Page 2 of Tainted Hearts

“Come on, Little Bird.” Zed bends down and scoops me up into his arms. “Let’s get you to bed. We can decide our next step tomorrow. Right now, you need sleep. I don’t like seeing my mate upset.”

Giving in, I close my eyes and snuggle into his embrace. We don’t even make it up the first set of stairs before I’m passed out.

The next time I’m coherent, I hear Zed and Leo talking.

“What do we do? There’s so much going on all at once, I don’t even know what the first thing to deal with would be.”

“Not much we can do about the dads right now. I think it’s best to help Abby connect with her mates and get as much of that settled as we can. Go about our lives as normal while trying to dig up whatever information we can on what she overheard. At least we only really have to worry about one of the dads right now. It’s, unfortunately, the worst one of them all, but it’s two less people to worry about. Not that we would let them get away with their involvement in whatever it is they’re doing.”

“How are you doing?” Leo asks Zed, and Zed goes quiet.

“What do you mean?” Zed asks a few long moments later.

“You just found out your father has been treating your little brother horribly for who knows how long. I know you well enough by now, Zed. You’ve never had a reason to like Isaac, but I saw the way you reacted to what’s been happening to him. At the end of the day, you and him aren’t that different. You’ve both been treated like shit by the same man.”

“He’s not a fucking man,” Zed growls, his voice low but powerful. “He’s a coward. A stupid, childish person who gets pleasure by making others feel small and worthless to make himself feel big and powerful.”

They keep talking, but sleep overtakes me again, sending me into a dream. I feel a familiar tug, and I know right away it’s my bond. But it’s not my bond with Zed or Leo that’s pulling at me.

Next thing I know, I’m standing inside the room in the basement. The same room where I first saw the guys being intimate together. A sight that very much had my pussy pulsing to say the least.

But it’s not raw, wild sex I find myself astral projected into.

They’re all on the bed and under the blankets together, but Isaac is fast asleep between Luke and Noah. The two of them are having a hushed conversation over his head.

“What the fuck do we do now?” Luke whispers as he looks down at his mate's sleeping face. “I want to kill his dad. I fucking hate him.”

“I do too.” Noah cups the side of Luke’s face. “But we can’t let rage take over right now. He needs us.” Noah’s face crumbles as he looks down at Isaac next. “All this time, he’s been enduring so much hurt and pain, all because he thought he was saving us.” Noah kisses Isaac’s forehead. “You stupid, stupid man. I love you so much. I wish you would have just come to us. Why did you think you needed to save everyone but yourself?”

“We need to do better,” Luke says next. “We need to be open and honest because I’m getting real sick of all these lies and secrets. This isn’t what it should be like with your mates. We would die for him, just as much as he would for us. He needs to stop trying to save us when we don’t need saving.”

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk about everything. Get it all out on the table. Then we move forward. It’s all we can do because Isaac isn’t the only mate we have to worry about now.”

“Abby,” Luke sighs wistfully. “It’s taking everything in me not to go upstairs and beg her to join us. It’s like the bond is pulling me toward her. I crave her, every moment of the day. Just like I do you two.”

“I know.” Noah flops back onto his side of the bed. “I do too.”

“Life could be amazing, you know? Once Isaac shows Abby that he can be a good guy. Once he’s won her over, once we build something with her, we could be happy. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. And fuck, Noah, it really makes me happy.”

“One day at a time,” Noah whispers up to the ceiling. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s only the beginning really. We practically have to start all over again. All of us in this new bond. And that includes Leo and Zed. Because whether we like it or not, they’re a package deal.”

“I’m not mad about it,” Luke responds, making me smile. “Leo is cool, and Zed... well, he’s not too bad, when he’s not scaring the shit out of me.”

That has me snorting a laugh. They both look over my way, and I slap a hand over my mouth, heart pounding erratically.No, they couldn’t have heard me, right?

Even that night, Isaac didn’t see me, he only sensed me.

“Abby?” Luke asks, eyes searching the room.

“You don’t think?” Noah looks to Luke.

My feet move me forward, the bond pulling me toward them. I stop next to the bed, next to Luke, but their gazes are locked on where I was standing before.

Reaching both hands out, I brush my thumbs over their cheek bones.

They both suck in a shocked breath, eyes fluttering shut. Even in this state, I can feel our bond hum to life. And in this moment, none of the past matters, only they do.

“My mates,” I whisper. “What are we going to do?”

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