Fearless (The Willowdale Village Collection #2)

12. Lena Graves

CHAPTER 12

LENA GRAVES

“ T hank you for everything, including hanging out,” I told Eliza.

The two of us were slowly making our way from her cottage toward the main pack house, the cool early spring weather biting my skin. After reading my future, the two of us had spent an hour or so talking and drinking tea, but there had been a lot of comfortable silence as well—almost as if she could tell that I was trapped in my own head.

“That’s what friends are for,” Eliza insisted, tucking her hands into her long jacket that brushed the forest floor. I didn’t consider myself a fashion expert by any means, but I could tell that at some point Eliza had worn expensive and stylish clothes regularly. Even the clothing she wore now was paired in ways I would never consider, all of it looking very ‘vogue’ on her tall, thin frame. I had considered asking her for fashion advice a few times, but I knew it wouldn’t look the same on the two of us. It was something I’d accepted long ago.

“And I really do consider you my friend,” I said softly, hearing the footsteps behind us. Magnus was far enough away to give us space, but not far enough to truly allow Eliza to walk through the forest unprotected. In his mind, at least.

I thought I was pretty terrifying for a bunny shifter…but probably not scary enough to fight off any actual threats. At least not the ones that inspired fear in someone like Eliza. Unicorn shifters were known for being particularly deadly.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I asked her.

Eliza smiled, keeping her gaze ahead. “I know, Lena. I know I can trust you.”

“I feel like I don’t know anything about you,” I pushed. Partly because I felt like I’d told her so much today, but also because I could feel something weighing on her.

Eliza’s face filled with a momentary wave of sadness that almost made me feel breathless. “Sometimes the horrors of the past are best left there so the peace of the future can be celebrated.”

Which meant whatever she had been through had been truly awful. I nodded in understanding and we continued our walk quietly for a few more minutes, the path becoming paved as we neared the heart of the community.

“I will tell you one thing,” she said, in a conspiratorial tone. “You are completely right with your assumptions about me and Magnus. There is something there, but you understand it probably as much as I do.”

I felt my eyes widen. “You like him?”

Her lips pulled into a small smile. “Like him? I love him .”

Oh. Oh shit .

“He loves you too,” I said with certainty. “He watches over you constantly.”

“Duty is different than love,” she said, her smile falling. “I think our age difference bothers him. I think he can’t see me as anything but the seventeen-year-old he found half dead on the riverbank. I’m not sure he’lll be able to ever see me as anything but that.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” I countered. “Have you told him how you feel?”

“Oh, I’ve made it obvious, much to my own embarrassment,” Eliza murmured. “He just keeps quietly watching me, never fully reacting to my statements.”

“Maybe push him a bit?” I wagered. “I won’t lie, when the guys pushed a little, it helped me realize that they were into me. Maybe that would help him?”

“Maybe.” She sighed. “Or maybe he just feels like he has to watch me. I mean, he’s perfect. Literally perfect. So he probably feels bound out of duty and kindness?—”

“Hey, Magnus,” I turned sharply, hating the sad look on her face.

As I suspected, the man was only twenty feet away. He hurried forward with a questioning look, Eliza tugging on my arm as if to warn me to stop. I wasn’t going to bust her or anything, I was just going to be oblivious and ask questions.

“Yeah?” he asked. His eyes moved to Eliza. “Is something wrong, mia magia?”

“What does that mean?” I asked. He’d given me the perfect place to start—better than what I’d had planned.

Magnus’s eyes widened, and he glanced back toward Eliza. “My magic.”

“Wonderful,” I said with a nod. “Very cute. So, I’ve always had this question, and I’m hoping you can shed light on this—you saved Eliza when she arrived here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Lena—” Eliza’s voice was a bit of squeak.

“Since then, has anyone asked or told you to look out for her? Have my brothers ordered you to do that?”

Magnus reared back in surprise. “What? No.”

“So why do you watch her?”

Magnus’s gaze slid over to Eliza again, whatever retort he’d been about to lodge dying on his tongue.. “I think that’s a conversation for the two of us. Eliza knows why.”

“No I don’t.” Eliza kept her expression blank, but I could feel the energy bubbling beneath her skin.

“Eliza, come here.” His demand was gentle, and I squeezed my friend's hand and nearly skipped off. She looked so much happier already, and I was glad to help clarify things for both her and Magnus. If only I could do the same for myself.

“See you at dinner!” I called out to the both of them before jogging up to the central house. The sounds of voices and familiar scents filled the air, the warmth of community radiating through me.

It wasn’t until I entered through the private entrance of the house and into the main living quarters that I felt my nerves return. I was about to see all of them, and knowing what I knew now from Eliza, I felt like it was my responsibility to bring up the very real possibility that I could be pregnant.

I could do this. I absolutely could… not do this.

Turning a corner into the hallway, I immediately locked eyes with Liam, who stood at the other end in front of the doors to the dining hall. Except he wasn’t alone. Two female shifters were laughing at something he was saying. My entire body froze up at the emotions that cascaded over me, threatening to drown me.

Jealousy. Possessiveness. Anger at him. Anger at them.

Holy shit.

Placing a hand on my fast beating heart, I tried to breath through it, but red danced in my vision, causing my knees to feel shaky. I had never felt this way—hell, I’d never felt jealous before. Insecure that the four of them could get tired of dancing around whatever this was between us and find someone else? Absolutely. But pure, unfiltered possessiveness and jealousy? Never. I didn’t know if it was my mating heat or because he’d marked me, but I suddenly felt the absurd urge to rip him away from them.

The next thing I knew, I was wrapping my arms around Liam and burying my head against his chest, his uniform smelling like his warm, natural scent. I let out a hum of relief as he strung his hand through my hair and held me to him.

“Oh shit,” one of the women said. “Sorry Lena, I should have realized?—”

“It's fine,” I said, not opening my eyes and instead rubbing my cheek against his chest. I heard Liam promise something about checking out the stoplight on Fourth Street—hinting that it could be broken—before both women walked away. I didn’t move from my spot.

“You okay, Graves?” Liam asked, twirling my hair through his fingers after loosening his grip.

“No.” I tugged back and scowled at him. “Why are you talking to other women?”

Wait. What had I just said?

My eyes widened at my own words as I took a big step back from him and covered my mouth. “What the hell am I even saying? Creator, I’ve officially lost it.”

“No you haven’t,” Liam said, tugging me back against him. “It's because we’re officially mates. I don’t blame you at all. Hell, Lena, I’ll never talk to another woman again if you don’t want me to. I’ve just been waiting on you to finally choose.”

His words had me freezing up as my heart tightened painfully, my heightened emotion and hormones causing my brain to interpret his words in the worst way. My eyes watered as I looked him in the eye. “Choose? You want me to choose?”

“Yes,” Liam said, his gaze moving over my face in concern. “Shit, why are you crying?”

“Screw you, Liam!” I rushed into the dining hall, slamming one of the doors shut behind me.

Choose?! I couldn’t choose. I wouldn’t choose, not at this point.

Storming away, I ignored Liam’s call of my name and tried to find somewhere to escape to regulate myself. I knew I wasn’t acting normal by any stretch of the imagination, but my magic was riding me so hard it felt like I could barely breathe. Adrenaline was coursing through me like an angry storm, and I was damn near shaking.

No one paid much mind to me as I crossed through the hall. The familiar wood beam ceiling and window walls were normally welcoming, but right now they felt like a box—a cage to showcase the mass of emotions surging through me. When I reached the long table at the front that stood apart from the others in the room, I strode straight to Colette and Hunter.

“You won’t believe this shit!” I threw my hands in the air, unable to contain my frustration or hide my tears. My brother offered me a concerned look as Colette touched his arm softly in comfort. Somehow that only made the tears come faster.

“I have no idea why you support Willowdale’s police force,” I said to Hunter. “They suck. They all suck.”

Colette rounded the table and pulled me into a hug, and I clung to her as I let out an ugly sob. I was so incredibly thankful for her friendship as she led me out to the patio, away from prying eyes.

I slumped into a chair, putting my head down on top of my crossed arms on top of the table, and let out a shaky breath. I needed to calm down, but for some reason, it was so hard . Had I just hit my limit? The jealousy thing paired with the possible pregnancy thing and having officially mated to three of the four men in my life? And he wanted me to choose ?! What the hell was there to fucking choose at this point?

“I think I hate them,” I said, knowing the words were absolutely false. “I hate Liam specifically. Stupid jerk.”

Colette sat down next to me, her voice echoing through my mind. “What did he do?”

“So remember the ‘issue’ I was dealing with? Yeah, so nothing was resolved on that end.” I had thought it was resolved, but clearly not. “And now Liam has decided that I have to choose, even though he saw Ari’s mark on me when we mated!”

“Is that what he said?”

“No.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Not exactly.” I wanted to tell Colette about everything, especially Eliza’s prediction, but before I could say a word, a shadow appeared over me. Liam crouched down next to the table, pulling my full attention. His dark eyes were filled with so much concern that it made me even more angry at him.

“What do you want?”

Liam looked toward Colette and offered a greeting. “Luna, it's good to see you.”

I was momentarily surprised by the title, never having heard it applied to anyone but my mom—yet it didn’t bother me. In fact, I think it was a fantastic fit for Colette. But I was pissed that yet again he was giving attention to another woman, and not only that, but that he’d chosen to speak to her before speaking to me.

“You need to go.” I scowled at him. “I don’t want to see you.”

Liam’s gaze swung back to mine, his voice filled with an authority that made my skin prickle. “Stop it. We need to talk. Now. Let’s go.”

“Screw you—” I let out a growl of frustration as Liam scooped me up in one easy movement, throwing me over his shoulder.

“Let. Me. Go,” I snarled, pushing away from him as he switched me into a bridal hold. The sound of leaves underfoot told me he was carrying me into the forest.

“Never,” he rumbled.

“Liam!” I snapped. “Put me down. Now.”

“No,” he replied stubbornly. “We need to talk.”

“I am not choosing!” I yelled, hot tears leaking from my eyes yet again. “You can’t ask me to choose between all of you. Three of you have marked me, and asking me to choose now is cruel. I won’t do it.”

Liam paused, letting me slide down his body. My knees gave out and I fell on my ass, burying my head as I curled in on myself. When Liam’s arms wrapped around me and he pulled me into his lap, I let out a small sound and buried my nose against his throat.

“Is that what you really thought I wanted?” Liam’s voice was raw with emotion. “Fuck, Lena, I would never make you do that.”

The pressure in my chest released as I frowned, looking up at him. “You said that I had to choose.”

“Choose us . I wanted you to choose all of us. We’ve been waiting this entire damn time for you to finally realize we belong together and make the choice to be with us.”

I stared blankly at him as my lip dipped. “Really? Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do,” he said, running a hand through my hair. “I would never make you choose, especially when you have two other mating marks on your neck. You could be fucking pregnant with any of our pups. I would never make you choose, Lena. I love you. I would never put you through something that excruciating.”

“You love me?” Now tears streamed down my face for an entirely different reason.

“Of course I love you. What the hell do you think we’ve been doing here for the past few years? I’m fucking obsessed with you, Graves.”

My lips pulled up slightly, my eyes still watery. “So you admit to being a stalker?”

“I do. I fucking loved every minute of it.”

“And what if I love my stalker back?” I whispered, my lips brushing against his. “What if I love you too, Liam?”

“That’ll make this next conversation and everything that follows way fucking easier,” he rumbled, standing up with me in his arms. I had a feeling that he was taking me to meet with the others, so I melted into him without objection.

“I do. I do love you.”

“I love you too, Lena.”