by Helen Scott
“What I know or don’t know doesn’t matter. Only my willingness to be involved, which is zero.” He started to walk away again, though I had the feeling he was also starting to sober up and that was why he was trying to put as much distance between us as he could.
“Did you know that being drunk would prevent the mate bond from forming?” I asked as I moved to catch up with him.
“Considering I’ve been drunk for almost a week now, yes. Maybe if you’d spent a little more time drinking and done a little more partying instead of being a goody two shoes, we wouldn’t be in a situation.”
I could practically hear Roman growling from behind me. Fortunately, Denver did not. I knew I had to step up and squash this attitude if I wanted us to move forward. “Let’s get one thing clear. You don’t know me, not yet, so you don’t get to say things like that. You don’t know what my life was like before all this started.”
“I know enough. Drinking your fucking piña colada with its umbrella and fruit slices like a princess, sitting up there surrounded by your knights.”
“You knew I was there before I knew you were there, didn’t you?” I demanded.
“What the fuck does it matter who knew who was where first? Can I just go and watch the game now? All I wanted was to see who won, and now I’ve probably missed that as well, thanks to you.”
“I’m sorry you missed the end of your game, maybe one of the guys can look it up on their phones?” I wanted to win him over so badly that it was pissing me off.
“Having a random dude tell me the score isn’t the same as watching the end of the game,” he sneered.
“I know, but we need to figure this out.” I didn’t really know, having never been into sports or anything like that, but I could imagine. Probably felt similar to when Clark took credit for finding a stubborn problem with a car. It wasn’t that I wanted to interact with the customer, ever really, but a little credit would have been nice.
“There’s nothing to figure out, princess. I mean, I want nothing to do with you. I want nothing to do with this whole shit show. So we’re done here, right?” He burped long and loud, as though he was trying to gross me out. Growing up with Sam had pretty much numbed me to all that kind of behavior though. My brother could burp and fart on command and hadn’t been afraid to light either on fire. Dumbass. The memory made my heart twist painfully in my chest.
“No,” I said emphatically before Denver could walk too far away. “We’re not done. Not even close. How did you know about me? How did you know that your mate would already have mates?”
“How do you think I knew?” he asked, playing it cool as though we weren’t all getting the same information from Skuld. Hell, maybe he wasn’t, but I couldn’t imagine someone else telling him that he had a destiny he had to follow.
“Do you have a friend in the woods? An old lady, perhaps?” I asked, and he nodded, confirming my theory that Skuld was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
“Yeah. The old bag gave me a heads-up as to what was going to be happening. As soon as I knew, I turned tail and ran to the nearest bar and proceeded to get shit-faced.” I bet the Norn hadn’t expected that reaction. That might’ve explained why she seemed so irritated when she had her vision of him in a bar.
“All so you could avoid meeting me?” I asked for clarification.
He nodded. “I don’t want to be a linchpin in what happens to the universe. That’s not who I am. I’m just a guy from—” He cut himself off as though he was about to tell something that he didn’t intend to. A secret that he didn’t want out just yet. Which, of course, meant that it was my goal to get that secret out of him.
“I need you, Denver,” I said, trying to switch the track of the conversation from him constantly denying me to one where I had the opportunity to actually gain his support.
“You don’t need me. I’m nobody. I’m nothing to anybody,” he said as he tried to back up even farther.
“I disagree,” I said, following him step for step now that I’d caught up with him again, though we were starting to run out of alleyway for this conversation. “You’re mine, that’s important, that makes you important to me. Hopefully one day, it’ll make me important to you as well. But for right now, I need you. The world needs you.” God, I felt like I was giving some kind of fucking superhero speech as we went to face our final boss. The trouble was there was no big bad in this situation, nothing that I could try and kick its ass to make it obey. It was just me against fate, or was I with fate?
I wasn’t sure it mattered.
All I knew was that I wanted to stop Jax and men like him from gaining more control and influence over the world.
I decided to try a different tactic. “It’s not very often I admit this, but I’m scared, Denver. I’m scared of what this destiny is for both of us. I’m scared of what the fates are asking us to do. I’m scared of how I’m going to make life make sense when all of this is done. I’m scared that I won’t even get a chance to figure that out. There are so many things that I’m scared of, but you being my mate? It’s not one of them. And I might be scared of all those things and more, but even though I’m scared, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to follow the path that’s been set out for me.
“We have some say over it. But if this is what I’m meant to do, if this is what the fates want from me, then fighting it is only going to delay it. It’s only going to make this fight harder than it needs to be. I need you with me, Denver. I need you to complete this. I need you to support me and be the mate that you’re supposed to be.”
A long silence stretched between us, longer than I’d ever let silence stretch between myself and another person. The longer we stared at each other, the more his dark brown eyes seemed to bore into my soul, even if he was too drunk for the mating bond to kick in. He wasn’t drunk enough that I couldn’t see the emotions playing behind his eyes. It was as though he was waiting for some kind of signal from me, something that I didn’t understand. I didn’t know what that something was that he was waiting to see from me. If I did, I would give it to him, gladly. Finally, he shrugged.
He looked at me with something akin to despair on his face as he said, “I’m sorry. But this destiny isn’t for me, this isn’t my job. I’m not the person that you want or need me to be.”
With those words, he turned and disappeared into the darkness as I stood there with my own hopelessness eating at my heart.
27
Nina
I could feel the mate bond pulling at me, urging me to chase him, but what was the point? He’d shot me down more than enough times for me to understand that this wasn’t going to happen. Not unless he changed his own mind, because apparently, whatever I had to say wasn’t going to change it for him.
When I turned away from his retreating figure, I saw Roman, Micah, Blake, and Tate all standing there waiting for me, and as much as being rejected by one of my mates hurt, having them made up for it tenfold. Screw the fates. Screw needing the five representatives, I’d get by with four if I had to, which I apparently did.
They wrapped their arms around me as I got close, and I could feel their love infuse me, not only through their physical touches but through the mate bonds I had with each of them as well. There was nothing better than this. Being surrounded by all of them, not even in a sexual way, made me feel more at peace and happier than I’d ever felt in my whole life, and wasn’t that partially the point of the bond? Yes, it was mystical and magical, but it was also about survival of the species and shifters finding their match.
“We’ll figure something else out,” Micah said as we all parted from one another and began walking back to the bar. The alley seemed so much longer walking back than it had when I was following Denver, trying to catch up with him. We’d certainly covered more ground than I’d expected. As the glass door came into view, I wanted to sigh with relief and disappointment. I had my answer, and it was a resounding no. So where the fuck did we go from here?
I’d
never been drunk before, but I could understand the inclination to just say fuck it and let the rest of the night fade away under a haze of booze. I knew that Denver was more so rejecting the situation than he was rejecting me, but I couldn’t help but take it a little personally. I mean, the guy had kept himself drunk enough to avoid the mate bond for a week. A whole week. I couldn’t imagine what that had been like for him.
We walked back into the bar, and it felt different, like we were missing something but also being watched. My guess was that the bartender didn’t like that we’d come back and was expecting to have to kick us out after everything that happened with Denver. Since Denver wasn’t with us anymore, I paid the bartender no mind. We weren’t about to cause any trouble, just have a drink and relax before we finally gave in and retreated to the motel for the night.
The booth we’d been sitting in was still available, so we all piled back in while Tate went to get a fresh round of drinks. I felt like I should help him, but I couldn’t bring myself to get back up out of the seat. When I looked up, Micah was already heading over to help him out as the two of them carried the drinks back to the table. Roman and Blake sat on my other side, making me feel even more uneven than I had been already. The feeling only lessened slightly when Tate and Micah returned.
Tate passed the drinks out and took a swig of his beer as he sat down before he growled out, “Who does that guy think he is? He thinks he’s too good to get involved? Fuck him.” Anger radiated out of Tate, and I caught the bartender giving us a wary glance. Even though Denver wasn’t with us, it seemed he was still expecting violence. Part of me didn’t blame him, since he had a nice bruise that was already starting to bloom on his cheek, even though he was nursing it occasionally with a bar rag filled with what I guessed was ice.
“It’s fine. We don’t need him,” I said as I tried to think about anything other than the stinging pain in my chest. Was Denver physically trying to break the tiny thread of the mate bond that was there, or was this anxiety at having failed to secure my fifth mate? It certainly left us all vulnerable. I knew Jax would find out somehow, since it felt like nothing happened around the city without him finding out about it. He’d know that there was a divot in my armor, and he’d exploit that until he could get me for himself.
“It’s like the guy isn’t even a real shifter. I mean, who in our world would willingly walk away from their mate?” Blake demanded. He swigged angrily from his beer, and for a second, I worried that he was going to spill it all down himself, he was moving the bottle so jerkily.
A bitter laugh escaped me. More of a bark than anything else, which was amusing, considering the fact that we were wolf shifters. “Me. I did when I first met Roman, and I continue to do it to Jax every time I see him.”
Blake had the decency to look a little embarrassed when he realized what he’d said. “You know I didn’t mean it like that,” he protested.
“Didn’t you though? I mean, if Roman hadn’t taken the time to come after me, to save me, then I would probably still be running from him. Having a mate is terrifying to some people, especially women, but some men too. Not everyone believes in everything about our world hook, line, and sinker.” I took a sip of my piña colada, but it wasn’t what I wanted. It was too sweet, too hopeful, not that I knew how a drink could be hopeful, but I wanted something that matched the pain I was feeling inside.
Roman slid his glass toward me, and the amber liquid swirled up the sides. I took a sip and relished the burn on my tongue and in my chest as I swallowed. This was what I wanted. When I put the glass down, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you drink this?”
Roman looked at me, his stormy eyes swirling with equal parts amusement and anger. I knew the anger was nothing to do with me, that it was for the way Denver had treated me, but I hated seeing it there. “I like the taste.”
“There’s actually a taste to this stuff?” I asked in mock surprise. The truth was I could taste it. The earthy peaty flavors were swirled with some caramel and maybe even vanilla if I was tasting right, but the burn of the alcohol overwhelmed them for the most part, at least for me.
“It’s an acquired taste,” Roman replied with a grin tugging at his lips. There was something in his gaze that told me we were talking about more than the amber liquid.
“I bet it is. It’s a good job I acquired a taste for you then isn’t it?” I sassed back.
“I knew I liked the taste of you immediately,” Micah chimed in.
I laughed, a big full bellied chuckle, before I managed to say, “You didn’t really give me much of a chance. Our bond snapped into place faster than an elastic band, and you were inside me only a few seconds later.” Saying the words aloud made me blush slightly.
“Whereas I was tied up and interrogated before the bond decided to show up,” Blake grumbled.
“We didn’t know,” I protested.
“I’m just thankful you knew right away with me,” Tate said with a laugh as he gave Blake some side-eye.
“I’m thankful as well, otherwise we might have hurt you,” I said as I reached across the table and squeezed Tate’s hand affectionately.
“Didn’t mind hurting me though?” Blake teased.
“You seemed to like it, if I remember correctly,” Roman added dryly.
“I think the main thing we need to remember is that we can figure this out without Denver,” Micah said, cutting in before Blake and Roman could sass each other to death.
It also confirmed that they’d been close enough to overhear everything Denver and I had said, which I didn’t mind since I knew they had only done it to keep me safe. It made me feel a little self-conscious though, knowing that they’d heard me confess my fears. I knew it shouldn’t, they were my mates after all, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to be strong for them so badly, but in the end, I knew that we all had to support each other. When one of us was feeling weak, the others would support them, so if I was feeling like shit because I’d just been rejected by the man that was supposed to be my final mate, then I knew they would do everything they could to cheer me up.
“We just need to let Denver go,” I said, feeling like I was going to vomit, even as I said the words. “Micah’s right—we can figure this out without him. We have to. There’s no other choice, right? Unless we’re willing to let the world go to shit while men like Jax take over?” I could swear a hush fell over the bar as I said the asshole’s name.
None of us had been paying a lot of attention since the bar was filled with humans, but as I looked up from my drink and out across the faces of the bar, I realized that there had been a shift in the clientele. The dancers that had been shuffling and kicking all over the floor were gone, as were most of the women in the bar, and all that were left were angry men that were much too alert for my liking. I glanced over at the bartender and saw him talking to one of the new patrons, fear shining in his eyes as he continued to dry the same glass over and over again.
Something was very wrong.
“We should go,” I said as quietly as possible so no one could hear outside of our table.
My tone alerted the guys to the fact that something was wrong, and I watched as they each looked up and realized what had happened while they’d been focused on cheering me up. Each of them seemed to tense, and if I could see their wolves’ hackles, I felt sure they’d be raised.
“Look at Nina,” Roman muttered, and all the guys obeyed. “Pretend like you didn’t notice anything. We’re going to get up and move out of the bar as though nothing has changed. We’re going to smile and hug our woman. Once we’re outside, we’ll make a break for it. Our goal is to get back to the motel, get our shit, and get out of the area as fast as possible. Everyone clear?”
My whole body felt like a harp string pulled taught, waiting for someone to pluck it so I would scream. I looked at my guys, and all of them had visibly relaxed. I really wished the bar hadn’t stank of peanuts and alcohol so much, then maybe we would have noticed earlier. Now if we made
it out of here, it would be a miracle. At least the guys were good at pretending nothing was wrong.
The ringing in my ears was preventing me from hearing what they were saying, but Blake’s mouth had moved and then Tate had laughed. Micah was smiling, and Roman’s hand was on my knee, squeezing. When I looked up at him, he gave me an encouraging smile.
We could do this.
We had to do this.
If we failed, then we would all die. There was no way that the five of us could face probably upward of twenty other shifters and walk away. One of us would die, and that would start a domino effect, I just knew it. There was no way out other than making a break for it. Right?
28
Micah
Oh, we were so fucked. I mean bend us over, no lube kind of fucked. I knew getting out of the damn bar was going to hurt.
Tate was a master of not seeming to give a fuck as he went up to the bar and ordered another beer. Thankfully, he hadn’t opened a tab this time so there was nothing to worry about there, but we needed the other shifters in the bar to think that we hadn’t noticed them, and the best way to do that was to buy another round. When he returned, he had a couple more brown bottles that he set down on the table in front of himself and Blake before taking a seat once more.
I was dying to know if he’d heard anything while he was over there. Hell, I was dying to know why they hadn’t attacked already. They certainly already had the advantage, so what were they waiting for? The only answer I could think of was Jax himself, but considering he seemed to rarely leave pack lands, I was hoping it was something else, something less shit-tastic.
After taking a few swigs from his beer, Tate set it down and relaxed back into the booth, looking like he was having a great time. All of us were acting like nothing was wrong, even though we were all mentally preparing for a fight. Well, all of us except Nina. She definitely looked like something was wrong, though I knew she was probably mentally preparing as well. We were all tense, she just couldn’t hide it as well, or maybe that was just because I was her mate and more attuned to her body and needs.