Chapter 26 CHAPTER 26

Chapter 26 CHAPTER 26
Bronte's POV

I'm still standing at the window when there's a knock on my door.

"Come in," I call.

Irina walks in and closes the door behind her, leaning against it.

"We need to talk," she says.

"About what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Bronte. I saw you watching from the window."

I turn away from the glass. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do." She crosses the room and sits on my bed. "I was talking to Sebastian in the garden and you were watching us."

"So?"

"So I know you want to know what we were talking about."

"It's none of my business."

"Isn't it?" She tilts her head. "Because from where I'm standing, it's very much your business."

I sit down in the chair by the window. "What did he say?"

"That's what I thought." She leans back on her hands. "He told me everything."

My heart skips. "Everything?"

"Well, not everything. He didn't tell me about last night when Alexander almost caught him in your room, but I figured that out on my own when I saw how exhausted you both looked this morning."

"Irina—"

"Let me finish." She holds up her hand. "He told me he has feelings for you. Real feelings. The kind that keep him up at night and make him do stupid things like climb through windows in the rain."

I don't say anything.

"And before you ask, no, I'm not upset about it."

"You're not?"

"Why would I be upset?"

"Because you have feelings for him too."

She laughs, but there's no humor in it. "I did. Past tense. Do you know how many times I've tried to get his attention since we got here?"

"Irina—"

"At the engagement party, I made sure to stand near him during the toasts. Nothing. At breakfast that first morning, I sat across from him and asked about his training routine. He gave me one-word answers. During the rehearsal, I tried to start a conversation about books because I know he likes reading. He looked right through me." She counts on her fingers. "I've tried being funny, being helpful, being interesting. I even asked him to show me the pack territory. He said he was busy."

"I didn't know you were trying that hard."

"Of course you didn't, because you weren't paying attention to me. You were too busy pretending not to watch him." She stands and moves to the window. "And he was too busy pretending not to watch you."

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault I wasted weeks trying to get attention from someone who couldn't see me because he was looking at you." She turns to face me. "I noticed it eventually. The way he watches you when you're not looking. The way his whole body tenses when Alexander touches you. The way he leaves rooms when you enter them like being near you hurts."

"He said that?"

"He didn't have to. I could see it." She crosses her arms. "So this afternoon I cornered him in the garden and I asked him point blank: are you in love with her?"

I hold my breath. "What did he say?"

"He said he couldn't answer that."

"Oh."

"But then I asked him a different question. I asked: if she wasn't Alexander's mate, if there was no pack, no ceremony, no consequences, would you choose her?" She pauses. "He said yes without even thinking about it."

The words hit me harder than they should.

"Irina—"

"I'm telling you this because you need to know what you're dealing with." She sits back down on the bed. "This isn't just attraction or curiosity or wedding nerves. He's in love with you, Bronte. Really in love with you. The kind of love that makes people do crazy things."

"What am I supposed to do with that information?"

"I don't know. But you need to figure it out before someone gets hurt."

"Someone's going to get hurt no matter what I do."

"Then you need to decide who you can live with hurting." She looks at me carefully. "Do you love him back?"

"I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer I have."

"Okay, different question then. When you close your eyes and imagine your future, who do you see?"

I don't answer because I don't want to say it out loud.

"That's what I thought," Irina says quietly.

We sit in silence for a moment.

"There's something else," she says finally.

"What?"

"When I was talking to Sebastian, I felt something. A pull. An energy between you two that shouldn't be there."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm a witch, Bronte. I can sense these things. And what I sensed between you and Sebastian..." She trails off. "It felt like a mate bond."

My blood goes cold. "That's impossible."

"That's what I thought too. But I've been doing some research and there are rare cases, very rare, where the Moon Goddess chooses two mates for one person."

"Dual mates?"

"It's called a split bond. One mate for duty, one for desire. One for the pack, one for the heart."

"That doesn't make sense. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes."

"Who says it's a mistake?" She leans forward. "Maybe it's a test. Maybe it's a choice you're supposed to make."

"Or maybe you're wrong and I'm just confused because everything is happening so fast."

"Maybe." She doesn't sound convinced. "But I'm going to do a spell tonight to be sure."

"What kind of spell?"

"A seeking spell. It'll show me if there's a bond between you and Sebastian that shouldn't be there."

"And if there is?"

"Then we'll figure out what to do about it." She stands. "But either way, you need to be careful. Alexander is already suspicious and if he finds out about Sebastian—"

"He won't find out."

"He almost found out last night."

"But he didn't."

"Bronte, listen to me. Alexander is not stupid. He knows something is wrong. He's watching you, watching Sebastian, waiting for one of you to slip up." She moves to the door. "So whatever you're doing, whatever you're feeling, you need to hide it better."

"I am hiding it."

"Not well enough." She opens the door. "Dinner is in an hour. Alexander told me to tell you he wants you downstairs early."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but he seemed serious about it."

She leaves and I'm alone again with too many thoughts and not enough answers.

Dual mates.

Split bond.

It can't be real.

Can it?

I go to my closet and pull out a dress for dinner, trying not to think about what Irina said, trying not to imagine what it would mean if she's right.

But all I can think about is Sebastian's face in the garden, the way he looked when Irina asked him if he would choose me.

Yes, he said.

Without even thinking about it.

An hour later I'm dressed and heading downstairs.

The dining room is already set, candles lit, but there's no one else there.

Just Alexander, standing by the window with a glass of wine.

"There you are," he says when I walk in. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."

"You said dinner was at seven."

"I said dinner, not what time." He crosses to me and hands me a glass. "I wanted us to have a quiet evening. Just the two of us."

"That's nice."

"It's necessary." He guides me to the table. "We need to talk."

My stomach drops. "About what?"

"About us. About what happens next." He sits across from me. "I've been thinking a lot lately about our relationship, about how we got here, about whether we're really ready for this."

"Ready for what?"

"For forever." He takes a sip of his wine. "Because that's what mating is, Bronte. Forever. And I need to know that you're in this completely, that there's no part of you that's having second thoughts."

"I'm not having second thoughts."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He watches me for a long moment. "Because if there's something you need to tell me, now is the time."

My heart races but I keep my face neutral. "There's nothing to tell."

"Good." He reaches across the table and takes my hand. "Because I love you, Bronte. And I want to spend forever with you. But I need to know that you feel the same way."

"I do."

"Then prove it."

"How?"

He stands and pulls me to my feet. "Stay with me tonight. In my room. Let me show you what forever feels like."