Page 38 of Claimed By Blood

“I’m all in.” They all let out a collective sigh, but I’m not done yet. “For everything. I want my sire dead, and I want to be a part of the pack. I’m exhausted, and I can’t continue living in a world where I can’t trust anyone.” My breath hitches in my throat as I wonder how much to say.Fuck it. I did say I was all in. “I want the full thrall bonds with all of you.”

My attention falls to the two alphas. Gideon’s expression has closed down, becoming an impassive mask, while Frost is staring at me with such heartbreaking hope that I have to look away.

“If… if you don’t want that,” I continue. “Then let me just break them. It’ll hurt, but… I don’t want to live with the uncertainty anymore.”

There. I’ve said it. My cards are all out in the open. I stare at Gideon, waiting for him to take that final step.

At the very beginning, he said he wasn’t going to complete our bond. There’s no way the small amount of time we’ve spent together has been enough to change his mind.

Around me, the rest of the pack hisses their denial. Finn hugs me even tighter, and Draven’s chill damn near locks down our bond, daring me to try and sever it.

Vane and Silas both growl, “Fuck no.”

At the same time Frost vows, “Never again.”

But for all their reassurance, my muscles wind tighter and tighter with each passing sentence as I brace for the words I know are coming and the pain which will follow.

Just say it. Get it over with.

Why is he dragging this out?

My eyelids have scrunched shut, and my ears are filled with white noise, so I barely hear the snap of the lock disengaging followed by the hiss of the door whirring open.

When I dare to look again, he’s gone.

My mouth falls open, and Finn laughs as he extracts himself from our hug at last.

“He might act like a bastard, but there’s a lot more to Gid underneath his skin,” the omega whispers in my ear. “Give him time, and he might surprise you. He shoulders a lot of things he shouldn’t and takes failure hard, but he’s a good alpha. He just… has a lot on his plate right now.”

There’s a wistful note to his voice, one that nags at my intuition. I know Finn said Gideon was one of his lovers, but I’ve rarely seen the alpha act affectionately towards the omega.

No more so than any of the rest of the pack, at least.

Inside me, our Finn feels almost… sad?

What’s going on there? Is it even any of my business?

I look at Finn, catching my own reflection in his round glasses for a second before he lowers his head and touches his forehead to mine in a gesture of reassurance.

Yes,I decide.If something or someone is hurting this wonderful man—especially if it’s one of my other thralls—then it’s definitely my business.

CHAPTERELEVEN

EVELYN

“Evie,”Finn calls, distracting me from the shower I’ve been frowning at in confusion for the last five minutes—where does the water go? Does it just fall on the heads of some unfortunate soul below?“Come and sit down before we hit some turbulence.”

Abandoning the confusing issue of plumbing at thirty-one-thousand feet for another day, I abandon the bedroom and work my way back through the elaborate dining room and into the spacious seating area. Finn and Silas are next to one another, snuggling on one of the two love seats while Mia and Morwen have claimed the other, and are ignoring the narrow glances the two brothers are shooting at them.

Immy and Gideon are taking up the two armchairs in opposite corners, which would’ve been my first choice for where to sit. Gideon has his head bowed over his tablet, hard at work as normal. Immy is fast asleep with her head tilted back and a tiny dribble of drool running down the side of her face.

Draven is the only one missing, thanks to the sun blinking through the tiny windows on either side of us.

Vane and Frost are on either side of the only free spot, and the larger beta tilts his head to indicate I should sit there. But Finn beckons me over before I make it to them. He’s holding my tablet, with a grin on his face.

“Here, I’ve got something to distract you,” he promises, a secret smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Ever listened to an audiobook before?”

I frown at him, and evidently that gives him his answer because he shoves the glass rectangle at me along with my own headphones.

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