“Alright, now that everyone’s calmed down,” Bastien winks at me. “Let’s talk about what all of this means.”

Seriousness and focus shutter down over each of us as we wait for Bastien to continue.

“Obviously we need to talk about the runes, but I also think we need to talk about what’s happening between all of us.”

Each of them looks to me and waits for some sign of approval or disagreement, I just shrug.

“I guess, the first thing to ask, is if everyone is okay? I’m sure you all felt what I did, and waking up in a fuck-ton of pain is not going on my favorite things list," Bastien admits.

“No shit," Knox agrees. “That’s what it felt like to get all of your runes?”

“No, the first time was way worse. The pain was all over my body, and I legitimately thought I was going to die. This time was easier," I shrug nonchalantly. “I also knew what was happening this time, since it had happened before, so it didn’t freak me out as much," I explain, and I catch a couple of them wincing.

“And you were all alone. You didn’t even know you were a caster," Ryker reminds everyone, a reverent tone in his voice.

I look down and run my finger down the runes on my sternum. I can picture myself at sixteen, sitting on my bathroom floor trying to sort through what the hell was happening to me. I can feel it like it was yesterday, how lonely and confused I felt.

Valen reaches out and takes my hand. He laces our fingers together and gives me a comforting smile. The feel of my hand in his pushes the memory and the shadow of loneliness away and I smile warmly at him.

“I think we just found out what these runes do," Sabin announces, gesturing to the marks between his pecs.

I look at him curiously.

“I can feel you Vinna. I think we all just felt what you were feeling.” Sabin looks around for confirmation, and the other boys agree.

Shit. I run a finger over the runes on my chest again.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking, I should know better than to activate them."

Valen squeezes my hand. “You’re not alone anymore; you have us.”

“Do I have you though? I haven’t had my reading. We have no idea what that might change, and just look what I’ve done to you all already. How can any of you be on board for this?” I ask, pointing at his runes.

“I already told you, I’m in. That feeling of rightness that you mentioned, I have that too, and I trust it," Valen reassures me.

“I know this is new, but I think it’s safe to say that none of us have ever felt the way that we feel about you. That’s a little scary, but it’s also incredibly exciting, and just like Valen said, it feels right for all of us," Ryker adds.

I look at Sabin and wait for him to disagree or tell us how crazy we all are, but he doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. I have no idea if I’m the puzzle or if he is, but the fact that he isn’t telling all of us to slow down or fuck off surprises the hell out of me.

“Okay, so how does this work then?” I ask, no one in particular.

“What do you mean?” Ryker queries.

“I mean, we’re what...dating...a couple? No, that wouldn’t be right, we’d be a sextuple.” I look at each of them trying to fight some of the nerves I’m feeling. “There are five of you and one of me, which is a great start to a romance novel or a wet dream, but in reality, it’s all so much more complicated than that.” I fidget in my chair. “Relationships between two people can be hard, so how the hell does it work with six of us?”

I run both of my hands through my hair in exasperation.

“How do I make sure that each of you are getting what you need? Do you get jealous if I’m paying attention to one of you, like cuddling with one of you during a movie or things like that? How does being physical and sex work? I mean, I know how it works, but in a sextuple how does it work?”

I look at all of them as I feel a rising panic.

“I’m not going to lie, the thought of having sex with all of you at the same time scares the shit out of me, so is that up for discussion or is it mandatory?”

A roar of laughter stalls my nervous rambling, and I watch all of them--including Sabin-- bend over and laugh hysterically. I tuck my legs up under me and wait for them to recover from what apparently is the funniest thing they’ve ever heard.

“Is it mandatory?” Bastien repeats, barely able to get the word out he’s laughing so hard.

They laugh for a solid couple of minutes before they manage to calm down.

“I would say yes to the sextuple question,” Knox declares, wiping laugh tears from his eyes. “Which means we’re all with you, and you are with us, and no one strays from that," he finishes, more seriously.

“This works like any other relationship, Vinna. We’ve all grown up understanding that we’d share a mate. We know that it will require effort and openness from all of us. Some things will be challenging, and there will be opportunities to learn and grow as we get to know each other better," Ryker offers.

“Different covens handle things differently. There’s not a one size fits all solution or way to go about this. We could try for some sort of a schedule, which sometimes helps to ensure everyone has equal time and access to each other," Sabin tells me, and I stare at him and try and picture how that would work.

“In the coven I grew up in, they rotate days. If it’s your day to be with your mate you can plan a date or special time together, you sleep in the same bed that night, things like that. The coven still works together during the day, so they all spend time together, but your assigned day is your dedicated time with your mate," he further explains.

“My parents’ coven is similar, but not as structured,” Knox adds. “In the beginning, they all sort of just went with the flow of things, but it’s still developed a pattern of sorts. They each take turns spending alone time together. But it seems they all communicate a lot about who needs what and work around that. Like if their compeer is having a rough time and needs their mate, they will make adjustments and switch things up."

“Compeer?” I ask.

“That’s what we call each other. You’d be our mate, and we’d be each other’s compeers," Knox clarifies.

“There might be times when we get jealous or maybe frustrated, but if we’re all open and honest about what we need--when we need it--then it won’t be an issue. It doesn’t bother me if you are snuggled up with my compeer in a movie, but if it’s never my turn to get in on those snuggles, then it would start to bother me," Bastien answers. “If that were to happen, then it’s my responsibility to bring it up to everyone as soon as I feel bothered, so that we can figure out a solution.”

I sit quietly for a minute and think about what each of them explained. “But how does it work in the beginning? You know, that honeymoon stage when it’s all hot and spontaneous and all of that? How does that work with five different guys needing equal affection, passion, and time? You just have to wait until your day?”

Valen chuckles. “We’ll have to figure that out. We’ve all grown up around this, but none of us have actually been in a relationship like this before. We’re probably not going to get things perfect right from the start. Like Bastien said, we have to be straight up and quick to explain what we need and want to each other, and eventually we’ll figure out what works best for us.”

I notice that no one has really addressed the group sex question--well other than to laugh at it. I’m about to ask again when all of our runes start to glow a deep orange. The guys all look at their hands and chests and then at each other, surprise and questions are written all over their faces. My magic starts to burn inside me, demanding my immediate attention and action. I’m off the chair in a flash as I follow the warning of my instincts.

“They’re trying to get in," I whisper.