Page 29 of Unbonded (Pack’s Companion #3)

“You don’t have to explain,” I interrupt him, following him down the hallway to his bedroom.

I’ve walked past it twice with Dash, and both times almost swooned at the unadulterated burst of cedarwood that greeted me.

“My mom and I are in a strange place, too. She lives in Florida with an alpha I’ve never met.

She’s very traditional, so she took my unbonding really hard.

I still stay in touch, but I don’t appreciate all the advice on how to win Lee back. ”

I see a flash of anger on his face before his gaze drops to his shoes. “Parents don’t always know best.”

“I agree. Especially since I wouldn’t take Lee back even if he begged me.”

This earns me another of those tiny smiles, and when he reaches out, his fingers slide over mine until they’re twined together.

The feel of his large, cool palm is nearly as intimate as his face hovering over my scent gland, and I watch as he studies our bound hands.

“I have a friend in London who specializes in scent bonds. Perhaps I could ask him to look into our situation, if you and Lachlan are agreeable.”

I look at him in surprise. “Lachlan?”

“Well, there are three of us in this equation, yes?”

I nod numbly, although I’m not sure how Lachlan feels about being a scent match, let alone part of a bond triangle. “I should go and check on him.”

“And I should pack.” He pauses, still holding my hand. “You will think about this heat auction some more? Please don’t rush into a decision until we’ve had a chance to talk.”

The note of hesitancy in his voice is so different to how he spoke earlier, claiming that no one could outbid him for my heat, as if money and influence were the only considerations.

If I’m honest with myself, I’d felt a secret thrill that he was so determined to be at the top of my list, but I like this vulnerable side of him more.

“I won’t make any decisions without you. ”

“Thank you.” He studies me a moment longer, his gaze roaming over my features again before he pins me with those brilliant blue eyes. “In my opinion, people are more than their designation. No matter what happens with your heat, you will still be you , Kate.”

He drops a kiss on my knuckles that would make me swoon even if my hormones weren’t going haywire.

I try for a casual goodbye, but my heart flutters when I earn another of his small smiles before I retreat down the hallway.

A part of me wants to follow him into his room and convince him to postpone his trip, but a little distance will probably do us both good.

There’s a lot for us to process, and I also need to find Lachlan and make sure he isn’t freaking out about our new status.

Assuming it really is a scent match, and not just some leftover feelings from college.

I’m guessing that Lachlan is as shocked as I am that there might have been a bond between us all these years.

Was I so blinded by Lee that I didn’t notice, or is it something new, only forming since I was unbonded?

When I return to the main living area, I find Dash and Bram having a showdown in the sunken lounge. They both look at me expectantly and I give them a small smile. “Everything’s fine. Corbus is packing.” I wave a hand between them. “What’s going on?”

“I’m telling Bram he should go with Corbus on his trip, same as always,” Dash replies, his arms folded and his foot tapping impatiently. “We’re more than capable of looking after each other without an alpha to oversee us.”

Bram sends a quick glance towards the heavens, as if seeking respite from sassy omegas. “I know that, but I just dropped a bombshell in the middle of everything…”

“And we’ll deal with it,” Dash insists, holding a hand out towards me.

I gravitate towards him like we’re magnetized, breathing in his sweet tea scent with a happy sigh.

“See? Kate is fine. And I’ve already got a plan, involving some delicious cheat day snacks, my favorite scent match film, and a sleepover in the media room.

No. Knots. Needed.” Dash waggles his brows at the alpha. “Even ones as uber as yours.”

I smirk at the look on Bram’s face but then rewind what Dash said.

Bram always goes on these trips, and that shouldn’t change because our scent bonds are now in the mix.

“If you stay, who is going to look out for Corbus? He’s dealing with this, too, and I got the feeling this visit isn’t going to be easy for him. ”

“No,” Bram admits, rubbing his jaw. “His mom is a handful. Plus, he’ll probably want to visit a few of his suppliers, and I don’t like him traveling around with a briefcase full of gems.”

“You need to go, Bram,” Dash says quietly. “Besides, I’m sure Lachlan and Kate can use the space to work their stuff out in private.” He catches my eye and nods towards the glass doors. “He’s out on the terrace. Why don’t you check on him while I bully Bram into packing?”

I stop beside the alpha to kiss his cheek, stealing another gulp of his comforting leather and ink scent. “We’ll miss you, but we’ll look after each other. Promise.”

“I know you will,” he rumbles, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “But I’ll have Hector and another couple of guys close by, just in case.”

I nod, because if having a visible security presence makes Bram feel better, I’m not going to complain.

Although, my heart squeezes as I step out onto the terrace to find Lachlan sitting on a pool lounger, his back to the stunning view. He’s hunched over his phone, and when I stop at his side, I can see that he’s neck-deep in scent match research.

“I didn’t know,” I tell him as I tuck myself beside him on the lounger. It’s cool out, and when I shiver, he immediately drops an arm around my shoulders. “I honestly don’t know if the bond between us is new, or something that’s always been there, buried under my stuff with Lee.”

He shakes his head, his sunshine scent as murky as I’ve ever smelled it. “I think he knew,” he says softly. “I think Lee suspected something, and that’s why he was always rubbing my nose in my feelings for you.”

I feel a fresh pang of disgust for my ex. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to stop that, Lachlan. But why didn’t you say something to me? I really had no clue how you felt.”

He shrugs, his fingers skimming up and down my arm. “I did my best to hide it. You loved him, and I didn’t want to hurt you.” He sucks in a deep breath, like he’s been holding something back for a while. “And I knew if it all came out, he’d go after more than just me. Do you remember Rick Jameson?”

I nod, because while I don’t often think about Lee’s teammates, Rick Jameson always stuck in my head. A good-looking sophomore when we were seniors, he seemed to dislike me on principle, a stormy cloud to Lachlan’s sunshine presence. “The running back from your team?”

“Yeah, well we had a thing for a while.” He pauses to smile at my surprised expression.

“It was low-key, but Lee found out, and he said if I tried to break you guys up, he’d go to our coach about me and Rick.

There was a rule against fraternization between teammates.

I was safe, but Rick was an alpha and it specifically targeted them.

He was also on a scholarship, and if it came out, he would’ve been kicked off the team and probably forced to leave school. ”

My stomach churns with a fresh wave of nausea. This time it has nothing to do with my condition, and everything to do with Lee’s actions. “I can’t believe he blackmailed you like that.”

Lachlan shrugs, like it wasn’t the worst thing my ex did to him. “It wasn’t really serious on my part. Passing time, you know. But Rick was a lot more invested, and when I tried to break it off, he took it badly. I know it’s weak of me, but I just let it play out until we graduated.”

“That’s not weak. Lee put you in an impossible position.”

He sighs, dropping his phone beside him on the lounger so he can cup my cheek.

“I should’ve been honest with you and screw the consequences.

But I wasn’t about to blow up your world - or Rick’s - unless I was certain you wanted me to.

And then you announced your bonding at graduation, and I figured you’d made your choice.

Looking back, I should’ve gotten over my hurt feelings and told you everything. ”

I take his hand, winding our fingers together.

He has calluses on his palms that remind me of Lee, but that’s where the comparisons end.

In fact, the more I learn about both men, the more I realize how blind I was to what was right in front of my face.

“That’s easy to say in hindsight, but I couldn’t see past Lee.

I really thought he was my perfect match. ”

Lachlan huffs and squeezes my hand. “I really want to hunt him down and kick his ass. If he knew about our bond…”

“Maybe…” I pause, because he’s probably tired of the theories, but he looks at me curiously and I shrug.

“Maybe it needed time to develop. I was a different person back in college, going with the flow, and never really questioning things.” I don’t add that my mom was a firm believer in an omega’s place being on the arm of a powerful alpha, because I was never that narrow-minded, but the way I was raised definitely played into my feelings for Lee.

“When Lee left, I was a mess, but it forced me to grow up a lot. I let him make so many decisions for me, but when that was gone, I realized it was about control, not support.”

“That was the hardest part to watch,” Lachlan murmurs. “Everything he did benefited him, not you.”

I could probably list a dozen examples off the top of my head, but I’m tired of thinking about my ex. Lee has taken up enough of my head space, and I have better things to think about now. “The other part of the equation,” I say carefully, “is Corbus.”

Lachlan stiffens at my side. “And that’s real? You knew he was your scent match right away?”

I try to hide my wince. “I suspected when we first met, but everything’s been so messed up since the unbonding. I couldn’t be sure.”

“But you are now.”

“Corbus is complicated.” I won’t talk about his condition - if that’s the word for it – until he wants to discuss it openly, but I don’t want Lachlan to resent him, either. “We’ve had to work through a couple of things, but we’ve both admitted the bond is there.”

He pauses to absorb this. Lee liked winning in college, but it always seemed to be a healthy competition. I don’t know how he feels about sharing with an alpha, but he looks more doubtful than disturbed. “Two bonds. Is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but I also felt drawn to Dash and Bram when I met them. Who’s to say there aren’t a whole lot of different ways to connect with people?”

He glances down at his phone, as if the answer might be written there. But I think it’s also to avoid my gaze, because his voice is strained as he asks, “And so where do I fit? You’re with the dancer, and the alphas are waiting in the wings… How do I compete with that?”

“You don’t have to. Corbus said you’re a part of the equation. That the three of us are in a kind of bond triangle. That means you’re in this as much as any of us, if you want to be.”

He rubs his thumb over the back of my hand. “You mean… pack?”

“I don’t know. But I want you here. And not just to make up for lost time. I want to see what kind of future we might have, now there’s nothing standing in our way.”

Lachlan cups my cheek, and while I could melt into the intensity of his rich, brown eyes, there’s nothing better than watching a smile bloom on his lips. He radiates such happiness, I scoot closer to him, wanting to bask in his glow. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear that, Katie.”

I brush a finger over the curve of his bottom lip. It’s a perfect cupid’s bow, and I feel a shiver of pure want skip down my spine. “Then you’ll give us a chance?”

“It’s all I ever wanted.”

College Kate would probably be gaping in shock, but I’m a different person now, and I sigh with happiness as his hand slides to the back of my neck and those lips touch mine.

They’re plush but firm, and he lets me take the lead as we explore each other slowly.

Pleasure prickles over my skin, but it’s soft and undemanding, and neither of us rush to deepen the kiss.

I melt into him as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me to his chest. I can hear his heart beating under my ear, and as far as first kisses go, it’s pretty close to perfect.

“So, what now?”

I’m almost hypnotized by the warmth of his chest and the blue glow of the pool lights, but I pull back to look at him. “Corbus and Bram have to go on a trip, so I’d love for you to stay with me and Dash. Just be prepared. He has a whole evening planned out.”

A smirk pulls at his freshly kissed mouth, but I think he’s intrigued by the offer. “Stay here?”

I wave a hand at the pool, the view, the velvety Manhattan sky. “It has to be better than a hotel, right?”

“Yeah. The company didn’t exactly splash the cash on it.”

I poke him in the ribs. “Probably also beats that apartment you had when we first met. Remember? You had to buy a fold out bed because there wasn’t enough room for a bed and your beloved entertainment unit.”

“Oh, yeah.” He laughs, a bark of happiness that goes straight to my curling toes. “It was so damn tiny, you couldn’t swing a cockroach around without hitting a wall.”

“Ew. Thankfully those days are behind us.” I stand and hold out my hand. “Shall we go see what Dash has prepared for us in the entertainment department?”

He gets to his feet with athletic ease, his arm circling my waist as he stares down at me with all his feelings in plain view. “Well, you’re going to be a hard act to follow, Katie, but I’m up for it if you are.”