Page 139 of Queen of Diamonds

I choked a half sob, half laugh, leaning into his palm.

“Is it... wrong, if my connection with Kyan is... different?” I asked.

Knight’s chest rumbled with a laugh. “Your connection to all of us is different. The way I see it, you’re both mine—and brats—so what’s the difference?”

“And Zed?” I asked.

Knight snorted. “He’s still got Maverick blood. We’re all his. The closer we’re tied, the easier it is for him to keep us all in his little pack box for show and tell.”

I glanced up at him, a smile still stiff on my face. He seemed to see that, though, too.

“You can’t worry about it anymore,” he breathed. “Everything...” He trailed off, scrunching his nose all cute-like which meant he might be close to tears. “Everything after was inevitable. Soulmates on either side of a war. Kyan could no more kill you than you could have let him die. That’s all there is to it.”

47

KYAN

It was movie night.

We were all making an effort to help her settle in. She was having trouble, though. Every morning she woke in our arms less sick by the day, but it wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t admit it to any of us, but we all knew. The meds wouldn’t stabilise her forever, and her heat was approaching quickly. She should be nesting.

She was so fucking perfect, curled up in my embrace on a huge couch facing a TV that spanned almost the entire wall. The Forbes mansion was nothing if not stacked.

It was evening, and we were watching a movie. I wasn’t really focused on it, though.

I didn’t know how to be, with thunder and lightning in my arms, the most beautiful scent on the planet.

My burner phone buzzed, and I glanced at it, then stifled a growl. Lev needed to leave off. It was getting ridiculous, and my instincts misfired every time I saw his name on my phone screen. Our last texts (not involving cat pictures) went something like:

Lev: There are only three of you in that pack, right? Heat is going to be rough. Let me know if you need a fourth.

Me: We can handle our Omega.

Me: If your cell number ends up in one more cat picture, I’ll fucking skin you.

I’d received nothing to that but a middle finger emoji.

And another Lucy video.

Prick.

“Kyan.” Glade’s whisper ripped me from my thoughts.

“Yeh?” I asked.

“We never talked about…” She frowned, chewing on her lip. The word was just for me, the sound of the movie drowning our voices from the others. “I mean. We don’t have to, but… before everything happened with Ace…” She trailed off, like she didn’t know how to say it.

I shifted so I was facing her.

I’d been so pissed at Knight for telling her that day, but a lot had happened since. It had put this all into perspective. And I know for a fact that they had been talking about sappy shit earlier because neither of them knew how to lock the bond down. Getting left behind wasn’t on the agenda when it came to our omega.

I tucked her hair behind her ear. The action scene of the fantasy movie we were watching, drowning our words to the others.

“I almost… left…” I whispered. “Left you. Left Knight and Zed. Left… everything.” I felt the goosebumps rising on her skin at my words.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Knight taught me it was okay to love you even after what happened. He helped me see I was allowed to believe in you. No matter what.”

And so I had.

---