Page 83 of Fate Promised

Hans nodded. “Last year, when I traveled to the old vulk den, the memory of that moment replayed for me. Wulf rejected mates for all of us. For eternity. He knew there were zorzye—the lightwielders—out there, one made for each vulk, but he chose to become invincible instead.”

“What? Why haven’t you told me this story? Or told the pack?”

Hans stared at him a long moment. “Baba Yaga told me I was the first to find my mate, but I wouldn’t be the last.” He gazed into the distance. “The rune gives us back our soul for a month. Our humanity. It’s why you can retake human form. Each of us needs to make the choice if we want to keep it. I thought it best to let each vulk discover their path on their own.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But we’ve always been told a soul makes us weak. And if we take a mate, or have families, they’ll be targeted by our enemies. Hoyt tried to kill Triska because it would affect me.”

“Those we love will be in danger. But you’re forgetting a few things.”

“What?”

“You’ll have an entire pack at your side, protecting your mate. And we’re paired with lightwielders because they’re special.” He touched his chest. “They’re tough in their own right.”

Juri rubbed his mouth. Triska had remained at his side through every part of their adventure, and she’d fended off Hoyt’s attack on the beach. Last year, Briony fought and defeated Morana.

His mouth opened and closed a few times. Finally, he said, “You chose Briony, and you chose to keep your soul.”

“That’s right. And I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.” Hans spoke quietly, but his words seemed to echo down the beach. “I have a mate and children to protect, but I trust our pack. I trust Briony. I’d like to see anyone try to get at our kids when she’s around.” His lips curled upward a fraction. “Don’t underestimate the power of a vulk and his mate. But you need to choose what is right for you.”

Juri stared at the water. The treacherous, beautiful water. Even now, that water spoke to Triska, begging her to leave her life behind. “No selkie has ever come back,” Juri said.

“No selkie was also part lightwielder.”

The darkness roiling inside him quieted for a moment. He gazed over the bay, until he landed on the vanishing isle surrounded by its mists.

He put a hand to his chest. Selkie or not, she was his, and he was hers.

The wind swept down the beach, ruffling his hair. He’d been bonded to Triska since they were ten. Maybe it started as only a ring made from a nail, but it became much more powerful. No way was he going to turn his back on that again.

35

Triska sat on her bed. The covers were still rumpled from the night Juri had slept over. It seemed like a lifetime ago. However, his cedar scent still lingered, teasing her with each inhale. Her father had been at home when she’d called, and the last few hours with him had been wonderful, but she’d told him about the pull. About how she didn’t think she’d remain on land much longer.

She’d had to tell him. To give him the warning he hadn’t had for her mother. He seemed to shrink in front of her eyes, but he’d nodded. Understood it wasn’t a choice.

Whether it was going down to Peklo or because her time on land was over, the ocean wasn’t waiting for her anymore. She sucked in a deep breath and walked over to her closet.

The small chest was made of dark wood with a carved design on the top. Holding the chest one way, the design resembled waves, holding it the other, it looked like swirling wind. She sat on the floor and slid the top off.

Inside, her pelt lay on green silk. For the first time, she took it out. When its dense fur trailed over her fingertips, her hands tingled. A rush of salty air blew through the room, scattering the papers on her desk.

She inhaled deeply and spread the pelt out. It was designed like a cloak; if she put it around her shoulders, she’d transform.

Why now? Juri had just returned to her life, why was it striking now? All she wanted was a little more time with him. More than a stolen night—or a stolen week—of lying in his arms. It was selfish of her, but he was Juri. It felt like he was a part of her. Half her heart.

She’d had plenty of men court her over the years, some she’d even had short, enjoyable affairs with, but she’d never let any of them get close. Like with Emil. She’d never considered him, and a strong part of the reason was because she’d never take a mate. And it was a good thing she and Emil hadn’t started a relationship. Earlier today, her father had told her Emil had found his bondmate during a recent trip.

Bondmates. She sighed. There’d always been a secret, hidden reason why she’d never let anyone close. She traced the rune mark on her chest with a fingertip.

Juri.

She’d always known she’d see him again. Her breath hitched in her throat. She’d finally found him, and their time together was almost over.

She stroked the pelt. Once she turned into a selkie, her mind wouldn’t be her human mind. She’d be transported into a different life, one of the ocean and the deep underwater home where the selkies lived. In her journal, her mother wrote about how as a human, she barely remembered her life as a selkie. She wrote over and over about wanting to remember what it was like streaming through the water as a seal. Wanted to remember the special place of the selkies at the bottom of the ocean, a place only they could reach. That was what drove her mother back to the sea.

When Triska became a selkie, she wouldn’t remember her human life. She wouldn’t remember her father or Ryba. And she wouldn’t remember Juri.

Or how much she loved him.

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