Page 84 of Bonds of Fate

Even Rowan, who has taken to curling over his cock protectively.

“Nix seems no worse for wear, unlike our intrepidly youthful alpha,” Finn observes with a smirk.

“Fuck off, Finn. How can you kick a man when he’s down? Come here and kiss me better.”

Finn does, and they both do it with the tiniest smiles on their faces.

“Want me to look at it?” Finn is pointing at The Cock™ in question, and the three other alphas want to cross their hands over their dicks in sympathy.

“No! No one is touching this dick for a year. Well, maybe a week, or at the very least today. Holy fuck, Finn—whatwasthat?” He asks again.

Jay wants to know the same thing.

Grayson has taken his soulmate into his arms, holding him like an infant, urging him to come around in a whispering croon to no avail. Leo rests his head on Jay’s thigh, and Jay runs a soothing hand through his soft curls.

They’re quite a sight when Gideon comes bounding up the stairs at a run, Luca close behind, shopping bags dangling from his wrists. Jay wonders who texted him—or if he just has a sixth sense for when shit hits the fan—probably the latter.

“Start talking.” Hands on his hips, he’s a veritable storm of thunder scent and piercing gaze.

“Sugar! Did we miss Ro bonding with Nix? It smells so good.” He drops his bags, crawling over to sit on Leo’s belly and leaning into Grayson’s space to get a closer look at the purpling bite on Nix’s throat.

“Baby, watch out for Leo’s tummy—he’s not feeling well,” Jay warns.

The tummy in question groans, but still, Leo squeezes his mate to let him know he can stay.

“Is that a right-side bond bite? Finn, I left you in charge for two hours.”

“A right-side bite?” Finn nudges Luca off their omega’s neck, and sure enough, the deep red bite is fresh, smelling of spiced rum with vanilla topping. “Well, fuck. The books did not cover that.”

Grayson nods sagely. “That’s what I said.”

“I fucking hate half a story, Jay. Give it to me from the beginning.” Gideon sits beside Rowan and takes the alpha’s unresisting hand into his, squeezing—it’s enough comfort for the both of them.

Jay retells it from the beginning—from the horny kissing, right straight through their omega taking The Cock™ in one fell swoop, to the right-side bite and straight onto the crazy, synced-up orgasms, and finally the forced separation using his Alpha Voice.

“Did I forget anything?” He checks in with Grayson, whose grip on Nix hasn’t let up one bit.

“I got to come, too,” Leo whispers as he accepts another piece of chocolate from Luca. By mouth. With tongue. “But no bite, not yet.”

“Dr. Merritt, why is our kitten still out? Did Ro blow his fuse?”

He skirts the wolf-pile to approach Grayson’s other side. Grayson’s scent shifts from fresh basil to burnt garden—his worry growing because Nix has been out too long.

“I don’t know, honestly. Maybe let’s clean him up and find him somewhere quiet. If he’s not awake in the next hour, I’ll take him to the hospital.”

No one wants that—if Nix never has to set foot in that place again, it will be too soon.

Rowan, who has kept his hand over his balls since separating from his mate, scrambles to sit up. “Did I break him?”

“Rowan, you didn’t fucking break him. If he can take you in one pass, he’s just recovering from the multiples you had.” Jay can tell that Finn isn’t as sure as he’s making out. “His vitals are great. He’s okay, Ro.”

Jay spots Grayson with a hand under his elbow as he rises to his feet, and although he’d love to have his mate recover in his bed, it’s still a disaster. A beautiful disaster.

Those sheets need to get into the wash as soon as possible—after the scent has fully permeated the walls of his room. Yup. Maybe then.

“Er…not in my room…it’s—Finn, is it okay in yours?”

Its door is right behind them, closer than anywhere else.

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