AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They both shook their heads.
“Our group is a bit different. We’re all perfect equals,” Deryn explained. “We had a warrior’s bond, a bond between brothers of blood or heart, between the four of us before we met Jolie. So, we didn’t need an alpha amongst us.”
“Caleb is the alpha of all hybrids, though,” Rhys said. “For all intents and purposes, he’s the King of Hybrids.”
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. “What?” I breathed, my voice barely above a whisper.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
“That’s part of why Jolie was worried about how he was treating you when you showed up,” Riddick said. “She was worried, as king, he might have, on purpose or not, coerced you into courting him. Us.”
Oh, that made a lot of sense about the questions and why they watched our interactions so closely.
“So, then, to fix this …”
Branson flinched and swallowed hard.
“… don’t we just need to have you guys form your pack bonds and mark me as well?”
Everyone stared at me like I was an alien. The silence was so thick I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
“Being marked is not a trivial matter,” Riddick said.
“If it means keeping others from trying to claim me, or steal me, and me making things more official with you all, then why wouldn’t we? It’s not a mate bond and we still have to date or court or whatever, and determine if this is really going to work. If it doesn’t, we can remove it. Right? Or am I still missing something?”
“No, you are correct,” Triston said. “It’s just … not usually done so quickly.”
I looked at Caleb and asked, “You didn’t tell your dads about our bond or the guys, did you?”
It was his turn to flinch and look down. “No.”
“What bond?” Triston asked, tensing beside me.
Even Branson raised his head.
Caleb blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what it is or how to explain it, but we have a bond of some sort already. I can sense her and feel her call to me.” He looked at Riddick. “You have it as well.” Straightening his head, he looked at Triston and Branson. “You two as well, though not nearly as strong as Riddick’s or mine.”
“You think it has to do with us being hybrids?” Riddick guessed.
Caleb nodded.
“But why would I have this connection with you four and not Percival or Kieran? Does this mean I could have a connection with even more people?” That was slightly terrifying. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of strangers trying to date me. Four was a lot already.
“I’m not sure,” he said with a sigh that caused him to shrink a bit, as if deflated.
“Why didn’t you tell us about it sooner?” Riddick asked.
“I thought it might be better to let things play out naturally without everyone knowing about the bond.” He glanced at his dads. “I was going to ask you guys about it tomorrow.”
“Are you sure it’s not just from her being a siren?” Triston asked. “Aren’t sirens alluring?”
“Sirens are comfortable to be around and you do crave being near them, but this is different than that. Plus, I’m part siren, too, remember? I have a bit of resistance to siren charms. No, this isn’t because she is part siren.”
Well, that made me feel better and worse at the same time. Sirens caused you to crave being near them? Did that mean the more time you spent with them the more addicted you became? Was that why Branson had stayed so long?
“I don’t really know what you mean about a bond,” Branson said and looked down at his chest.
