Page 9 of Bound By Alphas 1: Bound

Not a skinny art student who couldn’t even manage to grow claws when he tried to shift.

A knock on the bathroom door startled me from my spiraling thoughts.

“Finn? You alive in there?” Drew’s voice called through the door. “Because if you drowned in the toilet on your birthday, I’m going to be seriously pissed about wrapping all those presents.”

Despite everything, a small smile tugged at my lips. Drew, my fellow adoptee in the Sinclair Pack, was the only one who could make me laugh on even my worst days.

“Just perfecting my drowning technique,” I called back. “Give me five more minutes.”

“No way. I’m coming in.”

Before I could protest, the door swung open and Drew sauntered in, looking annoyingly put-together in dark jeans and a forest-green button-down that made his hazel eyes pop. At twenty-one, he was the closest to my age and the only one who treated me like an actual person instead of a fragile object to be protected.

He took one look at my face and whistled low. “Wow. You look like shit.”

“Thanks,” I deadpanned. “Just the look I was going for on my nineteenth birthday.”

Drew leaned against the doorframe, studying me. “So. That was quite a morning.”

I turned back to the mirror, avoiding his gaze. “Understatement of the century.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Too bad.” He moved to sit on the edge of the massive bathtub. “Because your party starts in twenty minutes, and if you go out there looking like someone just killed your puppy, Cade’s going to have a conniption.”

I snorted. “Pretty sure Cade’s already having a conniption. Did you see his face this morning? He looked like someone told him the stock market crashed and all his designer suits spontaneously combusted.”

Drew was quiet for a moment. “It’s not what you think, Finn.”

“No? Then what is it?” I turned to face him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like my three adoptive brothers just found out they’re magically bound to me for eternity, and they’re absolutely thrilled about it. Really, the joy was overwhelming. I’m surprised Logan didn’t throw a parade.”

“They’re processing,” Drew said carefully. “It’s… complicated.”

“Complicated,” I echoed. “Right. Because finding out your scrawny little adopted brother is somehow your destined mate is just a minor inconvenience. Especially when you’re used to dating gorgeous wolf shifters who actually know how to function in your world.”

Drew sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to lie—I was shocked too. I always figured their mates would be, you know…”

“Female?” I supplied. “Tall? Beautiful? Actually able to shift properly? Not me?”

“I was going to say ‘not such a pain in the ass,’” Drew shot back with a half smile. “But yeah, the whole triple alpha-onemate thing is pretty unprecedented. Elder Miriam looked like she was going to pass out.”

I turned back to the mirror, attempting to do something with my hopeless hair. “Great. So I’m a freak even by supernatural standards. That’s comforting.”

“You’re not a freak,” Drew said, his voice softening. “You’re rare. Special.”

“Special,” I repeated bitterly. “Like a science experiment gone wrong.”

Drew stood, moving behind me to place his hands on my shoulders. In the mirror, his expression was unusually serious. “Look, I don’t pretend to understand all this mate stuff. But I do know those three would die for you. They’ve been protecting you since the day you came here.”

“Because they had to,” I pointed out. “Because they’re stuck with me.”

“Because they care about you, idiot.” He gave my shoulders a gentle shake. “Whatever this mate bond is, it doesn’t change that.”

But it did change everything. It changed how I would see every interaction we’d ever had. Every time Cade had ruffled my hair. Every time Logan had taught me to defend myself. Every time Keir had helped me with my art projects. Had they been acting out of brotherly affection, or had they been fighting their instincts the whole time?

And what about my feelings? The ones I’d buried so deep I could almost pretend they didn’t exist. The way my heart raced when Cade entered a room. The way I found excuses to watch Logan train. The way I cataloged Keir’s smiles like they were precious artifacts.

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