It was like having an anchor around my waist, having her here. Coming to Omega Wolf Academy had been my first step towards freedom, and now she was here, too, and I felt burdened. It made me feel horrible that I felt this way.
Class flew by in a blur, as did the two others scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’d signed up for what I considered some of the best classes offered at OWA; English 2700: Lord of the Rings, Art 2201: Intermediate oil, Art 2500: Abstraction in play, and Women’s Studies 1700: The Sisterhood. I was excited to dive into my course load for the term, but I was more excited to see my guys. My brain just wouldn’t or couldn’t focus on anything but them.
My nerves danced, making it almost impossible to settle down as time wound closer to when I’d see them again. It was as if something inside me shivered with need. My wolf, I supposed, as I hurried from my last class towards my dorm room. Absently, I wondered if Alyssa had a good first day and pushed away the guilt of knowing I had no plans to go check on her.
I had other plans tonight.
My mind spun with all the possibilities of the evening. I'd left so soon after my abduction that we hadn't had the chance to discuss what had happened between us, the bond that had snapped sharply into place when we'd closed the circle.
I chewed my lip as waves of fluttery nerves flowed through me. I'd thought of that moment often, and still it made my heart swell. There was something tangible between us now, something fated and bigger than I could've ever imagined.
I'd spent all of summer semester wrapped up in the mystery and excitement of my attraction to three indescribably hot wolves. I'd known that what I felt wasn't usual, and now I knew that it was because the mate connection was amplified by three and echoed back through me. I didn't know what that would mean for each of us, if being bonded like that would be painful or joyous. Probably some combination of both, I thought, knowing life was never so black and white. We had a lot of things to figure out, but, at least, we had that foundation to stand on. None of us could deny any more that we were linked for life.
I slipped into my dorm room, glancing at the time on my phone, and rushed to freshen up. While my brain understood clearly that tonight would be mostly discussion and emotion, my body was fully aware of the sexy possibilities having three mates presented. We'd have a lot to discuss in that area, too, I thought, slowly blowing out a shuddering breath as my core tightened.
Time passed in leaps and bounds, jumping drastically between each glance at my phone. I put my hair up to keep it dry and took the fastest shower of my life, then agonized over what to wear until I realized I was being an idiot and pulled on a teal blue cotton dress that complimented my eyes and made my freshly touched up pink hair shine.
My stomach fluttered the entire time.
I felt them a moment before the knock sounded on my door. I reached out blindly to grab my desk for support as my heart broke into a furious staccato and my legs turned to jelly.
Chapter 2
My rubbery legs carried me across the room in a rush of frantic need, and I tore the door open, flinging it wide.
My wolf instincts saw them, smelled them, knew them, a split second before they surged through the door and overwhelmed me in the best possible way.
Arms, hot and sinfully tight, reached for me and pulled me in, sandwiching me in a mountain of men. I laughed in sheer delight as my heart swelled impossibly large and let myself be surrounded by my mates.
After a few moments, I slipped a hand through the mass of muscle and flesh and tapped out on Chase’s back.
“I can’t breathe!” I gasped through bubbling laughter.
They moved away, taking only a single step back, but the distance felt like miles. Unwilling to give up that skin to skin connection, but needing to breathe and see their faces to be able to talk, I reached out my hands and moved to sit in the far corner of my bed.
They sat with me, each one touching me in some way just as they had the night we’d bonded. It soothed my soul, surprising me at the depth of emotion that lifted into my chest. I’d thought I was doing what was best, taking the time to think and reflect in Ireland with my family, not that I’d had much of a choice in the matter. Rose and the others didn’t know I’d found my mates, and, for some reason, I hadn’t felt comfortable telling them, yet.
Now, though, sitting in a small circle with each of them touching me, my soul knew peace and fulfilment. I breathed out a sigh.
“Old Ones, I didn’t realize how much I needed this,” I whispered as tears filled my eyes. I pressed a hand against my chest, over my beating heart, and lowered my head. “I should have never left.” I lifted my chin and looked at each of them in turn, making a promise. “I won’t leave you again.”
Their fingers tightened wherever they touched.
“Shhh,” Lucian soothed, reaching out a hand to wipe the tears that spilled from my eyes. “You’re back now and we’re together. And maybe it wasn’t the worst thing to have time to think without all this buzzing electricity between us.” He moved his thumb in slow circles over the curve of my calf and set fire to my body. I didn’t have to ask what buzzing electricity he was referring to.
I swallowed, staring into his impossibly beautiful eyes, then glanced down at his fingers. The effect of that simple brush of his skin against mine made the world fade away and my body sing with pleasure.
“Lucian,” I murmured, unable to tear my gaze away from that small physical connection. “If you don’t want to incite a riot, you should probably stop doing that.”
He chuckled, a deep rumble, but stilled his fingers against my flesh.
Chase cleared his throat. “As much as I hate to say it, we should probably keep touching to a minimum so we can talk about what this is.” He shook his head, frowned, and ran a hand through his beautiful blond hair. “I mean, we all know what this is, but what does it mean? How did it happen? Are we the only ones in the world like this, or are there others?”
I licked my lips, wishing for a bottle of water, and nodded. “I’ve been wondering the exact same thing. But how do we ask without drawing attention to our…” I smiled, “unique situation?”
“Did you speak to Rose about us?” Dimitri murmured, raising his dark eyes to meet mine.
A shiver chased up my spine at his simple look. I shook it off, wondering how long I’d be able to maintain my distance from them when all I wanted to do was throw myself at each of them.
An image of me lying naked on my bed, writhing beneath their collective hands, mouths, and bodies, made my pheromones shoot into the stratosphere.
The moment they scented me, their bodies stiffened with need, making it almost impossible to breathe through the moment. We still had a lot to talk about, I reminded myself. We had to figure out our boundaries, our hard and soft limits. Just the thought of hard limits, of hard bodies, of hard… turned my blood to fire.
I pushed off the bed, skirting between Lucian and Dimitri, to cross my small dorm room, giving us a tiny bit of space to think and breathe.
“No,” I said, answering Dimitri’s question. “I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid…” I stopped the thought and chewed my lip. “I was afraid she’d call us unnatural. Freaks of nature.” I shook my head vehemently. “I know she wouldn’t have said those things.” I tapped my forehead. “I know it up here, but I can’t chase away the fear in here.” I slammed my fisted hand against my chest, imploring them with my eyes to understand, and was relieved to see no judgement from any of them.