Chapter 146

“You just said it,” Rafe says with a shrug. “Luca, you have admitted that you don’t want Ariel to be with Jackson. Jackson, you agreed, saying you felt the same way – you don’t want her to be with Luca.”

All three of us just stare at Rafe like that’s obvious. Actually, all five of us if you count Ben and Jesse too.

“Well, I mean, I think it’s kind of simple,” Rafe says with a sigh, heading to the couch and lifting his coffee off the table as he sits down like this is the most casual conversation anyone has ever had. “If that’s what you guys want, you just have to decide where your boundaries are.”

“What?” Ben asks, confused. We all turn to him and he puts his hands up. “Sorry, sorry,” he murmurs. “I’m just…I’m too involved. I’m sorry. I’ll shut up.”

Rafe laughs a little, but nods. “No, you’re right, I can be clearer. But honestly, I think it is really simple. Ariel?” he says, and I stand up straight, a little wary about what’s coming next. “You declared this morning that you’re not going to reject your mating bond with Jackson just because Luca wants you to, right?”

“Right,” I say instantly.

“Really?” Jackson asks, and I turn my head to see a wide smile on his face. I smile back at him, sending a sense of faith and happiness down our bond, as well as a very tiny scolding that he should be at all surprised. His smile deepens.

“And,” Rafe says slowly, drawing my attention back to him. “Are you willing to reject Luca, because Jackson wants you to?”

“No,” I say instantly, my hand going to my chest, my heart breaking at the very idea. My eyes move to Luca’s and I can feel his own horror, his incredible sense of impending fear and loss. I shake my head, fervent, letting him know that I would never. Slowly, he grits his teeth and nods, believing me.

“Okay,” Rafe says, nodding again and turning back to the boys. “Well, is either of you willing to break your bond with Ariel?”

“No!” they say in unison before turning to glare at each other, I think a little pissed to finally agree on a point – any point – in this complicated manner.

“Okay, cool,” Rafe says, giving a shrug and lifting his coffee to his mouth. “Then, obviously, we have to find a way to deal with this. Figure out where your boundaries are and…how to live with this situation as it is – because clearly, you’re all stuck in it.”

“Look at you, cousin,” Jesse says, pleased as he sinks into his armchair with a donut in his hand, taking a bite. “What are you, on Therapy track, instead of Warrior? That was good.”

My eyes narrow at Jesse. Donuts? Where the hell did he get one of those?

Rafe just grins at our cousin before Luca steps forward, pissed.

“No way,” Luca says, shaking his head and jutting out a hand. “I see what you’re doing here – this is…this is all what Ariel wants, but what I want is important too. I don’t – I don’t want to live like this.”

“Valid,” Rafe says, nodding to him. “So, tell us what you want, Luca.”

“What I do not want,” Luca says, glaring at Rafe and then at me. “Is a polyamorous relationship. I do not want a girlfriend who has another boyfriend. I can’t…I can’t live like that.”

“Well, then that sounds like your boundary,” Rafe says quietly. “What about you, Jacks?”

Some of Jackson’s confidence has left him now that he’s not dealing with a confrontation with another Alpha and is instead doing what is probably his least favorite thing in the world: talking about his emotions. “Um,” he says, lifting a hand to rub anxiously at the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I mean…whatever…”

My eyebrows go up because…well, did Jackson just admit that he’s okay with me having two boyfriends?

“No, Jacks,” Jesse says, his mouth full of donut as he points an accusatory finger in Jackson’s direction. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Jackson growls, clearly displeased to be countered.noveldrama

“You’re lying to be easy, to make Ariel happy,” Jesse says, perfectly casual like Rafe is. I blink, my eyebrows going up as I look at Jackson again, surprised to see him scowling and looking away. “I saw you last night – you were devastated at the idea of her being with someone else. Tell the truth, Jacks – that’s what we’re trying to do here. Get it all out on the table so we can figure out what to do.”

Ben sits down on the couch next to Rafe, watching everything unfold like a television drama. I sigh, scowling and crossing my arms, feeling oddly out of place and like a pawn. I mean, don’t I get a say in this?