Page 86 of Wolf Claimed
“Your alpha’s an ass,” Rafe said from the spot he’d taken up by the door.
Maddox cupped Alyssa’s face. “Blood-bond me, angel. Give me something to hope for.”
She glanced at Tiernan to see his reaction. His face held no emotion, but she could see the worry in his eyes.
“You’re not feral,” she said, turning her attention back to Maddox. “And I already blood-bonded Tiernan.”
“If the bond took, then nothing will happen.” His brows pinched together. “Can you feel him in your soul?”
Alyssa hated the direction of this conversation. She knew it hurt Tiernan that neither of them could feel the blood-bond. “I don’t feel any different.”
“Tiernan?” Maddox asked.
“If there’s a bond between us, it’s too subtle to feel. But my wolf is under control, so there must be a bond.”
Rafe chuckled like a leader who knew something the rest of them didn’t. Or perhaps he just saw things more clearly. “The bond is there. Nothing else explains why you have full control over your wolf again. You’re forgetting that blood-bonding a human is different than bonding a shifter, and there are still so many unknowns. The bond between you two will likely strengthen with time.”
“Or whither completely,” Tiernan said, his face tight.
“Hey, there. Since when are you a pessimist?” Alyssa asked Tiernan as she pushed up on her toes and brushed her lips against his. She couldn’t let him think her blood-bonding Maddox would diminish anything she had with him.
Tiernan grabbed her arms firmly and kissed her with a passion she felt down to her soul. She’d never felt another’s need so deeply before, and certainly not from a simple kiss. The bond had to be there.
When their lips parted, she said, “Bond or not, weak or strong, one we can feel or not, nothing will change how I feel about you. I don’t need a bond to love you, Tiernan.”
She didn’t fully understand this blood-bond business or why it meant so much to these shifters, but if it would help Maddox in the days and weeks to come with whatever the DSA planned for him, she had to help. And having a real connection to him like the love she felt for him was too enticing to pass up, but she wouldn’t do anything that would hurt Tiernan. He had to be a part of this decision.
Her lips slid to his ear. “I know the blood-bond means a lot to you. I don’t know what will happen or what we have to do to make us feel it the way you expect, but it will happen. Somehow. Someday.”
“You think blood-bonding Maddox will help our bond,” he said, his eyes narrowing.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but I don’t think it will hurt. But if I do this with Maddox, it has to be with your blessing.”
“Since when does Alyssa Monroe need anyone’s blessing?” he said with a light-hearted tease to his lips.
“Since she realized how much she loves you and doesn’t want to hurt or lose you.”
His fingers sifted through her hair. “You won’t lose me. Ever. And I won’t give you up, even if you blood-bond Maddox. But if the bond with him is strong, he might not let me near you.”
She understood his fear. She’d felt the same when she had blood-bonded Tiernan, afraid her bond with him would keep her from Rafe and Maddox. But it hadn’t. There was one thing she hadn’t accounted for earlier. That same presence she’d felt growing stronger within her had been pushing her toward bonding with all three shifters, in any way she could.
She gripped Tiernan’s chin. “I can’t explain it, Tiernan, but I know I’m meant to be with you as much as Maddox. No one will keep me from you, and blood-bonding him won’t change how I feel about you. If anything, it will bring us closer. You’re giving me what I need, what Maddox needs. How can I not love you for that?”
A genuine smile formed this time. “I can’t saynoto you, but somehow I think you already know that.”
“No, but it’s nice to know.”
“Go, my sweet Alyssa. Blood-bond Maddox. Before Gallagher comes for him. I know you want him. Must be because he’s a white wolf and that sense of danger you secretly crave. It sure isn’t for that ugly mug of his.”
“I want both of you.” She turned her head to glance at Rafe. “All of you.”
Tiernan ran his hand down her cheek and neck, then down her arm, as if he was saying goodbye just in case this didn’t go as she expected.
“Trust me,” she said with all of her heart. She wouldn’t lose Tiernan.
“I do,” Tiernan added, looking confident once more.
“Hey, that’s supposed to be my line,” Maddox joked.
