Chapter 23 I FEEL LIKE WE ARE MATE
/Nelson/
She’s lying.
Sunny’s voice rumbled low in my head, deep and irritated like a storm pacing behind bars.
I know, I answered silently, my eyes following Edlyn as she walked beside me through the hall. But let’s just play along.
Sunny growled softly, his tone edged with suspicion. You shouldn’t. Something’s off about her scent. It’s different… stronger.
I didn’t disagree, but right now, I was too damn relieved to care. Whatever lie she just fed me about chasing a squirrel or whatever nonsense that was didn’t matter as much as the simple fact that she was here, safe, breathing. I wasn’t about to pick apart her story when I’d nearly torn the borders apart looking for her.
There’s something about her. A kind of mystery that kept pulling me in deeper every time I tried to step back. She looked fragile and calm, but I could feel it that restless current underneath, like she was made of fire and moonlight and secrets she didn’t trust me with yet.
When we reached her room, she turned as if to speak, but I didn’t give her the chance. I just reached for her and pulled her into me again, my arms wrapping around her body before she could protest.
The moment she was against me, all the chaos in my head quieted. Her warmth, her heartbeat, her scent it was enough to ground me. I sank into it like a man starved of calm. Without a word, I sat down with her still in my arms, keeping her on my lap. My head found its way to her chest, the steady thump of her heart loud against my ear.
For a while, neither of us said anything. The silence stretched, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. I just held her tighter, breathing her in.
When she was gone earlier, my mind had gone dark. I’d imagined a hundred worst-case scenarios witches dragging her through the woods, rogues attacking her, even her just deciding she didn’t want to be here anymore. The thought of losing her had twisted something inside me that I couldn’t name.
Sunny had gone insane, snarling at every shadow, clawing at me to move faster. And now that she was finally here, I couldn’t bring myself to let go.
My voice came out rougher than I intended when I finally spoke. “Do you think you’ll ever get your wolf?”
She stilled.
Her breath hitched just slightly not enough that anyone else would’ve noticed, but I did. I felt her heartbeat change pace beneath my ear, fast then slow, then steady again, like she was trying to calm herself.
I lifted my head just enough to look at her, searching her face. “I know you don’t have a wolf and all but do you think…” I hesitated, my words trailing off for a second as I tried to find the right way to say it. “I keep wondering if you’ll ever get your wolf. Because I can tell there’s more to you than what you let people see.”
Sunny hummed softly inside me, his earlier irritation fading into something almost curious. She’s not just a normal omega, he murmured. I can feel it. There’s something ancient in her.
I didn’t respond to him this time. I just kept my gaze on her, waiting, holding her close like maybe she’d trust me enough to finally let something slip.
But even if she didn’t even if she kept spinning her ridiculous little stories and half-truths I knew one thing for sure.
I wasn’t letting her out of my sight again.
Her voice broke the quiet, soft but edged with that hint of guarded curiosity she always had when she didn’t trust what she was about to hear. “Why are you suddenly interested in my wolf?”
I looked up at her, and for a moment, I forgot to breathe. The moonlight slipping through the window caught her face in a way that made it almost unfair how beautiful she looked. Her hair fell slightly over her shoulder, her eyes glowing faintly under the soft silver hue. And when she blinked at me, waiting for an answer, something in my chest just… gave out.
I let out a quiet breath. “Because I feel like we’re mates.”
Her entire body went still, her eyes widening just a little not shocked exactly, but like she wasn’t sure she’d heard me right.
I lifted a hand, brushing my thumb against her cheek gently, needing her to see it, to feel it. “I don’t have proof,” I said, voice low, steady, “and I know it sounds crazy. But Edlyn, the way I care about you it’s beyond anything I can explain.”
I paused, searching her eyes, my thumb tracing lazy circles on her skin. “When you’re near me, my wolf goes quiet. Do you understand what that means? Sunny never shuts up. But the moment you walk into a room, it’s like the entire world takes a breath and waits.”
Her lips parted slightly, but I wasn’t done.
“When you disappeared, I thought I’d lose my mind. I kept telling myself it wasn’t like that that I just wanted to keep you safe because you were new and that I like you, because you were under my protection. But that was a lie. Because when I couldn’t find your scent anymore, it felt like something inside me just… snapped. Like I’d been cut open.”
My throat tightened, and I gave a small, helpless smile. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me. You make me want to be better. You make me want to slow down, to think, to feel things I’ve spent years trying to bury. And that’s not normal, not for me. So if that’s not a mate bond, then I don’t know what it is.”
Her breath hitched, and I could see the battle in her eyes the disbelief, the fear, the ache.
I reached up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, my hand lingering just a little too long. “When I hold you like this, it feels right,” I whispered. “Like this is where you were supposed to be all along. No rank, no titles. Just us.”
Her lips trembled slightly, her pulse fluttering beneath my fingers.
And as I looked at her this strange, beautiful mystery that had crashed into my world and turned everything upside down I realized I meant every word.
“I don’t care if the goddess planned it or not,” I said softly, my voice almost breaking. “All I know is, if this isn’t fate, then she made a mistake. Because every part of me feels like it’s already yours.”