Page 128 of Stream Heat
I was exactly where I belonged.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Kara
I woke to Jace's arm slung across my waist, the rise and fall of his chest lined up with my back, heartbeat steady and strong. That claim mark of his on my wrist throbbed, a dull pleasant ache, a different rhythm than the more insistent bites left by Reid and Theo. Three bonds. Three flavors of connection. Each one necessary in its own messy, inexplicable way.
My body felt… altered. Settled. Better than it had since the suppressants first started breaking down. Dr. Levine, as much as I hated to admit it, had a point about pack bonds stabilizing Omegas, especially ones as fucked up as me. The shakes were gone. My senses weren’t spiking off the rails every time someone breathed too close.
I took care not to disturb Jace as I slipped from his grasp, then padded into the bathroom. The person staring back at me in the mirror looked… different. More solid. Not like I was about to bolt out the window or claw off my own skin. Some color had returned to my cheeks, and the look in my eyes was clear, even if the storm inside hadn’t quite passed.
My fingers brushed the three scars. Reid’s mark burned into my left shoulder, a sharp border: protection and possessioncombined, like he thought he could shield me from the world if he tried hard enough. Theo’s mark on my right, wild and uneven, a scrawl of impulsive joy and madness, which, weirdly, steadied me as much as anything. And Jace, neat and almost delicate on my wrist, as if he understood how much a constant touch could mean without ever having to say it aloud.
Three claims. Three gaps filled.
But I was still unfinished. The bonds hummed under my skin, not complete, not truly balanced.
Ash and Malik.
Just thinking their names made my stomach lurch. There was no way they hadn’t noticed the shift, the tilt of pack gravity. Did they want this too, or were they already counting the ways they’d been left behind? Everything was changing so fast, I barely had time to catch my breath. But none of it felt wrong.
Once I was showered and dressed (soft shirt, joggers; call me predictable), I followed the scent of coffee and the filter of voices to the kitchen. I stayed in the hall, eavesdropping. It was a bad habit, but if they didn’t want to be overheard, they shouldn’t have talked so damn loud.
“…can’t just expect her to bond with all of us,” Malik said, voice lower than usual. Calm, but not neutral. Definitely worried. “That’s asking a lot, especially after her history.”
“It’s not about expectations,” Reid fired back, clipped. “It’s about what’s already happening. Denying the bonds won’t stop them forming.”
“Question is,” Ash rumbled, “do we push for completion, or let her set the pace?”
“I want completion,” Theo threw in, not bouncy for once. “You’ve seen her. Each bond, she gets stronger. Her withdrawal? Basically gone.”
“That’s not a reason to hurry her,” Malik replied, sharper than usual. “Health matters. So does her choice.”
That was as far as I let them go. I stepped around the corner, into the light.
“Why not just ask the person you’re talking about what she thinks?”
Instant silence. Four pairs of Alpha eyes swiveled toward me. Shock. Guilt. Something that felt distinctly carnal. Jace must’ve followed me in, silent as always, shadowing my movements like a ghost.
“Kara,” Reid said first, his scent reaching for me like a storm front. “How much…”
“Enough to know you’re playing tug-of-war with my future,” I cut in. I tried for annoyed, but it came out more resigned. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought all the same things.
“We were concerned.” Malik was as steady as ever, but I could see the tension in his stance, his need to get this right. “About the speed. About whether you’re feeling… forced.”
I made a beeline for the coffee, fingers tight on the mug. “I’m not pressured. Overwhelmed, sometimes. Confused? Constantly. But not pressured.”
“Confused how?” Ash asked. His gaze was clinical, dissecting.
I drained half my coffee, not pretending to think before I spoke. “About what it all means. The claims, the marks, the fact that I walked into this house assuming you’d barely tolerate me and now you’re all… this.” I lifted my arm, the three marks visible on my skin. “Don’t act like biology isn’t a factor. Maybe this isn’t real at all. Maybe it’s just broken designation, desperate for a fix.”
Malik looked at me like I’d said something profound. “Does it matter? If you feel better, if it helps you heal, does it change the value?”
That stopped me. “I… honestly? I don’t know.”
Theo jumped in, unwilling to give the silence a chance to breathe. “It’s both, Kara. Biology and will. You choose, even when your body lit up like a Christmas tree. You always choose.”
Jace, who was still shadowing me, said, “Surface attraction is empty if there’s nothing underneath. You know the difference. I know you do.”
