132

132

CALLAN

She frowned, disappointment written all over her face.

"You want us to wait until then? That's too risky, Callan."

I met her eyes. "I know. But it's the only way you can both make it out alive."

She was quiet for a long time. And I could see her thinking, the way her jaw clenched harder when she didn't like an idea.

I'd been around her many times to know almost every reaction from her and what they meant. Finally she gave me a nod and said.

"Fine, we are going to wait. But I really hope that it's worth the wait."

Her voice was small, but there was something strong under it. I nodded back. "Good. I'll handle the rest."

She turned to go, but I stopped her immediately. "Ariadne."

She stopped and looked back at me. "I need you to do something else for me. You're gonna want to keep your sister close. Tell her about this, so that she can be very very prepared in case she's going to have to get everything ready and come with you. I wouldn't want her to waste any time when the time comes."

Her brows furrowed. "Okay.... But why does it look like you're telling me this for another reason. Is there something else that I don't know about?"

I hesitated.

My throat tightened.

How the hell was I supposed to tell her that Sera was my mate? That everything in me was fighting the urge to claim her when I knew it could destroy them both? I wondered how she was going to react to that information.

"No, there is no other reason why I'm telling you this. And I don't have anything I'm doing from you. Just do it. And trust me on this."

I said instead. Her eyes searched mine for a moment but she didn't ask again. She just nodded and walked away.

And when she finally disappeared around the corner, the weight of everything came crashing down on me again. I sat down on the stairs, elbows on my knees while running a hand through my hair.

My chest felt heavy as if someone had tied a weight to it. My mind kept reminding me about it, echoing the words inside my skull over and over again. She was my mate. I wanted to protect her.

I wanted to keep her here, where I could see her and protect her from every danger this world could bring her but I also knew that this pack would eat her alive, especially if my brother found out.

This, thus, was the only way to keep her safe. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, breathing hard.

Tomorrow, I would have to look my brother in the eyes again and pretend that nothing had changed.

Pretend that the woman fated to be mine wasn't someone I was planning to help escape. I wondered how long that was going to last, how long I was going to be forced to walk around and pretend that nothing was wrong when in fact it felt like my whole world was tumbling down.

I didn't know how long I sat there, but by the time I stood up to walk back to my chambers, the sun was already in the center of the sky.

I needed to know the developments and situation at the boundary too because the Hunt was very close. Too close.

It hasn't been announced yet but I knew it was almost here. All. Could think about Sera. Her eyes, her scent.

The way she'd looked at me when we both discovered that we were mates. If I helped her escape, I might lose her forever. I'd I didn't...Magnus would destroy her.

Either way, I was going to bleed . And I didn't mind bleeding for her. I clenched my jaw, and turned from the window.

"Damn it," I whispered.

Because for the first time in my life as an Alpha, I had no idea what the right choice was.

And that scared the hell out of me. I needed an answer to all this because I wasn't about to let life play out on its own.



I didn't see Sera that whole day and that night.

And I hadn't planned on talking to her anytime soon but after my conversation with Sheila, I couldn't shake the thought that maybe Sera was still scared about the whole thing or worse, angry.

When I got to the hall where the guest rooms were, everything was quiet. I stopped in front of her door and knocked twice. For a moment, there was silence.

Then the door opened, just a little, and Sera peeked out. The second her eyes met mine, her whole body went stiff.

She didn't say anything. She just stopped there, gripping the edge of the door like she was going to shut it in my face.

"Hey," I said softly, lifting a hand in a small wave.

"Can I come in?" She hesitated, but finally opened the door wider without saying a single word. I wondered if she was angry.

I walked past her into the room. I was instantly hit with the sweet smell of lavender.

Her bed was barely made and there were a few books sitting on the table, a folded blanket between the four pillows on the bed. I turned back to her.

She was still standing close to the door, her eyes fixed on the floor and her arms crossed tight.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

She let out a long sigh and shrugged. "I've been better," She said quietly.

I nodded, moving closer to her.

"Sit down." I said. “We need to talk.”

She hesitated again but did as I said, sitting at the edge of the bed. I stayed standing for a second, trying to find the right words. I'd never been good at this- talking about feelings, explaining things that didn't make sense even to me. I sat across from her finally, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Look," I started, "I know this whole thing has been hard for you. But I need you to believe me when I tell you that finding out that you're my mate hit me just as hard."

Her eyes lifted slowly to mine and I could see it there.

There was confusion and fear displayed right across her face.

"I don't even know how the hell we are supposed to do this." I said, chuckling and watching as her face lifted in what seemed like a ghost of a smile.

I continued when the silence came back. "I can't reject you, Sera. I won't. Ariadne would never forgive me if I did. And I know you won't either because it's going to hurt you. You're going to be in a lot of pain and I don't want that happening."

She nodded, before clasping her hands together in her lap.

"I understand," She said softly. "You don't have to explain."

"It doesn't matter much anyway," I went on, shaking my head. "Because I'm still going to help you both escape."

Her eyes widened a little at that, but she didn't say anything.

I leaned forward. "Tell me the truth. Did you talk to Ariadne about leaving because you found out I was your mate?"

Her gaze dropped again. She nodded slowly.

"Yes. I didn't want to stay here any longer," She said. "I didn't talk to Ariadne because of you. I just... I don't like it here. And I don't like-" She stopped herself.

"-me?" I finished for her, giving her a small, dry smile.

"No. Of course not." She said, looking shocked.

Her lips parted like she wanted to apologise, but I stopped her with a small shake of my head.

"It's fine. I understand. You have every right to feel that way."

She looked surprised, but I meant it. Hell, if I were her, I'd probably hate me too.

"No," She replied, still carrying a surprised look on her face like I'd said the wrong thing. "I don't hate you. I don't. I just mean that I don't like the fact that this is happening. In fact, I... I like you. Because you've always been there for us and have helped us but I just thought it'd be weird that this is happening between us, especially after knowing that you liked my sister. I wonder how she's going to feel when she finds out we are mates. It's going to be very awkward, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

Then took a slow breath. "But listen. If I reject you, it might kill you, so don't even think I'm going to attempt that. The bond is too new and too raw. If we are going to do this, if you really want to leave, we need to wait a little longer. Until it's safe."

Her eyes softened and then she nodded again.

"Thank you," she said. I stood there, feeling the tension in my chest loosen just a little. "You don't have to thank me. I'm just trying to do the right thing."

Before I could turn toward the door, she did something that I didn't expect. I had no idea if it was impulsive or anything but she wrapped her arms around me so suddenly that I froze on the spit.

Her face was pressed against my chest now and I felt her let out a warm, shaky breath. Everything inside me went still.

"Everything inside me has been screaming for me to do this. To be close to you."

She said under her breath before letting out a loud sigh.

I nodded. "Me too."

But by then, I could barely hold it together despite all my previous attempts at this. The scent, the heat, the pull.

My whole body sizzled like fire under my skin and my wolf roared inside my head, loud and insistent.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

I closed my eyes, trying to breathe, but every breath filled me with her sweet, soft scent. It was so damn near addictive and impossible to resist now.

My heart was thumping hard against my ribs too. I looked down at her. Her hair brushed my jaw and her skin was glowing faintly in the sunlight that was now streaming through the window.

She looked so beautiful, so damn beautiful that it hurt. I wanted to touch her. To feel her. To claim her.

My hands hovered for a second over her before instinct took over. I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

The warmth of her body burned through my shirt and my wolf howled again, this time louder.

"Mate..." the voice inside me growled. She tensed at first, like she wanted to pull away but then she slowly relaxed against me again. I could feel her heartbeat pounding too, matching mine.

It was steady and so quick. I swallowed hard. My throat felt dry, and that tight feeling that always seized my chest was back now.

I didn't even realise I was staring until she looked up. Her eyes met mine, wide and uncertain.

The blood beat in my brain and that was all it took for it to happen.

I didn't think about it, or plan. I just leaned down and took her lips in a bruising kiss. Her lips were soft, hesitant at first, then warm.

The kiss wasn't deep, but it was just enough to make my whole body shake. For a moment, the world stopped. There was no Pack, no danger and no damn rules.

Just her and me. Then I pulled back, breathing hard. If I didn't stop now, I would not be able to. I looked at her again, and the way she was staring at me now made my heart twist.

She looked lost, maybe even scared, but she didn't move away. I took a step backward, forcing my wolf to calm down as my hands continued to shake slightly.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean to-" before I could finish, the door opened.

Ariadne stepped inside, freezing in the doorway the second she saw us.

Her eyes darted from me to Sera, and then back to me. The silence that followed felt like the air had been sucked right out of the room.

"Hi hi."

She waved with a smile, before sauntering in, seemingly unaware of what she might have walked into.

The tension in the air and the small proximity between her sister and me should have told her all she needed to know but I didn't think she noticed because she just walked in looking all happy like she had important, happy news.

I wondered what that could be but I couldn't stay around any longer, especially around her sister