deny

"Her Soul Tear is healing very well," Dr Eugeum exclaimed, looking awfully pleased. The smile on his face was the sort of smile one would see on the face of a farmer with a particularly good harvest that year. The sort of grin a proud father would have. "It is nice to see that two of the soul bonds have stabilized. This is very good! " He tapped the monitor, pointing to two lines that had sky rocketed drastically.

A tiny little jump in numbers would have been acceptable, an expected increase that could be lumped to medication and better rest. Amber could deal with that tiny little increase. But the enormous spike displayed was too big to be normal. The kind of data that made Amber want to burrow her head under the sheets and never resurface again.

It embarrassed the hell out of her because everyone in the room knew exactly how that had happened. They knew exactly why the steadily increasing line had done a sudden exponential spike. Everyone, including the doctor. She swallowed nervously, inhaling sharply at the memory that danced in her mind for the hundredth time that day.

There had been no clothes in the bathroom aside from the dirty ones strewn all over the floor. And the only towel big enough to conceal their nudity was wrapped around Amber's shoulders. Ezra eventually decided to step out of the room to grab some clothes, because—in his words—Hikaru was too much of a chicken to step out half naked.

A skimpy towel had been clad on his sexy hips, beads of water dripping down his pale, dewy skin. The tiny cloth was barely enough to conceal the tip of his hanging cock or his bare ass, let alone the obvious glow of his newly formed soul bond. Amber had not seen what had transpired outside of the door but she definitely heard their voices. The soft murmurs and surprised gasps at the sight of Ezra's newly formed soul bond.

Her heart beat had quickened, pounding in her chest at the knowledge that they were awake. Awake enough to notice that Ezra was shining like a beauty model under the damn spotlight, like the moon in the night sky, like a firefly in her forest. She was pretty sure Ezra had spent a full minute out there parading about for the boys before returning to her aid, a smug grin on his pretty pink lips.

They hadn't exactly been the most discreet with their rendezvous, Amber winced at the thought. In fact she was pretty sure that her men had been moaning wantonly in the tub. Ezra had been spitting dirty talk to her without any consideration for the sleeping men outside. And Hikaru had been groaning with the vigour and enthusiasm of a female porn star.

Not that Amber was complaining, their sounds had definitely turned her on. And she liked to hear them groan, it was evidence of the effect she had on them. It was a boost to her ego and pride, and it made her clit tingle and pulsate in response. It aroused her. It made her heart flutter pathetically in her chest, it made her head dizzy with lust. She liked their voice, naturally she loved their moans.

Still, walking out of the bathroom clad in nothing but Ezra's oversized shirt and a lacy pair of underwear—one that was not her own—had been like walking into a wolves' den. The room might have been dark, and they may have remained at their sleeping spots. But she knew they were all awake. She knew because they had made soft sounds of surprise at the sight of Hikaru's own flashy Midas Touch soul bond. And the soft whispers of envious words in their dialect was hard to miss.

MinJae had scooped her into his arms, roughly tearing her away from Ezra with the violence of a five year old and his favourite toy. He cuddled her to sleep, but she had felt his raging hard on pressed purposefully tight against her ass. Waking up the next morning to the sight of Sieon and MinJae peering at her with twin smirks of mischief almost sent her running. They had yet to grill her about it but she was sure they would the moment the doctor stepped out of the room.

She gulped nervously at that thought.

"They have passed the minimum threshold required for a healthy soul bond, which explains the reason why the two of you are starting to see your bonds." The doctor continued to say, unfazed by her burning red cheeks and inability to look at him in the eye. "Whatever you've been doing boys, keep up the good work!" He winked and the smug smile spreading on Ezra's lips made Amber yearn to squish his cheeks.

Dr Eugeum scribbled down another line on his clipboard, frowning as he spoke. "I can even permit an hour of alone time for Amber."

She perked up at that point. Finally! Thank god! She'd been desperately holding in her shit for days now. Her men had been more than concerned for her health, making her eat all sorts of fruits and vegetables in an attempt to kick-start her bowel movements. But really she was the one deliberately holding it all in. She was never ever pooping in front of her soulmates.

Never.

"And when it comes to skin and skin contact it doesn't have to be Mr Ryu." Dr Eugeum gestured to MinJae with a smile. "But you should take turns with each of your soulmate. We want an average increase not a spike in one or two. "

"Not just me?" MinJae hummed softly as he played with her fingers, his voice tinged with his disappointment.

"Yes, your bond is fully mended, so there is no need for prolonged skin to skin contact with just you." MinJae's expression fell at that, sulking a little at his words as he pulled Amber closer to his chest. "Any soulmate will do, and only one will be needed."

Dr Eugeum nodded, scribbling more lines into his report. He snapped it shut, adjusting his spectacles as he smiled at her kingly. "You'll be fine in no time if this continues on! In fact I can discharge you from the hospital today. But you will have to visit the hospital for me to check your progress."

Discharge? Amber grinned at that. It was about damn time! She was starting to hate hospital food. That and how the nurses would enter the room spontaneously to check her vitals. It would be nice to be undisturbed, to be able to kiss her soulmates senseless without a care in the world, and let them have their way with her—

She pursed her lips. On second thought, maybe the random intruder at the hospital was the better option. Maybe she needed the protection from her horny soulmates who were desperate to make her healthy again. She gulped nervously, noting the glint in Ezra's eye. He turned to look at her fully with a small smirk on his handsome lips, a tongue to his cheeks. His eyes narrowed onto sexy hoods, shooting her a look that she had come to realise as his 'I-want-you-in-my-bed' smile.

Oh boy. She turned back to look at the doctor, cheeks burning at the sight.

"Just a fair final warning, Ms Pei. Having injured your soul, you might experience the Gen Z soul bond. " Dr Eugeum words drew her away from her thoughts of her soulmates. Amber furrowed her brows, searching her mind for her understanding of the Gen Z soul bond.

"Random, spontaneous changes in my soul bond?"

"That's right. For example, instead of the Flower Crowns of the Soul that you experience with Mr Ryu, it might change to a Red String of Fate soul bond. It should be nothing too extreme, but you never know with a soulmate family as big as yours. The soul might go a little wild if a particular soulmate is neglected," Dr Eugeum said.

Amber's mind jumped to JieMi and she stiffened, gripping MinJae's arm. It was nothing she couldn't handle, nothing would ever top the moment when she had magically appeared in JieMi's hotel room. Her smile grew bitter and she clung to MinJae, taking deep steady inhales of his sweet floral musk to calm her pounding heart.

She could deal with the crap life threw her way, or more specifically JieMi threw her way. He was after all, only one in her seven. She had six men who loved her more than she loved herself and that was enough for her.

"It should be fine," Dr Eugeum reassured. "I'll prescribe some stabilizers for you to help calm your soul bond."

"So she can go home?" Sieon chirped from his corner, a bright grin on his lips.

Home.

Home with her soulmates, with the people she loved and cherished more than anything in the world. Her heart fluttered, butterflies flapping against the lining of her stomach. The mirage of kisses from her men, good hot stew on the table and children playing on the floor danced in her head and Amber's heart filled with longing.

A future where loneliness would never trouble her again, where life would be comfortable and fulfilling. A future where her nights would be spent in their arms, and her days would be filled with their laughter. That would be her future.

"You can." The doctor agreed and Amber grinned.

Her soulmates were definitely happier about the move than she was. Because the moment the doctor left, her older soulmates were packing their items into suitcases and calling a team to get them out of there. The younger ones however, pounced on her the moment the doctor left, leaning against the bed with naughty smirks on their lips.

Sieon was grinning, a smile that grew brighter with time like the rising sun and made his eyes disappear into twin moons of delirious happiness. It was difficult to not be bedazzled by a human being that resembled so much like a god, and Amber's breath hitched in her throat at the sight of his beautiful features. His face was pressed so close to hers that her eyes struggled to focus on his mismatched lidded eyes, darting frantically between the two round orbs.

"You got better after Ezra and Hikaru made you cum," he stated clearly, his words sharp and precise. His words drew the attention of the rest of the occupants in the room, their eyes moving to lock onto her unmoving frame. God, did Sieon have to be so blunt about it?

Amber faked a laugh, an attempt to get rid of the sudden attention on her person. "I don't think it's that easy—"

"To be fair, she gave me a fucking amazing hand job," Ezra pointed out nonchalantly, a shrug dancing over his thin shoulders. He continued stuffing clothes into the suitcase as he watched her with the aura of a hungry tiger. "And Karu came too." Hikaru flinched at his words, chewing on his lips as he stared at her bashfully from under long lashes.

"Does it work like that? An orgasm each, and she's healed? It sounds so easy," MinJae commented. "Too easy. Maybe even a little too convenient." He met her eye, tilting his head as he gave her a sweet gentle smile. But Amber knew him enough to know that under that honey was a snake waiting to strike. Her breath grew ragged as his fingers danced over her skin to rub slow, sensual circles on her wrist.

"The doctor did recommend sexual contact," Sieon pointed out, frowning at his best friend. He turned to her, wetting his lips with a tiny pink tongue. "We can do some tests if you want, see what works best for you." His voice dipped as his eyes grew hot with his need, his eyes combing over her body.

Tests? She opened her mouth then closed it, finally understanding what he meant by tests. God, they wanted to play with her body, discover her weak spots. Make her cum. Her brows knotted together and she chewed on her lips, heart racing from their attention. Attention that she liked, attention that made adrenaline pump through her veins and excitement roar in her head.

She was just as needy as they were, no matter how much she tried to deny it.