To complete the bond.
Goddammit.
The full realization of what that means hits me like a blow to the gut. It’s done. She’s chosen him.
The three of them all brought Sable up to this cabin to give her wolf space and time to choose. And after I scented her in the woods and my wolf made the same claim theirs had, I joined this little party, getting to know Sable as the five of us formed a strange, motley little band.
But if I’m being fucking honest, it never once occurred to me that she might not choose me in the end.
That’s how fucking sure I was of my feelings, of the truth of this bond.
I was wrong. Her wolf has chosen Ridge as her mate. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
I look at Archer and Trystan, both standing off to my left. They’re watching the scene with the same kind of open, bleeding pain I’m sure shows clearly on my face. They’ve come to the same conclusion I have.
Archer is the first to move, clenching his jaw as he blinks back what looks like honest to fuck tears in his eyes. He grabs Trystan’s arm and motions with his head that we should leave the cabin.
I know he’s right. Ridge has Sable pressed into the wall, one of her legs wrapped around his bare ass, and I’m not a dumbass. What comes next isn’t for the three of us to stand around and watch. Sable has made her choice. No matter how much it hurts, we have to respect that.
But God-fucking-dammit, I don’t want to.
It doesn’t matter that her wolf hasn’t chosen me. Mine has chosen her, so fully and completely that it feels like it might tear me apart. The wolf in me still howls brokenly in my soul, torn between two co
mpeting impulses—to protect Sable, and to claim her.
I can’t do both. Protecting her heart means walking away.
Even if it fucking kills me to do it.
Archer’s hand is on the door handle when Sable cries, “No! Stop!”
All three of us turn around to find her a couple feet away from Ridge, who’s collecting himself against the wall in her absence. She takes a tentative step forward, those big blue eyes wide, her long lashes blinking away a cloud of unreserved lust.
I’ve never seen her look more beautiful or powerful than she is right now. I want to bow down at her feet and fucking worship her.
“Don’t go,” she murmurs, still breathing hard. “I can’t let you go. I need you. All of you. Please.”
The crack in her voice tears through me, and I take an involuntary step toward her in response, drawn to her by a magnetic force. But I stop, hesitating for a long moment.
What she’s saying… what she’s asking for…
It never occurred to me that we could share her. Sharing isn’t something coded into us. It’s not something shifters do, and it’s definitely not something I do with much of anything in my life. I’m solitary for a reason. I’m a grouchy motherfucker who doesn’t like sharing what’s his.
Behind me, Trystan and Archer seem to be warring with the same thoughts and feelings. I don’t sense either of them moving, only the waves of confusion rolling off them as we all take in the beautiful woman before us.
“Please stay,” Sable says, her voice husky. As she continues speaking, she meets my gaze, then does the same with each of the shifters behind me. “Something is happening to me. It’s—I need you. Not just one of you. All of you.”
And that does it.
That breaks me.
Just as there isn’t a chance in hell I’d ever stand in the way of something Sable desires, I’d never deny her either. So I stride across the small expanse between us and step up to her, reaching out to touch her face. Behind her, Ridge joins me, one of his hands curling around her belly. Her need rises immediately, the scent of her desire like a drug racing across my senses.
Trystan and Archer are right behind me, taking their places on either side of us until the four of us surround her.
This is not at all how I imagined this would go, but as I gaze into Sable’s perfect gray-blue eyes, I realize it doesn’t really matter. Because she needs this.
And I’d do anything I can to make her happy.