Page 102 of The Omega's Bloodlinem: Part Two

I settled in, allowing myself to melt, lulled to sleep by soft purring and the glowing adoration in the bond letting me know that no matter what happened, I wasn’t alone.

Iwoke in the nest, sandwiched between Velda and Caden, the others in their smallest forms sprawled across my body. My stomach growled loudly, Mini Kendrick lifting his head to look at me.

I’ll get you some food. Craving anything in particular?

Literally anything.

He nodded, tippy-toeing his way off me and out of the nest before shifting back to his human form.Juice and pasta salad? Estrella brought it down in the cooler a couple hours ago.

Sounds great.

Kendrick settled next to me with the bounty, lifting off our packmates so he could drag me onto his lap and feed me. The pasta salad was loaded up with veggies, cubed ham, and hard boiled eggs. All in all, it was a pretty good recovery food. He didn’t give me a huge portion, a wise choice considering I wasn’t sure the last time I had put solid food in my stomach. The juice was like an elixir, hydrating me and sugaring me up at the same time.

Has everyone else eaten?I asked him.

Your guess is as good as mine.

The bond lit up as everyone fully woke. Kendrick twitched and Velda squeezed her eyes shut.

Hecate, I don’t want them to be uncomfortable. What do I do?

Hello, little star.The world around me warped, drawing my spirit to the forest with her. I fell into her arms, my body illuminating at her touch.

How do I stop the bond from hurting them?

It will quiet on its own in time. They need to let the waves carry them, rather than try to fight them. Everyone needs to adjust to the new push and pull of their shared existence. They may learn to control it without your intervention. The bond feels different to each person, and some find it more comfortable from the start than others.

But I muted it before. How do I do that again on purpose?

She settled onto the moss, wisps of starlight and shadow dancing around the edges of her robes.That was the bond responding to your own needs at the time. You’ll have to practice for it to be a purposeful thing.

Great. Another item on the list of things I had to get good at on a really fucking short timeline.

What happens now?

What do you mean, dearest?

Nerves twisted in my belly.I have to face that monster sooner or later, right? There’s no solution in waiting it out.

Correct.

How do Idothat, though?

I know you would prefer I give you a simple answer, but everything that occurs must be your own doing, your own choice. Telling you could influence the outcome.

But…

You must have faith in yourself and your mates.

She sent me back to them with no real information, but I had faith in her, and she seemed to have faith in me figuring things out, so I’d have to lean into that for now. I didn’t love it, but if that was the only option, I had no choice but to suck it up and keep pushing forward.

“She lives.” Seth kissed my cheek. “Goddess visit?”

“Yep.”

“Anything interesting?”

“Just her being unhelpfully cryptic but supportive. You know, the usual.” I reached for Velda, lacing our hands together. I wasn’t entirely sure how to help her with the overwhelming energy of sharing the bond. Even just my touch stole a bit of her tension. Visualization had always worked well for me when I was meditating, so I supposed it didn’t hurt to try. I pulled her to my chest and imagined a blanket of green light draping over her, a gentle and protective cocoon. She melted against me, the tightness in her muscles surrendering.