Mine.
There were a million things I needed to do this morning, but informing my pack about Gabriel was my number one priority. Our soulbond affected the whole pack, not just me.
We hadn’t even discussed if Gabriel planned to stay here after Callum’s case was over. Living with an unrequited soulbond was manageable. Having your mate hundreds of miles away was a different beast entirely.
Guilt threatened the happiness I’d woken up with, and I resolutely pushed it to one side, determined to enjoy this little bubble we’d created for a while longer. The hard decisions would still be there in an hour or two.
Gabriel stirred beside me, his hand snaking out to rest over my heart. “What’s wrong?” he murmured, eyes still closed. “I can feel you thinking.”
My smile stretched wide at his words, and I twined my fingers with his.
I could feel him too, but Gabriel was still a sleepy contentment, a warm thrum in my chest. I closed my eyes, concentrating on our connection, and relaxed into the sheets, my heartbeat slowing to match his.
“Better,” he whispered, eyes fluttering open. It took him a second to focus on me, and when he did, everything seemed to catch up to him and his eyes went wide.
“Goddess above, we really did it, huh?”
“We did.” I watched him, waiting for the regret to surface, wondering if I’d feel it too. I was no expert on soulbonds. After finding out Gabriel was mine, I’d actively avoided anything to do with them. Kind of regretted that now.
But I felt nothing but warmth coming from Gabriel.
“Are you okay with this?” I had to know for sure. “This is a big step we took in the heat of the moment.”
He closed his eyes, and I tensed.
Here it comes.
His fingers tightened around mine. “I think we were always headed here.” When he pushed himself up on an elbow to look at me, his eyes mirrored the truth of his words. “Even when I knew you hated me, there was never anyone for me except you.” I winced, but he shook his head and a burst of warmth hit me hard. He glanced at where our joined hands still rested over my heart, his smile growing. “And now there never will be.”
I wanted to tell him I loved him. The words were there on the tip of my tongue—we were bonded for fuck’s sake—but something held me back. Instinct? I wasn’t sure. Superstition? Maybe. All I knew was the last time I’d told him that, something so awful happened that had torn us apart for years. I couldn’t face that again.
Not now.
So I held my tongue and pulled him close again, kissing the top of his head and letting his scent fill my lungs, hoping I didn’t need words to tell him how I felt.
We had our bond now.
That should be enough.
* * *
It wasn’tlong before the outside world began to intrude. There was only so long we could hide away and pretend this was ours and ours alone. First, my phone buzzed, then a few minutes later, Gabriel’s joined in.
With a heavy sigh, I reached for mine and Gabriel did the same.
“Talis and Axel wanting to know if I’m coming back any time soon, or if I’ve left the pack and moved in here.” I snorted. “Comedians.”
“Are they together?” Gabriel asked, and I immediately thought of Talis’s words from the night before, my humour fading fast. “No. Not together.”
Gabriel frowned as he read through whatever was on his phone.
“Problem?”
“No, but Blake Tehlin was our most promising lead and now he’s disappeared through the gateway, probably never to be seen again.” He sounded bitter, echoes of it seeping across the bond.
I tugged him back into my side. “But you can still search his house, right? You know that he had Blue Alhuirn there, whether he remembers it or not. The fact is he got it from somewhere and was probably giving it to a third party.”
Gabriel hummed. “Max wants to go through the club footage again, see if Blake spoke to anyone regularly. Or if him and Callum were with anyone else.”
