Page 45 of Broken Bonds

Before he can reply, my stomach rumbles loudly, causing him to chuckle as I sit up in embarrassment and the gnawing ache of hunger intensifies. I can’t remember the last time I was this starved.

“Hungry?” he asks with an amused expression, eyes twinkling with mirth and lips tilted up.

“Starving, actually,” I sigh, pushing myself into a sitting position and stretching my arms above my head.

As if in agreement, the babies kick me, like they’re trying to tell me to get some food in me as quickly as possible. I can’t help the thankful laugh that bursts out of me unexpectedly as I feel them squirm and my heart feels half full again. When I rest my hands on my abdomen and the babies inside start pushing against me, I can’t help but smile broadly at Forde. He has this awestruck look on his face as he stares back at me, his eyes wide and lips parted. I tilt my head and ask him if he’s okay, watching as his neck turns red and he clears his throat.

“Yep. Let’s go get you some food, huh? Do you want to get up front before we get moving again?”

I nod and haphazardly crawl over the console, maneuvering myself over to the passenger seat. By the time I’m settled, I’m slightly out of breath, almost positive one of the babies is pressing against a lung.

“Where are we?” I ask him when we’re back on the road.

“Not far from Crystalwood. Maybe half an hour out? I was thinking I could take you to a place on the outskirts of town to eat. They’ve got the best fries I’ve found in years and to be completely honest with you, that alone has me wanting to move around here permanently so they can supply my fry addiction for the rest of eternity,” he jokes making me smile.

“Fry obsession? I wouldn’t have guessed that one,” I tell him in amusement.

“Why? Because I look like I spend all my time in a gym or something?” he asks with a raised brow.

I shrug, and he shakes his head with a grin.

“Nah. That’s Rion, and he only spends so much time there for the punching bags. I just spend a hell of a lot of time outside. I like my junk food, much to Rion’s disappointment,” he says with a snort.

I smile softly, looking at the side of his face while he’s not paying attention to me.

“Tell me about you three. I suppose if you’re all determined to stay around and be here in these kids’ lives, I should get to know you,” I say, leaning my head against my headrest and rolling my neck so I’m looking at him.

I have to come to terms with the fact that they’ve decided to stay in Crystalwood, and I have to learn to live with it. If Maribel is right and Link is hoping to be in the triplets’ lives, then I need to attempt to get to know these men. Link will just take more time for me because I’m not entirely ready to be around him yet.

Then again, how do I know I’ll ever be ready?

How can anyone prepare themselves for something like this? A secret twin that looks identical to the mate I’ve just buried? I feel like I should be in one of those over-the-top soap operas thanks to this plot twist in what was such an ordinary life. I just hope there’s no more craziness in store for me because I think this is more than enough for one person to deal with.

“What do you want to know?” Forde asks.

“Anything. Everything? Who you are? How long have you known each other? Hobbies? Aspirations? I don’t know, just tell me about yourselves.”

I just shrug, not particularly fussed about what he opts to tell me. If Lake hadn’t kept his brother a secret, I would have had the chance to get to know these men sooner, so I would like that opportunity now.

As he drives us to where we’re going, I sit in silence, taking in all the words that come out of his mouth as he talks to me about any and every topic he can think of. He tells me about when they all met in their second year at AOA and became friends instantly. He recounts how Link had made it known to them his intention to search for Lake early on, and how he had wanted his brother and Van to be included in his pack if he was found, which caused tears to well up in my eyes. Luckily, I’m able to contain them.

Link had wanted to share a pack with his brother and the man he loved. I remember that Lake had expressed doubts to me that he and Van would be accepted and therefore they had decided not to go to the AOA. But then he said he was thankful to have been caught, because if it wasn’t for the AOA they would have never found me, the one person who would gladly, and without any doubts, accept them.

If he had only known that if he had stayed or reached out to Link, he would have been immediately accepted without hesitation. Things could have been different.

Forde goes on to tell me what their lives have been like over the past decade. What it was like using every resource they could to find Lake. How the longer time went on without finding him, the more disheartened Link became, which makes my heart ache for the alpha that looks so much like my own.

By the time we’ve pulled into the parking lot of an older diner outside the city limits of Crystalwood, I’m unsure how I feel. Mostly, I’m so upset with Van and Lake. Not only for keeping such a monumental secret from me, but also for putting Link through so much unnecessary pain for so long.

All our lives could have been so different if Lake had just reached out to Link. Had I known about him, I would have reached out to him myself to force the two to reconcile, although it clearly wouldn’t have taken much persuading on Link’s account, I suppose.

No sense in what ifs, though. They get you nowhere.

We can’t change the past, no matter how much we wish we could.

ChapterEleven

RAMSEY

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