Page 16 of Their Mate
My breath rasped unevenly, body shaking from pain, adrenaline, and conflicting instincts. Above, she paused briefly atop the fence, her gaze locking once more with mine. A wild uncertainty flashed in those sapphire depths before she dropped gracefully to the other side, disappearing into the darkness beyond.
Edward exhaled slowly, standing next to me in his human form once again. “Who the hell was she, Logan?”
I swallowed roughly, the realization slamming home like a physical blow, my voice low and shaken.
“My mate.”
My words hung heavy in the silence, thick with shock and disbelief, but the instant the words left my lips, I felt a sudden, charge ripple through the air around me.
Jamie shifted into his human form too. He inhaled harshly, eyes widening in stunned realization, a look of bewilderment crossing his lean features. He stared toward the fence where she’d vanished, as if suddenly seeing everything clearly for the first time. His voice emerged rough, almost strangled, “Bloody hell… I felt it too.”
I turned to face him, confusion mixing with a deep possessive and primal feeling in my chest. Before I could question him,Edward stepped forward, his face pale beneath the moonlight, brow deeply furrowed. His breathing was shallow, unsteady, utterly unlike the calm, disciplined soldier I’d come to know.
“She’s not just yours, you two,” Edward said quietly, voice rough, strained with disbelief and reluctant awe. “I felt it too.” He hesitated, swallowing thickly, shaking his head slowly. “God help us. She’s mine too.”
Jamie shook his head, disbelief quickly giving way to reluctant acceptance as he stared at the empty fence, still processing. “The three of us… one mate?” His voice carried both awe and a strange sort of resignation, tinged with humor. “Now that’s a bloody twist.”
I exhaled loudly, trying to make sense of the impossible turn of events that fate had just thrown at us. Edward stared at me, expression tight, intense, almost angry, yet there was also a guarded, reluctant respect simmering beneath the surface.
“We’ve just been handed the most dangerous complication imaginable,” Edward growled. “Three wolves, one mate, who clearly doesn’t want anything to do with us. And who just tried, with alarming skill, to kill all three of us.”
Jamie gave a humorless laugh, running one hand through his hair, his expression wary and tense. “If this isn’t a mess waiting to happen, I don’t know what is.”
My gaze locked onto the darkened space she’d vanished into, pulse still hammering unevenly, the possessive wolf inside me snarling with intense need. Every instinct pushed me to follow, to hunt, to claim, but now, knowing Jamie and Edward felt the same undeniable connection, this changed everything.
Declan and Aidan approached from the far end of the alley, their eyes wary, alert, scanning for danger. Declan’s voice broke through the tense silence, low and cautious. “She got away?”
Edward released a tight breath, jaw set, gaze still locked with mine. “She did. But we’ll find her again.”
Aidan frowned deeply, noting the charged silence among us. “What’s going on?”
I exchanged quick looks with Jamie and Edward, knowing the truth was going to complicate everything we’d built between us. Still, we couldn’t hide from this.
“She’s our mate,” I finally said, voice rough with lingering disbelief. “Mine. Jamie’s. Edward’s. All three of us.”
Aidan’s eyes widened visibly, his surprise mirrored in Declan’s expression. Both wolves remained silent for a long moment, processing the revelation. Then Declan gave a low whistle, shaking his head slowly.
“Well,” Declan said dryly, mouth curving into a wry half-smile. “This just got a hell of a lot more interesting.”
Edward met my gaze again, resignation mixing with the determination in his eyes.
“Interesting doesn’t even begin to cover it,” he said tightly.
“We can’t let her get away,” I swore and the two of them nodded in agreement.
“Then let’s go get her,” Jamie said gruffly.
Edward took the lead. Jamie moved alongside me, quick and agile. Declan and Aidan flanked us closely, their presence reassuring.
Ahead, the narrow alley widened slightly into a courtyard cluttered with discarded crates and broken glass, and garbage piled high in shadowed heaps. Edward slowed briefly, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Watch your footing,” he warned, scanning the ground cautiously. “This place feels off.”
I barely registered his words before a sickening metallic snap echoed through the night.
Aidan let out a strangled howl of agony, stumbling sharply, body jerking to a brutal halt. My heart lurched violently as we spun to see him trapped, the massive steel jaws of a bear trap hidden beneath flattened cardboard and garbage clamped viciously around his lower leg. Blood streamed from the wound, staining his skin crimson.
“Aidan!” Declan shouted, moving quickly to his side. Edward cursed, eyes blazing with furious realization. She had planned this, anticipated us. Our mate was clever and ruthless. Fierce pride warred with intense frustration inside me.
