Page 27 of His Bonded Omega Mate
It was exhausting, adjusting to everything. I had pushed my body to the limit with all the training and flying needed to get into shape for enforcer duties. Deke, the head enforcer, loved to put me through my paces. It was like he got some sort of sick pleasure out of torturing me day after day. He had my cousin, Jake, and his mate, Sebastian, out flying with me at every opportunity. I had no idea how they kept up with patrols, along with my training.
There were only three bird shifters in the Sweetwater pack since my arrival, and we desperately needed more. Jake and I were both ravens, an all too common type according to the Northarbor aviary. There, they treated my family and the other corvids, like we were less than everyone else. Sebastian was practically shifter royalty, being a peregrine falcon. The only thing that would have elevated his status more was being an alpha instead of being a beta.
Someone from the aviary had caught Jake and Seb together and, under duress, they had confessed to their relationship. The elders of the flock had punished Jake by locking him into his raven form. Only Seb, selling everything he could to get his hands on the necessary magic, had saved him from a terrible fate.
When the aviary had caught me with Asher, a lion shifter and new to the pride, they had given me a choice; leave willingly before they exiled me or face the consequences of mating outside of my type. I got off lucky. My family had cut all ties, and honestly, I didn’t miss them. If they would put up with all that bullshit about sticking to species when it didn’t fucking matter, then they deserved to be treated like shit. Did they think that with siding with the elders and the dickhead of an alpha eagle that they would be magically treated better? Were they that deluded? Whatever the case, they weren’t my problem anymore.
This thing with Roan could be a problem, though. Hiroshi was clearly smitten with the man. He was sharing a bed with his mate within an hour of meeting him. Okay, so it was platonically, almost. They were just cuddling, and wolf shifters needed that. All shifters did, but wolves especially. It aided with their healing just by settling their wolves.
I didn’t know what to make of Roan. He was a great-looking guy with a shed load of charisma. He was obviously captivated by Hiroshi if he was willing to take us on, too. The man hadn’t even questioned it, just offered to try, whatever that meant.
It just didn’t make sense to me. Wolves were extra. They were highly possessive, dominant, and overbearing. Roan seemed sweet. He reminded me of Alpha Blake, who didn’t like being called Alpha Blake every second, “just alpha if you must, but I’d prefer my name.” I could see why he inspired so much loyalty.
Roan was similar. He had a quiet strength about him. I got the impression that he would allow Hiroshi to dictate the pace. I had to set some boundaries.
It took a while, but eventually I convinced Hiroshi that we had to allow Roan to get some sleep.
“How about we get you some clean clothes and you come to our house? There’s room for us all.” Hiroshi suggested with hearts in his eyes. It was going to be a nightmare to slow things down if I didn’t do it soon.
The way I saw it, if Hiroshi and Roan bonded, and tried bonding with me and Asher too, and it didn’t work, then I was stuck. I wanted to stay with the pack, but I’d have to find somewhere else for me and Asher to go.
As an omega, Hiroshi should have the little house that we were working to make our home. Like he’d promised, Logan had sent more of our things. The space was really starting to feel like a home.
It was more than that, though. I didn’t want to be faced with Hiroshi and Roan every day if it didn’t work until my heart could get over it.
I felt like me and Asher had to get to know Roan too, so that we could form a bond. Maybe if we had that base, if it all fell apart, then we’d know that we tried and that Hiroshi was in safe hands. At the moment, I could only go with guesses and intuition. Not nearly good enough for my sweet tiger. He needed love with someone worthy. Fate said Roan was that, but I wanted to be sure.
On the flip-side, if the chosen bond worked, and we didn’t get on or weren’t compatible, that would make everything strained. Would Roan make Hiroshi cut us loose?
“I, uh, I’d like that,.” Roan stammered out, a faint trace of a blush spreading over his cheeks, his smile wide. Damn, he was hot.
“Okay, we’ll go get some and come back for you. Maybe have a nap. Then you can shower if you’ll let Asher help you.”
“Um, will I need help?” Roan looked nervous.
“You suffered significant blood loss. Your shifter healing will help with that, but Roan, you had a seizure, too. You’ll have to take it easy for a couple of days.”
“Since we are new to the pack, we can’t take time off so soon from our jobs. Maybe you could shadow Hiroshi tomorrow, get to know each other better?” Asher suggested. It had been the first time he’d spoken in a while. Not unusual, but it had me wondering what was happening.
You okay?I tried using the bond. Asher had it locked down tight. I frowned. I’d have to take my mate aside later and get his thoughts.
Hiroshi leaped on that idea. “Oh! I love that idea, Asher! What do you think, Roan?”
“Yeah, ah, that would be great.” Roan grinned, perfect, white teeth on display.
“Okay.” Hiroshi darted forward and kissed Roan’s cheek. “Be back soon.”
When Hiroshi turned and dashed through the door, his face was aflame with a blush. I’d never seen him turn red for anything. I didn’t think he could get embarrassed!
I tried looking at Asher to see what he made of it, but his face was unreadable. A mask in place.
We walked towards the mansion. “Sunshine?”
“Yeah?” Hiroshi was hesitant.
“Could we have time to get to know Roan first before you bond? To see if he fits us, too. It’d be awkward if he loves pineapple on pizza or something and we just had to deal with it since he’s the alpha.”
Hiroshi laughed. A relieved sound with a tinge of hysteria. “Sure. I’ll slow down. Isn’t he just perfect, though? Stunning and sweet. And. Most importantly! He’s willing to try!”
