Page 119 of Juliet & Her Romeos

Please…

My mind is hazy at the edges, but at the same time, this feels like a missing part of myself that I’m reclaiming.

And my Alpha, Ambrose, does too.

He came for me when I needed him. He’s trying to deny his bond with Swan and me, as well as Vito, out of a misguided attempt to protect us.

But I can tell just how real it is.

He hasn’t left me to ride this out by myself. Instead, he’s with me just as if I was his bonded Omega.

I purr, deep and satisfied.

When I open my eyes, my vision is unfocused.

Yet I can see the curls and twinkling eyes of Benedict, who’s cradling me protectively against his chest. We’re lying together in his paper nest still in the library.

“She’s awake,” Ambrose’s deep voice rumbles.

I turn my head and see his dark outline sitting in a velvet high-backed armchair, which has been pulled up close to the side of the nest.

Ambrose is dressed now in a rumpled brown shirt with the sleeves rolled back and gray trousers. He looks dashing but exhausted with shadows underneath his eyes.

His golden hair looks like he’s run his hand through it too many times.

How long has he been sitting there?

How long have I been unconscious?

Wait, why is it dark in here, apart from the glow of rose shaped lanterns that are hanging from the columns?

I glance up through the glass dome.

The night sky is black. The moon is trying to shine through but is obscured by the driving snow.

When the wind slams against the dome, I whimper.

Benedict kisses the top of my head, hushing me. “The blizzard can’t hurt you, soul mate. You’re safe with me. We’rehigh in the mountains here. We may be cut off for a couple of days, but the reports say that the bad weather will be over soon.”

“She’s scared of storms.” Ambrose’s voice is tight. “How can we help her? She shouldn’t be frightened in her first heat.”

How does he know that? How does he understand so much about me?

And that means it’s true. I am in my first heat.

How is it possible?

Panic winds through me. I whine.

I can’t help it. My heat is making my instincts go wild.

I’m burning up like there’s a sun at my core, rather than the moon. Ambrose is the only one who can survive the flames.

I should be overjoyed that I won’t be labeled a Non-Heat anymore. In theory, my Alphas would be able to apply for me to no longer be a Reject.

Yet I don’t have a proper pack, do I? Is Ambrose even my Alpha, if he doesn’t plan to bond with me?

Yet he’s felt likemyAlpha, since before he began slipping me rose shaped notes at high school, calling me hissun.

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