Page 46 of Tangled Threads Of Fate

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The way my insides melted was directly at odds with my god-given what-the-fuck-o-meter. My head and my gut were at war, but one of those had already gotten me in trouble, and it wasn’t my gut. So I leaned into his lips, trusting the contentment that washed over me.

He let out a small noise of surprise, then wrapped one of those tree-branch-sized arms around my shoulders and led me outside.

The pool in the backyard was sparkling invitingly. The stone deck had a couple of loungers and umbrellas around it, as well as one of those covered ottomans, which made me want to curl up like a cat on it with a good book.

Off to the side was a trellis covered in a leafy grapevine, creating an enticing shady area. A long wooden table sat beneath it, covered with food and large jugs of what looked like fruit punch.

Tryp was leaning back in his chair, the two back legs holding his weight precariously as he grinned at me. “Little Dumpling, are you feeling better?”

Erus reached over and pushed him backwards, making him land on the ground with a thud. “You don’t call a pregnant woman a dumpling, dumbass.”

I reached down to grab Tryp’s hand, not that I had a snowball’s chance in Hell of lifting him off the ground. A little shock ran up my arms, and I laughed. “It’s okay; he isn’t wrong. I’m more round than I am tall at the moment.”

Erus was frowning down at Tryp, who seemed impervious to his censure. “He still doesn’t have to say it out loud. Tryp has always been bad at watching his tongue.”

Erus wasn’t wearing a shirt, and honestly, I was having a hard time not drooling. Tryp was wearing one of those tanks with gaping arm holes that showed your nipples, not really covering anything.

“You haven’t ever complained about how I use my tongue before,” he purred at Erus, and there was heat in his gaze as he looked up at the other man. Erus raised a single eyebrow, but there was a curl to his lips that told me he was vividly remembering exactly how Tryp used his tongue. They were looking at each other like lovers.

Oh shit…Well, I guess that made sense. Theywerelovers.

I went to step away from Tryp before Erus got the wrong idea. That was when I noticed Tryp’s threads wrapping around my arms, and I jumped away with a yelp. Surely it didn’t happen that easily, right? Surely it wasn’t that easy to bond someone?

I shook my arm, like the golden streaks were actual ropes that might fall off, but nothing happened. If anything, they curled tighter around my arms, climbing higher and wrapping around my torso too.

“Oh, no, no, no. This can’t be…” I looked frantically between Tryp and Erus, who were both watching me with wide, confused expressions. “I don’t think… I’m sorry!” Teron was in front of me, reaching toward me, but I scrambled backwards. “Don’t touch me!” I shouted, tripping over my feet. Only Milo’s sturdy body behind me stopped me from ending up on my ass.

Teron lifted his hands. “What’s wrong?”

My frantic eyes bounced past him to Demke, whose frown told me he’d already guessed. “I think I just bonded with Tryp.”

Chapter 23

WREN

Someone gasped, but my eyes were locked on Demke. Disappointment contorted his face, and I wanted to shout that it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t meant to do it.

Teron stepped into my line of sight, cutting off the staredown Demke was giving me. “What makes you think that?” He reached to place two fingers against my wrist to check my pulse, but I stepped away again.

I looked hard at the golden threads this time, really searched them out, now that I knew they weren’t random, that they meant something. Tryp had thin threads floating around him, with at least one touching every single person here. But the threads that ran from him to me were like ropes in comparison to string. They banded around my body so tightly, it was a wonder they didn’t strangle me like a boa, curling one over the other like a braided rope.

I looked at everyone else—except Demke—and really took notice of where their threads led. Nate’s were wrapped firmly around me, with very little of his light touching the others. They swirled over my rounded stomach, and I knew he was invested in my babies as much as me.

Milo had one thick rope, as wide as my wrist, wrapping up my arm like a serpent. Teron had a soft, small streak coming toward me, but it was thin, wispy. The same as the ones to the guys. I knew that meant he wasn’t bonded to me. That was good; I didn’t want to examine why it sent disappointment coursing through my veins.

I looked away from his threads, back up at his eyes. “Because his threads are wrapped so tightly around me, I can almost feel them,” I muttered miserably.

Teron made a thoughtful noise, looking at Tryp like he might hold the key to it. “And Erus?”

I frowned. I hadn’t touched Erus at all, as far as I could remember. But when I looked at his threads, they spiraled around Tryp and then around me. Tryp didn’t have several threads—like Milo, he had only one. The other one was Erus’s.

“I don’t understand.” I didn’t understandanyof this. Milo rubbed my back, and I realized he was holding me softly against his front. I met Nate’s concerned expression and resisted the urge to ugly cry in frustration. Why couldn’t life ever give me a moment to catch my breath?

“They are two halves of one soul. That means if one’s fate is entwined with yours, they both are,” Teron said matter-of-factly, but his eyes were taking me in, like he was trying to count my heartbeats without touching me. I wondered if he could actually do that.

Why wasn’t I bonded to him? He’d touched me a lot. His whole head had been on my stomach at one stage. I was pretty sure I’d touched him too, but his threads were barely there.

“I still don’t understand anything.” Despondency rose up in my chest to replace the fear and confusion.

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