Chapter 52: Fate Did
"There’s so much we should have done differently," he says suddenly, guilt and regret in every word. "We should have been honest with you from the beginning. Should have told you what you were to us, what this all meant. But we were—" He stops, his jaw clenching. "I was terrified."
"Terrified?" I echo. "Of what?"
"Of destroying your life," the raw honesty in his voice makes my throat tight. "You had a life. A job, friends, a routine. You were happy, or at least content. And we knew, the moment we scented you, we knew, that if we claimed you, all of that would change. You’d have to leave everything behind. Your human life, your human friends. Everything."
He feeds me a strawberry, but his movements are mechanical now, distracted.
"We wanted you to choose," he continues. "Wanted it to be your decision, not something forced on you by biology or fate or whatever the fuck you want to call the mating bond. So we waited. Watched. Hoped that maybe you’d feel it too, that maybe you’d come to us willingly."
"But you were going to tell me eventually, right?" I ask. "You weren’t just going to... to keep it a secret forever?"
"No," he says firmly. "We were going to tell you. We had a plan. We were going to approach it all slowly, carefully, in stages to give you time to get to know us before we dropped the whole ’you’re our fated mate, and we’re werewolves’ bomb on you." He laughs, but it’s a bitter sound. "Obviously that didn’t work out the way we planned."
"What happened?" I ask. "Why did everything change?"
"You went into heat," he says simply. "Early. When you got the fever and were so sick, that was your first heat."
Valentine mentioned that today, and I’d read about it when researching. One for later.
"We weren’t expecting it for another few months at least," he carries on. "But your body recognized us, recognized the bond, and it triggered your cycle. And once that happened..." He shakes his head. "Once that happened, there was no more waiting. No more careful planning. As soon as you got through the worst of it, we were going to sit down and lay it all out."
They couldn’t. Because I ran.
He feeds me the last piece of sandwich, and I chew slowly, thinking about everything he’s said.
"I’m glad," I say finally. "I’m glad it happened the way it did. Because if you’d approached me slowly, carefully, told me you were werewolves, and I was your mate... I would have thought you were crazy, or dangerous, or both. But this—" I gesture between us, at the blanket and the plate and the moonlight. "This feels right. Like it was always supposed to happen this way."
Corrian’s expression softens, and he cups my face in his hand. "You’re remarkable, you know that?"
I lean into his touch. "I’m scared shitless," I admit. "But I’m also... excited. This life, this pack, you, all of you, it feels like something I’ve been searching for without knowing it. And I have family, real blood. I’ve been incomplete, and now suddenly I’m whole."
"It’s you," Corrian says. "Your strength, your courage, your willingness to embrace something completely unknown. Not everyone could do that, princess. Most humans would be screaming and running by now."
"Maybe I’m not most humans," I say with a small smile.
"No," he agrees, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. "You’re definitely not."
He picks up a piece of cheese and pops it between my lips. We fall into comfortable silence again. The night air is cool against my skin, but the blanket and Corrian’s warmth keep me comfortable. I can hear the distant sound of wind through the pines, the occasional hoot of an owl, and underneath it all, the steady rhythm of Corrian’s heartbeat.
"There’s something else," he says after a while. "The bond. After you’re marked and knotted."
"What?" I ask, turning to look at him.
"The connection it creates, it’s not just emotions or vague impressions," he says. "It’s thoughts. Clear, direct thoughts. You’ll hear everything we think, and we’ll hear everything you think. And with five alphas..." He grimaces. "It can be overwhelming. Especially at first."
"You hear each other?" I ask. "Like, all the time, every thought?"
"At first, and let me tell you, we’ve all got scars from that dark time," he chuckles, shaking his head. "But it can be open and closed, like a door."
"I’ll be able to block you all out?"
"Eventually," he says. "But that’s all later, much later. You need time for just you, to learn about this life. About being a wolf, about pack dynamics, about our world. Because once that bond is active, you’re going to be hearing five alpha males thinking about you constantly, and if you don’t understand the context, the culture, the way we think..." He shakes his head. "It will be too much. We don’t want to overwhelm you."
"So you’re saying I need wolf education before I can be fully claimed?" I ask, and despite the seriousness of the conversation, I can’t help but smile at the absurdity of it.
"Exactly," he says, and he’s smiling too. "Wolf 101. How to navigate this shit show without losing your mind."
"What would I hear?" I ask. "If the bond was active right now?"
Corrian’s smile turns wicked. "Right now? You’d hear me thinking about how glorious you look in my clothes. How much I want to strip them off you and taste every inch. How I’m imagining bending you over this couch and—"
"Okay, okay," I interrupt, laughing and blushing. "I get it."
"Multiply that by a thousand," he says, still grinning. "And you start to understand why we want you prepared."
"Is it always like that?" I ask. "Always sexual?"
"Right now?" He laughs. "Pretty much. Just because it’s all so new. You’re all we think about, princess. Have been since the moment we met you. Your smile, your laugh, the way you bite your lip when you’re concentrating. The way you smell, the way you move. Everything about you consumes us."
The intensity in his voice makes me shiver, and he pulls me closer, tucking me against his chest.
"But it’s not just lust," he continues, his voice softer now. "It’s love. Deep, overwhelming, all-consuming love. We want to protect you, cherish you, give you everything you could ever want or need. You make us better than we were before."
My eyes are burning, and I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. "I don’t know if I deserve that," I whisper.
"You deserve everything," he says firmly. "And we’re going to spend the rest of our lives proving it to you."
He feeds me the last strawberry, and I savor it, the sweetness bursting on my tongue. When I’m done, he sets the plate aside and pulls me fully into his lap, arranging the blanket around us so we’re cocooned together.
"Thank you," I say softly.
"For what?"
"For this. Being honest. For taking care of me. For—" My voice breaks. "For choosing me."
"Fiorenca," he says, and his voice is thick with emotion. "We didn’t choose you. Fate did. Whatever force controls these things decided you were ours, and we were yours. But—" He tilts my chin up so I’m looking at him. "If we could choose, if we had all the options in the world, we’d still choose you. Every time. Without hesitation."
The tears spill over then, and he wipes them away with his thumbs, his touch infinitely gentle.
"I want to learn," I say, my voice fierce despite the tears. "Everything. About wolves, about pack life, about your world. I want to be the best mate I can be for all of you. I want to understand, to be part of this completely. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually. All of it."
Corrian’s smile is brilliant, and he leans down, pressing his forehead to mine. "That’s all we want, princess. For you to be happy. For you to feel safe and loved and cherished. Everything else, the marking, the knotting, the bond, it’ll happen when you’re ready. There’s no rush."
"But you want it," I say. "All of you. I can feel it."
"We do," he admits. "Desperately. But we want you more. Whole, prepared, ready. Not overwhelmed or scared or uncertain."
I nod against his forehead, breathing him in. He smells so uniquely him, and the scent is comforting and arousing all at once.
"Kiss me," I whisper.
He doesn’t hesitate. His lips find mine in the moonlight, and the kiss is nothing like the frantic, desperate kisses from earlier. This is slow. Tender. Full of promise and love and commitment. His hand cups the back of my head, holding me gently, and I melt into him, letting myself feel everything, the warmth of his body, the softness of his lips, the steady beat of his heart against my chest.
When we finally pull apart, we stay close, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other’s air. The mountains stretch out before us, silent and eternal, and the moon bathes everything in silver light.
"I’m going to make you proud," I whisper. "All of you. I’m going to learn everything I can, be everything you need. I promise."
"You already make us proud," Corrian murmurs. "Just by being you."
We sit like that for a long time, wrapped in each other and the blanket, watching the moonlight play across the mountains. And for the first time since this all began, I feel not just accepted, but certain.
This is my future. These five men, this pack, this wild and beautiful life.
I’m ready to embrace all of it.
