Page 40 of Breathe Again

“What the hell are you doing, Thomas? Stop being an ass,” Liam said, coming to my defense.

Elizabeth, how bad would it be if I beat the shit out of your brother?I asked through the bond.

“What’s going on?” I heard Lily yell down the hall seconds before the door flew open.

“Leave him alone, Thomas,” Elizabeth demanded. He was so shocked to see her outburst that he stumbled a step back.

Lily ran into the room. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

“You tell me?” Thomas asked. “We were just having a nice little chat when Lizzy burst through the door yelling at me. “What the hell, Lizzy!”

Lily shrugged. “She said ‘oh no’ then took off running down the hall. The dampener is on, so I don’t know how she heard anything, but I can tell by your mood and attitude that you were fighting with Cole again.”

“Again?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s the same emotion Thomas had when he walked in on Cole about to give me my first tattoo. He lost it, the testosterone rose by a million and I had to jump in before it got really ugly.” She took a deep sniff and so did Elizabeth. “Same smell, now what is going on with you two?”

“Thomas, I love that you want to protect me, but you can’t protect me from him. Plus, you have no clue what you’re talking about. Cole didn’t leave me in limbo, I left him.”

Even after all we’d be through in the last few days, the pain of that reality was still there and hit me like a ton of bricks.

“How did you even know that’s what we were talking about?” Thomas demanded.

I closed the door to his office, not ready to share our bond with the entire world.

“I told her,” I confessed. “I was trying not to lose it and thought she’d calm me down. It sort of backfired and went the other way.”

“That’s not possible. You were right here the entire time,” Thomas pointed out.

“I was, and it is. Apparently that’s what happens when you seal a fifteen year old mating call.”

“So you really were communicating telepathically earlier?” Lily asked, looking shocked.

Elizabeth nodded. “Our bond is entirely sealed. Thomas, I love that you want to protect me, but you can’t protect me from Cole. He never hurt me. Not once. I nearly destroyed him and I have to live with that knowledge, but it’s behind us now. We are mated, and our bond is sealed. Anything you do to him will hurt me.”

An awkward silence fell over the room.

“Shit,” Thomas said, running his hand through his hair as he sat down hard. “How is this even possible? And why would you take a mate without discussing it with me first? Without going to the council?”

“He’s my true mate, Thomas. You know that’s not required,” Elizabeth said.

“But you made him my heir, Lizzy. I have to live with that decision now, too.”

“What is he talking about?” I asked, just as Zach walked into the room that was quickly becoming crowded.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” she said honestly. “But really, Thomas, Cole has more experience and Alpha potential than anyone I know.”

“Alpha potential?” I asked.

“Lizzy’s my firstborn, Cole. You know that,” Zach chimed in. “Until such time as Thomas and Lily produce a son, you are next in line for Alpha of Collier Pack.”

Some practical part of my brain had always known that, but hearing it affirmed aloud was shocking. I needed a few minutes to let that sink in. How the hell was I supposed to train for Alpha of Collier and remain Beta of Westin? So many questions rolling through my head made the room spin.

“We’ll figure it out,” Elizabeth assured me. I could feel her hand rubbing up and down my back, but I was numb in some other world as a new reality started to form around me.

“Alpha? You want me to be the Alpha heir of Collier?” I finally asked.

“Hell no,” Thomas said. “But like it or not, that’s the position we’re in.”

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