Page 55 of Brutal Reign
“I mean, I wouldn’t share a mate with anyone except you,” I mutter, once again thinking aloud. “But what if it doesn’t work?What if we can’t seal both bonds? And what if she doesn’t want it?”
“Then we’ll figure it out, but that’s something the two of us can’t do without her. We need to find River and just talk to her, see where her head’s at and try to make sense of this whole thing together.”
“You’re right,” I say.He’s always fucking right.“So, let’s go get our girl.”
Ace nods, a grin splitting his face. “Let’s go get our girl.”
19
The back lawn of the Goldenleaf packhouse is still littered with clothes when Seb and I return, the atmosphere eerily quiet save for the distant howls of wolves emanating from the forest beyond. If someone stumbled upon this scene and wasn’t aware shifters existed, they’d probably think a biblical event had occurred or something. I can definitively say this is my first time returning from a full moon run early, and it’s a little creepy how this place went from bustling with activity beforehand to a complete ghost town at present. The only sign of life is the array of clothes scattered on the ground.
Others might find it unsettling, but I happen to like the quiet.
Seb tracked River’s scent back here. She’s nowhere in sight out on the lawn, so she must be inside– and the two of us waste no time in shifting from our wolves and tugging on our jeans, not even bothering to fasten them or put our shirts on. We both feel the urgency; the pull of the bond calling us to our mate. We jog straight for the patio doors, letting ourselves in only to find it’s just as quiet and empty inside the packhouse as it was outside.
Everyone must still be out enjoying their run beneath the full moon. Running is the last thing on my mind right now, though–my inner wolf suddenly doesn’t give a shit about the moon; his sole objective is finding our mate. My instincts are on overdrive, and judging from the way the tugging sensation in my chest intensifies upon entering the packhouse, she must be close.
I still don’t know what to make of all this. Being bonded to River Jacobsen is both an incredible gift and an epic mindfuck. I want this– wanther– more than anything, but the uncertainty of this unusual bond also scares the shit out of me. I’m trying to keep a level head while we figure it out, but part of me is also fucking panicking right now.
I know Seb feels it, too. The guy has barely said two words to me since we shifted to track her down, and I can tell he’s in his head about whether this can really work. I have my own doubts, but there’s no point in voicing them right now. There’s no point in any of this if we can’t find River and actually talk to her.
The sound of a cabinet door banging shut in the kitchen cuts through the silence of the packhouse, and Seb and I draw a collective breath, locking eyes for a fraction of a second before we both rush toward the noise. We stumble into the kitchen to find River rolling the waistband on a pair of grey sweatpants on her hips to secure them, her head snapping up the moment we enter and her hazel eyes widening in surprise.
“What are you guys doing here?” she breathes, her gaze unwittingly dropping down our bare-chested bodies. I don’t miss the faint blush that rises to her cheeks when she finally makes eye contact, a little puff of air escaping those full lips.
“We came to talk to our mate,” Seb replies, and I can hear the strain in his voice when he says the word ‘our’. He’s still struggling to come to grips with this whole thing. It’s against his possessive nature.
Hell, it’s against mine, too, but I’m trying my best to be openminded here.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” River snaps, punching her hands on her hips. Her chest bows forward as she lifts her chin defiantly, her hard nipples pressing against the fabric of the thin white tank top she’s wearing. “Get out.”
“Stop fucking around, Riv,” Seb growls.
“You think I’m joking?” she scoffs. “I’m not now, and I wasn’t last night when I said I wanted nothing to do with you guys.”
“But you’re our mate,” I rasp.
Her eyes ping to mine. “No. Whatever that was…” she trails off, waving a hand wildly. “I don’t know what the hell that was out there, but it’s impossible to have two mates. And fate definitely wouldn’t be cruel enough to shackle me toyou twofor the rest of my life.”
Ouch.
I heave a sigh, my posture deflating. “Riv…”
“No, I don’t wanna hear it,” she interrupts, shaking her head adamantly. “This changes nothing between us.”
“It changes everything,” Seb snarls.
Her gaze snaps back to him, jaw going slack with disbelief. “How?” she demands, narrowing her eyes. “Whatever bond we have isn’t going to make me stop hating you two. It’s not going to change the hell you’ve put me through over the past three years.”
I scrub my hands over my face, cringing at the reminder of the lengths we went to in pushing her away. “I know we can’t take back how we’ve treated you, but trust me, neither of us wanted to do it,” I mutter wryly.
She snorts a sarcastic laugh. “Really? Could’ve fooled me.” Lifting a hand, she points a finger, swinging it between us. “You two have done nothing but try to make my life hell for the past two weeks. And before that, you acted like I never even existed!” She throws her hands up, eyes wide and wild. “We used to be friends until you made it very clear that neither of you wanted anything to do with me, and now that the moon just… didwhateverit did, I’m supposed to forget about all that and believe you suddenly want me?”
“I’ve always fucking wanted you,” Seb snaps as he takes a step toward her, his posture stiff and his shoulders bunched up with tension. “Webothdid, that was the problem.”
River rolls her eyes, clucking her tongue. “Yeah right. I’ve seen the types of girls you go for. Blondes, right?” She cocks her head and runs a hand through her long dark hair for emphasis.
Seb’s fists clench at his sides, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “That’s the fucking point, Riv, don’t you get it?” he growls. “I knew I could never have you, so any girl I hooked up with had to be the furthest thing from you.”