Chapter 21 - Sera #2
I walk into the kitchen and grip the back of a chair. “It’s going to take time. And I need you to be patient while I work through it. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. No qualifications. Just yes.
Something in my chest loosens at that. “Then we should start planning. How long do we have before Thornridge makes their move?”
Reeyan’s shoulders relax. He gestures to the papers spread across the table. “Wyn estimates a week or so based on their current mobilization patterns. Evangeline says she can be ready to perform the ceremony as soon as tomorrow if we need her to be.”
I move around the table and look at what he’s been working on. Maps marked with troop positions. Lists of security personnel. Notes about the ritual components Evangeline will need. He’s been planning this since I took off to Raegan’s.
“Tomorrow feels too soon,” I reply. “But we can’t wait more than a few days.”
“Agreed.” He pulls out a chair for me. “We should coordinate with the pack leaders today. Make sure everyone understands what’s going to happen and what support the Llewelyn women will need afterward.”
I sit, and he takes the chair beside me instead of across from me. Close enough that I can feel his body heat, but not so close that we’re touching.
“Ash offered to help with the transition,” I tell him. “Her psychic abilities are strong. She could work with the other psychics to create support systems.”
Reeyan makes a note. “Veva’s working on magical buffers to keep the initial emotional surge from being overwhelming. Nothing that will suppress what you’re feeling, but something to help you process it without being completely incapacitated.”
I watch him write. His handwriting is so neat and precise. The crooked nose. The strong line of his jaw. Yesterday, I only saw the man who kidnapped me and forced my cooperation. Today, I see someone who’s been working through the night to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible.
“When did you know?” The question comes out before I can stop it.
His pen stills against the paper. For a long moment, he doesn’t answer.
Then he sets the pen down and turns to face me fully. “Know what?”
“About the mate bond,” I clarify. “When did you recognize it?”
He drags a hand through his hair and lets out a long breath. “When I pulled you away from those Thornridge operatives. The moment I touched you, I knew.”
“I felt something too,” I admit. “I just didn’t understand what it was. Couldn’t understand it. The curse had made sure of that. And since you didn’t say anything…”
“Would it have changed anything?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious. “You were already terrified and angry from the attempted kidnapping. Telling you we were mates seemed like the worst possible timing.”
I want to argue. Want to tell him he should have trusted me to make my own decisions. But he’s not wrong. If he’d told me about the mate bond that first day, I wouldn’t have believed him. The curse would have kept me from feeling enough to even understand what he meant.
I look down at the papers spread between us and reply, “I understand why you did it. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“I don’t expect you to like it. I expect you to hate me for it. Maybe forever. But you’ll be alive to hate me, and that’s what matters.”
The certainty in his voice makes something crack inside me. Not break. Just crack enough to let a sliver of understanding through. He really would let me hate him for the rest of our lives if it meant keeping me safe.
“Show me the ceremony plans,” I finally prompt.
Relief crosses his features. He pulls over a folder marked with Evangeline’s seal. “She needs twenty-four hours’ notice to prepare the ritual space. The ceremony itself takes about an hour, and we’ll need witnesses from Llewelyn and Grayhide to make it effective.”
“My aunt should be there. Matriarch Lydia.” I look through Evangeline’s notes and add, “And some of the other elders.”
“Wyn’s already sent word to your aunt. She’s agreed to attend with a delegation.” He flips to another page. “Security will be the biggest challenge. If Thornridge knows what we’re planning, they’ll try to disrupt it.”
“Or capture me during the chaos.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Watch me. Every Alpha and enforcer from Ambersky and Grayhide will be there. The Llewelyn warriors your aunt brings. Wyn’s coordinating with contacts from other territories to create a perimeter that would take an army to breach. Bastian and his people won’t get within a hundred yards of you.”
I could point out that Thornridge has already proven they’re resourceful and dangerous, but the look on his face stops me. This isn’t arrogance. It’s determination born from the same place as mine—the refusal to let anyone else dictate our futures.
“Alright.” I pull the folder closer and start reading through the details. “Let’s figure this out.”
We work through the morning and into the afternoon. Going over every piece of the plan. Identifying weak points and reinforcing them. Making lists of who needs to be notified and what supplies Evangeline requires.
At some point, Reeyan orders food, and we eat without stopping our work. His hand brushes mine when he passes me a document. I don’t pull away.
“The ceremony site,” I begin, studying the map. “Evangeline wants it at the border between Grayhide and Llewelyn territories. Why there specifically?”
“The ritual needs to be performed where two territories meet. Something about magical boundaries and the curse’s original anchoring points.
” He points to a spot marked with an X. “This location gives us natural advantages for defense and puts us close enough to both territories that reinforcements can reach us quickly if needed.”
“My aunt isn’t going to like this. Having the ceremony outside Llewelyn territory.”
“This is about breaking a curse, not appeasing political sensibilities.”
“Spoken like someone who doesn’t have to deal with Matriarch Lydia’s displeasure.”
A smile tugs at his mouth. “You’re right. I’ll leave that to you.”
I find myself smiling back before I can stop it. Then I catch myself and focus back on the map.
But something has changed. The anger is still there. The resentment over being forced into this situation. But underneath it, something else is growing. Something that might be curiosity. Or interest. Or the first fragile threads of trust.
We spend another hour finalizing details. Plans for transporting the ritual materials. Backup communication systems in case something goes wrong. Evacuation routes, if we need them. By the time we finish, shadows stretch long across the floor, and my shoulders ache from hunching over the table.
I stand and stretch. Reeyan does the same, rolling his neck until it cracks.
“Thank you,” he tells me. “For agreeing to this. I know it’s not what you wanted.”
“No. It’s not. But I’m doing it anyway. For my pack. For the women who come after me. And maybe…” I pause, not sure I want to finish the sentence.
“Maybe?” he prompts.
“Maybe because some part of me wants to see what happens when the curse breaks. When I can finally feel everything without that barrier between me and the world. Even if it terrifies me.”
Reeyan moves closer. Not touching, but close enough that I can feel his energy brush against my skin. “You’re going to be extraordinary when you’re free of it.”
“I’m terrified.”
“Good.” His voice goes soft. “Anyone who wasn’t scared of breaking a three-hundred-year-old curse would be an idiot. But you’re doing it anyway. That’s what courage looks like.”
My breath catches. The way he says it. The look in his eyes. For the first time since this started, I let myself wonder what it would be like to accept this bond. To stop fighting and see where it leads.
“I can take you back to Raegan’s if you want. Give you some space.”
The offer surprises me. After everything he’s said about not letting me go anywhere alone, I expected him to insist I stay here, where he can keep watch. But he’s giving me a choice.
“No. I’ll stay here. We have work to do tomorrow, and it makes more sense than going back and forth.”
He bites the inside of his mouth, I suspect to suppress a smile, before he gestures down the hall. “The guest room is yours for as long as you need it.”
“I know.” I pick up my jacket and fold it over my arm. “Thank you. For giving me the choice.”
He nods once. “Always. From now on.”
The word is a promise. A vow. And for the first time since he forced me into this situation, I believe he means it.
I head toward the hallway, then pause at the doorway. “Reeyan?”
“Yeah?”
“A few days from now, everything changes. For both of us.”
His green eyes hold mine. “I know.”
I don’t say anything else. Don’t need to. We both understand what’s coming.
I turn and walk to the guest room, closing the door behind me. My heart pounds against my ribs. Just a few days until I marry a man I barely know. Until I break a curse that’s defined my entire existence. When that happens, I find out who I really am without magic controlling what I feel.
The terrifying part isn’t the ceremony or the danger or even Thornridge.
It’s that some part of me can’t wait.