Page 62 of Welcome to Bone Town

“Do you… do you not want to bond me?” Cora’s voice wavers.

“Fuck, of course I want to bond you. You’re my scent match. But we’re just getting to know each other. And we’re several stories underground in an unpopulateddesert with no supplies and no way out. We can take the necklace with us, maybe you can try it when we get up?—”

“No!” Cora cries. “No. You know as well as I do that if we show up with the relic they’ll immediately take it for research. It’ll go under lock and key, maybe even end up in a museum or a laboratory, if it actually has healing properties. This is my only chance!”

Roman looks like he may counter again, but Bear beats him to it.

“Okay, everyone, let’s take a step back. We’re all tired, hungry, just escaped multiple instances of death, and aren’t thinking straight. Let’s find a way back up to the pools and our supplies first, then we can figure out what to do with the necklace. Deal?”

Cora sniffles, but agrees. We all decide it’s best to check the room for another exit before attempting to brave the scorpions again, so we spread out, carefully searching for any signs of hidden doors or other passageways.

I’d bet good money there won’t be any. It’s clear to me that this is a vault. The fewer entry points the better, but it seems to make everyone feel better to have something to do.

Even as I search, I find myself looking at the necklace every few seconds, captivated by it. I picture it around Cora’s slender throat, bouncing against her breasts as I fuck her while Bear takes me from behind. The image is so vivid I gasp.

“It’s mesmerizing, isn’t it?” Cora says from beside me. I’m not sure when she got so close, or when the two of usmoved within arms-length of the choker. Bear, Archer, and Jax are on the other side of the room.

It’s the first time we’ve been marginally alone since she discovered Bear’s her scent match, and my mind spins with all the things I want to know. All the things that are causing my gut to churn with anxiety. Heart thumping loudly, I take a deep breath to fortify my resolve. “So… scent matches, huh?”

“Yeah.” She drags her attention away from the relic to look at me, her eyes still a little glassy, but her lips tipped up into a soft smile.

“What’s it like?”

“What’s what like?” She turns back toward the relic.

“I mean, what’s it feel like to have a scent match? How did you know? Was it as instant as all the stories say?” Goddess, is that a stupid question? It probably is.Fuck.

Cora gives me a confused look. “Don’t you know?” Her hand moves back and forth in the space between us, then toward the three men still searching the other side of the chamber.

I bring my thumb to my mouth and chew on my cuticle, shaking my head. What is she implying?

“I thought… I mean… you smell…” Her nostrils flare, and she sucks her pretty pink lips into her mouth, then looks at her feet and shakes her head. “Nevermind.”

“No, please. I want to know. I… I need to know what you mean.”

“Archer, did you forget when I pretty much climbed you like a tree by the pools? Your scent, mmm, green tea and raspberries. I couldn’t resist. First Bear’s scent hit me like a punch to the gut, then yours wrapped around melike the sweetest comfort.” She worries her bottom lip with her teeth. “Did you…did you not feel it, too?”

She’s so vulnerable at this moment I want to tell heryes!I felt it—not right then when her scent was still too subtle to catch, but later. And now. Shit, she smells like a dream. But…

“Betas don’t have scent matches,” I hedge, staring at the choker, wondering what it would be like to feel its weight around my neck.

“Who says?” She takes my hand and brings my wrist to her nose, inhaling deeply. The touch warms my skin, heat radiating up my arm and down to my toes. “Standard convention is proven wrong all the time, you of all people should know that.”

Her eyes lift to meet mine.

Her scent thickens, like late summer hikes through the forest. Elderberry, fresh from the bush, rosehips as red as her lips. Something wild in my chest ignites.

Somewhere behind us, Jax and Bear laugh, but the sound seems far away. Everything is muffled by Cora’s sweet breath, the intensity in her gaze. I turn our hands over and bring her wrist to my lips, kissing the smooth skin. My tongue, darting out to taste her. We lean toward each other, and I feel as if my body is expanding, reaching for something. For her.

“Cora!” Bear’s voice slaps the air. He grabs her and tugs her a step back. Disoriented, she blinks multiple times in a row.

“Do you even realize what you almost did?” Bear spins her to face him.

“W-what?” She looks around like she’s trying to remember where she is.

“You were about to touch the necklace.” Bear’s thundering voice is loud enough to draw the attention of Jax and Roman.

“No… I…” Cora glances nervously between me and the relic. “Was I?”

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