Page 76 of Laurels and Liquor

My mates.

Smiling to myself, happiness bubbles like champagne in my soul. It’s unreal to think that these incredible alphas took me for their bond mate, that we made it to this point, and it finally happened. I feel the familiar surge of self-doubt, but then they’re there again, like guardian angels taking away my anxieties and leaving only love behind. I finally understand what Sylvie and Caleb meant when they described being bonded as never feeling lonely again. Even if I’m not focused on them, I can still feel the pack in my heart. Things that I could only guess are suddenly and unshakably true. Rhett loves me more than the air he breathes. Lex will do anything she can to make me smile. Lucas adores me. In Mateo’s eyes, I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.

I pause and sit with that knowledge for a moment, trying to wrap my head around it. It’s not like I didn’t know this was coming; I’d spent the last few weeks planning and prepping for my heat. I knew I’d be attempting to bond with this pack, had talked for hours with my omega mentor about how it would work, for both me and Lucas. But now that it’s done, and I have the bond mates I’d always dreamed of, I don’t know what to do.

For years, I’d lived with the fear of what being bonded would mean. The commands, the subservience, the cage. Never having a private thought or feeling, never able to escape. But now that I have not one, but three bonds, I can see now that my fears were unfounded. I can feel Rhett, Mateo, and Lex on the edges of my mind, and Lucas even more distantly than that, but their presences aren’t suffocating. They aren’t pressing into my mind, demanding my attention. They’re just… there. Sort of like how you can forget you’re wearing a seat belt sometimes, but it’s still there, ready to protect you if the worst should happen.

Rhett is the first to notice my tentative poking, opening up to me without hesitation. I can taste his happiness like chocolate on my tongue, and I smile to myself. He’s not pressuring me to do anything, or reveal anything, letting me exist in our connection for as long as I like, and not stopping me when I withdraw. There’s a warm tingle in my right bicep, like phantom lips kissing his bond mark. I can feel Lex and Mateo’s curiosity, but I send them a wave of warmth and peace.

The frantic feeling of missing something creeps back into my mind, so I hustle to my closet. I slip into comfortable clothes, finally feeling the ache in my bones from being thoroughly fucked every way to Sunday. But it’s a good ache, an ache I would take a thousand times over if it meant having these bonds wrapped around my heart. When I manage to drag myself up the stairs, Lucas is hard at work making our first meal as a mated pack.

Sliding into step with him, I let him speak and guide me through our bond. I don’t know if it’s the novelty of it, but there’s something infinitely more exciting about communicating like this. I hope I don’t ever lose the sense of wonder that comes with every affectionate tug on the string that ties me to him through Rhett and Lex.

As if summoned by my thoughts, the two alphas appear in the doorway, hair still damp from their own quick showers. Rhett steps up behind me as I stir the vegetables in the frying pan, kissing my temple as he puts his hands on my hips. There’s nothing sexual about his touch, which is the only reason I’m tolerating it. The idea of anyone putting anything in or near any of my holes makes my stomach roll.

“I reckon it’ll only take a few hours for that to go away,” Lucas teases, responding to my thoughts.

I stick my tongue out at him, making him laugh. Mateo comes back, wearing low-slung gray sweatpants and no shirt, roughly toweling his hair dry. And despite myself, seeing the V-shaped muscles leading suggestively below his waistband, the trail of fine hair extending from his navel like the road to paradise, still makes my heart flutter, and my pussy twinge. Every head in the room snaps to me, and I flush. So maybe it’s not as much fun to have my every desire broadcast to the people I love.

“Don’t even think about it. This omega is closed for business,” I say firmly, taking the pan off the heat to start plating.

Lucas hums skeptically, and I can feel the teasing, but Rhett still throws a reproachful growl his way.

“You take all the time you need, love,” he says reassuringly.

“Besides, I think we can keep each other busy in the meantime. Right, Matty?” Lucas drawls, throwing a wink in the alpha’s direction.

“Oh, for sure. We can have lots of fun now that Rhett’s home, can’t we?” Matty throws back, words light but somehow incredibly seductive.

“Just so long as you boys clean up after yourselves,” Lex chides, the undertone of laughter in her voice undermining her a little.

“You can always supervise, Lex. And you, as well, love. Wouldn’t want you missing out on a damn good show,” Rhett finishes, giving me a wink that makes me blush.

I smile up at him, and the shock of having him here, physically present, comes back all over again. We’ll have time to talk about what happened, but I don’t want to ruin this moment with anything so serious as all that.

A vibration on the counter draws our attention, and we look to see Rhett’s phone light up with an incoming message. And my shock ripples across the bonds as I see Jason’s name flash before the screen goes dark.

“Why is my brother texting you?” I ask, turning to look at the alpha in question.

Rhett looks troubled for a moment, but he can’t hide the flash of shame that comes down the bond. At least he feels bad for keeping this from me.

“He left Chauvert. He’s probably letting me know he made it to Everton, and is settled in at Wickland House,” he replies honestly.

I stare at the device, waiting for it to do something, maybe give me a better answer or more details, but when it stays dark and silent, I look at Lex. I can feel Mateo’s surprise, but there’s nothing like that coming from her, or Lucas, for that matter.

“How long have you known?” I ask.

She has the decency to let her emotions show on her face, and her feelings match Rhett’s. Shame. Anxiety. Contrition. It makes it hard to stay mad when I know how bad they feel about hiding this from me.

“He was staying with Rhett for about a week before the charges were dropped. There’s more to the story, but it’s not mine to tell,” Lex says at last.

I nod, sighing. I just want to spend some drama-free time with my mates, not have the real world intrude on my happiness so soon. The idea of anyone coming near us makes the panic rise in my stomach, but Rhett’s arms tighten and pull me close, soothing the feeling away.

“Then we don’t have to let it. We can address all that after we settle,” Lex suggests.

I look at her again, and then at Rhett, asking without words if that’s possible. Because the idea of spending even a few weeks without having to deal with my family, or Seth, or Darren, sounds like absolute bliss. Time to really enjoy being mated, to solidify the tenuous bonds without stress. We could recenter, recharge, recover in peace. It sounds like a fantasy, but nothing in the world seems more necessary after the year we’ve had.

Rhett looks at me for a long time, and then nods, kissing my forehead again. “Yes, I think we can make that work.”

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