Page 69 of Forced Bonds

“Want to go bake something?” he asked, packing away our fishing gear. He’d wanted a new hobby so fishing had sort of become our thing. He just hadn’t sucked at it like I did. But we did have one thing we did together that we both loved and were amazing at. Baking.

“Fuck, yes,” I agreed, already thinking about the new banana nut bread we’d talked about trying next. We baked around once a week, getting the kitchen all to ourselves. It was so relaxing and also rewarding as we shared it with the other humans in the mansion.

Our world had changed drastically ever since the book had been opened. Most importantly, the rogues were no more. That was the biggest change for me. For Chris it was his werewolf. Apparently, healers could now heal him from his curse, something he’d asked us about and honestly, we didn’t mind him being a werewolf. Chris had decided to stay as a werewolf, feeling like it was a big part of him, and the full moons were hot as fuck for all of us. Now, it wasn’t either Zar or me that got claimed. Ever since he’d claimed Zar, he would claim both of us at each full moon. Once his knot went down with the first, he pounced on the next. It was a lot of fun for all of us.

“We need to do the trial run for the wedding cake,” Jesse reminded me as we dumped all our fishing gear into the shed near the lake. “I know they want one layer to be red velvet and the top to be lemon, so that’ll be interesting.”

I grimaced at the thought. I was all for sweet and sour mixes, but sour and red velvet? Nah-ah.

Freddy had shown up and begged for refuge when he’d escaped his pack. He’d sadly not been chosen as alpha, instead they’d gone for one of those men who believed loyalty had to be beaten into you. Freddy and the others weren’t allowed to leave town but he’d managed to escape by running in his wolf form for hours until he came here. To everyone’s utter surprise, Yanus had been his mate and he was now bonded and mated to Yanus and Altaur. The three of them were happy as can be, even with their questionable cake decision.

The Keen pack was now called The Rouns pack and we kept an eye on it at all times, mainly because the alpha believed them to be superior now that no new werewolves would be born. Freddy had chosen to give up his werewolf form once he was at the mansion, but even talking about it in the Rouns pack would have you beaten. Jennifer had sadly lost her life when she refused to mate with the alpha. The next woman he’d wanted had accepted, likely because she knew she’d be killed if she refused him. We were talking about having the alpha killed and Altaur had a meeting scheduled with Isabelle later in the week to talk about it.

Isabelle had five blood bonded humans now and I finally learned why her two twin goons had those light red eyes. They’d been blind when they were human and once they turned into vampires they’d gotten “the sight” whatever that meant.

“Catch any fish?” Zar asked, startling the shit out of Jesse and me. We’d just entered the mansion’s back door and hadn’t even heard him approach.

Jesse laughed while I just glared at my vampire. He knew how much I sucked at it. I decided to ignore his question. “We’re off to bake, you wanted something?”

Zar smirked. “A nibble, if you’re offering?”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Jesse announced, hurrying away. “Let’s bake tomorrow!” he called over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

“A nibble, you said?” I grinned, leaning in to kiss my man.

“Maybe more than a nibble,” he rasped, kissing my neck.

“That can be arranged,” I breathed. “Where’s our wolf?”

“Waiting for you in our bedroom,” he said, still kissing down my neck.

“Then we shouldn’t make him wait,” I said, tugging his hand and pulling him with me. I had a sexy alpha and a vampire to please.

Salizar

A month later.

Chris’ old pack was no more, but many of the werewolves were still alive and now had to find new packs or decide on a new alpha. Hopefully they’d make a better choice this time around, someone less brutal and with a brain behind his thick noggin, perhaps.

A few of us were now gathered at the bar, having fun and playing games. It was the monthly gaming night and Benji had prepared a lot of baked goods with Jesse. Those two had truly connected and it was thanks to Jesse that Benji now felt completely at ease in the coven. Chris was comfortable too, but he was mostly by my side, preferring his smaller pack. Benji was a social butterfly and helped everyone with the weirdest tasks, pleased to be of help now that it was his decision whether or not he wanted to help.

Our Benji sadly wasn’t always happy and at ease, which Chris and I struggled with. He had nightmares about once a month. It was either from when he was a child, reliving the memory of how his family got murdered by rogues, or from the time he got tortured. His biggest fear was that we would die with him, something he’d told us one night after he’d woken after a brutal nightmare. It didn’t help much that Barius and Wisp still came around the mansion every few weeks for meetings. They’d done what their master had asked of them, but we would never forget.

“Why are you staring at your cards like you want to murder them?” Chris chuckled fondly. I blinked, remembering we were in the middle of a game. I gave him a sheepish grin and focused back on my cards.

It wasn’t until we were back in bed that night—all of us sated after another wonderful fucking—that I thought about what Benji had told us back when the book had been opened. He wanted to stay bonded to us, of his own free will, all he asked was that we would love him forever.

I held out my hands and smiled at the sight. Two rings, each on their own ring finger, both embedded with a stone that represented my men. Benji and Chris had their own versions as well, each of us wanting to design our own. I’d even gotten a teardrop pendant made as well to match.

The rest of the night I spent staring lovingly at my two men, knowing they wanted to stay with me of their own free will, knowing they were happy here with me and my coven. It was more than I’d ever expected to have. My feisty little human and wolf.

Christopher

Four months later.

So, it would appear as though demons could now get summoned by beings other than witches, something none of us had found in the book, not until today at least, when Benji had accidentally summed an incubus and almost gotten way too friendly with it.

We were now pacing the meeting room, Isabelle flipping through the book while Sal glared at the demon who looked at Benji like he wanted to eat him. Isabelle wasn’t this scary vampire to us anymore, her walls were completely down around us now and she often came without her goons, much to our pleasure. We still hated Wisp and Barius.