Page 59 of Their Mate
I let out a low grunt, not of disapproval, but acknowledgement. “That explains a lot.”
She tilted her head. “And you? You’ve got the look of someone who’s seen a lot worse than these tunnels and lycans.”
My gaze flicked to the fire, the memories stirring whether I liked it or not. “I have. Lila and Kait… they were our mates. Our pack was different back then, what with just the four of us bound together. Aidan was part of it too, of course. We were a family. Didn’t matter that some of us were human, and some of us were wolves.”
Her eyes softened, just a fraction. “What happened?”
“Feral wolves,” I said flatly. “They hit us hard, fast. Kait fought like hell, Lila too. Both of them died before the night was over. That was some time ago, but it still feels like yesterday.”
Sera’s voice was soft when she replied. “You loved them.”
“Still do,” I admitted.
She studied me for a long beat, the firelight painting gold across her beautiful features. “And now you think you can just… claim me too?”
I gave a small, humorless smile. “No. You’re not someone a man ‘claims,’ Sera. You’re the kind of woman who walks beside her man. I know for a fact that you’d gut anyone who tried to put you behind them.”
That earned me the faintest ghost of a real smile.
I leaned forward slightly, elbows on my knees. “Doesn’t mean I won’t throw myself in front of you if it keeps you breathing. That’s just how I’m built.”
Her gaze held mine a moment longer before she shifted onto her back, eyes finally closing for real. “We’ll see if you mean that. Time will tell.”
I smirked faintly. “Yeah, you’ll see soon enough, I’m sure.”
She sighed loudly, and I stayed quiet, letting the fire pop and crackle between us. I figured she’d roll over and call it a night, but instead, Sera spoke again, softer than I’d heard since we met.
“I had a brother,” she whispered, eyes fixed on the firelight. “Older by five years. He taught me how to track, how to move without being heard, how to stand my ground even when I was scared out of my mind.” Her lips pressed together for a moment before she went on. “He was walking me home from school back in London when we were attacked by a wolf. He jumped in front of me…” She shook her head once. “Before I could do anything, he was gone. What was left of him was barely enough to bury.”
I felt her sorrow in my gut, the kind of loss that leaves a hole no one can fill.
“I devoted myself to the Watch for him,” she continued, her voice still steady, but carrying that tight edge you only get from holding grief for far too long. “Every mission, every kill… it wasabout making sure no one else’s little sister had to find her brother like that ever again.”
I leaned back, watching her in the firelight. “Sounds like he raised someone who didn’t just survive; he raised someone who can make a difference, who could fight.”
Her eyes flicked to mine, and for a second there was something there that wasn’t defiance or suspicion, just a tired sort of warmth. “That’s generous coming from a wolf.”
I shrugged. “Loss doesn’t care what we are. Wolves, humans… our tears are the same when it’s someone we love.”
CHAPTER 21
Sera
The first thing I noticed when I woke was the heat. Not the sweltering, choking kind that came from a fire burning too long in a closed space, but a steady, radiating warmth pressed along both my sides.
The second thing I noticed was that I wasn’t alone.
At some point during the night, I’d ended up wedged between Aidan and Declan. I remembered lying down a clear couple of feet from Aidan and Declan across the fire from me when we’d settled in. Now Declan’s arm was draped loosely over my waist, and Aidan’s leg was hooked lazily over mine. Both of them were still asleep, breathing slow, deep, steady.
Aidan’s hand rested against my hip, loose but protective, like even in sleep he was ready to shield me. Declan’s chest rose and fell behind me, the deep rumble of his breathing sending faint vibrations through my back. I was wrapped in their warmth, cocooned in it, and for a dangerous second, I let myself relax into it.
This was… nice. Comforting in a way I hadn’t let myself feel in years, maybe ever. Which was exactly the problem.
My instincts screamed at me to pull away, put the space back between us before either of them woke and read too much into this, but my body didn’t seem to care about any of that. The smell of them, earth and leather and sweat, along with traces of blood and smoke, was grounding, chasing away the cold edge that had settled into my bones down here in the tunnels.
I told myself I was only staying still because moving would wake them.
Yeah. That was the story I was going with.
