The red numbers on the clock on the side table told me that it was way too early to be awake, especially considering the time I'd finally drifted off to sleep, but it couldn’t be helped. Jaeger was still asleep beside me, gorgeous and peaceful.

Betraying this man did not sit right with me and made me feel slightly sick to my stomach, but though he couldn't see it yet, this was the right thing to do.

Careful not to wake him, I pressed a soft kiss to his broad chest and vowed to spend the rest of my—hopefully unnatural—life making this up to him.

He wasn’t going to take this well and since I now knew that I loved him, it killed me that my first actions as the girl in love was going to be such a blow to him.

Love was supposed to be forgiving, though, right? I freaking hoped so, because the answer to my problem had come to me several hours ago while I'd been replaying the events since I'd met them through my mind.

The only thing was, I needed an accomplice. One with a reckless streak and a problem with authority.

Maddox.

None of them were obedient to Jaeger or anything, but Maddox challenged him more frequently. Out of all of them, he was the more “shoot first, ask questions later” kind of guy. I was sure that I could get him to hear me out. He'd also been so certain of me every step of the way that he was my best shot at convincing them that this was the best decision.

Crossing my fingers and my toes, I gently extricated my limbs from Jaeger's, again being careful not to wake him, and I slipped from the bed with a silent prayer that, eventually, he would forgive me.

I dressed quickly in comfortable yoga pants and a shirt, then tiptoed from the room to find Maddox. Cooper and Beckham were both also still sleeping, and as I passed their rooms, I repeated the same prayer for forgiveness.

I peeked in on each of them, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that Cooper’s mussed brunette locks and the small smile that played on his face even when he was sleeping made him look almost boyish, while Beckham still looked serious and all man.

I wished I could crawl into bed with both of them, or all of them, and just stay there, but that wasn’t in the cards for this morning. It would be soon, hopefully. But there was a lot to get done first.

With that in mind, I continued my search for Maddox. His bed was empty, which meant that he was awake. Clearly, a sign from the universe that I was doing the right thing. It sounded silly, but since I knew how strongly Jaeger felt against my being turned, I was hanging on to any reassurance I could find. 

The bathroom door was closed but not latched. I couldn't hear any sound coming from the other side, so I pushed it open without thinking and my jaw dropped at the unexpected sight before my eyes. 

There, wearing nothing but a white towel sitting low on his narrow hips held in place by a single knot between those perfect Adonis lines, stood Maddox. My eyes widened as I took him in, droplets of water clinging to his tattooed skin and traveling down the lines of his body as gravity ordered them to do. His hair was still damp, messy from having been towel dried.

Holy fuck.

Despite the seriousness of the mission I’d been on in finding him, seeing him practically naked was going to derail me if I kept staring.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt, I can come back later."

Stupid breathy voice.

Maddox smirked, his blue eyes sparkling in the bright light of the bathroom as he dropped his chin just slightly. "Nah, stay. Nothing here you haven't seen before and won't see again."

Tugging at the knot with sure fingers, he kept his eyes on mine and let the towel drop to the floor, completely unashamed of his nudity. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of.

My throat worked as I swallowed hard.

“You like?” he asked with a chuckle, the sound rumbling deep and low in his chest, turning me on even more than seeing him naked.

Damn it.

Mission, Starling. Focus!

The command from the rational part of my brain didn’t stop my eyes from roaming over his muscled thighs, the blocks on his abdomen, his thick cock growing even thicker under my stare.

“I want to…ummm, look, can you put some clothes on. We need to talk and I can’t concentrate with,” I gestured to his very interested member with my index finger before tearing my gaze away, “that staring at me.”

He sighed and tugged on blue jeans and a white hoodie that had been folded on the sink beside him.

Without any underwear, I couldn’t help but notice.

He wasn’t making keeping my attention focused any easier.

Padding over to me with bare feet, he held out his hand and wrapped his long, warm fingers around mine, sapphire eyes sparking when our hands joined. Already, I could feel wet heat spreading down below, but this was seriously not the time. Maddox drew me into his room toward two upholstered chairs, motioning for me to take a seat.

“So, let’s talk.”

I nodded, sinking into the red padding and pressing my thighs together subtly to get my bits to calm down so I could focus on what needed to be done.

“I need to ask you something and I want you to hear me out before you say no.”

"I was wondering when you were going to get up the courage," he said, a sad half-smile wreathing his lips.

Startled that he seemed to know what I was about to ask, it took me a second to reply. "How do you even know what I want to ask you?"

Maddox shrugged his broad shoulders and gracefully lowered himself into the chair beside mine. "They all do."

"They all?" I asked, a sudden wave of nausea passing over me. “What does that mean?”

God, what had made me think I was the only one? The way they looked at me…made me feel. I’d known about Jaeger’s mate, but had she been all of theirs?

Maddox sat back, then leaned over to his bedside table where his silver rings were lying. Sliding them on one by one, he caught my eyes and said matter-of-factly, "It means that, historically, every woman that we sleep with, who finds out what we are, asks us at some point or another to turn her. It was only a matter of time."

My head snapped back like he'd slapped me, and my arms folded under my breasts, as if keeping them around me was going to shield me from his hurtful words. Jealousy coursed through me again and a giant part of me was screaming at me to get out of here. To drop this conversation and face the fact that I’d been right in questioning why I was so special to them.

I wasn’t, and he’d just confirmed it.

His face fell as he took in my expression and leaned closer, eyes full of apology.

"Oh no. No. No. No. I didn't mean it like that.” He raked his hand through his hair and sighed. “Look, there has never been anyone like you, Starling. Fuck, I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right at all.” He said it so forcefully that I felt compelled to hear him out. “Usually, I say no, flat out. After watching what Jaeger went through with his mate, we've all always been very against the idea. But with you…" He trailed off, the look in his eyes changing. They softened when they met mine again, the same fierce love I felt for them reflected in them.

The way he was looking at me made me feel warm all over and I knew I wasn’t alone in these feelings. The warmth made a spark of hope ignite in my heart when he didn't refuse me straight off the bat as Jaeger had, or the way they did everyone else.

He scrubbed a hand over his face, looking up at the ceiling quickly as though he were shooting up a prayer of his own, then looking back at me.

“But with me?” I asked, prompting him, pulse hammering.

"It’s different with you. For selfish reasons, I’ve been thinking about it since we met you. I want you with us for longer than your human life would be, but I wasn’t going to push the issue because I’m not that selfish.”

“I don’t think it’s selfish at all. It’s what I want, too,” I admitted softly. He flashed me a smile, but quickly grew serious again.

“I know it is. And I also know that it’s the best way to keep you safe. The thing is…I don’t know how much Jaeger has told you, but the change can be difficult.” Worry clouded his eyes as he paused.

“I know about his mate. I know it drove her mad, but he also said it was rare for that to happen,” I told him.

He nodded. “I figured he’d told you. It is a rarity, but it still happens. Personally, I think you’ll be able to handle it mentally and turning you now makes sense given the circumstances.”

Not wanting to interrupt him, I nodded my agreement, happy that we were on the same page and that they wanted me around for as long as I wanted to be. The spark of hope started burning brighter and my hands started trembling with nervous anticipation.

It didn’t sound like he was headed toward saying no.

“Jaeger doesn't want to believe it's right because he feels that we can protect you if you stay here. After what he went through with Layla, he’d die to protect you from Horvath before he turns you."

“You don’t agree with him?”

"Not entirely, but only because I truly believe you can handle it. It’s not that Jaeger doesn’t think that you’re strong enough, it’s just that he’s not even willing to consider the possibility that you are. The thing is, and I don't mean to scare you here but, now that you've been identified, Horvath and any cronies he can round up will stop at nothing to get to you."

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, watching my reactions intently. "Since we can only go outdoors when it's cloudy and at night, unless you want to be chained to one of our sides 24/7, you will be vulnerable at times. We don't think that's fair and feel the risk of that is far greater than of losing you to the change."

"We?" My heart went wild as I stared at him, willing him to say the words.

"Beckham, Cooper and I talked about it last night. We all agree that you should be turned. Jaeger won't allow it, but what's the old saying? Don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness instead?"

Flashing me a sad, grim smile, he crooked his index finger.

“Come here, Starling.”

Shaking from head to toe, I walked over to him. I had no idea what to expect and Jaeger hadn’t exactly made the turning process sound like a ton of fun, but I wanted to be turned and I was willing to take whatever it was that being turned meant.

I squared my shoulders and called on every ounce of courage I had, uncertain what to do when Maddox rose and pulled me into his arms, kissing my hair. Tension was rolling off him, clear in his eyes when he tucked a finger under my chin and looked deeply into my eyes.

“I love you. If I thought there was any other way to protect you, I would’ve done it. If Jaeger wasn’t blinded by his own trauma and grief from all those years ago, he would’ve known it, too,” he whispered, gently lifting my hair from my neck.

“I love you, too,” I told him, needing the words out there just in case this went bad. “All of you.”

“I need you to know that the initial transition is going to be difficult and painful. I don’t have anything to compare it to, but--”

“Pain is fleeting, and it doesn’t matter. I want this. I know it deep inside. Both because I want to help protect us all and my sister, and because…I can’t explain it,” I murmured with a shrug. “I’ve known since the second I laid eyes on each and every one of you that something about your souls reverberated with mine. I’m meant to be here right now, doing exactly this. Of that I’m sure.”

The emotion sucked the air out of the room around us as Maddox tugged me flush against him, looking into my eyes with an expression that looked like he was wishing on every star that had ever shot through the sky that I was going to make it through this. Under his breath he whispered, “Please let this be the right decision.”

Then he pulled back his head ever so slightly and I only caught a glimpse of sharp, white fangs before he struck in a swift, clean bite right to where my pulse was pounding in my neck.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think or cry out. The only sound that escaped me as the sting of fangs ripped into my flesh was a soft gasp.