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She cuts him off with a finger over his mouth. “Baby…of courseI want a bond with you. You were one of the first faces I saw when I came to this pack. The first person to tell me how happy you are to have me here.I love you, Achilles. I want to be yours in every way possible,” she says, getting choked up. Looking up at me, she kisses me lightly on the mouth. “Will you make us yours, Alpha?”
My knot is starting to deflate, but I’m not ready to lose that connection yet. Surging forward, I grab her hand, bringing it to my mouth and kissing the fleshy part of her palm right underneath her thumb before sinking my teeth in. I feel the bond snap into place and lick over the wound before pulling Achilles forward. I place a gentle kiss where his neck meets his shoulder before doing the same to him, cementing the bond between the three of us. After tending to both of their wounds, I finally pull back to see tears in both of their eyes. Blake pulls us both in for a hug and kisses away the tears I’m surprised to feel on my own cheeks.
“I love you both. Thank you for giving us this, D,” Achilles says, gratitude shining in his hazel eyes.
I squeeze his hand before we all snuggle into each other, and I pull a blanket over us. As I drift off to sleep, the only thought in my head is how lucky I am to have a bond with the girl I’ve loved most of my life, and one of my very best friends.
ChapterTwenty
EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER
Blake
We landed in Lockwood early the next morning. The guys wanted to take me straight to my parents’ house after we stopped at their house for quick showers and breakfast for all of us. My brothers were less than an hour behind us and were planning on meeting us there.
What I’ve seen so far of my pack’s house isgorgeous. It’s like someone took my dream house and dropped it in this adorable, gated community. The house is a massive modern antebellum style with a huge wraparound porch and second-floor balcony. The siding is bright white, leading down to black painted brick at the bottom and black storm shutters. There are also flat overhangs on each side of the roof that would be perfect for stargazing. I haven’t seen much of the inside, but what I have seen is full of natural light and soft colors. The guys all promised me I could explore more later.
There wasn’t a lot of fanfare surrounding our new bond marks, but they did seem pretty surprised Hades bonded us both. Rook just gave us all a really proud look. When I pulled him aside to ask him why, he said that he was proud of Hades for taking Achilles’ needs into account during a moment he could have made only about him as the Alpha. The love these men have for each other is incredible and I feel so freaking lucky to be a part of this pack. Kai pulled me back as we were walking out the door, nipping at my ear and whispering that he had plans for us tonight.
I definitely had to hide a shiver after that.
About an hour later, we’re all fresh, clean, and fed before going on the short walk to my parents’ house. Apparently, all four packs live on this street, which was the main draw when the guys bought their first house here. My brothers come sauntering out of the house next to my pack’s. Beck sprints at me, picking me up in a tight hug before somehow maneuvering me onto his back for a piggyback ride.
“I slept almost the entire flight home, and I woke up in a panic thinking you were a dream. That I was going to step off the plane and still be missing the other half of my soul. I’m so dang happy it wasn’t a dream, Blakey,” he murmurs, sounding choked up.
I squeeze him tightly around his neck. “I’m happy it wasn’t a dream too, Becky.” He scoffs playfully at that, causing me to giggle. “I never thought I would know what it was like having a family who actually loves me and cares about me. In less than two weeks, I got a pack, a whole gaggle of brothers,andparents who are about to find out I’m still alive and okay. I’m terrified that I’m going to wake up someday and still be in that basement, or worse. I don’t want to lose you guys again,” I finish in a whisper.
He squeezes my legs where he’s holding them under my knees. “If we have anything to say about it, Short Stack, you’ll bebeggingus to leave you alone with your new pack. Trust me, we have thirteen years of being annoying brothers to catch up on. You’ll never get rid of us at this rate,” he says, loud enough for the others to hear.
His words spark a lively debate between all nine guys about a visitation schedule. How they probably shouldn’t show up unannounced if they want to avoid seeing one or more of them naked. They’re all still arguing like children as we approach a pretty white house with blue shutters and huge dogwood trees out front. Memories play out in front of my eyes as we approach, and I lean over to catch Grayson’s attention.
“Did you fall out of that tree and break your arm when we were kids?” I ask him quietly. His eyes mist over, and he puts his hand on my back as he nods.
“Yeah, Bug. I did. I was chasing your wild ass, and you somehow managed to get down before I even reached the top. When I looked down to find you, I lost my footing and fell. That was maybe a week before you were taken, and you spent that entire week doing everything I asked because you felt so guilty that you got me hurt. I never really blamed you, you know. You had us all wrapped around your tiny finger from day one.” He chuckles. A single tear rolls down his cheek as Beck purrs happily beneath me.
Silas is the first to the robin’s egg blue door and doesn’t bother knocking, just walking straight in and taking off his shoes. Owen, who walked behind me on the way here, gently takes mine off and sets them on the shoe rack by the door. Setting me down, Beck moves me in front of him and puts his hands on my shoulders to keep me steady as I shake with nerves.
“Hey Mama,” Si yells out. “We need you and Dads in the living room now, please.”
Gray leans in close. “Wait for it, all the families are here for Sunday barbecue, and we didn’t tell them anything. This is going to be amazing. Just be prepared for non-stop crying,” he murmurs. Tears are evident in his own eyes and are quickly building in mine, so I have no doubt he’s telling the truth.
“Good grief, Silas O’Connor. They’re already in there. There’s no need for you to…” she trails off as she rounds the corner and spots us, her eyebrows rising in mild shock until her gaze lands on me. She’s a small woman, maybe an inch taller than me, with a slender build. Her hair is a slightly darker red shade than mine and Beck’s, and her eyes are brown, crinkling at the corners. She has what look like laugh lines around her mouth and you can tell she smiles a lot.
“Oh my word...” she whispers as she drops the vase of flowers she was holding, shattering it against the smooth brick flooring in the foyer. “No… it can’t be. This isn’t... how...” Her words cut off on a loud sob and suddenly four enormous men are rushing into the room and surrounding my mom.
I take a tiny step forward, Beck following right behind and twining our hands together.
“Hi, Mama,” I choke out, tears racing freely down my cheeks.
The four men stiffen before turning slowly. Two of the four, a set of identical twins, stare at me with eyes the exact shade of mine and Beckett’s. The largest of the four stares blankly at me before his face crumbles. He puts his giant hand over his mouth before breaking out into gut-wrenching sobs that are so loud, I nearly have to cover my ears, backing further into Beck.
He’s the largest man I’ve ever seen, towering over everyone in the room, but maybe only an inch or so taller than Rook, who is already six and a half feet. He’s got the same dark russet hair as Grayson and kind brown eyes that glitter like amber in the midday sun. Despite his sheer size, he’s not somebody I would be afraid of if I ran into him on the street.
“Daddy Ben?” I whisper, recognizing the huge man in front of me as the one who carried me everywhere as a child even when Mama told him not to.
He nods, and mama comes forward, stopping less than a foot away. “Blakely, baby, is that really you? How are you here?” she gets out between hiccupping sobs.
I’m nodding before she even finishes her question, but it’s Owen who answers for me. “It’s a long story, but the Beaumonts found her, Mama. We already did the DNA test in London, there’s no question Blake here isourBlakely,” he finishes, crying softly.
