Dimitri chuckles and I can’t help but smile. “That seems more on brand for you.”
“Does it now?” I pull the ice away from his face and get a better look at the damage. “Think you know me,alpha?”
He just shrugs, his stare locked with mine, and my stomach does that same little flip thing it did when I first saw Styx, and when I was next to Rune not long ago.
Soul bonds are interesting things.
Very different from a scent match, which is more primal, more instinctual. I could have easily and happily knotted Row, bitten the shit out of her, and mated her in the stock room without batting an eye. While I’m ridiculously attracted to and generally aroused when my sweet beta, good boy omega, or alphas are within range, it’s a different kind of pull. Still strong, still certain, but different.
The fact that there’s a focal point, for one.
Sparrow is our connection, the one pulling us all together.
Matched with me and the big guy, soul bonded with Red, Mikhail, and this idiot. It all revolves around her and it’s kind of a miracle that we aren’t ready to tear each other apart in order to mark our territory. No, instead, I think us gentlemen will happily mark each other right along with Row, and I find it rather fascinating.
Sparrow.
I roll my eyes and reapply the ice as I blurt, “What do you think her real name is?”
“Who?”
“Sparrow.”
Dimitri frowns.
“Mike Tyson with the mask and tits. That can’t be her real name.” Even if it did come up connected to a fuckton of legal paperwork, like a birth certificate and social security card.
He shakes his head and covers my hand, pulling the ice pack away from his face. “Mikhailisn’t his name, so I’m sure hers is phony, too.”
Aha, the plot thickens.
I wonder if Styx knows?
Which is stupid, he’d tell me if he did and since he hasn’t said anything, he’s probably unaware of the aliases. I bet he’s skeptical, though. He’s too perceptive, too in tune with the people he gives a fuck about not to be.
“You aren’t going to tell me his real name right now, though, are you?” I grin as Dimitri just stares at me. “That’s fine, I’ll figure it out eventually. Preferably before I hear it screamed in the throes of passion. If we’re all banging shit out and I hear some random name yelled while someone is mid-orgasm, I’ll stop and have to figure out where the extra person came from. I’m an exceptional multitasker but the hyperfixation can be a game changer.”
“You are kind of an odd one, no?”
I wince internally but don’t let on.
I became a bounty hunter for two reasons; I was extremely good at killing people without getting caught, and the life of solitude worked for me.
I lost my parents before I could form memories of them, I didn’t have any other family from what I was told. The home for orphans I started out in was only willing to hang onto me until I was about five, then I got dumped into the system.
None of the foster homes I was in wanted to keep me for very long. I changed schools like dirty underwear, and both of those things meant I didn’t really have any friends. If I was lucky enough to find another outcast somewhere along the way, that generally didn’t last long, either, because of mywinning personality.
It’s better now, I’ve grown out of a lot of my bullshit, but ADHD doesn’t go away. It’s not something that can be cured, and sometimes I fall back into old habits, or my brain moves so fast my mouth can’t catch up then I say strange or incoherent, off the wall shit. Shit that catches everyone off guard, and has a tendency to weird people the fuck out.
Calling me astrange oneisn’t nearly as bad as some of the shit people have called me, or had the audacity to say to my face, but hearing it from someone I clearly have a connection to definitely stings a little.
“I like it.”
I blink a few times, refocusing my eyes on Dimitri’s smiling face. “You like what?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “That you’re odd. I likeyou, even if you haven’t introduced yourself yet despite all of the sexual references.”
A smile touches my lips as I turn away, shoving the used napkins into the cup before I ask for a glass of water.
