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Sweat wells at the base of my neck as I go for a stroll further away from the pack circle. Careful not to jostle the daisy, I swoop my hair over my shoulder, slicking the moisture away with the back of my hand. Sofia is visiting with Kara and her rambunctious twin pups this evening. After spending the last hour alone on my front porch, an open invitation for any of my packmates to visit with me, I decided to stretch my human legs and take a walk.
And if I so happen to cross West’s path while he’s out on patrol? I’m sure that’ll be just a happy accident…
Oh, who am I fooling? Earlier, I followed my end of our bond to West. Instead of sitting in the den like he has been, he was up and moving. Figuring he was meeting with another packmate, I left him to it—until Sofia slipped away from my cabin and I felt a tug as West moved further from the center of pack territory.
By the time I decided to go search for my mate myself, I knew exactly where he was. I just… I wanted to double-checkwhy.
Since our mate bond snapped into place, finalizing with the Luna’s blessing, West has regained complete control over his wolf. He doesn’t sneak off to take his frustrations out on the trees in his private clearing anymore. He no longer returns to me smelling of sweat and blood. He still disappears there to find me flowers, but his trips are as quick as they are frequent.
Still, three years of watching him suffer and convincing myself that it was for the best has broken me in a way that I’m still coming to terms with. I was so sure I was right, that the Luna wouldn’t have sent me Rafael’s name if we weren’t meant to be, that I ignored my own heart and tried my best to push West away. The whole pack knows how well that worked out, and while my only regret is that it took me three years to realize that I did have the choice, that I could tell the Luna that I chose West instead, I never want West to feel like I don’t love him with every inch of me, body and soul.
Because I do. I always have.
And he finally knows it.
I had to stay away from him for so long that, sometimes, I have this urge to go to him. Back when I was meant for Rafael, I had to lock myself in my cabin to resist it.
West is my mate now. He’s mine whenever I want him to be.
Thank the Luna.
When the enticing scent of sandalwood fills my nose, then my lungs, I break out into a jog. A smile is already curving my lips as I weave around the trees, anticipating the moment when I’ll see that first glimpse of his cocky grin, his steely eyes, and the possessive look that has always belonged on West’s gorgeous features.
Because he’s mine now, but I’ve always been his.
He’s just rising up from a crouch when I break into his clearing. He moves easy, shifting on his heel, turning to face me as soon as I come to a standstill.
The sun silhouettes West, soft golden light bathing him as he holds the purple coneflower in his grip out to me. “You didn’t have to come to me, Lane, baby. I was on my way to you.”
I laugh. Confronted with the smolder in his gaze and the love for me he no longer has to leash, I stumble a few steps toward him, drunk with joy and pure affection for him. Six months after I stopped pretending that he hasn’t ever been the only male for me and I still go giddy when West looks at me like that.
“Maybe it’s time I do the chasing for once,” I tease, regaining my footing as I move toward him.
“Never,” he says, the heat in his voice making it clear that he’s not angry. He’s reminding me of the promise he made to me that fateful day in Darkwoods. “You’re worth every step I take to you… after you…withyou, my mate. You don’t ever have to—whoa…Lane. You okay?”
His tease turns to panic as, between one footfall and the next, my knees buckle. Quick as my mate is, he’s in front of me in an instant. Wrapping his arms around me, he catches me before I can fall forward into the dirt.
I clutch his chest through his t-shirt. West uses his impressive strength to lift me easily, setting me back on my feet before he cradles my head with one hand, the small of my back with the other. He’s panting my name over and over again, a spark of fear traveling down our bond.
It’s his fear, and I realize that something’s wrong.
No. Not wrong.
Different.
For six months, I’ve dealt with an echo of a bond that was impossible to ignore. I told Bishop that I hoped it would fade in time, but it hasn’t; if anything, I felt Rafael tugging me harder in the months since I rejected him than ever he did when I was standing right in front of him, trying to sense any kind of love from him. He never loved me. Even these last few days, when shadows of my former bond with Rafael was almost stronger than the unbreakable one I shared with West, I only sensed loneliness and need, neverlove.
My mate knows about it. I couldn’t hide it from him, and I told him about it shortly after we returned from Gravetail territory. He swore that it didn’t change anything, and I believed him. Rafael clung to me because I was an omega she-wolf, not because I was his mate. West understood that, and he never asked me about it again.
When I nearly collapse, it doesn’t even occur to West that my tiny spell could have had something to do with the phantom mate bond. But it did. I’m not so sure what happened—or evenhowit happened—but that’s what’s different.
It’sgone.
Somehow, some way, the whisper of a bond I had with Rafael has vanished, leaving only the one I have with West. Shining like a beacon inside of me, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
“West.” My claws unsheathe on their own. I only realize that they have when I accidentally slice through his shirt, cutting him enough that the tang of his blood slaps the last of the haze from my head. “West!” A laugh bubbles up and out of me as I release my hold on his chest. Instead, I throw my arms around his tapered waist. “Oh my Luna,West!”
He’s running his fingers through my hair, holding me close. At the sound of my laughter, the spark of fear brightens and I realize that I’m worrying him.
