Page 55 of Stream Heat (Omega Stream #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Kara

I fled to my room, closing the door behind me with shaking hands.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I leaned against the solid wood, trying to process what had just happened.

Reid had claimed me. Publicly. On a livestream watched by thousands.

And the others—their protective rage, their collective possession, their unmistakable intent, had made their feelings equally clear.

The bond marks on my shoulders throbbed in harmony, Reid's freshly renewed on the left, Theo's still new on the right. Physical manifestations of connections I'd spent months fighting, only to surrender completely in the span of a few days.

I moved to my nest, because that's what it was, I could finally admit that to myself, and sank into the familiar comfort of Alpha-scented items I'd been collecting for weeks.

My fingers traced the edge of Reid's hoodie, smoothed over Theo's gaming jersey, adjusted Jace's scarf that somehow always ended up perfectly positioned for scenting during sleep.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

"Kara?" Jace's quiet voice, barely audible through the door. "May I come in?"

I hesitated only briefly before answering. "Yes."

The door opened soundlessly, typical Jace, even his entrances were quiet, and he slipped inside, closing it behind him with the same care. His scent, ink and snow, washed over me, distinct from Reid's thunderstorms and Theo's electric green tea, yet equally comforting in its own way.

"You left," he observed, no judgment in his tone, just quiet understanding.

"I needed space." I gestured vaguely at my head. "To process."

He nodded, maintaining a careful distance. "The others wanted to follow you. I suggested they wait."

"Thank you." I meant it sincerely. Jace always seemed to know when I needed space, when the sensory input became too much. "It was... intense. All of them at once. And then Ash…"

"All of us," he corrected gently. “And Ash is just… particular about how he does things.”

I took a few breaths, trying to internalize his words. Ash hadn’t rejected me, just the situation. I looked up, meeting his eyes directly. "You were the calmest."

"Externally, perhaps." His scent shifted slightly, revealing the control beneath his quiet exterior. "We all respond differently to threats against what's ours."

The simple claim, what's ours, sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with fear.

Jace had always been the most restrained of the Alphas, his quiet nature often overshadowed by Reid's command or Theo's chaos.

But in this moment, the intensity in his eyes matched anything I'd seen from the others.

"I'm sorry if Reid's public claiming made things... complicated," I said, unsure how to navigate these new waters.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "You're wearing mine and Theo's marks as well. I'd say things were already complicated. Plus, you and Theo… connected.”

Heat rose to my face. "You know about that?"

"We all do." His voice held no judgment, just simple acknowledgment. "Pack bonds work both ways, Kara. We feel what happens between members, especially strong emotional or physical connections."

The implication that they'd all sensed my encounter with Theo made me flush deeper. "So you know that I… that we…"

"That you're creating balance," he finished for me. "Equalizing the pack bonds rather than allowing hierarchy to form around Reid's initial claim."

Put that way, it sounded strategic rather than impulsive. Leave it to Jace to frame emotional chaos in logical terms.

"Is that how you see it?" I asked, curious about his perspective.

He shifted closer, his movements deliberate, giving me time to object if his proximity became too much. "I see someone who spent years denying her designation finally accepting not just what she needs, but what she wants."

The distinction, needs versus wants, echoed Reid's words from that morning. "And what do you think I want, Jace?"

"All of us," he said simply. "Different aspects of each of us. Reid's protection. Theo's energy. Ash's practicality. Malik's wisdom." He paused, his eyes holding mine. "And perhaps my understanding."

"Your understanding of what?"

"Of silence. Of spaces between words. Of needing connection without constant stimulation." His voice remained soft, but something in his scent intensified. "You and I are similar that way. We observe before we act."

He was right, I realized. Of all the Alphas, Jace was the one who most resembled my internal thought processes, watching, analyzing, speaking only when necessary. While Reid commanded and Theo entertained, Jace simply... understood.

"The others are loud," I admitted. "Sometimes overwhelming. Even when they're trying not to be."

He nodded, no offense taken on their behalf. "Different energies serve different purposes. Their protection during the stream was necessary. But now..."

"Now I need quiet," I finished, the truth of it settling in my chest. "Calm. Space to process without more sensory input."

"Yes." The simple acknowledgment of my needs without judgment or hurt feelings made something ease inside me.

I shifted on the nest, making space beside me, an invitation I wouldn't have extended to the others in this moment, but felt right with Jace.

He accepted without comment, settling beside me with enough distance to respect my boundaries while close enough that his scent enveloped me in gentle comfort.

We sat in companionable silence, neither feeling the need to fill it with words. The quiet between us felt like its own form of communication, a shared understanding that some emotions didn't require vocalization to be valid.

After several minutes, I found myself leaning slightly toward him, drawn to his steady presence. "The stream was a disaster."

"It served its purpose," he countered quietly.

"Which was what? Publicly exposing our pack dynamics? Creating content gold for designation fetishists?"

"Establishing boundaries," he corrected. "Showing the world, and ourselves, exactly what we are to each other."

I considered this perspective. "You think it was necessary?"

"I think it was inevitable." His eyes met mine, steady and certain. "Pack bonds demand acknowledgment eventually. The public nature was perhaps... accelerated by circumstances, but the outcome was always going to be this."

"This being...?"

"Us," he said simply. "All of us, together. Not just for content or convenience or even health necessity. But because it's what we all want."

The certainty in his voice, so rare from cautious, thoughtful Jace, made something shift inside me. "Even you?"

"Especially me." His admission came quietly but without hesitation. "I've watched you since the day you arrived, fighting your designation, fighting your withdrawal, fighting the connections forming between us. I’ve just been waiting for the moment you'd finally stop fighting."

"Is that what I'm doing? Have I stopped fighting?"

He considered this, head tilting slightly in that way he had when analyzing a particularly complex problem. "Not stopped. Redirected. There are better battles than the ones against yourself."

The insight hit with unexpected force, piercing straight to the heart of what I'd been doing these past months. Fighting myself. Fighting my designation. Fighting connections that felt threatening only because they exposed vulnerabilities I'd spent years denying.

"When did you get so wise?" I asked, a smile tugging at my lips despite everything.

"I observe," he said simply. "It's what I do."

Another comfortable silence fell between us, but this one felt different, charged with something unspoken yet increasingly difficult to ignore.

The bond marks on my shoulders seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat, a physical reminder of connections already formed and those still waiting to be acknowledged.

Jace's scent shifted subtly, ink and snow deepening with notes I hadn't detected before, something richer, more primal beneath his usual calm exterior.

"You're thinking about it," he observed quietly. "The bonds."

There was no point denying it. "Yes." After all, he might even be able to tell through our brand new bond, though it was all still a bit overwhelming for me.

"Are you afraid?"

The question caught me off guard with its directness. Jace rarely asked such pointed questions, preferring to let people reveal themselves in their own time.

"Not afraid exactly," I said, searching for the right words. "More... uncertain. About what it means. About whether I'm making choices or just responding to biology."

"Does it have to be one or the other?" he asked. "Can't biology inform choice rather than override it?"

I considered this perspective. "Maybe. But everything's happening so fast. Reid's claim, then Theo's, now..." I gestured vaguely between us.

"Nothing has to happen now," he assured me, his voice steady despite the Alpha notes deepening in his scent. "Or ever, if that's not what you want. We are bonded, but that just means we’re pack. It doesn’t have to be anything romantic if that’s not what you want."

The space he offered, the complete lack of pressure despite his obvious desire, made my decision clearer rather than more confused.

"What if it is what I want?" I asked, meeting his eyes directly. "What if I want all of you, just... differently? At different times, in different ways?"

His pupils dilated slightly, the only visible sign of his reaction. "Then you'd be describing exactly what a true pack bond should be. Not identical connections, but complementary ones."

I shifted closer, drawn to his calm certainty like a moth to flame. "And what would our connection be, Jace? What do you offer that's different from Reid's protection or Theo's chaos?"

"Understanding," he said without hesitation. "The comfort of being known without having to explain yourself. The quiet between storms."