Three Fated Hearts by LNC novel Chapter 71

~Landon~

We, somehow, made it to the bed. We aren’t sleeping, just trying to catch our breaths. That was amazing and tiring at the same time. Marking can take a lot out of you. Marked……we are marked.

Can you believe it, Goliath? She marked us. Goliath huffs, laying on his back, trying to rest. I can’t help but chuckle at the sight. I’m a marked wolf. Not only am I marked, but I was able to mark her.

Wait….I’m marked. Tia marked me. After everything that happened today, Tia marked me. Why? Why the hell did she do that? I can hear all of us breathing, and I know that no one is asleep. “Why?”

“Uh….L, is everything okay?”

“Why, Tia?”

“What do you mean?” Her soft voice is a bit raspy and sounds like she may have let sleep take over at any minute.

“After everything that happened today, why did you mark me? There is no way that I’m deserving of that honor. Why did you mark me? Why did you forgive me?” My heart is pounding in my chest. Goliath is growling in my mind, hating that I’m ruining the moment. I probably am, but I have to know. I have to have an understanding; it’s just who I am.

“I didn’t.” I turn to Tia, who’s looking at the ceiling. Lincoln is next to her, propped up on his elbow, looking at me.

“Huh?”

“I didn’t forgive you.” Tia sighs. “You are NOT forgiven at the moment.”

“I don’t understand.” Tia turns her head to look at me.

“You were wrong. You, not only, questioned my loyalty, but you also let yourself end up in a intimate situation with someone that you know means me harm. None of that is okay, but…..” Tia turns her head back to the ceiling. “I did the same thing. I put myself in a situation that I shouldn’t have. Neal had been texting me and I wasn’t feeling really comfortable with how things were going.” Lincoln’s growl rips through the room, and I see Tia place her hand on his back.

“He made me uncomfortable today and I should have told him to stay home, but I didn’t. Telling you that doesn’t absolve you. The difference here is Neal hasn’t proved himself to be a threat, but Adela has.” Tia sits up on the bed and scoots back against the headboard. “Let’s look at the facts. We have so much against us right now. Your mom, my dad, Jenna, my sisters…..they all want nothing more than to pull us apart. We can only make it through if we are strong and we are strongest together. We need to be together, as one, in order to fight our enemies. I marked you for that reason, so we can be strong. Once things die down, you will need to work for my forgiveness.”

The tightness in my chest loosens at her words. She’s right; we have so much against us that we need to be on the same page. I reach up and caress Tia’s cheek. “We don’t deserve you.”

“I know, but here I am anyway.”

“Speak for yourself, brother. I, totally, deserve Tia.” I throw my pillow at Lincoln, making Tia quickly move out of the line of fire. Everyone takes a minute to laugh and breathe.

“We need to speak with Neal.” Lincoln and I growl at that while Tia sighs.

I can’t seem to focus on anything. How the hell did this happen? How did all of my planning go to s**t? My breathing is becoming erratic, and my vision is slightly blurring. I have to get out of here; I have to get out of the packhouse.

I look around and see that I’m alone. I start to head to the doorway and pop my head out to see who’s around. I find no one, so I quickly dart to the front door, closing it quietly behind me. I don’t know what to do or where to go. Everything is messed up, and I don’t know how to fix it. I thought I had it; I thought I had Landon where I wanted him. This should have been a no-brainer.

So they are still together. They aren’t just still together, but they are marked. This completes the mating bond, and I’m not sure what to do. One thing is for sure, if they talk to Neal, he might give me up. I have to figure out how to keep that from happening. I run into the woods so I can come up with a plan.