Hale had grown very quiet.
“I… fuck.” Hale looked like he was going to cry.
“Don’t cry. Oh shit.” Fiona’s eyes grew wide. “I feel that.”
“I feel that, too,” Carlos whispered.
“I... I’m so sorry.” Hale’s panic filled the room. “I don’t remember it. But I think I bonded with both of you.”
Chapter Thirty
Hale
My heart twisted as I realized what all the feelings I’ve been bombarded with since waking up actually meant.
Fiona gazed at me with love in her eyes as she cupped my face with her hand.
There were no squeals, but there was an earnestness, a sincerity, as her thumb stroked my cheek. “Hi there, Alpha.”
No disappointment came through her bond with me, just optimism–and a little worry at my panic.
There was another push to the bond, but it felt different. Hers was effervescent, like lime soda. This was more like popping candy.
I turned to look at the other person on my lap.
“You’ve got me, too, Papi.” Carlos waggled his eyebrows at me as I got lust through the bond.
Well, at least they weren’t upset about it.
Still, shit, I’d bonded them both. Carlos looked at me, concerned, as I struggled to tamp the bond down, so I didn’t hurt them with feelings that weren’t theirs to deal with.
Not that I really knew what to do in practice, just the theory I’d gotten in high school alpha classes.
But it was too late.
Carlos’ forehead pressed to mine. “Hey, we’ll get through it.”
“We have time before your winter break is over. We’ll check your university’s policies for mated students. There are PhD programs in New York you can apply to, I’m sure. Or you can probably commute to BosTec. That’s the only sciency school I know of,” Fiona added.
“Your brother goes there right? Or you could go to NYIT like your sister,” Carlos teased.
Yeah, I hadn’t gotten into BosTec. I didn’t even apply to NYIT. Both were toptechies–science universities.
The assumption that my panic had to do with my degree was on target, but that wasn’t what fueled the terror.
The fear was due to the fact that I’d been a massive alphahole. I just bonded with two people,without their permission.Fiona would have the right to file assault charges against me–and for the bonds to be dissolved.
I put my arms around them both. “I’m so fucking sorry for what I did. I did this without your consent. Even if I did ask, if you were in heat that doesn’t actually count. It’s not like we talked about it and I apologize for taking that choice away from you.”
Remorse filled me. Ultimately, as the alpha it was my responsibility. Fiona and Saoirse had probably talked about bonding. Fiona and Carlos may have as well.
But me? I was just the guy along for the free trip.
Not to mention I wasn’t a catch. I was twenty-one, still getting a degree, I lived with eight people, drove a beat-up truck, sold party drugs, and worked at the Titty Tank.
Also, I’d just stripped her and Carlos of their ability to choose the alphas they deserved. Two lives had been ruined by me making a dumb choice while drunk and high, my head full of pheromones.
This was quite a mistake, especially since fixing it would be painful.
