“Jules, what’s going on?”
“She was about to mark me!” Hawk shouted. “She was going to make me her fucking mate!”
Jack rocked on his heels, his eyes darting from me then Hawk.
“And doesn’t that seem awfully sudden?” Brandon said. “Why now? I came up to see if she was OK, and she wanted me to mark her. Doesn’t that seem odd?”
“Jules making Hawk her mate is odd?” Jack’s tone was indignant as he rushed to his mate’s defence, but that wasn’t it entirely. There was a slight waver there, which I needed to fix. I took a step towards him, needing to mark him as well.
“What the fuck is going on?” Finn said, grabbing my shoulder and stopping me from moving closer.
“I need to mark all of you. You are my pack, we need to take that final step. I need your marks, you need mine. It’s only then we’ll be complete.”
“We’re already complete, Jules,” he said gently. “Marking, making people mates, it's just another step, a step you take when you’re ready.”
“How do you know she’s not ready?” Hawk said, shouldering forward. “You already have her mark. Were you ready? Was she when she did it?”
He blanched at that, remembering the fevered moment that had happened against the photocopier.
“And you deserve it too, all of you.” Finn’s eyes scanned the group. “If Jules chooses you, and it appears she has, you deserve it. But if this is what we’re going to do, if we’re going to create mated bonds between everyone, if we’re going to flout Sanctuary laws and mark Jules, let’s create a safe space for it. It’s fucking beautiful when it happens. It’s gonna deepen things in ways with her that you don’t yet understand. Both of you have known each other forever. You’ve really only just met Jules. Let's get back to camp, salvage what’s there, and create a space to talk this out, yes?”
“Hey,” Slade said, running up to the group. “We’ve got a—” He looked around and then sighed. “There’s drama, isn’t there? Fuck, I was only gone for ten minutes! Look, we’ve got potential hostiles wanting an audience. Any chance we can put a pin in this for a second and deal with it?”
“Jules?” Finn said.
I wanted to scream ‘No!’ I didn’t care about anything else but the need that throbbed within me, but love’s not selfish. I could see the tension in their bodies, their eyes straying to the space beyond the cars, searching for possible threats. They just wanted to keep us safe. Finn’s compromise sat OK with me, so I nodded.
“How do you want to do this, Aaron?” Finn said.
“You guys stay here, look after Jules. I need someone I can trust if shit goes pear-shaped. Who are the hostiles?”
“Those pale blokes from the stampede,” Slade said.
“Fuck. They look like they want retribution or something?”
He shook his head. “Said they wanted to talk to you. Said they had an offer.”
“So potentially talking shit. Alright, keep your guns on you. There’s more ammo in the tray,” he said, patting the car.
Aaron swept in close to me, brushing a kiss across my lips, while I forced myself not to grab at his shirt and haul him closer like I wanted.
“Make sure you come back,” I said, hating how small my voice sounded, but he smiled in response, pausing for a second, as if enjoying the fact that I was worried for him.
“Of course, love. Always.”
I closed my eyes, feeling that casually delivered promise deep inside, even as I knew I was investing way too much into it.
“So, what’s going on now?” Slade said, pulling a packet of cigarettes from his pocket.
“Jules is feeling a bit…odd. She wants to mark the rest of the boys and for us to mark her,” Finn said, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
“Not wants,” Brandon said. “Jules, I’m going to touch you for a second, OK?”
Hawk jerked away from the car and took a step towards us, hands balled, but then stopped moving any farther, something that was noted by Brandon’s keen eyes. I nodded, and he placed a hand on my forearm.
His eyes flicked up instantly, widening at what he felt down our bond. “You need to do this?”
Of course I did, and it hurt me that they didn’t know that, even though a small, saner part of myself wondered how the hell they would. Then I looked at Slade. He lit a cigarette with practised motions, seemingly glad for the opportunity to do something else than look at me. Fuck, I thought, that ache in my chest twisting tighter, I’ve left him out of the loop again. I moved to go to him, but Finn’s hand whipped out, placing a gentle, but firm grip on my shoulder.