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“My. Answer. Is. No,” she enunciates each word.
“N-no to what?”
“No to Bonding. No to fighting for me. No to having a discussion. No to explaining things. No to all of it. No.”
Vae’s frown deepens, like his brain just can’t comprehend her words. And maybe I’m an idiot too because I don’t really understand what she means either. She can’t just ignore the Bond forever. Unless she outright rejects us, but from what I understand, only Chosen Mates can do that.
No one—no one—fucks with Fate.
“Idril, we’re Fated,” I explain gently. “But if time is what you need before our Bonds snap, I’ll give you time.” Her eyes widen, like she can’t believe I capitulated.
Gods… have I ever done anything for her? Anything at all?
“But Idril,” I try to keep my tone as gentle as possible before adding, “The Scent-Match will snap into place eventually. It’s only a matter of time.”
Her eyes narrow dangerously. “No.”
“Fate doesn’t give you a choice.”
The second the words leave my mouth, I want to reach out and shove them back down my throat. Idril’s jaw clenches, and her hands curl into fists.
“What you believe is irrelevant,” she snaps. “You still don’t understand. I’m not asking for permission.”
If it were anyone else, I might have laughed, but something in Idril’s voice makes my hair stand on end. Above us, Vharax shifts, curling her claws deeper into the tree branch.
“That’s not—you can’t—it doesn’t work like that!” Vae splutters in astonishment, and Idril’s eyes snap to his. Her lips lift, and her mouth curls into a smile that sends chills skittering down my spine.
“You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
Vae’s mouth drops open. Vharax’s wings unfurl above us and beat against the air.
Probably foreseeing this ending badly, Caelan steps forward and pulls her into his chest. She goes willingly, melting into him with an exhausted sigh.
“That’s enough for tonight,” Caelan announces. “We need to get the girls home. They’ve already been through enough the last few days. This can wait.”
Vae scoffs. “Easy for you to say. You have a Bond. Your Mate wants to be with you.”
“Yes, well, unlike you, I didn’t spend the first two weeks of our relationship verbally and emotionally abusing her.”
We both flinch at Caelan’s words, but he isn’t finished. “Do not compare our situations. They are not the fucking same.”
“But–”
“Idril’s made her decision. Let’s go.”
I wrap my hand around Vae’s mouth before he can keep going. I get why he won’t shut up. I truly do. But Caelan’s right. This isn’t the time. And Idril looks dead on her feet.
“He’s right,” I mutter, ignoring the betrayed look in my Packmate’s eyes. “Listen to me. Are you listening?”
He nods, so I lift my hand from his mouth, glaring at him to keep quiet.
“Idril’s exhausted. And from now on, she needs to be our priority. Nothing else. Every decision we make, we do what’s best for her. She’s been underground for five fucking days. This is not the time to have this conversation. Not when emotions are running so high.”
His lower lip trembles, and he bites down on it, struggling to get himself under control. Eventually he exhales, and his entire body deflates.
“Fuck,” he curses, hanging his head. “I fucked that up so bad.”
“Trust me, that’s nothing compared to the shit I’ve done,” I reply flatly. He snorts, but his laughter quickly turns into a groan.
