Page 169 of Harley & Her Ferals

“Or maybe, they won’t,” Laurent says, quietly.

Hope flares in my chest. “Are you still in control of the board?”

“Always.” Laurent’s cool, gray gaze meets mine. “More importantly, I’m in control of the players.”

“While you have fun with your plots, Rook,” Harbinger adjusts his tie, “I need to go. I’m already late. It’s been amazing and all that.”

“Wait, wait.” I scramble off the bed. “Where are you going?”

Harbinger arches his brow. “Work.”

“Then you may want to take my rose clip out of your hair,” Laurent suggests.

Harbinger raises his hand like he’s forgotten that the clip is there.

Then he drops his hand again. “Or maybe I don’t. It’ll remind me of you.”

Laurent tries to hide how pleased he is but can’t.

I push myself off the bed.

“Stop,” I yell.

At the same time, Feral growls, “No.”

Harbinger shudders at Feral’s dominance and his wave of displeased pheromones.

He hangs his head. “You’re my Chief Alpha, but this is complicated, Devil Alpha. Punish me first, before I leave, if you have to for disobeying. But Iamgoing to disobey. Until we can make your new Feral pack official, Vinnie is still my Head Alpha. I bonded without his permission, remember?”

My stomach drops. “What about bond leave?”

“Do you think Vinnie believes in shit like that? He barely accepts bathroom breaks.”

“But you need to spend the next few weeks with us or the bond may not take. It’s essential. It’ll be agony for you to be separated this soon after bonding.”

“Tell Vinnie that. And I swear, Kitten, nothing could make our bond fade. Look, Vinnie sent me a furious text this morning. He’s within his rights to send me to the Discipline Cells for two weeks conditioning instead. I broke some serious fucking rules. I don’t regret it. What matters is that you survived. Anyway, guess I’ll get going then.”

He's trying for casual. But now that I can feel him through the bond, it doesn’t fool me.

His anguish at leaving us, combined with his fear, shocks me.

It’ll be agonizing for Harbinger to be separated from us this soon after bonding.

There’s also a real risk that Vinnie may kill him.

Harbinger knows that he could be saying goodbye for the last time.

I run to throw my arms around him, holding him back as he reaches for the door. “Don’t go.”

Catching onto my fear, Laurent leaps up and rushes to join me.

He wraps his arms around Harbinger’s neck.

Harbinger stops, remaining still more out of fear of hurting either of us than because he couldn’t struggle his way free. I’ve fought him in the octagon. This man has serious moves.

“Come on,” Harbinger strokes over each of our hair, “it won’t be that bad. I’m good at talking myself out of situations. You may have noticed that I have a mouth on me. Vinnie needs me to fight in the death match. He won’t break my legs or anything. I’ll take a couple of hundred lashes from the Discipline Strap and—”

“I won’t let you go.” Laurent’s voice is raspy with tears.

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