Page 178 of Bliss & Her Idols

“Since when did I ask you to act like a Beta?” Torin coldly interrupts Cricket’s rambling. “And by the way, naked like that, there’s no question of your strength. Those abs and muscles are hard to miss. But you’re my little darling. I appreciate the offer to care for us, since my bully brother’s trick didn’t work on you. What made you think, however, that I wasn’t going to bond with you today?”

My stomach twists.

Is Cricket going to tell Torin about being a Non-heat? The real reason that he has such fucked up ideas?

“I dreamed that you would. I let myself think that I could have this. But I can’t be that selfish. I love you all too much…” Cricket raises his hand to his mouth to stifle his sob, trying to hide his face.

Shocked, Torin’s hard expression softens.

He scrambles across the nest to wrap his arms around Cricket and pull him against his chest.

Torin looks over Cricket’s head at me, begging me with his eyes to explain this.

My mind is becoming foggy, as I slip deeper into heat.

I still struggle to say, “He’s scared. Scared to be rejected. Abandoned.”

And thrown out of this nest.

Torin lightly shakes Cricket. “I’d never do that.”

Cricket turns his tear stained face up toward Torin. “I know that now. ButImay abandon all of you, and that’s the truth I’ve been running from. It scares me more than anything. I’m terrified that if we bond, then you risk suffering from Shattered Bond Syndrome.”

Torin’s brow furrows in confusion. “But that would only happen if you…” He becomes ashen. “…died.”

“Charming,” Cricket says, urgently, “I wasn’t keeping it secret. It was just that saving Jin was the one thing I’ve been hanging onto life to achieve for years now. I was desperate to see that I’d been part of that, before I distracted everyone.”

“Distracted?” Torin says through clenched teeth.

Cricket nods. “The trick didn’t work on me because I’m a Non-heat. I have a condition, Omegaosis, that could have been treated, if my parents had got help for me when I was young. But to them, I wasn’t worth it.”

My eyes prick with tears.

“I’ll get you treatment.” Torin clings to Cricket, kissing his hair over and over. “Whatever you need. I swear, you’ll be okay.”

Cricket looks away. “Whether I am or not, this adventure has been like finally coming to life. I’ve been buried away my entire life. Then Bee saved me and showed me the outside world. Jin and you showed me that I could be valued and loved. I’m grateful.Happy.It’s enough.”

“It’ll never be enough.” Torin’s voice is raspy with tears. He pushes Cricket away by the shoulders to stare into his face. “I don’t care if that makes me greedy. But we need you in our lives.”

“If I die…”

“Then we’ll all be broken.” Torin rests his forehead against Cricket’s. “And if I’m driven feral by Shattered Bond Syndrome, then I’m prepared to take that risk, in order that every day we still have together, you get to experience being fully mine.”

Cricket’s gaze slips to mine, uneasy and unsure.

“If you want this,” I murmur, “bond.”

Cricket’s small smile is like sunshine breaking through cloud. “Please,bond us both.”

Torin’s expression becomes icy and dominant, as he shoves Cricket down into the center of the nest. “Only as long as you understand that I don’t give up what’s mine. I’m going to show you such bliss that you’ll never take the angels’ hands, when they reach for you.”

My breath catches.

Cricket is looking up at Torin, mesmerized.

When Torin slides his hand up my thigh, I spread my legs. He plays his fingers along the soaking folds of my pussy, before teasing my clit.

“Wait for me,” Torin murmurs. “Mo stoirin is going to help get me ready for you. You can enjoy yourself watching. Then I’ll bond you both together.”

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