Page 151 of Mated to the Wolves

I can’t blame the wolf for having trust issues.

“No.” Cadoc drops down and bows his head. “Forgive us. We didn’t mean to offend you. Our only thought was our mate’s safety.”

“Good. You must always be willing to sacrifice everything for the keeper of the amulet.”

“We don’t even have the damn thing.”

“That must change. Kneel.” Fenrir’s words are a command.

Moving together, we bend the knee to join Cadoc.

“Today you became a team dedicated to the protection of the one meant to keep the amulet.”

Fenrir’s hot breath washes over us. He stomps his foot. The earth quakes. Metal chains shoot from the craggy rock and wrap around our wrists.

They pull tight and I lurch forward, fighting to keep from slamming my face onto the ground. Sweat drips down my body. The metal heats.

“Everything has a cost. From the fire we are reborn.”

Hot metal sears my flesh. Intense pain consumes me. Something shifts deep in my core. Knowledge pours into my brain, and a connection snaps into place.

The others are present in a newly formed link. They’re all present with every breath. Cadoc’s steady observant energy. Kirk’s quiet intensity. Bo’s infuriating mix of mischief and deadliness when provoked. Fell is there too, a muddled, emotional bundle of happiness, fear, and determination.

“Become who you must be.”

Bo and Fell convulse like erratic marionettes. Their limbs fling about wildly and their backs arch off the ground. Triangles appear on their chests, flickering like a light switch being turned off and on.

“Please,” I plead with Fenrir, unable to abide their suffering. Their cries chip away at the wall around my heart that I erected to keep others out.

“You hold the power to end their pain. They feel the disconnect in your bond. The mark won’t hold until you embrace them as yours.”

“I can’t.” Fear wraps a hand around my throat, stealing my ability to speak.

Bo grits his teeth, fighting to calm the tremors tearing through his body.

“We d-deserve this,” Fell forces the words out. The sentence is a dagger to my heart.

“No.” The world pauses. The men still beside me.

“Are you ready to accept that all of you need each other?” Fenrir’s voice comes from everywhere at once.

“Yes.” I spit the words out. Stolen from me, I’ve been deprived of deciding when and where I share my epiphanies.

“Save the anger for a worthy cause. You’re going to need it.”

Chastised, I give a curt nod. Shoulders slumped, I lower my walls, damming myself to a life with two men I don’t fully trust. The bond will take time to grow properly, but my future is now set in stone.

Why does the greater good require so much damn sacrifice? I rub my freed wrist. Sitting before him, we find triangles on all of us.

“Your time grows short. You’ll leave tonight to seek the amulet.”

I’m careful to show respect this time. “How?”

“The sundial will lead the way,” Fenrir assures us.

“What about the Alpha?” Cadoc asks. “We are still beholden to his rules.”

“Let him believe he’s in charge for now. Allow him to bond you in the way of your people, but never forget where your loyalty truly lies.” Fenrir’s eyes glow red at the end of his speech.

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