Blood Bonds(The Bonds That Tie #3)(49)

Gabe grins at me and murmurs into my ear, his voice a tease, “Bonding with him would too. Have you changed your mind about it yet, or is North just that good at convincing you he’s all in now?”

He doesn’t sound like he’s pushing or anything, just curious and clearing the air, so I’m happy enough to answer him. “He had some good points. My bond was also pretty strongly in favor and his bond was too. I’m… less worried about what it means to stay here. It’s just the power boosts that are still a problem.”

He nods and kisses my cheek again, not worried or concerned about it at all. I would feel insecure about it, except his hands are all over me, pulling me into his body closer, like he’s trying to get under my skin, so there’s no chance of me thinking he doesn’t actually want me. I think he’s just so sure that we’ll figure it out that he’s willing to wait.

There’s a buzzing in his pocket and he moves me a little to pull it out, rolling his eyes at the screen and cursing under his breath. My stomach drops a little but he drawls, “It’s just Sawyer, blowing my shit up for more help with moving Grey’s shit in. I told him I was coming to see you first, and he’s being a dick about it.”

I glance up at him, surprised, and he nods. “Yeah, North is moving them all in here with us. Anyone we trust is being brought in so that we’re not targeted separately. More power under one roof is a good thing right now, and Grey’s parents are all about the move.”

Relief floods me. “Did they come too?”

He shakes his head, scowling a little. “They’ve taken Briony to Switzerland. They were taking Grey as well, but North stepped in. There’s a safe house there that only three people know the location of. They’re leaving in the dead of the night, so they’re going to be safe. Sawyer lost his shit about it and when the retesting of their bloods came back, Grey’s dad finally broke and let him stay.”

My jaw drops. “They’re Bonds?!”

Gabe grins at my excited squeal and shakes his head. “No, but they’re in the same Bonded group. They haven’t found their Central yet, but the new testing is still going through the old samples. Sawyer has become very motivated to help with it.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure he has. Nothing like a little skin in the game to get you working. God, I wish there was something I could do to help. Instead, I’m trapped up here like a princess in a tower. Stupid.”

Gabe’s phone buzzes again in his hand and I kiss him. “Go help him. I’ll find Sage and see her, and then I’ll come sleep in your bed tomorrow night. We’ll be the masters of patience by the end of all of this.”





Sage shows up at my door, Felix trailing behind her, three minutes after I message her.

How she can navigate this place so freaking seamlessly is beyond me, but apparently I’m the only one who struggles with that.

She takes one look at me with a frazzled sort of look in her eyes and throws her arms around my shoulders, squeezing me tight as she mumbles, “Never do any of this shit again, Oli. Not running off, or going full terminator, or coming home and being holed up for days where I couldn’t come and see for myself that you were alive. I thought I was going to have to burn the place down around North to get him to budge. He was not having it.”

I giggle, feeling oddly teary about the ragged tone of her voice, and when we pull away from each other, Felix leans in to give me a very sedate side hug as well. I’m not sure if he’s worried about upsetting his Bonded or the many overprotective Bonds of mine in this house, but I can respect it.

I usher them both into my room, and Sage carefully steps around the pups to take a seat on the floor with me while Felix takes a seat at the small, never-used desk that’s covered in books I’ve already used for my studies today, as well as all of Gabe’s stuff. The small stack of Atlas’ books acts like a little beacon to me, pointing out how badly I need to go find my Bond and hear from him.

I clear my throat, looking back at Sage and say, “So catch me up on what’s been happening since the world as we knew it ended. What’s been going on?”

I’m expecting to hear about everyone officially moving into the mansion, but that’s not quite what I get.

Sage shoots me a look. “Oh, nothing much. Except that I’m definitely a Central Bond. Kieran is one of my Bonds, and I have four that flagged in my dad’s very secure, very secret retest. So, you know. Business as usual around here.”

Four.

Holy shit.

I suddenly care about nothing more than finding out about her Bonds. My own bullshit just evaporates out of my brain. “So, Kieran, Felix, Riley, and… some other guy? Do you know him?”

She huffs and leans herself back against the bed, tipping her head back dramatically, which I can totally get behind, and says, “Yeah, I know him. He already graduated from Draven a year ago and moved interstate for work. He’s from one of the lower families, but he came to Draven on a scholarship because his gift was so strong. Gryphon tried to get him to join a TacTeam, but he wanted something that paid more.”

Understandable. When you come from nothing, you’re going to go for your best option. “So… are you going to contact him now or later?”

She groans and props herself up on her elbows to look back at me. “My dad and North are discussing it, as though I'm a child who can’t make her own decisions on these things. They’re also monitoring the Riley and Giovanna situation from a distance until it’s safe to get him out of there even though I’m dying inside thinking about what is happening to him right now but my opinion on that matter is also very low on the list of priorities.”