Page 133 of Caged

The Bond flares, wild and fierce. And suddenly I’m screaming and begging and thrashing against my restraints, reaching for Idril as though I may reach her through sheer will alone.

Scent Match.

Yes, a Bond already exists, but this Bond—this is the confirmation I’ve searched for. It’s not only a blessing from Fate, it’s the solution to every deterrent that’s plagued us from the start. The gift of this Bond is fucking absolution. And I know, nothing—nothing—in my immortal life will ever feel this perfectly right.

For centuries, my pack’s patiently waited. We’ve searched every country on every continent, haunted by the unspoken fear that our Mate may have died before we even knew she existed. It’s not something we often discuss, but the fear is always there. A shroud blanketing a future we never dared hope to find.

A Mate. Unconditional love. Our perfect match and the other part of our souls. A family. Everything we’ve feared lost to us. An endless unspoken curse we silently agreed to ignore.

But now⁠—

Now the Bond is exploding, the golden thread of our Scent Match stretches to wrap around the silver Bond. It coils tight and pulls.

Bright, glittering gold seeps into my soul. For one perfect moment, the magic of our Bond burns through the silver poison and erases the pain.

Against all odds, I found her. I found our Mate.

The instant Vae and Dax scent her, they’ll know. Dax won’t demand answers because the Bond is answer enough. The fighting won’t matter anymore, either. We can work together to find answers to the silver Bond without a cloud of suspicion hanging over everything. It won’t even matter if I’m the only one with the silver Bond because no matter what, she’s all of ours.

Scent Matches are the only Fated Bond that always applies to an entire pack.

The future spreads before me, filling me with strength. Varenthrall comes to a stop. His eyes flick between us and his nostrils flare. His expression hardens in realization

“Well, well, well,” his frown drips with pity. “That’s… unexpected.”

He inhales again, stealing more of my Omega’s scent. Then he throws his head back and lets out an incredibly bark of laughter.

“Well, that certainly explains some things. You’re her Mate.”

He hums, leaning in so close I can feel the warmth of his breath.

“I wanted to send a message, but this! This is poetic on a level I never expected. You know what’s amazing about a Scent Match? The Bond only snaps for one individual at a time. It won’t be complete until she scents you as well.”

I frown, trying to make sense of his taunt.

“She’s unconscious, and you’re wearing descenter. She can’t smell you,” he explains, drawing out each word like he’s speaking to a child. “As of right now, she hasn’t the faints clue you’re her Mate.”

My first instinct is to laugh. To throw his ignorance back in his face. The part of me that wants to hurt him encourages me to disclose our second Bond. A Bond that, despite having no idea what it is, is infinitely stronger than the Scent Match.

But the larger part of me—the more strategic part that never acts without thinking things through—pointedly reminds me of all the reasons why I can’t.

Giving him that knowledge is a terrible idea. I don’t know anything about that Bond, but I can’t take a chance that he might. If by some twist of Fate he has information I don’t there’s a chance he could fuck with it, maybe even use it against us.

Being petty isn’t worth handing this fucker any more leverage against us.

My fangs bite into my bottom lip until blood runs down my chin. Satisfied he’s sufficiently crushed my spirit, Varenthrall bends down and carefully gathers the bags of Idril’s blood.

He cradles them in his arms, studying them with reverence. His features morph into something almost worshipful. Like a father holding his child for the first time and realizing his entire future sleeps in his arms.

It’s enough to send chills down my spine.

The agony of the silver continues to worse until all I want to do is scream. I won’t, though. I won’t give this asshole the pleasure.

He glances up with a secret smile on his lips, completely oblivious to my pain. “You have absolutely no idea how this is going to change the world.”

I don’t even try to mask my disgust. Tucking the blood bags in the crook of his arm, he lets out a sardonic laugh. “You think I’m callous.”

It isn’t a question, so I don’t bother with a response.