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“Go relax. You’ve barely slept this week.” Kaden waved him off. “If you fall asleep, I’ll put some aside for whenever you’re hungry.”
Niall nodded and staggered to their room.
“This feels weird,” I admitted.
Kaden dropped the meat into the pan. “What does?”
“The civility.”
He laughed once. “I think we needed this slap in the face to realize what’s important and that we have more in common than we thought.”
I watched the pot, waiting for the water to boil. “I wish this didn’t have to happen, but you’re right. We’re all on the same page now.”
“Want to know what I realized earlier today?” he asked while breaking up the meat.
“Sure.” I leaned against the counter.
“I’ve spent more time with you guys, in person, than I have with her. I picked up my life and moved to a different continent to be with her, and I’ve ended up with you lot instead.”
I wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t a joke. It was the unfortunate reality we were facing.
“I’m glad you’re here. I know things started out pretty tense, but we wouldn’t have been complete without you.”
He cracked a smile and went back to the stove.
Theo strode out when dinner was close to done shirtless in a pair of sweats while rubbing his hand through his wet hair. This wasn’t the first time, not even the hundredth time, I’d seen him in such a state, but it was the first time I found myself appreciating the view.
It wasn’t like I’d never noticed how muscular he was. We were best friends and played on the same rugby team. Being shirtless was more common than not. He might not be a shifter, but he didn’t have any qualms with nudity either.
Me noticing him like this was new.
Not new, but different.
I’ve always found him attractive, but in a way that I thought everyone did. I was able to look at him or Daniel or Malik, even Niall, and think they were objectively attractive. They were good-looking. I doubted I could find anyone on campus to disagree.
But these past few days, things felt different.
The bond wasn’t supposed to bring up new feelings. It didn’t force attraction. It magnified and strengthened what was already there.
So these thoughts weren’t brought on by the bond. Unfortunately, it was only Theo. I didn’t think of Niall or Kaden like this, which meant I couldn’t blame the bond.
It was him.
Shit.
This was something I didn’t want to think about. I didn’t want to address what it meant for me. Or Theo. Or Saige.
I couldn’t throw another complication into our already messy situation.
Saige had been so close, too close, when she asked me if the bond changed my feeling toward the guys. If I wanted to be nearer to touch them. If I missed them.
The answer was yes. In general, I did have the pull to have them close. I wanted to keep my family safe, and it was easier to do when we were together, but I didn’t feel any attraction to Niall or Kaden. I missed them when they weren’t around, but that was also because of Saige being gone. It was easier to concentrate knowing they were nearby. We all had too much to worry about. We found comfort in being together.
That was normal.
That was the bond.
Eyeing my best friend’s back as he walked around the kitchen, memorizing each muscle that flexed or stretched and the way the definition changed?
