Page 443 of The Bonding Games: Part 1

I haven’t forgotten what she was thinking that day, either, and it’s definitely something that needs addressing. But not right now, and the warning look I send Cooper’s way is met with a mightily pissed glare, but he keeps his mouth shut as our Bonded continues.

“I must understand what he is doing first. However, we may discuss plans for what we will do when we win The Bonding Games.”

Everyone straightens.

“We?” Alby whispers with an anxious kind of hope.

“Are you not my Bonded?” Ezla replies curtly, and his entire being softens for her. I’ve noticed he’s always calmed by her no-nonsense attitude.

“Y-yes . . . I am. We are . . .”

“Very good. So we will win. Tiger, share your brilliant mind.”

He perks up, radiating light like a firework. “Oh! Thank you, Ezzy!” Then he bats his lashes. “You think my mind is brilliant?”

“Yes.”

Her tone is as dead as ever, but that doesn’t stop Tiger from climbing even higher up the mountain of joy he’s landed on. I can’t help but smile, some of the heaviness pushed back for now as I soak up the sight of my brother and Bonded so happy together, Tiger’s brain being praised the way it’s always deserved to be.

I nuzzle into Ezla’s neck, provoking her fingertips to dig deep into my skin again, the sharp pinch of her nails heating my blood.

“Wooohooo!” Tiger cheers, fist-pumping the air and all—before he claps his hands and launches into a grand spiel all about his many plans for when we win The Bonding Games.

And it is a when. It’s impossible not to be when we have the Champion on our side.

I just really fucking hope all six of us are alive in the end to claim that win.

65

COOPER

It feels great knowing Vengeance inside out now, despite the hordes of fury, pain, and disgust that came along with each one of her revelations. It feels fucking brilliant to have her call me hers and to be able to call her mine in return, knowing I’ve claimed her in the most primal way.

But it does not feel good to roll over in the morning, arm reaching out for my Bonded where she’d fallen asleep tucked safely between me and Scotty the second time around—

And meet nothing but cold sheets.

“Vengeance?” Brows scrunching, I shove myself upright. The commotion wakes my brothers in an instant, some more groggily than others.

Until they process the lack of their Bonded.

“Havoc?!” Tate launches himself to his feet with the grace of a bomb going off, for once his elegance matching what I’d expect of a man of his size. Other than Alby, we’re all still butt-ass naked, and maybe if I wasn’t so bloody pissed, I’d care about the fact that Tate’s swinging his junk around as he whips his head about the room as though Ezla might pop out of thin air and jump into his waiting arms.

“Love?! Where are you?!

“Ezzy?!”

“She’s gone?”

Everyone quiets down and looks to Alby at that last one, his hurt most evident. But we’re all fucking pained and confused as we think about what this might mean, wary glances exchanged throughout the room.

“Right, everyone, stay calm—”

“Stay calm?!” I shout, aiming my ire at Scotty only because he happens to be the nearest target, completely losing my shit. “She’s just left us! She left us like we meant nothing! After—” I scrub a hand over my jaw, the stubble there scraping over my palm. Anger, pain, disbelief . . . they all tunnel through me, and I feel my throat close up, unexpected moisture springing to my eyes. “I love her. I love her just as much as you do. And I wanted to tell her today . . . I wanted to show her my love, because I know I’m not as great at that as the rest of you. That was a really fucking special night for me—for all of us, right? And she just . . . she left.”

Not a sound can be heard as they all stare at me, expressions ranging from shock to empathy.

Then finally, Scotty speaks again, slowly, “I know how this seems, but think about this a bit more. Don’t doubt our Bonded’s feelings for us so easily. We might not know the extent of them, but they are there. She showed us her damn trauma! She’s shared her body with us when all she’s known is violation! She is trying to do this! Can you really, honestly be mad at her right now when she’s done so fucking much?!” His voice has risen and risen until it’s near a shout at the end, and I clench my jaw as guilt surges within me, dampening some of the wrath. “I’m hurt, too,” he admits in a quieter tone, taking a deep breath to quell his irritation with me. “I understand how you’re feeling, I really do. But this is Ezla. I believe she stayed as long as she could. We know she cares about us and wants us.” He shifts his intense blue gaze from me to roam over the rest of the group. “Can everyone agree on that?”