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Milo nods. “Yeah, once the Harridan alpha completes the bond with her mates, they become alphas too, so the curse extends to them.”
“So you guys are fated to me, to fall under this curse—even though it doesn’t touch you yet—and you’reokaywith that?”
They nod in unison.
“Yeah, it’s our destiny,” Landon shrugs. “How can you not be okay with destiny?”
“It helps that you’re cute,” Jared adds with a wink and a grin.
My eyes roll. “I’m glad you don’t find me hideous.”
“It’s not that, Lex,” Milo adds gently. “You’re perfect for us, and we were born to complete you. I know you feel it, that sense ofrightaround us. We’ve felt the same around each other since we were kids, and now, with you here, it’s whole. There was always one piece missing, and you’re not missing anymore. You’re home.”
Tears bite at the backs of my eyes.Home. I do feel home.
And Idofeel connected to these guys. I don’t know if I could call it love, or anything close to that at this point. But I do feel like they are important, closer to me than anyone I could think of in the world.
“You’re right,” I sigh. “I do feel connected to you. But there’s nothing romantic about it,” I admit with lowered eyes. “I like you all, we’re friends, and obviously you’re all hot-”
“You heard it, she said I’m hot,” Jared’s voice is smug.
A loud smack, followed by Milo’s voice, “She said we’re all hot, jackass.”
A snort escapes my nose, and I glance back up. “BUT, I just met you barely two weeks ago. I came here expecting to be a wallflower for a while, settle in, take some classes and maybe meet a couple people, make a couple friends. This is…” I wave my hands in useless circles.
“Too much,” Landon nods sagely. “It’s too much, and we understand that. And there’s no pressure from us, Layla. We’re here to support you, give you whatever you need, be your friends. If there’s a point that those feelings change, we’ll talk about them. But for now, we just want to help you however you need us.”
The other two nod earnestly, and the knot of anxiety in my chest eases. “You mean that? There’s no freaky wolf-mates clock ticking down to our inevitable mating?”
A guilty look crosses all three of their faces, and Milo answers. “Well, at the next eclipse, you have to declare whether you intend to accept your fated. That’s when you can ‘officially’ officially become alpha, the kind that can’t be challenged. Until then, if you don’t find your voice, they can challenge you every full moon. We don’t have to mate at that point, but you have to accept us as mates in order to seal and renew the magic.”
“And when is the next eclipse?” I ask, already panicking at the thought of wolf challenges every full moon.
“Three months.”
“Three months?! I have to decide my entire life in the next three months?”
“Layla, I hate to put it this way, but your life has already kind of been decided,” Landon says in a gentle voice. “You just have to decide to accept it, or not.”
“So… for the next three months, every full moon, I can expect to get jumped?”
“I would assume so,” Milo agrees darkly. “I think Amber is pretty determined to wrench the status as alpha away while she has the opportunity. Of course, you’ll shift every night, and there will be a pack run every night, but you don’t have to attend them. Just the full moon ones.”
“Who were the other two wolves that attacked me? I assume one was Amber. Was it the other girls? Or the twins from bio?”
“Yeah, it was the Westley twins. One of them is Amber’s fated, one of them is un-fated. So I’m guessing they think she’s going to become alpha and claim them, but even if she were successful, it wouldn’t work that way.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’d have to mate with one from each family. Which is why the whole thing is bonkers. She’s been after the three of us for years, like she thinks if she makes herself alpha, she’ll just take your fated mates… except she’s Landon’s cousin. So they’re from the same bloodline, and in order to make it equitable, she’d have to have someone from the Harridan bloodline.”
“But I’m the only one left. Wait, you said all of our blood is mingled throughout the pack. Is there another family that’s close enough to work?”
“Yeah,” Milo answers glumly. “Mine.”
“Wait what?” The revulsion creeps into my tone. “How closely are we related?” I take in his dark hair with completely fresh eyes.
“For starters, it’s not the same in wolf packs as it is in regular humans, so get those impure thoughts out of your head. There’s no negative to cross-breeding as long as we’re one generation removed. But our grandparents were siblings. Because of the magic, the female Harridan bloodline stays pure, so everyone that is born of a pairing with a Harridan female is full-blooded Harridan. You and your uncle are pure-blooded Harridan.
