Page 32 of Worthy or Knot (Serendipity Omegaverse #3)

Thirty-Two

MARCUS

“ Y ou going to tell me how we’re on a yacht now?

” Cole asks where he sits between my legs on the large outdoor sectional on the top deck of said yacht.

His back is plastered to my chest, and I have an arm around his waist, keeping him from getting even an inch of distance between us.

Just the thought has a growl rumbling through my chest.

We’re hours into the cruise, New York entirely gone on the distant horizon.

We’ve had a light lunch and seen a pod of whales, much to Charlotte’s delight.

Now, we’re lounging on the back deck in companionable silence.

The ocean breeze catches strands of his hair and tickles the back of my neck.

It twists our mingling scents together, too.

Charlotte and Megan sit on either side of me, both constantly touching him just like I am.

None of us can get our hands off of him.

If we’re not careful, we won’t remember to have him sign the paperwork.

And Megan might actually see me naked despite her efforts over the last year to keep that boundary.

I kiss behind his ear. “Your dad offered to help us set this up.”

He pulls away from me, twisting until he can see me. A grimace flashes across his face, but it’s gone before I can comment on it. Then, his eyes narrow.

“My… dad?”

When I nod, he frowns. Confusion bleeds across the bond. I palm the nape of his neck and kiss him, needing to alleviate all of his discomfort. His response is quick but short-lived. He pulls away after only a minute.

“Why did my dad decide we needed to go whale watching?” There’s humor in his voice now, and my own nerves settle a bit.

It’s Charlotte who laughs and spills the beans in the next breath.

“Yeah, they wanted to help set up everything so we could surprise you with the paperwork.”

Cole’s breath catches, and his shock is like frozen water under my sternum.

For a heartbeat, I worry that Megan was right, that we should have talked it over with him first to make sure he was on board with doing this only halfway through the given thirty day trial period.

But then it dissolves into wonder, and I can breathe again.

“Really?” he asks quietly, like he’s terrified this is all a dream.

Megan grabs his hand again and laces their fingers together. “If you’re ready, we are, too.”

When he nods once, I ease to my feet, kissing his temple.

“Be right back,” I murmur into his ear, relishing the goosebumps that race down his throat.

A flash of desire lights up the bond, and my knees nearly buckle.

That felt really similar to how the waves of his heat have felt over the years.

Shit, is his heat getting close? It’s not something we’ve discussed yet.

Two weeks isn’t really all that much time, especially when half of it was spent coordinating his move.

I shake away the thoughts and cross the deck of the boat quickly, grabbing the small folder we’d had the crew stash just inside the door to the indoor lounge space up here.

Next to it, they’ve laid out the ring box I’d given them as well as a pan.

I shove both into my pocket and then head back out to Cole.

Charlotte and Megan both hold his hands, smiles on their faces, as they watch me approach, letting me lead this just like everything else when it’s come to Cole and being with him again.

I take in the way they look together, how seamlessly they’ve blended over the last week of living together, and my heart swells.

I settle onto the low-lying table just in front of them, my elbows on my knees, letting the folder dangle from my hand.

There’s anticipatory silence for a moment, the girls letting me decide where I want to start with our speeches.

I’d practiced something, of course, just like I know they have for the last two days.

But all of it goes out the window when I lock eyes with Cole, the hazel practically glowing in the warm, midday sun.

The words that fall out are raw and real, and I know he can feel them in his chest from our bond.

“When we decided to file as a pack, it was bittersweet,” I started.

“Megan was interested in seeing about finding an Omega, but didn’t want to try and find another group that she felt she matched well with.

Charlotte didn’t really mind either way.

I… I was the one who hesitated. It took me nearly six months before I was willing to start the process. ”

I swallow the lump in my throat at remembering the defeat I’d felt when I’d finally agreed to file together, to let them see if we could find an Omega that liked Megan and blended well enough with me.

“All the while, I kept hoping I’d run into you.

Maybe you would be at one of the galas, too, and I wouldn’t have to live without you anymore.

I knew it was naive and that I was way too old to be indulging, but it made it…

bearable. And then, when I saw you there, realized you hadn’t matched, that you were at the same gala as me and we could be together?

Everything that had felt slightly off in my life clicked into place.

I love Charlotte more than I can breathe, and Megan is the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

But you? You’re the piece I’ve been missing. ”

Cole nods, but I keep going.

“Missing for more than just the three years we were apart.”

His throat moves with his swallow.

“When I went out on that balcony, when I left the event? It was because it felt like I was missing something, that something was ready to tear out of my chest. I couldn’t understand it.

I’d never felt it like that, not since having to help a friend get to a Haven during college when her heat started unexpectedly.

But when I saw you? When you were so damn bold and confident?

It settled down. It was like the instincts—the primal drive—knew they were looking for you. ”

With a deep breath, I pull the ring box from my pocket and flip it open, holding it out to him, my Omega.

“Being matched with you is a blessing. But being bonded to you? It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Cole. I love you. I’ll love you for the rest of our lives if you’ll let me.”

Tears line his lashes, and his hand trembles as he takes the ring box in his hands.

He traces the small band of metal for a moment before pulling it from the plush velvet.

It’s a simple gold, thin enough to layer between the rings the girls picked, understated but ever present.

Just like the two of us, like our bond. I take it from him, easing it onto his finger, and then kiss him.

When I pull away, his laugh bubbles up, light and happy, just like the emotion coursing between us. Charlotte takes his hand and slowly slides a second ring onto his finger. Hers has small diamonds embedded in it all the way around, and they catch the sun, sparkling.

“They’re like you,” she says after a minute. “Beautiful and radiant, shining light on everyone they meet.”

His lip curves.

“I didn’t know anything about you,” she says.

“I never asked. Not because I was jealous, but because I didn’t want to have anything built up in my head for when we finally found you.

And I knew we would. Something in my bones told me that we would when we filled out the paperwork with the Council.

And I’m glad I never asked. Because nothing he said would have been enough to capture who you are.

Your kindness, your humility, your compassion.

You’re the missing piece between the three of us. ”

Their kiss is softer, a reflection of the two of them and their own dynamic. When they part, Cole automatically turns to Megan, his heart in his eyes.

She smiles and cups his cheek.

“I know the Council doesn’t always get it right,” she starts.

His shoulders tense, but he doesn’t pull away.

“When we got the initial notice that we hadn’t been shortlisted for you, I was so shocked.

When Marcus told us you’d been there, we’d already accepted that we would be matched, that we’d get to meet you and know the Omega that had captured his mind.

Because you had. Accidental bonds aren’t always romantic.

But for him? You were it for him the moment it happened.

” She runs her thumb over his lips. Apple explodes out from him.

“I don’t know what made the Council change its decision, but I’ll always be grateful to it, to them. ”

She pulls her own ring from the pocket of her dress. It’s slightly larger than mine with a hammered finish. Instead of putting it on his finger, though, she offers it to him.

“Two weeks should be way too short a time to know if you really love someone,” she says as he quietly takes the ring.

He adjusts them, arranging them the way we had in the store, with Charlotte’s on top and hers closest to his knuckle.

Mine wedges perfectly between them. “But I’ve learned since my parents died to not question it.

To take every moment you can because you don’t know if it’ll be the last. I love you, Cole. ”

His smile is shaky, and tears silently fall down his cheeks. They’re happy tears, though, the wash of awe and wonder in the bond soothing me, so I don’t brush them away. He glances down at the rings, his eyebrows furrowed. And then he takes in a shuddering breath.

“Thank you,” he says, looking between the three of us.

“You know my parents weren’t a happy match.

Most of that era weren’t, really. My dads love each other, love each of us kids.

But I never thought I’d get what I saw in the movies, in the media the Council put out to encourage more large packs to form.

And then… then the bond happened, and I…

” He swallows and blows out a breath. “You’re more than I thought I would get,” he whispers fervently.

“More than I thought would be in the cards for me.”

He looks at Charlotte and Megan, grabbing their hands.

“Thank you for being willing to take a risk on me, on being willing to get to know me even though I was bonded to Marcus. You didn’t have to, and I’ll always love and appreciate you both for it.”

Then his gaze falls back on me. Joy bursts across the bond, stealing my breath.

“I love you,” he whispers.

And it might only be three words, might be less than he told the others or we told him, but it’s all I need. Love burns across the bond, lighting up my veins. I cup his cheeks and kiss him, hard and deep.

“I love you, too, Omega.”