I stumble, my breath catching as I look into Wings’ gray eyes. Dove gray, just like Meg always said. My calm in any storm, including this one, and my heart pinches at the concern I can taste in his scent. “I am. It’s a shock, I know, but I wanted it.” I clutch his hand tighter, shuffling until we’re shoulder to shoulder, his other arm looping around my waist. I breathe in his scent, but I can still feel my heart thudding erratically in my chest. Bonding bites and claiming instincts are one thing, but if Wings ever walked away from me, I’m not sure how I’d survive it. “Areyouokay? I mean, this is about you, too. It’s still you and me, even with all of this…”
I wave a hand at my neck, but my gaze is on Wings’ throat. Pitt’s calming bite has mostly healed, the scar a faint silvery shadow against his tanned neck. Mine, on the other hand, will never fade, and I can see the stark realization on his face. But there’s love and acceptance there, too, and my throat pinches as he says, “If it’s really what you want, then I want it, too.”
I nod in relief, words still eluding me as we reach the clinic and Patch unlocks the door. His tension is clear in the line of his shoulders and I frown. “Are you annoyed at me, Patch?”
“Not annoyed. Just… surprised you’d do something like this. It seems pretty impulsive, Abbie.”
My hackles rise, given that Patch only really knows the person I used to be. But the last thing I need tonight is another fight, and it is his birthday, after all. “We reallyarescent matches, Patch, just like you and Lyla. You know how hard it is to resist that connection.”
Not that I’d ever really wanted to resist it. I might have pushed it down for a while, let it stew with my fears and insecurities, but I really did want this. In some ways, bonding with Bluff felt as inevitable as the first time I took Wings’ hand in something more than friendship. It feltright, on a deep, primal level, so why would I turn my back on a gift like that?
Patch throws a narrow glance over his shoulder as he pushes the clinic door open. “Sure, but I didn’t gatecrash a club event and bite her in front of the guests.” My scowl deepens, and he sighs, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It’s just a really big step between a connection and a claiming bite. Can you admit that at least?”
I nod, because he’s right, of course. Between a connection and a claiming there’s usually some serious courting to get to know each other, and we’ve skipped right over that.Leapedover it, given that this is only the third time we’ve ever met. From the outside, it must seem crazy reckless, but I’m the one who has to live with it, and every part of me is humming at the warm, comforting connection in my chest.
Patch sighs at the look on my face. “Okay, let’s take care of you first. I’ll check you over and we can talk about what happens next.”
As soon as the door is closed behind us, Patch directs me over to an exam bay. Even in my distracted state, I can see that someone has put some serious money and effort into the center’s facilities. Everything is pristine and well-stocked, state-of-the-art equipment lined up against a backdrop of sparkling surfaces. It’s so far from the bleak first-aid nook in the old compound that I feel a professional itch under my skin. What would it be like to work here, with every convenience right at hand? How many more omegas could I help if money and resources weren’t always running critically low?
“Vitals first,” Patch says, ushering me onto a bed, “then I’ll have a look at the bite.”
I try to sit still while he checks my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature, then pricks my finger to test my hormone levels. “Elevated, but no surprise there,” he says once he’s studied the paper strip. “You said you met Bluff a couple of times before this. Did you have any symptoms after those encounters?”
I nod, helping him press a bandaid to my finger. “I thought it might be some kind of bond sickness.” I shoot Wings an apologetic look, since he had to deal with my moody ass while I was struggling with feelings of rejection. “Although, I wasn’t sure if it was just the stress of being back here. And then when Bluff didn’t immediately respond to the bond, it was easier to believe I just imagined it.”
Patch sighs as he sinks back onto his stool. “I get it, actually. I’ve been bonded for twenty years and then I suddenly find my scent match in a young, injured omega? It felt like I was betraying Glory in the worst way.” He gives me a pointed look. “But we talked it out. We both courted Lyla for months, and we entered into our bonding arrangement as a pack.”
A trickle of guilt slithers through me. In hindsight, jumping into Bluff’s arms off a picnic table probably wasn’t the most mature way to approach our scent bonding. “You’re right.We should’ve done it differently.” I hold his gaze, my fingers pressing against the delicate skin around Bluff’s bite. “But I won’t take this back, Patch. I don’t care what anyone says, itisdone, and they can’t change it.”
“Fine, but the club has rules about claimings, Abbie.”
“Right. Rules that should only apply if an omega is under duress. Iwantedthis claiming, and I don’t see why Ark has to get so bent out of shape over it.”
“Because Ark thinks you’rehis,” Patch says with an exasperated sigh. “He always has, and don’t pretend that this is news to you.”
I drop my gaze, because how can I deny it when that flash of hurt I saw in his eyes is still etched on my brain?
I rub my chest around the sudden ache.
Enough of the bullshit, Abbie.
I’m well aware that Ark and I are an unfinished story, and Bluff’s claiming has just hijacked the narrative. Not to mention what it’s done to my relationship with Pitt, the only alpha I’ve gotten close to in years. I want to believe this is something we can work through together, but it wouldn’t be the first time a pack fractured before it could properly form.
Pack.
I shiver, my finger gently stroking over the edge of the bite on my throat. I never realized how much I wanted it until I felt Bluff’s bond settle in my chest, right next to the piece of my heart that Wings has always owned.
“He had his chances,” I murmur, and Patch gives another disapproving rumble. “ButIwillapologize. I’m not trying to drive a wedge between him and Bluff.”
Patch grunts. “Sometimes I forget how young you really are.”
“What doesthatmean?”
“Tip from an old man. Brush up on your communication skills, because the only way any of you get through this is by talking it out. With clotheson. Now, hold still.”
I’m still blushing as Patch wheels his stool closer and runs a cotton bud over the bite mark on my neck. There’s a slight sting, but I keep my protests to myself as he studies the wound. “It’s clean,” he finally says. “I’ll say this for Bluff, it’s a careful, even bite, which is surprising given the circumstances.” I feel absurdly proud at the praise, and Patch gives a very unprofessional eyeroll. “It was still a dumbass move, Baby Bee.”
Wings snorts and gently brushes my hair back off my temple. “It’s pretty obvious you’re happy about it, butterfly. But does it hurt? You sure there are no regrets?”
