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The room goes still. No one moves or even breathes. No one knows what to say.
“Why do the goddamn elders keep so much from us? They knew? They fucking knew and didn’t warn us?” Jonah yells, and for the first time, I see him truly angry.
“They do it to protect you. You know that,” Drago says quietly.
Rook shakes his head, refusing to accept the reality of the situation. I don’t blame him. “Well, we just have to figure out a way around it.”
“Sure,” I say. “But there’s more.” I take a breath and try not to allow the lead in my chest to creep into my throat. “Drago and I claimed each other. We were both out of our minds, drunk on pheromones, and didn’t realize what we were doing in the moment.” I hide my gaze in my knees and tuck them even closer to my chest.
If I thought the room was quiet before, now it’s a tomb.
“That means…” Jonah can’t even finish the sentence.
Just like I couldn’t finish our brand new bond.
Too scared to test it after our claiming, too scared to reach out and kindle it to life, I’ve ignored it, just stuck my head in the sand and ostrich-ed it out of my mind.
“We claimed each other as well,” Jonah finally gets out.
“I’m sorry. I was in heat, and I didn’t mean—”
Rafe shoots off the sofa and spins to face us. “You’re telling me you fucking claimed every last one of us?”
The deep V in his brow and his tone all point to another jealous outburst about to unfold.
Drago lets a low growl rattle in his throat.
“Yes,” I say, meeting his gaze. “And I won’t be sorry for it.”
“Good!” Rafe yells. “That means we all have a really good incentive to figure out how to beat the scourge and move on with our claimed and bonded lives.” He storms off outside and starts yelling at Chad again.
Drago squeezes me closer, laying a kiss on top of my head.You did well, little Omega.
I squeeze him back, not convinced I did.
Mari peers at the lot of us, gaze roving over us all with a puzzled expression. “Who the fuck is Chad?”
Chapter17
The Bond
I takedeep breaths of Drago’s sharp ozone scent, letting his warmth settle into me, calming me, while Rafe gets his head together outside.
His scent reminds me of the fresh, unmistakable scent of cold winter air. It reminds me of home.
And pretty soon, along with that wintry scent, I pick up subtle pine and spice scents.
So subtle, I convince myself they aren’t there. A figment of my overly sentimental imagination wishing Solstice and all the holiday traditions were here.
But by the time I realize Drago’s scent has slowly been changing, I’m already nose deep in spiced pine.
I pull away, but he holds me tight, pressing my face into his chest far too tightly.
Drago would never do that.
There’s no ozone. Only pine and spice.
I try again to pull away, not wanting any more of the revenant’s pheromone in my system, but it’s too late.
