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The only time that I didn’t bully the poor girl was the last time I saw her. Not excessively, that is. She had begun to stick up for herself by then, and at the time, I didn’t have my pack of children to back me up. It was just her, me, and the pups and witchlings we were assigned to watch during the pack’s Christmas party.
I smiled to myself at that memory. At how beautiful she truly was. At how feisty she had become after all the years of being such a scared little mouse around everyone, including me. She had really let me have it back then. All the way up until we realized we lost the kids.
It was after that we had to work together to find them. Two minors unable to shift into our wolves yet. My magic was barely coming in still, and with my affinity for the sun, the darkest time of the year didn’t do me any favors in utilizing the power. I barely had enough magic to track the pups and witchlings through the forest.
The two of us had to work together that night. More than either of us had ever had to work with another person before. We narrowly avoided feral rogues. She rescued me on two occasions, but I was only able to rescue her once before we discovered the children and our parents finding all of us in a precarious situation.
The last moment I had seen Madilyn was when her parents swept her and her brother away. They left the next morning before I could tell her thank you for saving my life that last time.
When Mom had told me that she would be coming here for training, I had originally planned to do just that. To tell her thank you and that I still owed her a life debt for saving my life. We were uneven and according to the lessons I had received as future coven leader, it wasn’t safe to have an unbalanced life debt like this.
However, I was thrown off at realizing she was my mate. I stopped right at the end of the hallway, where the alpha family corridors separate from the beta quarters. The scent of her presence lingered more intensely in this spot, and I found myself irresistibly drawn towards her bedroom door.
I stared at the door and just basked in her scent and all the things I wished I had said that night. Maybe then she wouldn’t be so nervous around me. Maybe she wouldn’t be so clearly opposed to our bond.
My hand pressed against the strong wood door, my power seeking her out through the walls. I felt her breaths through the door, letting me know that she was sleeping.
“I’ll make it up to you,” I whispered to her door. “I’ll show you that a life here with me isn’t as bad as you might think. I promise, I’m not the immature little boy you once knew.”
I pulled myself away from her door and forced my feet to move in the other direction. I paused outside of Liberty and Xander’s room, contemplating waking my sister and best friend up to tell them about Madie. However, at the sound of my niece fussing on the other side of the door, I decided against it.
They had a long trip the next day and if Sasha was already keeping them up, I didn’t want to add to their sleepless night.
I could always tell them afterwards how much shit The Fates were putting me through with my mate. I imagine they would find pleasure in hearing about my suffering, just as they had experienced during their bonding phase. May as well have a nice story ready to tell them when they get back from their trip.
As I reached for my door handle, I found myself making up my mind. I was going to prove to my mate that I wasn’t the same little shit head I used to be. Beginning tomorrow, I will do whatever it takes to win her affection and make her embrace the predetermined match set by the Fates.
She might hate me for it at first, but I would take that hate and mold it into fascination. Before all is said and done, she will be coming to me and accepting me, just as I have already accepted her.
I closed the door behind me and looked around my room with a smile. I’ve won over mightier opponents with my charm and charisma. Winning the heart of my own fated mate shouldn’t be too hard. After all, Xander isn’t even half as charming as me and he managed to win over my sister. With that known history, I had nothing to worry about.
I took off my clothes and threw them at the hamper by the bathroom door as I walked by. My fingers flicked on the light switch on and the large en suit illuminated before me.
It smelled like me in the room. I used to enjoy it, but now I can’t wait for the salty and coconut scent to completely fill my rooms. I reached for the bathroom cupboard and started retrieving the fresh oils and essences I had collected and kept inside. My sister and I had developed a bit of a habit from our mother and her time of hiding potions in the bathroom. Despite the school’s teachings, we still preferred using our private bathrooms for potion storage.
I mixed the oils together, sniffing them and adding more of different ingredients until I sighed with satisfaction. I poured the concoction into a small spray bottle before jumping into the shower to quickly wash the day from my body.
When I finished, the bottle shimmered with condensation from my shower and the oils seemed to have settled and separated. I gave the bottle a quick shake before bringing it out of the bathroom and to my bed.
I sat the bottle on the bedside table and arranged my extra pillows on the opposite side of the bed. As I finished arranging the pillows just right, a small feeling of longing began to emerge in my chest. I had expected this, though I wasn’t certain it would occur tonight.
The bond was already pulling me to go and find her and bring her back to complete our ties to one another. Despite her apparent rejection of me, I knew that both of us would be feeling the insatiable need to find one another. To feel one another in each other’s arms.
I wasn’t sure if she would feel the same pangs of pain in her chest as I had. The fact she was sleeping so peacefully now told me she at least hadn’t yet.
Taking the bottle from my bedside table, I began to spray the pillows and blankets of my bed with the mixture of oils. The scent of coconut and sea salt filled my senses, and while it didn’t exactly match Madilyn, it eased the thrumming in my chest.
Now, instead, I felt a pang of guilt. If she experienced the same pains I did, I wouldn’t help relieve them. I would let her feel them all until she came to me willingly.
Chapter Three
Madilyn
“Madie! Did you see me? I jumped like a hundred feet high!” Diego’s enthusiasm was like a balm, yet my thoughts were turbulent, a storm about to break. His innocence, a stark contrast to the maze of emotions within me. I felt Brady’s presence before I saw him, like a shadow looming at the edge of my consciousness. His name alone stirred a whirlwind of memories, each a stinging reminder of a past I longed to forget.
I smiled at him as we strolled back to the packhouse, his youthful energy a stark contrast to my own troubled mind. For the past three weeks, I had been a master of evasion, constantly sidestepping Brady’s attempts to bridge the gap between us with what felt like superficial gestures. His persistence was a relentless tide, and I, a stubborn cliff, refusing to erode.
It was exhausting. My only saving grace was that he hadn’t seemed to tell anyone what we were. He seemed not to want to be embarrassed by my rejection and was determined to win me over before announcing to his family.
