Page 79 of Binding His Fated Mates

Micah fell silent, his expression mutinous. I could practically see the power crackling around him, but he dropped his gaze from his father to the floor. “Sorry.”

Ash turned back to Daniel. “You said it was an accident and I believe you. It doesn’t explain why you came here. And why these young men are now werewolves.”

“They were dying!” Daniel snapped. “And I couldn’t figure out how to reverse it! I didn’t have a choice—”

“No. You had a choice,” Carmellia cut in. “You chose to run to a pack of wolves in the mountains. And then you chose to hide for two years. You could have trusted us to help you undo your mistakes.”

“How was he supposed to trust you? Any of you?” Hunter demanded, his glare sweeping the room and settling on Rowan. Her lips parted and her eyes widened as though he’d startled her. “You placed a geas on him! All of you did it!”

“Your contribution to this conversation is entirely unwelcome,” Ash said coldly, locking eyes with my twin. “It won’t be tolerated again.”

“No, he’s right,” I said. “You violated his trust. His agency. He couldn’t have come to you—not in a million years. And you did that. All of you. If you want to know why he took his chances on a pack of werewolves in the mountains instead of his own family, look in the mirror.”

Rowan flinched at that, her eyes going glassy.

Ash’s face, on the other hand, stormed over. But he smiled as he met my gaze. It wasn’t a nice smile—more like the smile that came from contemplating all the awful things he could—and would—do to me.

“The geas was for the best,” Carmellia replied, her gaze cutting and merciless as it met mine. Then she turned to Daniel. “And clearly, we were right to be concerned. Look at where your lack of discretion has landed you.” She gestured around the cabin—the scattered papers, the bare walls, the cramped space. “Living in squalor with a pack of wolves, playing at being one of them.”

“I am one of them,” Daniel said, but the flash of fire in him was already guttering. I could hear it in his voice—the conviction draining out of him.

“No,” Ash said firmly. “You are a Henbane. You will never be one of them. These wolves will never understand you. They will never really accept you.”

“That’s not true,” Daniel protested.

But the damage was done.

Helplessly, I watched the thing I’d feared most happen in real time.

Daniel’s light… dimmed.

That was the only word for it. The Daniel who had stood between Hunter and me for the past week—the old Daniel, the confident one who faced down monsters and firmly insisted that he wasn’t choosing between us, who’d stood up for himself, who loved us both so fiercely—receded.

In his place was someone else. The Daniel who made himself as small and unthreatening as possible. The Daniel who used his smile as a shield, the Daniel who didn’t take up any space at all.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know I shouldn’t have left like that. I should have explained.”

I hated it. The apology sounded rehearsed and reflexive, the product of years of conditioning. They were the words of a child who’d learned that the fastest way to survive his family’s disapproval was to give in and agree with it.

Micah snorted. “Sorry doesn’t begin to cover it. You cast a forbidden spell, you probably nearly killed yourself in the process, split a human being in half, and then vanished in the middle of the night without any explanation. And now you’re apparently sleeping with the wreckage.”

Daniel’s whole body contracted at that, as if he’d been struck.

“We could’ve helped you,” Rowan said softly, shooting Micah an angry glare, before turning to Daniel, her expression becoming imploring. “We would’ve helped. I would’ve helped you fix this.” She gestured at Hunter and me. “You know that.”

“There was no time!” Daniel protested, his eyes filling with tears. “They would have died while we were figuring out a solution!”

“Perhaps that would’ve been a kinder fate,” Ash said coldly. “Instead, you’ve subjected your friend to this… half-life.”

That voice in the back of my mind returned: Are you real?

In this moment, I wasn’t sure anymore.

“Fuck you,” Hunter growled, his eyes filled with rage. “You don’t get to show up after two years and judge Daniel’s choices! And you sure as hell don’t get to decide what’s good for us and what’s not!”

“This is a family matter and you, young man, are not welcome to interfere in it,” Ash replied. “I will not warn you a third time. Daniel is leaving with us, and that’s final.”

“Why are you here?” I asked. “Why now? Hunter’s right—it’s been two years and you obviously knew how to find him. So why are you here now? What’s changed?”