She looks up, her face brightening with a smile that falters the moment she sees my expression. “Seth? Is everything okay?”
I hold out the wine bottle. “Can you check this for me?”
Her eyebrows raise as she brushes dirt from her hands, standing slowly. “Sure…” She draws the word out, studying my face with growing concern. “Check it for what, exactly?”
“Just checkit. Please.”
Something in my voice—the urgency, the tension I can’t quite hide—makes her expression shift from curious to worried. She nods and takes the bottle from my outstretched hand. “Alright. Let me bring it to the lab.”
I follow her across the garden path and into the small building Lucian had constructed for her. The lab is organized chaos—shelves lined with jars and bottles, dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, various apparatuses I don’t understand scattered across the worktables. The scent of earth and growing things fills the air.
Astra turns around to set the bottle on the table and nearly collides with me. I’m standing too close, I know, but I can’t seem to make myself step back. I need answers. Now.
Her eyes widen as she catches my scent, and I watch recognition dawn on her face. Her hand comes up, one finger pointing at me accusingly, her voice unsteady. “Why do your and Selene’s scents smell so…intermingled?”
Heat crawls up my neck. “It’s a long story.”
“It can’t be that long.” Her eyes narrow, and I can practically see her mind working through possibilities. “You smell like you’ve been—” She stops, her gaze sharpening. “Seth.”
I run my fingers through my hair, the nervous gesture making me feel like a boy caught stealing sweets. “It kind of is a long story.”
“Selene’s being courted by Zane,” Astra says slowly, her voice taking on an edge. “What are you doing with her?”
The question makes my wolf bristle, possessive fury surging hot in my chest. “Selene is my fated mate.”
The wine bottle slips from Astra’s fingers. I lunge forward and catch it before it can shatter on the stone floor, straightening to find her staring at me with her mouth hanging open.
“What?” The Queen is clearly shocked by this news. “How is that—Since when?”
“Since I met her.” The admission tastes like failure in my mouth. “But I was kind of a dick to her about it.”
“Kind of?” Astra’s voice rises with indignation.
I wince. “Okay, a huge dick. A massive, unforgivable—Look, the point is, after she rescued Zane, things got super complicated.”
Astra crosses her arms, her expression demanding answers. “Explain. Now.”
So, I do. I tell her everything—how the mate bond had burned between Selene and me from the first moment, how I’d pushed her away because of my own stupid prejudices about strength and worthiness. How after she saved Zane’s life, she suddenly claimed she couldn’t feel our bond anymore. How Zane had swooped in with his own claims of being her fated mate.
“And you believed that?” Astra interrupts, her tone sharp with incredulity.
“Selene felt nothing for me—I could see it, sense it. The bond was completely one-sided, on my end. It made the whole thing plausible.” I set the wine bottle carefully on the table. “It felt like the bond had simply vanished on her end. And I couldn’t understand why Zane would lie. He had no reason to, and I—” I pause, shame burning in my throat. “I practically pushed her into his arms, Astra. After everything I’d said to her, everything I’d done, she was happy with him. Happier than I’d ever seen her. Smiling, laughing. He gave her everything I refused to.”
Astra’s expression shifts from anger to concentration, her mind clearly working through the mystery. “And last night?”
“Last night, I found her sleepwalking toward the lake.” My throat tightens at the memory. “She was in some kind of trance, completely unaware. I stopped her, tried to wake her up, and when nothing else worked, I kissed her. The moment our lips touched, everything changed. The bond came roaring back, stronger than ever. She could feel it again, feel me again.”
“And then?” Astra’s voice is quiet now, knowing.
Heat floods my face. “And then we drank that wine. Both of us. Things got…out of control.”
There’s a look of understanding in her eyes, followed immediately by concern. “How outof control?”
I touch the mark on my shoulder, the one Selene’s teeth left. “Completely. We mated. Marked each other. The whole thing.”
Astra’s hand flies to her mouth. “Oh, god.”
“Yeah.” I gesture toward the bottle. “That’s why I need you to check this out. It was a gift from Zane, and Selene said the two of them were going to share it.” I shake my head. “Something about last night felt wrong. The intensity, the way neither of us could think straight. My body was on fire from the moment I tasted that wine, and I could smell her arousal before I even touched her. It wasn’t natural.”
