Chapter 102: I Feel Her Arousal In The Dreams, Nicholas
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The bond between them, the connection between the three brothers...carried weight in the silence. They didn’t need words to understand each other. They’d been connected since birth, linked by blood and wolf and the particular bond that only triplets shared.
But there were things that needed to be said.
"I’m concerned," Nicholas said finally. His voice was steady, but there was an undercurrent of vulnerability beneath it. "About the plan. About her."
Lucian waited for him to continue.
"We’ve been assuming that the bond will be obvious to her," Nicholas continued. "That when we’re close to her, she’ll feel it. Recognize it. Understand what we are to each other."
"She will," Lucian said with certainty. The dreams had shown him that. The connection was strong. The bond was real.
"But what if she doesn’t?" Nicholas asked. "What if two weeks apart has given her distance? What if she’s decided that what happened during the contract was trauma, not connection? What if she looks at us and sees only the men who held her captive?"
The questions hung in the air between them.
They were the questions Lucian had been asking himself for two weeks. The fears that surfaced in the brief moments between sleep and waking, when the dreams released him but sleep hadn’t fully claimed him.
"The bond is real," Lucian said quietly. "I feel it every time I close my eyes. The connection between us and her...it’s not one-sided. She’s experiencing it too. The dreams prove that."
"Dreams are subjective," Nicholas said. "They can be interpreted a thousand different ways. And if she’s interpreting them as nightmares instead of connection?"
"They’re not nightmares," Lucian said, his voice becoming harder. "I feel her arousal in the dreams, Nicholas. I feel her body responding to us. I feel her need. The connection is reciprocal. She wants us just as much as we want her. She’s just confused about what that means."
Nicholas leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.
"Then we need a strategy," he said finally. "For showing her. For making her understand. For convincing her that the bond is real and that coming back with us is the only logical choice."
"How?" Lucian asked.
"I don’t know yet," Nicholas admitted. "But we have three days to figure it out."
He stood and walked to the window, looking out at the Blackwood estate grounds below. Warriors training. Staff moving through the compound. The normal operations of pack life continuing, unaware that in three days, the alpha brothers would be gone.
"The bond will show her the truth," Lucian said quietly. "When we’re close to her, when she sees us, when she feels the connection...she’ll know. The bond doesn’t lie."
"Bonds can be rejected," Nicholas said. "Mates can refuse the bond. It’s rare, but it happens. And if she rejects us..."
"She won’t," Lucian said with absolute certainty. "I know her, Nicholas. Not from the contract, but from the dreams. From the connection. She’s desperate. She’s suffering. She’s trying to survive an impossible situation. And when she understands that we can give her a way out, that we can give her everything she needs....she’ll choose us."
Nicholas turned from the window to look at his youngest brother.
"You sound very certain," he said.
"I am," Lucian replied. "The bond doesn’t leave room for doubt."
Nicholas nodded slowly. "Then we proceed with that plan. We go to Shadowmere. We attend the Summit as planned. We get close to her. And we show her the bond."
"And if she refuses?" Lucian asked.
"Then we convince her otherwise," Nicholas said flatly. "By any means necessary."
The statement carried weight. It was a commitment. A vow. The kind of absolute statement that only an alpha could make.
Lucian understood what Nicholas was saying. If they had to take her, if they had to use force, politics, leverage, whatever it took, they would. Because leaving Shadowmere without their mate was not an option any of them were willing to consider.
"Three days," Lucian said quietly.
"Three days," Nicholas confirmed. "In three days, we leave. In less than a week, we’ll be in Shadowmere. And in less than two weeks, she’ll be ours."
Lucian stood from the chair. His body was still responding to the conversation,his arousal pressing insistently against his pants, his muscles tense with anticipation, Zev pacing just beneath his skin.
"Three days," he repeated. "We can wait three days."
"We have to," Nicholas said. "We need to maintain control and we need to be ready for anything Garrett might throw at us."
Lucian moved toward the office door, then paused at the threshold.
"Nicholas," he said, looking back at his eldest brother. "She’s going to understand. When she sees us, when she feels the bond, she’s going to understand that we’re hers just as much as she’s ours."
Nicholas met his gold-flecked eyes and gave a slight nod.
"I’m counting on that," he said quietly.
Lucian left the office and headed back toward the training grounds.
***
*SHADOWMERE PACK*
The morning broke over Shadowmere pack compound with a sense of controlled urgency.
Warriors moved through the grounds with purpose, positioning themselves at strategic points. The guest quarters were being given final touches. The main hall was ready. The dining facilities were prepared. Every system was in place and functioning.
But the true test was about to begin.
The first delegation arrived at 8:47 AM.
A convoy of three vehicles pulled up to the compound gates, carrying the Nightfall territories alpha and his entourage. Luke was there to greet them, moving with the calm authority of Garrett’s trusted beta. He welcomed the alpha with professional courtesy, ensured his warriors were directed to appropriate quarters, and personally oversaw the settlement of the delegation.
By noon, a second pack had arrived.
The Blackpaw territories sent their alpha with a larger contingent of warriors. Luke greeted them with the same efficiency, the same respect, the same careful attention to detail that showed Shadowmere was prepared and organized.
Throughout the day, more arrived.
