The Bond Between The Triplet's.

Jaxon’s POV

The weight in the house was unbearable. Ever since Ryder stormed off, the tension between all of us had been thick enough to choke on. I hated it. I hated feeling like we were slowly unraveling, like everything that held us together was being tested because of her.

Not that it was her fault. How could it be? None of us had chosen this bond. And yet, here we were, caught in the madness of it all.

I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and headed to Ryder’s room. His door was still closed, but the faint sound of his restless pacing reached me before I knocked.

“Ryder,” I called out, rapping my knuckles against the door.

No answer.

“Come on, man. Open up. It’s just me.”

After a long pause, the door creaked open. Ryder stood there, his face drawn, his eyes red-rimmed like he’d been fighting off tears. It was rare to see him like this—he was usually the strongest of us, the one who kept us grounded.

I held up the beers. “Truce?”

He hesitated before stepping aside, letting me in.

We sat in silence for a while, the quiet only broken by the soft hiss of the beer cans being opened. He took a long sip, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed on the wall like it held all the answers he was searching for.

“She’s tearing us apart,” he said finally, his voice low and strained. “And it’s not her fault. It’s ours. It’s this… bond.”

I nodded, swirling the beer in my hand. “Yeah. It’s driving us all crazy.”

Ryder let out a bitter laugh. “Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover it. I can’t stop thinking about her, Jaxon. And every time I see her with one of you, it feels like—” He broke off, shaking his head. “It feels like I’m losing a part of myself.”

I didn’t know what to say to that because I felt the same way. The bond didn’t just tie us to Amara; it tied us to each other in ways that were painful and confusing.

The door opened suddenly, and Caden stepped in, his expression tense.

“Caden,” Ryder said, his voice hardening instantly.

Caden held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not here to fight. I came to talk.” His gaze flicked to me, then back to Ryder. “We need to stop pretending this isn’t happening. It’s destroying all of us.”

Ryder scoffed. “And whose fault is that?”

“All of ours,” Caden shot back, his voice firm but not unkind. “Look, I get it. You’re angry at me. You think I’ve crossed a line. But this bond isn’t something we can control. You think I don’t hate seeing you with her? That it doesn’t tear me apart every time she looks at you the way I want her to look at me?”

Ryder opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off.

“Stop,” I said, my voice sharp. “We’re not getting anywhere by pointing fingers. This isn’t about who feels what for her. It’s about all of us trying to figure out how to survive this without tearing each other apart.”

Caden sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You’re right. This bond… it’s maddening. I feel like I’m losing myself every time she’s near. And the worst part is, I can’t even be angry at her for it. She didn’t ask for this any more than we did.”

Ryder’s expression softened, though his jaw was still tight. “I don’t know how to deal with this,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I love her, but I hate this. I hate feeling like I’m competing with my own brothers for her.”

I leaned back, letting out a long breath. “I don’t think it’s about competition. The bond isn’t about who she chooses—it’s about us. All of us. We’re supposed to figure this out together.”

Ryder shook his head, his eyes filled with frustration. “How do you figure out something that doesn’t make sense? She’s bonded to all three of us, Jaxon. How is that supposed to work?”

Caden sat down on the edge of the bed, his shoulders slumping. “Maybe it’s not about figuring it out,” he said quietly. “Maybe it’s about accepting it. The bond ties us to her, yes, but it also ties us to each other. And as much as I hate it sometimes, I can’t imagine going through this without you two.”

His words hung in the air, heavy and raw.

Ryder let out a slow breath, the tension in his posture easing slightly. “I don’t know if I can do it,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I can share her.”

“None of us do,” I said, my voice steady. “But if we don’t find a way to make this work, we’ll lose more than her. We’ll lose each other.”

The room fell silent, the weight of the conversation settling over us. For the first time, it felt like we were truly confronting the chaos of the bond, not just running from it.

Caden raised his beer, a small, tentative gesture. “To figuring this out. Together.”

Ryder hesitated before clinking his can against Caden’s, and I followed suit.

It wasn’t a solution, but it was a start.

---

The silence that followed our toast wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy—weighted with things left unsaid. For years, we’d stood side by side as brothers, facing every challenge together. But now? Now it felt like we were being torn apart at the seams, and it was all because of her. Or maybe it was because of us.

Caden broke the quiet first, his voice soft, hesitant. “Ryder… I owe you an apology.”

Ryder’s eyes flicked to him, still wary. “For what?”

“For everything,” Caden admitted, his shoulders slumping. “I didn’t mean for things to get this far. I didn’t mean to hurt you or cross any lines. You’re my big brother, and I… I respect you more than anyone. But this bond? It’s messing with all of us. It’s not just you who’s struggling. I feel it too, every damn day. And I don’t know how to stop.”

Ryder didn’t say anything at first, his jaw tight as he stared down at his beer. For a moment, I thought he might blow up again, but then he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“It’s not just you, Caden,” he said quietly. “It’s all of us. I keep blaming you—blaming both of you—but the truth is, I don’t know how to handle this either. Before Amara, we never fought like this. We were a team. But now? It feels like I don’t even recognize us anymore.”

His voice cracked on the last word, and my chest tightened. Seeing Ryder like this—vulnerable and raw—wasn’t easy. He was always the strong one, the one who held us together. But this bond had broken something in him, in all of us.

Caden leaned forward, his gaze earnest. “I’m sorry, Ryder. For everything. For pushing you, for not stepping back when I should have. You’re my brother first, and I hate that I’ve made you feel like you’re not.”

Ryder looked at him for a long moment before nodding slowly. “I’m sorry too,” he said, his voice gruff. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you the way I did. You’re right—we’re brothers first. And I hate that this bond has made us forget that.”

I cleared my throat, the tension in the room easing slightly. “We’ve all made mistakes. I mean, I’m not exactly innocent here either. I’ve been selfish too, thinking about what I want and not how it’s affecting the rest of you. But we can’t keep going like this. If we do, we’ll destroy everything—our bond as brothers, and any chance we have of making this work with Amara.”

Ryder let out a bitter laugh. “If it even can work. I still don’t know how we’re supposed to share her without losing our minds.”

“It’s not about sharing,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “It’s about balance. The bond doesn’t just tie us to her—it ties us to each other. Maybe that’s what we need to focus on. Strengthening what we already have instead of letting this tear us apart.”

Caden nodded, his expression thoughtful. “You’re right. We’ve been so focused on our individual feelings for Amara that we’ve forgotten what matters most: us. Our family. That’s the foundation of everything.”

Ryder sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly. “You’re right. And I’m sorry too. I’ve been so caught up in my jealousy and possessiveness that I haven’t stopped to think about how hard this is for you guys too.”

Caden smirked faintly. “Wow, Ryder admitting he’s wrong. Never thought I’d see the day.”

Ryder rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Don’t push it, Caden.”

We all chuckled softly, the tension finally breaking. For the first time in weeks, it felt like we were on the same page.

Caden raised his beer again. “To us. To figuring this out, no matter how insane it gets.”

Ryder and I clinked our cans against his, the gesture feeling more significant than it should have.

“To us,” Ryder said firmly.

And as we sat there, talking and laughing like we used to, I realized that maybe—just maybe—we had a chance. The bond might be maddening, but it wasn’t stronger than us. Nothing was.