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Callum looked pointedly at the man and he sighed in defeat. They apparently needed to have this conversation as well.
“I’m the son of some very powerful witches, so my magic is stronger than most. And as you can see, using it comes with a consequence,” he gestured to his healing stomach. “My gift is intuition and finding things that are lost. I didn’t let them know to preserve my own life. Can you imagine if they knew I could find the things they were seeking?” He shuddered at his own words, and I couldn’t blame him. “Though I do have to say I’ve never healed quite so fast. Apparently having a wolf as a mate is useful.”
“So you’re genuine fated mates?” I questioned. I have to admit that one fucking hurt. We hadn’t done a ceremony to find out if we were fated or not. But the fact that my alpha was fated to someone else was heartbreaking.
I could feel the tears forming in my eyes and I hated that it was in front of all of them. My heart was fractured and I didn’t even know how to feel about it all.
“We are,” Callum answered softly. “Vanya, I’m sorry. I love you, little wolf. I chose you and will continue to choose you every day. This changes nothing with us. But it also doesn’t change the fact that Holt is also part of my life now. I won’t turn away from him.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” I agreed. “I guess that brings us back to Torryn.”
“Your old alpha. The one responsible for your scars I assume?” Callum’s voice was deadly now. “You think he’ll be part of our pack?”
“He already is,” I countered.
“Damn, you guys have some drama,” Holt said. He was fully sitting now and getting visibly stronger by the minute. His head was swiveling back and forth between us like he was observing a tennis match. Nyx laughed at his words.
“Yeah, you’ll fit in just fine.” Even I could admit I liked the guy despite what he stood for. He was just one of those people you could tell was genuine, and I wanted to hate him with everything in me. But I couldn’t bring myself to. The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that amongst all this chaos and mating… no one was truly to blame.
“Torryn was raised in a pack that was far different from ours. I’ve had this conversation too many times to go into it now, but he wasn’t solely responsible for this pain. We’re putting the past to rest and forging a new way of life for his pack. I’ve forgiven him for his role in my past. He didn’t force me into anything. I agreed because I know this was the right decision.”
“And you agreed as well?” Callum asked Leven and Nyx.
“I did.” Nyx shrugged. “It was the right thing to do. They have a history or she wouldn’t have agreed to it. There’s more to it than we thought.”
“And I’m working on it,” Leven grunted. It was the most he’d given me in days and I clung to that. The fact that all this shit should have torn us apart but we were trying to work it out instead was reassuring. We had a hell of a long way to go and a whole lot of hurt to heal, but I wouldn’t know what to do without them. We were a pack before, and we’d learn to be one again. It just might take some time.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Vanya
The compound was perfect but also a disaster. It’d keep us safe but it’d take us days of effort to clear out all the stuff the previous owners had left behind to make it usable. Emma, her brothers, Hades, and Ava had all taken the kitchen. The guys and I took the main building. There was a room that Nyx thought he could make an infirmary and another that could be the security room. A group was repairing the fence. All in all, we had everything we needed. It was a temporary home, but it would be well fortified and supplied by the time we were done.
“Everything okay over here?” Holt asked me. I’d been so busy trying to force the lock on an old cabinet I hadn’t heard him come up. And yes, I might have been a bit more aggressive about it than I intended but I had a lot of shit to work through.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I said, flashing him a tight smile before jamming the thin screwdriver in the lock and getting it stuck.
He sat down next to me. “Look. I know this isn’t going to be easy. It was never my intention to take your man. We didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter.” His voice was gentle like he was afraid I’d turn my screwdriver on him. Immediately guilt hit me because I believed what he was saying. I’d never fault Meira if she came out of this with a mate, how could I fault Callum and Holt? But with Meira, my own heart wasn’t involved.
“I know you didn’t,” I promised. “And I’m not trying to hold it against you. Hell, I’d be a hypocrite. It’s just I can’t get past the fact that you’re fated. I know it’s fucking petty and I’m trying not to let it get to me. It took me a long time to trust them enough to open up and now this and Torryn, it all just feels… complicated.”
“Trust is hard,” he agreed. “Every day I didn’t bond with someone was a good day. But at the same time, I worried I’d never have a normal life again. Callum was the one bright spot in that place and he wasn’t my first roommate. He just radiated safety and compassion. Two things that were missing from that hell.”
And there’s the guilt again. It was becoming my new best friend apparently. But here I was being petty and in my feelings and he was trying to work past being out of captivity. Asking about Meira was on the tip of my tongue but I bit it back for now.
“I’m glad you two managed to get out,” I finally said. “Now we just have to plan our attack and get the others free as well.”
“I hope every one of them fall and I hope the alpha is home.” His eyes were faraway now and his voice held every ounce of loathing he’d harbored in his time there.
“Did you ever see the Grave Alpha? Or his witch? I’m wondering if there’s even an off chance that we confront them there as well.”
“He was there a time or two but he kept a low profile as well. It was more guard chatter than anything. Straya was no stranger to me. But I never saw her during my time there. She was probably afraid we’d rise up and kill her on the spot… and we would have. She was exiled when I was a teen for dark magic and using humans sacrifices to further her power. It’s not surprising that she found another violent person to side with. What I don’t get is how the two of them get along enough to make decisions.” I chuckled darkly.
“They’re probably working against each other and just pretending. If they’re convincing enough, the other won’t realize the end game. And then when the time’s right, they’ll stab each other in the back and possibly save the rest of the world from their bullshit.”
Holt snorted at my description. “You’re probably right about that. I had chatty guards most of the time so I got some of the gossip before it happened, but it seemed all he wanted was to find more bonded mates. I think he cared more about increasing his own power than conquering our people.”
“Those poor prisoners. I can’t imagine being forced to bond with a stranger, especially one as disgusting as Grave.”
