Page 109 of Knot So Sweet
He disappears, and his footsteps thunder down the stairs into the bakery.
"He's going to make enough food to feed an army," Xaden observes, settling back down beside me. "Stress baking is his love language."
"I noticed." I lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. The bond hums between us, warm and steady. I can feel his contentment, his satisfaction at having me close. "This is real, right? I'm not going to wake up and find out this was all some elaborate fever dream?"
"It's real." His arm comes around me, holding me against his side. "And you're stuck with us now. All three of us. Forever."
Forever. The word should terrify me. Mark used to throw it around like a threat. "You're mine forever. You'll never leave me. Forever and always."
But when Xaden says it, it sounds like a promise.
Liam's doing his thing, checking my pulse, my temperature, looking at the bite marks. "These are healing well. No signs of infection. Though you'll want to be careful with them for a few days."
"Careful how?"
He traces Xaden's bite with gentle fingers. "No turtlenecks. Nothing tight against your throat. The marks need air. They're permanent now. Everyone will know you're claimed."
The thought should make me panic. Being marked, owned, claimed. But all I feel is satisfaction. These aren't Mark's marks, forced on me through fear and control. These are mine. My choice. My alphas.
My pack.
"Can I see?" I ask quietly.
Liam disappears into the bathroom and returns with a hand mirror. "Ready?"
I nod, and he holds it up.
The woman staring back at me is almost unrecognizable. Hair wild and tangled. Lips swollen. Eyes tired but bright. And my throat...
Three bite marks. Vivid red against pale skin, already starting to purple at the edges. Xaden's on the left, perfectly placed over my pulse point. Garrick's mirrors it on the right. And Liam's on my shoulder, different but equally claiming.
They're beautiful. Brutal. Permanent.
Mine.
"I look like I got in a fight with a werewolf and lost," I say, but there's no heat in it.
"You look claimed," Xaden corrects. "You look like you belong to us."
"And you belong to us," Liam adds. "The bonds go both ways. We're just as marked, just as claimed."
I can feel it through the bonds. Their certainty. Their satisfaction. Their love, warm and steady.
Garrick returns with a tray loaded down with enough food to feed a small country. French toast. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Fresh fruit. Orange juice. Coffee. And blueberry muffins that smell like heaven.
"You made all this in twenty minutes?" I stare at the spread.
"Had stuff ready." He sets the tray on the coffee table, then starts arranging plates. "Knew you'd be hungry when you woke up."
"You were stress baking at four in the morning, weren't you?"
"Productive baking," he corrects, but his ears go red. "Eat."
I reach for a piece of bacon and he immediately bats my hand away. "Sit back. Let me do this."
What follows is possibly the most embarrassing and wonderful thing that's ever happened to me. Garrick feeds me. Actually feeds me, holding pieces of French toast to my lips and watching to make sure I swallow before offering more.
"I can feed myself," I protest weakly.
