Page 112 of Broken Bonds

“Nothing we haven’t seen before,” Ollie whispers in my ear with a chuckle.

“Oh, yeah? Did you all also catch the epic freak out I had after?” I ask with a raised brow, and they all wince.

“Yeah. We saw that, too. But you fixed it, and things have seemed to be better since. You kissed Link,” Lake says, familiar blue eyes on me.

“And then I called him by your name,” I deadpan, and he laughs.

“Yeah, and then he kissed you again, and you knew who you were kissing,” he smirks.

“I think they were always meant to be with you, with all of us,” Ollie says softly.

Lake and Van sigh, looking at each other with sad looks.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you guys about my brother. I just… When I left all those years ago, I was determined to put everything and everyone except Van in my past. Link didn’t deserve that, but we’d gotten into a fight before I left. It was stupid, and then years had passed before I knew it. By the time I finally felt ready to reach out and find him, we found out you were pregnant. And then I was so focused on you and the babies that I put finding Link on the back burner again. I wish I hadn’t. If I’d known that just a few months later I’d be gone, I wouldn’t have put it off,” Lake says, rubbing a hand down his face. “I didn’t know he’d spent the last ten years of his life looking for me. If I had…”

His voice trails off as the pain of keeping his brother out of his life overwhelms him. I hold my hand out for him and he takes it, kneeling next to Van in front of me.

“He forgives you, you know,” I tell Lake, cupping his cheek. “Talks about you a lot, asks about our life when he’s sure I’m in the right headspace. So forgive yourself. He’s just happy to know that you had a good life. That you had love, with both me and Van.”

I raise a brow at the two men and they both give me sheepish looks.

With Ollie on my left, Rule on my right, and Lake and Van in front of me, it should feel like I’m whole again.

The problem is that now it doesn’t.

There are more pieces to the puzzle of my heart now, waiting for me on the other side.

My babies.

Jillian.

Link.

Rion.

Forde.

“I… have to go back,” I say, looking at each of them, memorizing everything about them.

It’s in this moment that I finally feel the last slivers of myself slot back into place. That realization grounds me in this moment with my alphas, and I know in my soul that while this really is goodbye, they will always be watching over all of us. The beautiful men surrounding me know me so well that they can feel the resolve in my statement even without our severed pack bonds.

“You do,” Rule says, sighing sadly and nuzzling my cheek. “It’s not your time yet, Starfire.”

I nod, looking down at my lap. I feel sad that this is goodbye, but I also know it’s only goodbye for now. We will be together again someday. Today just isn’t that day.

“Times up, Rosebud. You’ve got three distraught alphas losing their minds and a beta that’s fully ready to barge into the afterlife and drag you back,” Ollie whispers, laughing lightly.

His eyes sparkle with mirth when I look over at him and I snort.

“She would do it, too,” I say, shaking my head.

“Yeah, she would. I miss her crazy ass,” Rule says with a grin.

We all stand, and they each take a turn kissing me and saying goodbye.

“No more holding back, Rosebud. Give them your all,” Ollie says before kissing me sweetly and moving to the side for Rule.

“You know I’m always in the stars watching over you, Starfire. Just look up at them anytime you miss me and know that I’m there looking back at you. As for your new alphas, keep ‘em on their toes,” he says with a wink just before he presses his lips against mine.

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