Page 197 of Speechless
I set Cinder down on the floor, much to her dismay. But I couldn’t quite stand back up.
Another, deeper pulse. “I don’t feel good.”
Every Alpha in the room sharpened, looking at me. Aiden was closest, at my side in under a second. “What’s wrong?”
Wow. He smelled amazing right now. Something about his scent drifted off his skin and entranced me in a way it never had before. More than simply chocolate and cherries. This was chocolate split into sugar, cocoa, andbutter. Fresh cherries and hot baked cherries and cherry candy.
Mine.
I turned into him, gripping the dark shirt he wore and inhaling. My mouthwatered. It was so, so good. Was this how they’d been experiencing my scent the whole time?
Was this how Ocean and Isolde scented their Alphas? If I’d known it was likethisI would have been sooooo much more jealous.
The other scents reached me, like my awareness had expanded. A wave of the freshest, purest almond, like frosting. Bastian’s leather was richer andspicier.Brooks’s vanilla now had a million layers that danced with his smoke. Logan stepped up behind me, pushing a tsunami of cinnamon. Fresh, ground, baked. Sugar so sweet it might raise my blood sugar just by beingnearhim.
The scents wrapped around me and wove into my skin. Buried themselves in my mind so deep they’d never leave. They. Were.Mine.
“I can scent you,” I whispered. “For real.”
Logan curled himself around me and buried his face in my neck. I felt him smile. “You’re going into heat?”
I nodded.
Heat bloomed deep in my core, raising my temperature along with the pain ofneed. Alphas.MyAlphas. They were mine.
“Help me.”
Aiden kissed me, hot and hard. “Nest. Now.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed his hand and towed him behind me. I hadn’t evenseenthe nest yet. It hadn’t been ready yesterday, and then today…
They were mine.
The scent match was real.
Knowing was different fromfeeling.
Now I understood how my friends bonded so fast. If you knew, why would you wait for it? I didn’t want to wait. After coming so close to losing them, I wanted them in me with more than just their bodies.
I stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. “Wait.”
Bastian hovered close. “Are you all right?”
Turning, I looked at them each in turn. “Bond with me.”
The atmosphere wenttaut. A breathless, echoless silence full of longing. Logan cleared his throat. “Are you sure? It’s not something you can take back.”
“I don’t want to take it back. You’re mine.” My voice broke on the words. “I love you. And after today, I don’t want to wait. I need to feel you.” Then, quieter. “If you want to.”
Aiden slammed us into the wall so fast the pictures rattled. His hand behind my head saved me from any pain. Tilting my head to the side, he bit where my neck met my shoulder.
I gasped, the bond unfurling in my chest like a flower blooming. Feeling Aiden was like standing naked beneath a waterfall. All the power, all at once. Thedeep, possessive feeling of ownership shone through. I belonged to him. That’s all there was to it. But it also showed that I owned him just as much.
The idea of being owned by him had never brought me so much comfort as right now. I managed to take a breath and swallow. “Holy fuck.”
Aiden tilted my head farther, dragging his tongue over the bite with one slow, wanton lick. Pleasure swirled and caught the growing warmth in my belly to make it explode.
“Get your beautiful ass in your nest and present for your other Alphas while I go get my bag. We’re going to tie you down and give you the best heat of your fucking life.” No room for argument, though there was no trace of his bark.
