Page 25 of Broken Bonds

“What do you mean?” I turn my head back up to the man who is a perfect duplicate of my dead mate. “I’ve looked at his face for ten godsdamn years, Jilly. I think I know what my mate looks like.”

“Um. Well… It seems Lake kept a secret. A giant as hell secret,” she mutters under her breath in aggravation.

The man in front of us finally speaks, and I’m not prepared for the strange jolt to my dead, broken heart as he looks at me. His voice is reminiscent of Lake’s but is slightly raspier and I can hear just the barest hint of a twang.

“I’m Link. Lake was my twin brother.”

I can’t comprehend what he’s said, can’t take in this information while looking at a face I’m so familiar with. The light outside becomes obscured by dark spots, my vision growing dimmer. He’s talking, but it’s hard to make out exactly what he’s saying, like it’s all coming from underwater, or I have cotton stuffed in my ears.

Just before everything goes totally dark and I drop, I feel powerful arms winding around me, preventing me from hitting the hard ground. Tingles erupt across the exposed skin of my arms, and then there’s nothing but the blank expanse of my mind.

* * *

I’m in a field. There’s a pleasant breeze, and the grass and flowers dance with the wind. Rays of sunshine are finding their way through the branches of the large tree I’m leaning against, poking through the gaps in the leaves and warming the skin it touches. Despite being bewildered, I feel calm. At peace. This place feels… familiar. Or maybe it’s just so peaceful that it seems that way.

“Petal,” Lake calls beside me.

Looking up and to the right, I see him perched on a low-hanging limb of the tree. I’m so relaxed now, I can’t help but let my lips curve up into a smile.

“Lake.” I breathe out, perching on my knees as I turn to face him fully.

There’s a niggle in my brain, like there’s something important that’s happened and maybe I should be upset, but I can’t quite grasp what it is. Instead, all I can focus on is my alpha, perched above me dressed in dark jeans, a white button-up that’s undone, and barefoot. His hair is in a wild state and his eyes still hold the same captivating brilliance that I remember.

He frowns down at me, and I can’t help but wonder if I’ve upset him.

“Ramsey. We told you to take care of yourself. To take care of the babies. We’ve been watching you waste away for nearly a week. Your body gets weaker by the day the longer you stay in that bed. You have to heal. Grieve, but please heal, baby.”

A surge of anger floods my system in the blink of an eye, surprising me with how suddenly it hits me, like when Jilly came in my room and tried to get me to get up.

Is this another dream? Did I fall asleep after my outburst?

No… that doesn’t seem right.

I shake my head in frustration and cast a harsh, angry glance back up at him.

“You left me! What do you expect, Lake? I’m an omega without her bonds. Multiple. Not one, not two. No, I lost every single one of you. I lost my anchors. All I can feel is this deep void inside of me,” I cry. “I am trying so hard not to blame you, because I know it’s not your fault, and then I’m battling with the fucking guilt that’s eating me alive for even thinking of blaming you all. Every part of my being aches to be with all of you. To give up and follow you. I am trying, Lake. I am doing the best that I can with the cards I have been dealt. It’s been a week since I lost you. I think I deserve a bit of slack,” I scoff, turning my back on him.

I sniffle, wiping my tears away, muttering to myself about how godsdamn stupid it is to bond with anyone. I don’t ever want to feel like this again. A life with just my kids is what I’m going to have.

Fuck bonds.

They’re nothing but the potential for a person to be completely annihilated.

The feeling of his presence behind me is the same as I remember. An awareness spreads across my back when his hands come in contact with my arms, and the tingles that follow make me quiver.

The tingles also help me recall why my brain was pushing me to think about something when I’d opened my eyes here.

I fainted.

Seeing Lake’s face caused me to faint.

What’d that man say? His name was… Link!

I gasp, whirling around and shoving Lake away. Standing, I point an accusatory finger down at him. As he stands, he does so slowly and lifts his hands up.

“You have a fucking twin, Lake Daniels! One you never thought to tell me about, even after ten years of being together?! Instead, I get the shock of my life when he shows up on my doorstep a week after I’ve lost you!”

Lake sighs, giving me an apologetic look. “Petal, we don’t have much time, so I can’t give you all the answers you want right now. We don’t have many more of these meetings left. I had to beg the guys to give me this one alone so I could explain, but this has taken longer than I’d hoped.”

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