Broken Bond - Callie Rose Page 0,41

my wolf will choose. Everyone has been so certain my wolf would come out, make her choice of mate, and the rest of you would have to give up your claim and leave.”

A ripple seems to go through the men at those words, and I see Ridge’s jaw clench.

“But that hasn’t happened,” I point out, planting my hands on my hips. “My wolf can’t choose because she doesn’t exist. And I don’t know if it’s my witch magic or just something about all of you, but I feel the mate bond the same as you do. The more time I spend with you, the deeper I get. I’m farther away than ever from being able to pick between you. I’m not being pulled toward one of you and away from the others. I’m being pulled in four different damn directions simultaneously and equally.”

All four men are watching me raptly, each looking a little surprised at how vehemently I’m speaking. But now that I’ve gained momentum, there’s no stopping me.

These feelings have been building for days. Weeks, even. I couldn’t stop this tide even if I wanted to.

“Trying to choose between you feels like tearing myself apart,” I say hotly. “And it hurts. If I had to stand here and choose, right here and now, then my choice would be none of you.”

All four faces fall in such identical expressions of devastation. I laugh, though there’s no humor in the sound. Tears prick my eyes and clog my throat, and it takes me a moment to clear it away before I can speak again.

“See how you feel at the thought of me walking away? I feel the same. It would be easier to tear myself away from all of you, or to rip my heart out and stomp on it, than it would be to feed one part of my soul and starve the other parts.”

The truth of it all aches in my chest. Now that I’ve opened the floodgates, I can’t stop the deluge. Tears spill over my cheeks, and all my pent up anger manifests as raw emotion. “This has been growing inside me for a while now. My heart knows what it wants, and it’s not just one of you. It’s all of you.”

My knees feel wobbly as I finish my speech. I can’t hold myself on my feet any longer, so I sink to the edge of the bed. The backs of my knees hit the mattress, and I plop down onto the blankets, slouching over as if the words I just spoke took all the energy out of me. It feels like they did.

A stunned silence falls over the room.

I press my lips together as I wait for their response, blood rushing in my ears as my heart gallops hard and fast.

So many times, I’ve heard that it isn’t normal for multiple males to mate with one female. I’m afraid they’re all going to laugh me out of the room, or even worse, relinquish their claim and laugh their way home. What I’m suggesting goes against their culture and traditions. One woman with multiple mates.

But then, as if by unspoken agreement, all four men converge on me.

Archer is the first across the room, moving with the same preternatural quickness Dare used to get to Ridge. He offers me a hand, which I accept, and then he tugs me gently to my feet. Before my wobbly knees can send me careening onto the hardwood, Archer wraps his arms around me with a heavy sigh. Trystan sidles up right behind him, where he cups my face and meets my eyes with a wry smile, while Ridge strides around the bed to join us. And then… even Dare is beside me, his body pressed up against me.

As if he does still care about me. Like he does still want me.

I close my eyes and lean into their embraces as new tears burn my eyes.

“Nobody meant to hurt you,” Archer murmurs, brushing his lips over mine. Warmth sparks over my mouth, and I smile, leaning in for another, more thorough kiss. It’s weird, knowing that I just had sex with Ridge and kissed him until my lips were swollen, only to stand here now with Archer’s warm lips moving against mine. But the weird feeling isn’t a wrong one—just a different one.

“I won’t lose you.” Trystan’s voice is rough. He leans over Archer’s shoulder to steal a kiss of his own. Trystan’s kiss is forceful, not at all sweet like