Page 20 of The Honor of Being Hers
The words hit her like a physical blow.He knew about her medications.He knew about the tampering.
Before Lauren could step back or formulate a response, a firm hand closed around her wrist—not painfully, but with an unmistakable possessive intent.His fingers were cold against her skin, making her flinch instinctively at the unwelcome contact.
That single touch was all it took to shatter her fragile sense of safety.
Rachel stepped forward like a blade being drawn, her voice cutting through the ambient noise like broken glass.“Take your hand off her.Now.”
Samantha materialized on the stranger’s other side, her usually gentle demeanor replaced by something fierce and protective.“What exactly are you doing?"
Sarah’s voice came from behind them, calm but carrying an undercurrent of menace.“Security has already been notified, and they’re on their way.You should leave before this situation becomes publicly embarrassing for you.”
The man released her wrist immediately, his smile turning too sweet, too practiced.“My apologies.I seem to have misread the situation entirely.Dr.Langford, you might want to be more careful about your medical providers.Not everyone in the pharmaceutical industry has your best interests at heart.”
He melted back into the crowd with predatory grace, but the threat in his words hung in the air like poison.
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably.Justin appeared beside her as if summoned, wrapping her in the soft cashmere shawl he’d explicitly brought for emergencies like this.
Her Alphas arrived within seconds, moving through the crowd with the focused intensity of wolves responding to a threat against their pack.No words were necessary, just their overwhelming presence, strong arms creating a barrier between her and the world, the solid strength of their bodies promising absolute protection.
As they escorted her toward the exit, maintaining their protective formation around her, Samantha leaned close enough to speak privately.
“You smell different tonight,” she said softly, her tone thoughtful rather than alarmed.
Lauren blinked, still processing the adrenaline crash.“What do you mean?”
Samantha’s eyes were warm but serious as she studied her friend’s face."You’re not just marked by their scent anymore.Your own scent is changing.Evolving.Like they’re not just claiming you – they’re getting inside you, becoming a part of who you are.”
Lauren’s heart stuttered in her chest, her breath catching as the implications hit her.
Because she knew with absolute certainty that Samantha was right.
The bond wasn’t official yet; she hadn’t been marked with their bites or gone through a formal ceremony.
However, it was forming anyway, growing stronger with every passing day, changing her on a fundamental level that went far beyond simple attraction or temporary arrangement.
She was becoming theirs, just as they were becoming hers.
And for the first time since this had all begun, that realization didn’t terrify her: it filled her with a warm, unshakeable sense of coming home.
Back at the estate that night, as they helped her out of her gala finery and into comfortable clothes, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and understood what Samantha had seen.
Her scent had changed.Not just because of the temporary overlay of their pack scent – there was something more fundamental.She was becoming a part of them, and they were becoming a part of her, in ways that transcended any contract or agreement.
“I can see it too,” she said quietly, catching Ryan’s eyes in the mirror.“The change Samantha mentioned.”
He nodded, his hands stilling where they’d been unfastening her dress.“Do you mind?”
She considered the question seriously, thinking about what it meant to belong to someone, to have them belong to you in return.
“No,” she said finally.“I don’t mind.I think I want it.”
The smile that spread across his face was like sunrise, warm, bright, full of promise.
“Good,” he said simply.“Because we want it too.More than anything.”
That night, for the first time since arriving at the estate, she slept without a single anxiety dream.Instead, she dreamed of home, of belonging, of the three Alphas who loved her enough to let her choose her own pace.
And when she woke the next morning with an unfamiliar heat building low in her belly, she knew she was ready for whatever came next
