Page 96 of Candy & Her Saints

I eye him warily. “Normally when you say that, you mean your cock.”

“True, but not this time.” Lincoln and Thomas share a secret smile again. “This is something that I always believed in. There have been cases all over the world, but often in communities that keep their bonds private. I’ve been tracking cases online in America. There are more than you’d think. It’s not only a myth or conspiracy theory.”

I scrunch up my nose. “What?”

In tandem, the two men begin to unbutton their shirts, Lincoln even undoes the buttons on his waistcoat.

“Okay, not your cocks but a striptease…?” I venture.

“How about we save that for the second date?” Thomas drawls. “Although, we may have already jumped some of the normal courting stages.”

I blush.

When the two men pull aside their shirts to reveal their chests, I gasp.

Above their hearts, they’re marked in the same way.

A violet wolf’s head glows above their hearts. The wolf sparkles, however, as if it’s been tattooed onto their skin with diamond dust. Underneath it in gold is the single word:

SAINT

Shakily, I push myself against the headboard.

I’m transfixed.

“They’re not normal tattoos,” I whisper.

I can feel my connection to those gorgeous pictures on their skin from here. I’m struggling not to reach out and touch them.

It’s magnetic.

It can’t be.

A fate bond.

“They’re not tattoos at all. They’re Soul Marks. They appeared when we bit you and the bond took.” Lincoln is glowing with pride. “You fell into heat and barely seemed to know your own name. You loved the colors though and kept stroking over mine. You called me Wolfie. But you were fascinated by your own more. You howled. You make an adorable Omega wolf.”

“I have one…?” I’m breathing hard but then, I smile, feeling like I’ll never stop. “I have a Soul Mark.”

I scrabble to drag the side of my dress down to reveal the skin above my heart and a pretty violet wolf that glimmers as if with stardust above the word SAINT.

I stare at it for a long moment, before looking back at the matching designs on my men’s chests.

I can feel their pride, joy, and deep sense of belonging through the bond as well.

I’ve never felt such a feeling of family and connection before.

If only my brother could be part of this — or find this type of belonging — then I’d have everything that I’ve ever wanted but thought I couldn’t have.

“You can say you told me so now, gargoyle,” I admit. “I know that you’re dying to.”

“Who, me?” Lincoln buttons up his waistcoat, before moving to button Thomas’ shirt like it’s a familiar routine that he’s been doing for years. It’s so domestic that I blink. “How about I just say that we’re fated mates and I’m the happiest man alive.”

“What does fated mates mean to your culture?” Thomas allows Lincoln to gather his tie for him from the end of the bed and do it up neatly around his neck. “I thought that it was a myth or something that only existed in ancient times. Don’t I look stupid now?”

Lincoln grins, showing his canines. “There are secrets known to the oldest packs, ones who are treated like outcasts or trash. Perhaps, people shouldn’t treat our beliefs like superstitions to be sneered at. We’re more than scent matches now. We’re more powerfully bonded than most people. I think that’s why you survived the heat and feel so much better after it.”

My heart is beating fast. My palms are sweaty.

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