life with the new. When he’s done, I happily return the favor, marking him in the same exact spot.
Chapter 49
Epilogue
Two months later
“Come on, River. We have a surprise to show you,” Nash sing-songs.
“Give me a minute. I just need to send this information to Stone.” I can hear the guys clear their throats behind me.
“Stop. He’s mated. And you three are the only men I see. Besides, it’s strictly business.” I laugh.
Nash gives a playful eye roll and I laugh. My sweet jokester can be jealous, and I can’t say that I hate it. Tonight I plan to tell him and Holden that I’ve decided to take a couple classes on campus next semester. I’m not ready for going full time, still not fully comfortable with being around crowds for too long. At first I was afraid of running into Henry. I’ve never met him, and even though he wasn’t an active participant in what Marcus andJohn were doing, he was still loyal to them for a period of time. But a month ago they mentioned he withdrew from school and moved home. Apparently, he was still having a hard time dealing with his involvement. I hope he’s able to come to terms with his actions and move forward in the future, making better choices.
The guys have been secretive since before my heat. Disappearing for hours at a time on this secret project of theirs. But today I get to find out what it is.
Since we bonded, we’ve spent most of our time here in my tiny apartment. Not that I didn’t want to be at their place, but this is home. It’s hard to explain, and they’ve never asked me to, but I just always assumed I’d be living here on this property.
“Are you done yet?” Nash whines again.
“Yes,” I laugh. “Show me this surprise.”
Roman steps over to me, taking my hand, helping me to stand. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a mask. “First, we need to put this on you.”
My eyebrow raises in confusion. There was a time I’d be afraid, but no longer. I trust them. “Okay.”
He places the mask on me, thrusting me into a world of darkness. Roman takes hold of my hand, and Holden’s pineapple scent tickles my nose as he steps up on the other side of me, taking my other hand.
They carefully lead me out of the apartment and down the stairs, helping me into the truck. At least I think it’s the truck since they help lift me up into it. The sound of doors opening and shutting loom around me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, crossing my fingers they’ll let their secret slip.
“Nuh uh, Little Omega. You have to wait,” Roman purrs.
I don’t know how long we drive, as I sing along to the music on the radio. It kind of feels like we’re moving around in circles.Finally, the car comes to a stop. “Sit tight,” Roman tells me, as doors open and shut.
