Bad

Julian shook his head. “I feel weird,” he mumbled into Devlin’s neck, his fingers gripping his shirt.

“Bad weird?”

“No,” Julian answered after a moment.

Devlin hummed, unsurprised. “When your mate dies, it’s always painful. There have even been cases when the broken bond killed the surviving bondmate. Thankfully, it happens rarely, only if the bond is abnormally strong and you’ve been mated for years. The tradition to marry your dead mate’s sibling existed because the broken bond heals only around an alpha the omega trusts, whether it’s a sibling, a parent, or a new alpha partner. A broken bond never heals without alpha pheromones, you idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot,” Julian mumbled half-heartedly. “And if you’re implying I trust you—”

“You do,” Devlin said, propping his chin on top of Julian’s head. “Or you wouldn’t feel ‘weird’ now. Your suppressants might be suppressing your sense of smell and hormones, but your body is still somewhat receptive to alpha pheromones. You feel better