Page 87 of Drown My Sorrow

“What?” Gael asks in shock.

“What?” I almost shriek.

Shale reaches out and takes my hand. “When I thought they would leave, and you were so distraught-”

“I wasn’t distraught-”

“You were distraught. But when I panicked, I, no, we did something terrible.”

I swallow hard.

“We took them down by knife point to the beach, and we forced bonds on them. We are as much to blame for this mess as they are.”

“You were trying to protect me.”

“I will always do that. But you can’t hurt your pack to protect your pack. It doesn’t work. I broke trust with them. And I hurt them. I took their free will and their choices. It was wrong. I can see that now.”

“They hurt me,” I whisper.

“And I hurt them. And we are all in a big circle of miscommunication, and I had some time to think sitting behind bars, and I think I forgot our pack is bigger than four. It’s seven. It’s always been seven, and it always will be. This is our reality, and we need to find a way to make peace with it.”

“No.”

“It’s done, Omega. They’ve been bonded to us for days now. They are Daane. And no matter how much I might want them gone, in your heart, they are yours. And you will never find peace until you have all of us. Above all things, your happiness is my reason for living.”

I want to argue with him, but he just gives me a small, tight smile.

“This is why I wanted to wait before we did bonds, but it’s done, too. We are one pack now, come what may.”

I look at Kelly, Ezy, and Gael. I pined over them for years. Hell, I followed them. I went and tried to see them.

What did they actually do to hurt me?

Nothing. They didn’t actually physically touch me. Just everything else, like taking the Daane, treating me like I’m rubbish. I don’t have to make it easy, and I don’t have to forgive them.

I take the ham and cheese toast and sit back against Beau.

“I don’t want them to touch me,” I spit out sullenly.

“There’s only one bed,” Shale says with a grin.

“Then they sleep on your side,” I snap.

Shale grins. “I love it when you get spicy.”

I chew as Shale gets up and goes into the bathroom. Keagan comes out and climbs into bed, cuddling up beside me.

“Oh, this is the life. I don’t look good in prison, baby girl. It’s awful.”

“You look good in anything, remember?”

The hotel door bangs open, and Nat bursts into the room. She crawls over Keagan, who spits and swears as she flops down on me. Beau just manages to save my food.

“I was so worried about you! Don’t ever do that to me again!”

“Sorry, Nat!”

“I swear to fuck I am going to be smashing cameras tomorrow.”

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