Page 47 of Blood Bonds

I give August one last kiss and then snap my fingers to get him to swap sides, watching as he huffs about the move. He likes being between me and anyone else in the room, even North. He prefers to be a wall in front of me. It’s cute and I adore him for it.

The moment August is out of the way, Gabe slings his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I tuck my face into his shoulder and get a good lungful of his scent—clean and masculine. I’ve missed him. I’ve missed Atlas too; the ache in my chest at the distance North has put between us is like a wound.

“It’s all going to be okay. Once you’re back on your feet, we’ll figure something out for you to do. Gryph is already working with some operatives about… something big. Things aren’t going to stay like this for long.”

I clear my throat. “Have you been in to see Atlas? Is he okay?”

Gabe nods against my cheek. “He’s fine. He’s made it clear that he’ll do anything he has to do to prove that he’s not here to harm you. I believe him. I’m pretty sure Gryph does too, thanks to his lie detector, but the Dravens need more than that. They always have. He did… give North something that’s bought him some favor though, so you’ll be back with him in no time.”

“What’s that?”

“A list. A list of everyone Atlas has ever known in the Resistance and what he knows of their gifts. There’s a lot of names on it. He proved that it’s real by telling North how they got you out of the hospital in the first place. The invisible guy? Turns out he’s a scout for the Resistance, and now that North knows how to look for him, they’ve found him in a lot of meetings and intel spots. Atlas might have just moved the needle in our favor.”

I nod and rub a palm over my chest. “I get that he’s helping, and I’m glad he is, but—”

I break it off there, but Gabe nods. “But he’s betraying his family, and you feel terrible for him? You should speak to him about it. I did and… I understand his reasoning. He’s wanted to talk to you about it since he got here, but he was scared you’d hate him the second he opened his mouth about it.”

I give him a watery chuckle. “I’m surprised you didn’t! You’ve been fighting with him since he got here.”

He shrugs and says, “I knew he was too good to be true. No man, Bond or not, takes being run away from like it’s nothing. I didn’t trust him one bit. When I realized he knew, he knew your code name in the Resistance intel and he knew what your gift was, I beat the shit out of him. Not that it did all that much, he’s indestructible, but it helped get some of my anger about it all out. Then once I heard Gryph interrogate him, had it confirmed as the honest truth… he’s in this Bond Group. He belongs to you as much as I do. It would be a pretty shitty thing for me to cause shit just for my own feelings about it. I’m not going to do that to you.”

I want to burst into tears.

I don’t deserve him or any of them. I don’t deserve that amount of consideration and care. He just pulls me into his body tighter and tucks his face into my shoulder.

“You smell like North.”

Ugh.

My cheeks heat up because this is the first time anyone has mentioned it. “Sleeping in his bed and using his shower will do that.”

Gabe grins at me and murmurs into my ear, his voice a tease, “Bonding with him would too. Have you changed your mind about it yet, or is North justthatgood at convincing you he’s all in now?”

He doesn’t sound like he’s pushing or anything, just curious and clearing the air, so I’m happy enough to answer him. “He had some good points. My bond was also pretty strongly in favor and his bond was too. I’m… less worried about what it means to stay here. It’s just the power boosts that are still a problem.”

He nods and kisses my cheek again, not worried or concerned about it at all. I would feel insecure about it, except his hands are all over me, pulling me into his body closer, like he’s trying to get under my skin, so there’s no chance of me thinking he doesn’t actually want me. I think he’s just so sure that we’ll figure it out that he’s willing to wait.

There’s a buzzing in his pocket and he moves me a little to pull it out, rolling his eyes at the screen and cursing under his breath. My stomach drops a little but he drawls, “It’s just Sawyer, blowing my shit up for more help with moving Grey’s shit in. I told him I was coming to see you first, and he’s being a dick about it.”

I glance up at him, surprised, and he nods. “Yeah, North is moving them all in here with us. Anyone we trust is being brought in so that we’re not targeted separately. More power under one roof is a good thing right now, and Grey’s parents are all about the move.”

Relief floods me. “Did they come too?”

He shakes his head, scowling a little. “They’ve taken Briony to Switzerland. They were taking Grey as well, but North stepped in. There’s a safe house there that only three people know the location of. They’re leaving in the dead of the night, so they’re going to be safe. Sawyer lost his shit about it and when the retesting of their bloods came back, Grey’s dad finally broke and let him stay.”

My jaw drops. “They’re Bonds?!”

Gabe grins at my excited squeal and shakes his head. “No, but they’re in the same Bonded group. They haven’t found their Central yet, but the new testing is still going through the old samples. Sawyer has becomeverymotivated to help with it.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure he has. Nothing like a little skin in the game to get you working. God, I wish there was something I could do to help. Instead, I’m trapped up here like a princess in a tower. Stupid.”

Gabe’s phone buzzes again in his hand and I kiss him. “Go help him. I’ll find Sage and see her, and then I’ll come sleep in your bed tomorrow night. We’ll be the masters of patience by the end of all of this.”

Sage showsup at my door, Felix trailing behind her, three minutes after I message her.

How she can navigate this place so freaking seamlessly is beyond me, but apparently I’m the only one who struggles with that.

She takes one look at me with a frazzled sort of look in her eyes and throws her arms around my shoulders, squeezing me tight as she mumbles, “Never do any of this shit again, Oli. Not running off, or going full terminator, or coming home and being holed up for days where I couldn’t come and see for myself that you were alive. I thought I was going to have to burn the place down around North to get him to budge. He was not having it.”