You’re so damn soft

“How is she?”

“She will survive,” came Curtis’s voice as he stepped out of the tent where Tara was being treated. His face was tired, shoulders tense. The weight of the day was heavy on him.

Taylor’s chest heaved. “I’m sorry we snuck out… it was just for a quick swim and now, Tara…” Her voice broke. She crumbled into tears again, and Vera pulled her into her arms, holding her tightly.

Across the campfire, Geri’s voice cut in cold. “If only he protected her, she wouldn’t be in there right now, unconscious.” He pointed directly at Salem, who sat silently on a rock nearby, shoulders hunched, gaze stuck on the dirt. He hadn’t spoken since they returned.

“Enough, Geri!” Orson snapped. “You’re so blind you can’t even see he risked his life for the girls!”

“So much for a risk, our mate is hurt!” Geri growled back.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, can you both just shut up?!” Amarok snarled from where he leaned against a boulder, arms folded tightly across his chest. His voice rang across the camp. “All this noise is not helping.”

Curtis stayed silent, watching the bickering men with hollow eyes. He lit a cigarette, rare for him, but right now, the stress was eating him alive.

Stone stood quietly in a corner, arms crossed. His eyes hadn’t left the healing tent. All he wanted was to take his sisters far from here, far from the chaos. It didn’t matter what fate said, Tara didn’t belong to this mess. None of them did.

Thirty minutes later, the flap of the tent finally opened.

“She’s awake,” the doctor announced.

Salem stood so fast his chair nearly tipped. His voice broke through his silence. “Is she okay? Is she alright?”

“Luckily, the injury to her head was light. No serious damage. She lost some blood and needs rest, but she’ll recover.”

A breath escaped Salem’s chest. Deep. Shaky. It was like something had loosened inside him—a weight lifted just enough to let him breathe.

All four men looked visibly relieved. Taylor only cried harder.

“Can we see her now?” Amarok asked.

“Maybe one at a time. Too many people will overwhelm her,” the doctor replied, then turned to the girls. “But she asked for you two first. As soon as she woke up.”

Taylor and Vera didn’t wait. They rushed into the tent without a backward glance, their hearts full of worry.

Inside, the scent of pills filled the air. Tara lay propped up with a soft bandage wrapped around her head. Her skin was pale, and her body looked thinner somehow.

“Are you okay?” Vera asked gently as they approached her.

Tara gave a weak smile and nodded.

“Why would you do that?” Taylor’s voice cracked as she dropped to her knees beside the bed. “You scared us so bad!”

“I had to do something,” Tara whispered. “He was in danger.”

When she’d seen Salem being attacked, something inside her had just snapped. There was no thinking. No hesitation. Just instinct. The need to protect.

“Thank the goddess you’re alive. I would die without you,” Taylor sobbed as she hugged her sister.

Tara let out a soft chuckle. “No one is dying.” She tried to sit up again, but pain throbbed in her skull. The girls quickly helped her lie back down, whispering that she needed to rest.

*Later, in Curtis’s tent*

“Dad, you don’t mean that, do you?” Stone’s voice was sharp, almost panicked.

Curtis looked at his son calmly. “I do. We can’t just leave—not now. Not with the Hexa bond activated.”

“Fuck the Hexa bond! We need to go. This place is cursed with bad luck!”

“Stone—”

“No, Dad! I won’t sit and watch my sisters drown in this mess. In just three days, look how much has happened. There’s no way all two of them are meant to be mated to strangers! That witch did something, and the sooner it’s undone, the better for all of us.”

Curtis sighed. “This is real, son. You know it. Otherwise, how do you explain the bond?”

Stone clenched his fists. Before he could answer, Amarok pushed through the tent flap, his eyes already fixed on Stone. He must have heard everything.

“Curtis,” Amarok greeted flatly before turning to Stone. “My brother and I came to visit our mates. Your men stopped us. They say Stone gave the order.”

Curtis turned to his son. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” Stone answered through gritted teeth. “Tara and Taylor needs rest.”

Amarok stepped closer, slow and deliberate. “You really think you can stop us?” His voice dropped. “They are ours. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

“My sisters do not belong to you,” Stone snapped.

Amarok’s wolf surged to the surface, a deep growl rumbling in his chest. “You dare challenge me?”

“I will never allow my sisters to belong to you.”

“Stone, shut up!” Curtis barked. “You think your words matter? You can’t stop what’s coming, and you sure as hell can’t stop destiny.”

“Put a leash on your son, Curtis,” Amarok growled as he turned to leave. “This goes beyond anything he can handle.”

When Amarok returned to the girls’ tent, Geri was already waiting by the entrance, anger on his face. Without a word, they pushed past the guards and stepped in.

They froze at the sight that welcomed them.

Tara was naked in a rubber tub, steam rising from the water as Vera gently washed her back. Taylor was helping dry her arms.

Both men growled at the sight—low, primal sounds they couldn’t control.

“You could knock, you know!” Taylor shouted, quickly grabbing a towel to cover Tara, who blushed furiously.

“We’ve already seen it all,” Geri said with a cocky grin. “Maybe not tasted, but we know what you both look like naked.”

Tara blushed harder. Amarok’s eyes stayed locked on her.

“How are you?” he asked quietly.

Tara’s eyes met his. “Alive,” she whispered, biting her lip.

“We’re glad,” Geri said, stepping closer. “Or else…”

Tara smiled faintly. The bond was thick in the air. They could all feel it pulling them.

“Can we at least finish bathing her?” Vera asked, but none of them moved. The four of them were trapped in the pull of the bond, eyes locked, breaths shallow.

“We don’t mind staying here,” Amarok said, his tone dark.

And they did.

They stayed until Tara was clean and dressed. Geri offered to show Taylor his sword carvings, and the two slipped out together. That left Amarok and Tara alone.

The tent was warm and quiet now. Soft wind rustled the sides as Amarok remained seated beside Tara’s small bed. She looked more alive now—skin still pale, but her eyes clearer, her breaths deeper.

He watched her for a long time before finally asking the question that had burned in his chest since the moment she woke up.

“Why?” he asked, his voice low. “Why did you risk your life for Salem?”

Tara blinked, surprised by the directness. Her lips parted, and for a moment, she looked away, eyes tracing the edges of the blanket.

Then softly, “Because he risked his for us.”

She looked back at him, her voice steadier now. “He put his life in danger. I—I just reacted. I don’t know what came over me, but I had to do something.”

Amarok didn’t speak, just watched her with unreadable eyes.

“I know things are confusing,” she continued. “But no matter what happens, Amarok… they're our mate. I feel it. I don’t understand it, but it’s real.”

Amarok shifted, leaning back slightly with a short sigh. “That’s a lot to say for someone who almost died.”

She smiled, but he could see her hands tremble slightly.

He shrugged, arms crossed, gaze dropping to her lips. The bond was messing with his brain. He couldn’t help it. The more she spoke, the more he wanted to pull her close, taste that mouth, drag his tongue down her soft skin.

His voice came out rough. “You’re beautiful, Tara.”

Her cheeks flushed pink. “T-Thank you.”

He tilted his head, eyes scanning her delicate features. “You’re so damn soft...”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously, then hesitated before asking, “Can I ask something?”

He nodded.

“Why are you and Geri so upset about being mated to Salem and Orson?”

Amarok let out a deep groan and rubbed the back of his neck. “Because… we don’t do men.”

She tilted her head, confusion dancing in her soft gaze. “But… you both often make love to one woman. Like… in the woods... together.” She blushed hard.

He laughed—awkwardly at first. “It’s no new fantasy, sweetheart. Two men sharing one woman… It’s happened more times than I can count.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Amarok’s smirk deepened. The innocence in her voice made something sharp twist in his gut. He reached forward and tucked a loose strand of her damp hair behind her ear, fingers brushing her cheek.

“Fuck, you’re so innocent,” he whispered, more to himself. “You and Taylor… the things Geri and I would teach you.”

Tara’s brows furrowed, lips parting in protest. “We are not innocent! Taylor and I—we know things!”

Amarok’s laugh was deep, rumbling. “Sure you do, kitten.”

She folded her arms, pouting, but even that made him want her more.

The bond was a wildfire in his blood, and sitting this close to her was making it worse. Every breath she took tempted him. Every small movement pulled him in deeper.

But before he could say more—

A shadow stepped into the tent.

The air shifted again, thick with power. Amarok’s head turned slowly, his muscles tensing. Tara looked too, her body going still.

The scent hit them first. Then the gaze. Strong and piercing.

Salem.

He stood at the entrance of the tent, his dark eyes locked on his mates— on Amarok and on Tara.

His chest rose and fell, slow, controlled—but his wolf was awake. The air vibrated with it.

The tension was thick. Unspoken.

Tara’s breath hitched.

Amarok’s jaw clenched, eyes meeting Salem’s like a silent challenge.

And neither of them looked away.