Page 36 of Brutal Reign (Shadowed Heirs #5)

36

“ W hat’d I tell you? Nobody’s even here,” I say as I step through the back door of the Norbury packhouse, glancing around the familiar interior.

Honestly, the odds were about fifty-fifty that we’d immediately run into someone the moment we entered, but it was worth the risk. I’m exhausted after our marathon fuck fest out at the bonfire pit, and the last thing I want to do is report back to the squad complex and climb up on that damn bunkbed like a child. Being tall is great until you need to cram into a bunk. The prospect of sleeping comfortably in my own bed– one where my feet don’t dangle off the end– is far too tempting to pass up.

“See?” I drawl as I turn around, gripping the edge of the door to hold it open and gesturing for River to follow me inside. “C’mon, you can crash in my room,” I smirk.

“Nah, she’s crashing in mine,” Ace growls, grabbing her around the waist as he steps in behind her.

“Bullshit,” I scoff. Shoving the door closed, I reach for Riv, tugging her out of his arms.

She swats us both away with a laugh, carding her fingers through her hair as she spins around to face us. She’s still got that just-fucked look; cheeks flushed, lips puffy, and hazel eyes half-lidded. It’s the look of a woman who has been well satisfied, and damnit if my wolf doesn’t stand up and preen with pride, as if he had anything to do with it.

I mean, I guess we’re one and the same, but still . I was the one who put in the work to get her off.

“Hey, shouldn’t I get to decide?” River laughs as she starts walking backwards away from us, the corner of those plush lips lifting in a teasing smirk.

“ Riv, ” I warn, pinning her with a glare.

“Babygirl,” Ace purrs.

Her long espresso hair whips through the air as she abruptly pivots around, taking off at a sprint. “I’m locking myself in a guest room!” she calls out in a blatant challenge for me to chase her down.

I lunge after her with a growl, catching up before she can even make it halfway across the room. “Only if we’re locked in there with you,” I snarl as I snatch her by the waist and haul her up into my arms.

“Let me go!” she squeals, kicking and squirming to get free.

“Ace, grab her legs!”

“What the hell is going on in here?” my mom’s voice demands, and I snap my head in the direction of the sound, freezing like a deer in the headlights as she comes around the corner into the living room. She also stops in her tracks when her eyes land on us, widening in surprise. “Seb,” she breathes, brow furrowing. “What are you doing home?”

“Nice welcome,” I snort as I lower River back down to her feet.

“Don’t even give me that shit,” Mom scoffs, waving a hand. “You know I’m glad to see you, I just wasn’t expecting it.” She narrows her gaze suspiciously, wrinkling her nose. “Why do the three of you smell like bad decisions?”

River cringes with embarrassment, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been busted by my mom’s enhanced sense of smell. Having a tracker as a parent was a real pain in the ass when I was trying to get away with shit growing up. And since I couldn’t get away with anything, it just resulted in me being painfully honest with my mom and dad, even when it was awkward as fuck.

“Tell that to fate,” I grumble, waving her off.

“Wait, what?” Mom blurts, her eyes popping wide.

River slaps my chest with the back of a hand, whipping a glare at me over her shoulder. “What the fuck, Seb?” she hisses under her breath.

Shit, did I just say that out loud? My mouth has been known to move faster than my brain, and by the scowl on River’s face and the stunned look on my Mom’s, I just royally fucked up.

“You’re mates ?” my mom gasps, her wide eyes pinging between me and Riv.

Oh shit.

“Hey, what’d I miss?” my dad’s voice booms as he saunters in from the hall, coming up beside my mom and tossing an arm over her shoulders.

She spins toward him, pressing a hand to his chest and beaming a smile up at him. “They’re mates!” she announces excitedly.

Dad’s eyes light up, his lips splitting into a wide grin as he swings his gaze on me. “Hey, congrats!” he remarks.

I shake my head, grappling for some way to backpedal. “N-no,” I stammer. “We’re…”

“You’re not?” Mom questions, brows pinching together in confusion.

My wolf shoves forward angrily as I scramble for what to say, clearly not on board with my denial of our mate bond.

Ace swoops in with the save like always, but rather than explaining my comment away, he shocks me by coming right out with the truth. “We are,” he states calmly.

Dad flinches back in surprise, now looking between River and Ace. “Well shit, Miles owes me a hundred bucks,” he muses, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. “Cal, get in here!” he calls out, glancing over his shoulder toward the hall behind him.

River jerks her head toward Ace. “What are you doing?” she whispers shrilly, hazel eyes widened in panic.

He heaves a sigh, scrubbing a hand over his skull. “It’s time to come clean, babygirl,” Ace murmurs, dropping his arm to his side and reaching over to link his fingers with hers. “Just trust me.”

“So wait, you’re mated to Ace?” Mom asks Riv, still trying to put the pieces together since all three of us clearly reek of sex.

River throws her head back with a groan, smoothing her hair over her shoulders as she tips it forward again. “Yeah, I am,” she declares, throwing a thumb in my direction. “And Seb, too.”

My parents both flinch, blinking at us in stunned surprise while seemingly at a loss for words.

“How?” Dad finally manages.

I just shrug, stepping up beside Riv and sliding an arm around her waist. “Ask fate.”

“You have two bonds?” Mom questions, staring at River dumbfoundedly. “Or are all three of you…?”

“What? No!” I snap, flinching back with a grimace. “We’re each bonded to Riv.”

“Trust me, we were just as confused as you guys,” River sighs. “But… it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?” She lifts her chin, swinging her gaze between me and Ace as a soft smile graces her lips.

“The fuck do you want, Walker?” Cal mutters as he enters the room with his trademark scowl. His entire demeanor shifts when he lays eyes on his son, though. He lights up, grinning at Ace as he remarks, “Hey, this is a surprise.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Mom snickers.

“Hey, Dad,” Ace greets, still composed as ever in the face of this absolute clusterfuck unfolding.

“Did I just hear my boy?” Nessa gushes as she breezes into the room behind Cal.

Oh goody, the whole gang’s here.

“What’s going on?” Cal asks, picking up on the uncomfortable vibe. “Don’t tell me you three got into some sort of trouble at training camp…”

“Fate bonded both of our boys to River,” Dad states with a proud lift of his chin. “They’re mates.”

“What?!” Nessa squeals, making a mad dash for us.

I’ve never been a big hugger, but when they all come rushing our way, it’s unavoidable. Both Ace’s parents and my own are over the fucking moon that we found our fated mate, and the fact that it’s the same girl doesn’t seem to dampen their excitement in the least. After they finish doling out congratulatory hugs and remarks and the initial shock wears off, we all settle onto the couches in the living room, Ace and I reclining on the same one with our girl sandwiched between us.

At first, I wasn’t sure what his play was in telling our parents the truth, but now I’m beginning to understand. It feels like a weight has been lifted from our shoulders, the positive reactions of our parents reinforcing the belief that maybe this double bond isn’t as insane as it seems. That maybe it’s a blessing, not a curse.

“It’s been weeks since the last full moon,” Mom points out. “Why’d you wait so long to tell us?”

“We were still trying to make sense of everything, see if it could even work,” Ace replies, always two steps ahead when it comes to smoothing things over. “I mean, it’s not exactly a traditional mate bond.”

“Maybe not, but you still could’ve told us,” Nessa pouts.

“It was my fault,” River admits, aiming apologetic glances at Mom and Nessa. “I asked the guys to keep it under wraps because I didn’t want it getting back to my dad until we knew what we were gonna do.”

“You mean Theo doesn’t know?” Mom questions, blinking back at her.

Riv shakes her head with a frown. “Not yet. I told my mom, though.”

“You did?” I blurt, turning to look at her.

“Well yeah, I had to talk to someone,” she scoffs.

“But you swore us to secrecy.”

“Yeah, because you would’ve just gone around telling everyone,” she fires back.

“Is it so wrong to want everyone to know you’re mine?” I growl.

“Ours,” Ace corrects, shooting me a pointed look.

“ Ours ,” I amend.

“Hey, I’m just glad I’m not the last to know,” Dad laughs in an attempt to diffuse the tension, cracking his knuckles as he leans back against the sofa. “Can’t wait to rub that in Theo’s face.”

My dad’s always had some sort of unspoken rivalry with River’s. Honestly, I think it’s because they’re more alike than either of them care to admit.

Mom frowns, whacking him on the arm. “You want him to pummel your son?”

“Ah, c’mon, Seb’s in his prime,” Dad chuckles. “Theo’s an old man now, I doubt he could inflict much damage.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Cal muses, aiming a smirk my dad’s way.

“I would, and my money’s on Seb,” he remarks with a smug grin.

“Oh, so now you’ll bet on me?” I scoff, narrowing my eyes on my old man. “What bet did you have going with Miles about River and Ace?”

He rolls his eyes, waving me off. “I didn’t bet against you, I just thought Ace was a more likely match for River than Micah was.”

“Ew, he bet on me and Micah ?” Riv cuts in, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Dad gestures to her with a laugh. “See, that’s what I said! And you were always hanging out in Ace’s room…”

“Only because he had the best music,” she clucks, shooting me a side-eyed glance. “Sorry, Seb, but you listen to a lot of trash.”

“Hey, I listened to Audio Whiplash for you,” I reason, knocking my shoulder into hers. “Doesn’t that count for anything?”

Her lips pull into a coy smile, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. She’s probably thinking of the same thing I do whenever that band is mentioned– what we got up to in that VIP alcove at the show. The memory of that night will forever live in my head rent-free.

“You’ve really gotta tell your dad, Riv,” my father murmurs, swiping a hand over his chin thoughtfully. “He’s been pretty intense ever since his Beta’s kid issued that challenge.”

Her expression falls, gaze dropping to her lap. “Yeah, I know,” she replies quietly.

“He should really hear it from you before he hears it from someone else,” Dad continues.

“I know,” she murmurs.

“Hey, lay off,” I snarl, my inner wolf pushing forward defensively. “She’ll tell him when she’s ready.”

River glances up at me again, reaching over to rest a hand on my thigh. “I appreciate that, but he’s right,” she says softly. “I’ve been avoiding it for too long. If we’re really doing this, then I need to tell him.”

“Well, you don’t have to do it alone,” Ace offers, sweeping his thumb over the back of River’s hand affectionately. “We’ll do it together.”

I jerk a nod in agreement. “Just say when.”

River rolls her lower lip between her teeth, staring off across the room for a moment. Then she suddenly heaves a sigh, abruptly pushing up to her feet.

“Whoa, we didn’t mean right now,” I snort, reaching for her.

She whips around to face me, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “It has to be now, or I’ll keep putting it off,” she says, hazel eyes pinging between me and Ace. “So are you guys coming, or…?”

“Obviously,” I huff, shoving up from the couch.

“Shit, can I come too?” Dad chuckles as Ace and I get to our feet, both ready to follow River into the fire.

“ Dad ,” I groan.

“Alright, alright,” he laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. Amusement twinkles in his eyes as he meets mine, pointing a finger at me. “But remember son, my money’s on you.”