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CAMbrY

N iro reached for Angell. He bent right over me as if I wasn't even there. At first I wanted to push him away. Who did he think he was? How dare he touch my lover? How dare he take charge of Angell in any way?

But as soon as his hand touched the side of Angell's face, I felt my beloved relax against me. His mouth opened slightly, and a small sigh released from him.

I pulled Angell tighter to my chest.

Niro's body was so close to mine that I couldn't help but remember the way he had taken me yesterday, hot, slow, then faster, each thrust opening up my mind to his in a connection on levels I'd never imagined. The memory of surrendering my vulnerability made me shiver. My skin tingled all over.

Niro gave off the scent of what I imagined a burning star might. Everything scoured at once in sweetest ash. Nothing left but mind which in itself produced the syrupy elixir of life.

I got lost for a moment in the memory itself, as if it was happening right now all over again in front of all these people under bright fluorescent hospital lights.

My breathing grew shallow. Where Angell leaned against me, I was too hot. The rest of me felt cold.

I wanted to know what was happening between Niro and Angell. Something. In this moment both of them had left me behind. I could feel it as Niro grew closer, his chest touching mine.

A beeping sound went off over my head. Then another, and another.

I pushed my body up, squirming, knees bending. I heard my own voice call out. “Is he okay? What does that mean? That noise?”

I heard the doctor say, “It's fine. Do not interfere.”

Suddenly, Niro's arms moved over me and under Angell’s shoulders and legs.

He lifted him, all the wires stretching.

I let out a yell and squirmed out from under his body, my feet hitting the floor.

I nearly collapsed, but a strong hand caught me under the arm and held me up until I could balance. The warden.

The light was too bright. There were too many people in the room surrounding us. I had eyes only for the bed where Niro had propped himself up while cradling my lover in his arms.

The big Alpha held the small Omega to his chest, his dark cropped head bent toward Angell’s forehead.

He still cupped the non-injured side of his face.

As I stared, Angell's eyelids began to flutter.

Crystal blue eyes opened, and it was as if I could breathe again.

There he was, fearless, determined, my best friend, my heart.

“Angell,” I exclaimed.

I watched his hands. At first they were limp, one flung over the side of Niro’s arm, the other butted up against his chest. But slowly they moved, and I watched his fingers spell my name.

Hot tears rolled down my face. Hadn't I cried enough?

My senses were returning to me. I'd had a headache before, reflecting Angell’s through our bond.

Now, it was completely gone. I could see everything clearly.

The doctor, the nurse, even the warden was here.

Plus, two security Omegas stood at the door, along with a second Alpha who looked both concerned and relieved at the same time.

But what still surprised me the most was who sat on the bed right now holding Angell to him as if discovering he was some long-lost brother. Or more. Niro.

Angell and I had talked a little about what I'd experienced, about what he'd experienced. But not enough. And maybe I was still so spun around I hadn't been listening to him enough, perhaps only cursorily reading the language of his hands.

He'd been trying to tell me something important, but all our fears had gotten in the way.

Fears about our dreams being thrashed and broken, and the idea neither of us could live with that anyone might get in the way of our own private bond.

If anyone found out, we were both terrified we would be institutionalized.

We never discussed the fact that three of us, Niro included, had leached into each other's minds. No, it was more than that. We had broken down barriers. All three of us. I was still only barely assessing the download of it all.

As soon as I had that thought, Niro lifted his head, his dark gaze meeting mine.

Softly, he spoke. “I had already made the decision to come see you again, Cambry. But then this happened and my mind went into protective mode.” Angell moved in his arms, his bright eyes shifting back and forth between us.

“Your beautiful Angell will be all right now.” His eyes went from near black to mahogany brown.

“I will leave now if that is your request. And Angell’s.

” Extra moisture gathered on his lower lids.

Angell’s mouth dropped open. His delicate eyebrows narrowed.

“What?” Flustered, my words dried up in my throat. My entire body flushed as if in the throes of a fever.

Angell’s hands began to move furiously. Again, I could barely keep up with what he was saying. I didn't know if anyone else in the room was fluent in sign language, but for our sake I hoped not. This was a private conversation we needed to have now.

I stared intently as he spelled and signed.

“What happened? I remember falling.”

I signed back. “You fell off a ladder.”

He reached up to gingerly touch the bruised side of his face.

His hands came together. “Now everyone knows our secret. We will be punished, maybe even sent away, separated from each other forever. Do not send Niro away. He can keep that from happening. He has shown me very clearly that he is my bondmate, and yours. Do you not like him? I hid from him at first. I denied what happened yesterday afternoon and claimed it as a dream. But it wasn't a dream. If we send Niro away, everyone will know about how taboo we are. We’ll be punished. If this Alpha wants us it is our fate together. We can save us. You and me. We can go away with him, right?”

I signed back. “A bondmate? For both of us? I'm still in the process of absorbing that.”

“Me, too. But I just had an experience with him unlike any other. He will protect us with his life.”

“We promised we would never let an Alpha get between us.”

Angel bit his lower lip, then pulled it into his mouth and sucked as he signed. “The difference is he is not between us. He is with us.”

“I don't even think the bond was made complete yesterday. What does that mean?”

“Ask him,” Angell replied.

I took a deep breath and turned to look at Niro, who seem to be fascinated by what our hands were communicating. Then I realized.

“No one told you he was mute? Has no voice?” Now that I said it aloud, I wondered if he would still want us.

He cleared his throat. “He did tell me. Through our bond just before he woke up. And he does have a voice. He whispered in my mind quite a bit. He had a lot to say.”

Angell dropped his gaze from mine as if caught in some indiscretion. I was jealous, almost. We'd had a bond for months and I never heard him whisper to me except yesterday when he spoke my name during Niro’s Burn.

“The bond isn't complete between us, is it?” I asked Niro.

“It was the beginning only, or so I thought. But it must have latched more powerfully than I thought between us, between all three of us. I was told some bonds fade when they're so spontaneous. I thought this one might, but it hasn’t. In less than twenty-four hours it has grown. Otherwise, I would not have gone into protective mode.”

I considered his words. “It woke Angell. How can I not be grateful?”

Angell signed to me. “ We are grateful.”

Niro’s lips moved upward in a small smile as if he understood what Angel had just said. Maybe he had understood. Maybe he picked up fluent sign language while he and Angel shared whatever they shared during the time Angell was unconscious.

Angell signed again. “I want to go with him. Do you?”

The alternative was hell. Punishment. Banishment. Separation forever. In truth, I wanted to go with Niro, too.

I signed back. “Yes.”

“Come with me.” Niro’s voice flowed over us, low and soft.

“We’ve already made our decision,” I said.

“And?”

“Yes. We both want it.”

Niro looked at Warden Chirl. “Is this even done? Can an Alpha bond with two Omegas at once and take them to be his bondmates?”

Chirl tilted his head. “Very rarely.”

“Whatever it entails, just tell me and it will be done.”

“I've lived a very long life,” Chirl said.

“But long enough to know that yes, it has happened before and under my provision. If blood tests confirm the bond, it cannot be denied even in a court of law. In older days, an Alpha with two Omegas was considered selfish. If you go back further in history, it was the sign of great wealth or kingship to have more than one Omega mate. Nowadays, people are loosening up their beliefs. Omega rights are more at the forefront of our culture than ever before. For me? It just means more paperwork.” He smiled.

There was a little nervous laughter from the others in the room. Could it be that they were all on our side?

The doctor stepped forward. “Paperwork or not, Angell needs rest. We want to keep him here overnight.”

Niro’s back straightened. His hold on Angell didn’t loosen.

My chest puffed out. “I want to stay with him.”

A hand touched my shoulder, and I turned. Warden Chirl’s firm gaze caught mine. “He’ll be under constant care. You need to come to my office with Niro.”

I started to protest. Chirl gave me a reprimanding look. “We must have this conversation. For Angell’s sake. And you all must have blood tests.”

I glanced back at Angell, still cradled in Niro’s arms. Angell signed. “I need to be there, too.”

“You can’t,” I signed back. “I’ll go.”

Angell lowered his eyelids, mouth flat. I started to sign more reassurances to him, but he was no longer looking at me.

The doctor stepped forward and helped Niro get Angell back into bed and comfortable.

Niro looked at the Alpha still standing by the door, finally letting go of Angell. The other Alpha said, “I can stay here with him while you’re gone.”

Niro had a fierce look but nodded.

We were shuffled out of the room. My chest hurt. My heart.

Chirl led us away from the infirmary and toward the farm’s offices.

I walked with my hands clasped in front of me, head down, feeling like a prisoner. I’d done something awful. I’d loved Angell.