Page 42 of His Bonded Omega Mate
I wished for a clear mirror, the surface too fogged up. Tate sent a mental image of my marks. The one made by Roan was bigger and looked older than the one from Hiroshi, yet both had faded a little.
Tate handed me the soap, and I lathered up, running my hands over his body while I thought. I scanned my eyes over his marks. “Your mark from Roan is healing over. The Hiroshi one is still fresh.”
He wrapped his arms around me as I pressed my face into his neck. “What do you think this means?”
I turned my head. “I dunno. Maybe we just need to try harder with Roan. Try to deepen our bond.”
“Do you think that will work?”
That was the question I had no answer to.
Even a week later, I couldn’t answer him. I checked our marks daily and there was no change, but no improvement. Part of me wanted to ask Roan and Hiroshi to bite us again, except that would make Hiroshi panic he was losing us.
All I could do was throw myself into this mating. Tate loved Hiroshi and so desperately wanted to make this work. For him, I would do anything. So I followed his lead.
I cooked with Roan, trading casual touches. I just didn’t initiate any touches in the bedroom. We talked and worked to feed our mates, and slowly, I got to know the man. With each new thing I learned about Roan, the more I grew to respect him. He’d grown up in the Hayes pack, and like our Alpha Mate, was a decent person despite it.
“How are things with your dad?” I asked as Roan helped me put together dinner.
“Alright,” Roan shrugged. His head was down, so it was difficult to see his expression. His tone gave little away. “He apologized again. Said he’s stuck with the pack. They have cases of beta sickness there, so he can’t come visit and do it in person.”
“Do you think he’s truly sorry?”
“Yeah, but more because he looked bad in front of Blake. Kade told me what he said to him in the living room, especially the stuff about Elliotte. It makes me worried about him being around our pups if we are blessed with them.”
“Do you think that’s a possibility?” He looked confused. “Pups, I mean. For you and Hiroshi.” We hadn’t given thought to how children would change the forever shifting dynamic between us. Roan seemed to respect the distance that I’d put between us physically while I sorted my head out.
“I’m hopeful,” he mumbled. His eyes met mine. “You know they would be yours as much as mine. You and Tate are our family. Chosen family is as important, if not more important, than blood.”
His words struck a chord with me. Tate had been my chosen mate since betas didn’t have fated matches. We had stuck with each other through a lot. His rejection from the aviary had hit him hard, as had the subsequent loss of his family, having lost them from their fear of their standing within the aviary worsening.
Meeting Hiroshi and bringing him into our relationship was one of the best things we’d ever chosen to do. I didn’t regret it at all, even with how confused I was over our current circumstances.
If I was completely honest with myself, I wasn’t in love with Hiroshi. I loved him dearly, but he wasn’t mine in the way Tate was.
Tate. Everything came back to him. He wanted this bond with the four of us. So I’d make it work.
“You’re right. Chosen is better by far.”
Testing
Hiroshi
“Babe,I’mjustheadinginto the office early. We have a big meeting. Tate is in training already. Asher is at work.”
“Hmm?” I muttered as he roused me from sleep. Turning over didn’t help me escape the voice.
“I’m heading out. See you for lunch? Don’t forget you have an appointment in an hour.” Distantly, I heard Roan leave the room.
“‘Kay, thanks.” I waved a hand at Roan, who likely couldn’t see it, and wriggled into the middle of the bed, enjoying the scents of my mates. The front door opened and closed again. Silence fell over the house, and I sighed.
There. A scent that was different. It immediately caught my tiger’s attention. They sat up and heightened my senses to pick it up better. What was that smell?
I pushed my nose into the sheets, thinking it was maybe them, though we’d changed them after the night before. We’d needed to. Our activities had gotten… messy.
Mentally, I tracked back, just over two weeks since we had bonded. Could it be?
I rushed to get ready, scrubbing down quickly in the shower and eating some toast on the way to the clinic. I wasn’t even sure if my clothes matched or if I combed my hair before I left the house. It was possible I hadn’t even locked the door.
