Chapter 9 Morwyn
Morwyn
Fen’s confession burned through my chest like a furnace, like someone had twisted my internal thermostat to scalding and left me to roast.
My magic sings.
Yes, that was one way to describe it. When I woke up this morning alone, the threat of his permanent absence had coated my insides with lead, and though I would have forced myself to live with it, seeing him with someone else would have sent my wolf into a territorial rampage.
We both had changed since we were children, but I could admit, I’d loved him a long time.
Was that the same as being in love with someone? And could such a thing happen within a week? Could affection born in a tentative friendship shift to that of mates so quickly? Or was I simply overthinking it?
Yes, my wolf howled, thwapping her tail impatiently. Shut up. Feel.
Last night, I wanted nothing more than him.
Always. Forever. And today, I wanted the same.
I likely would tomorrow and the day after.
He’d managed to etch himself inside of me in ways no one else ever had.
When I reached out to him with my senses, our half-formed bond echoed with fear and the rank sweat of imminent disaster.
He expected me to walk away from this. For the first time in years, Fen teetered on a knife’s edge, waiting for me to shove him off.
But nothing in me wanted that. No, I wanted to wrap myself in his arms and hold him through the rest of this horrible day.
I wanted to comfort him in every way I could, more than a healer would do for a patient’s family, more than I’d ever wanted to do that for anyone else.
I didn’t just want him to take care of me, but I wanted to care for him, too. Like a family.
“I feel the same way, Fen,” I finally said, and his shoulders dropped as he heaved a deep sigh of relief.
“Really?” He grinned, and it lit a spark inside of me, echoing down to my toes.
I nodded. “Yes. Maybe our story isn’t like all the others. Maybe there’s no instant shift in reality or knowing looks across the room. But I felt it last night…this thing between us. That’s why I bit you. That’s why I couldn’t stop.”
He covered the mark with his free hand while he squeezed mine tighter. “I’ll mark you back. I swear it. It’s just…”
Fen’s features dropped like he’d suddenly remembered where we were and what had happened to Lyra earlier tonight.
“I know,” I said. “She’ll be okay. Whatever it is, we’ll get her through it.”
“Thank you, Wyn.” He rubbed his forefinger and thumb over his eyes. “Thank you for helping her. Thank you for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I said. “It’s what I was put here to do.”
I truly believed that. If there were such a thing as fate, it had picked me to be this pack’s healer as soon as I was born.
Like an alpha, I had the scent, and the previous healer took me under her wing as soon as I could walk.
For me, there was never any other choice.
Maybe mate magic was like that. I’d known Fen my entire life, and while I’d never recognized it before, an undercurrent of something more had always run between us.
We sat at the table and talked for another hour, and when my eyelids stuck every time I blinked, I forced myself to stand and guide Fen back to the infirmary.
When we got to Lyra’s bed, Caelum occupied the seat next to it, one hand in hers, his head resting on the mattress with his eyes closed, deep in sleep.
“Come,” I said, nodding toward my office. “I’ve got a pull-out we can crash on.”
Fen followed like a lost puppy, and I grabbed a few blankets while he removed the cushions and yanked out the setup.
He settled on the side closest to the door, and I crawled into the lumpy bed on the other side.
I’d never had a good night’s sleep on this thing, but when he put his arm around my waist and tucked me in close to his chest, I let myself relax for the first time that day.
I intertwined his fingers with mine and held him closer, waiting for his breathing to even out before I closed my eyes and sank into unconsciousness.
* * *
The next few days bled into each other as Lyra healed and Fen hovered like a mother hen.
He refused to leave her side for more than an hour, and even then, he made sure either Caelum or me was there to watch over her.
When I finally released her on New Year’s Eve, she snarled at him to keep him from helping her down the hallway and back to her dorm.
“I’m fine,” she barked, shoving his hands away. “Gods damn it, Fen. If you don’t find someone else to pester, I’ll beg Kodiak put you on a long run to get you out of my hair.”
He laughed and held his hands up, feigning innocence. But I sensed his worry under my skin, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Caelum whispered.
“Make sure you do,” Fen replied with a thinly veiled threat in his eyes.
“Remember what I told you,” I said to Lyra. “You need rest. And if it becomes too much,” I glanced at Caelum, “come to me.”
“I will. Thank you.” Lyra smiled and took my little brother’s hand to let him guide her out of the infirmary. After that, things quieted down. I didn’t have any patients, and short of the pile of charts, there wasn’t much left for me to do.
Fen followed me into my office and sat in the same chair where he’d once harangued me into going to the Yule party. I leaned against the edge of my desk and crossed my arms.
“Yes?” I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head, my intuition telling me yet another game was afoot.
“The New Year’s Eve party is tonight.” He put his elbow on the metal arm and rested his cheek on his pointer finger.
“Indeed.” I nodded and glanced at the stack of papers in front of my computer. “I’ve got a lot to catch up on.”
He scoffed. “It’ll still be waiting for you when you get back.”
Every responsible bone in my body wanted me to turn him down, to give him all the excuses I’d ever used for missing out on pack festivities.
But even if I did, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Perhaps this was the real reason fate had brought him into my life.
He forced me to let loose, to play as hard as I worked.
And I made him realize that sometimes, things were serious. That it was okay to be serious.
Which was how I found myself dolled up and wearing a pretty dress later that night when I walked into the community room. Music blared over the loudspeaker, and most of the pack huddled together on the dance floor, swaying and laughing and indulging.
Maeve and Mill had their arms wrapped around each other, their matching grins nearly too much for me to witness.
Sol and Orion stood next to Kodiak and Guin, the latter seemingly in a heated debate about Gods knew what.
My heart threatened to burst from the familiarity and warmth of having everyone I loved so close, protected, and safe in the homestead.
This. This was what I worked tirelessly to maintain, what I would give my life to hold onto.
“Wyn!” Jessi shouted, grabbing my attention as she sprinted up to hold my hand. “Come dance!”
“Okay.” I let her lead me out onto the floor and moved to the beat as she jumped around and giggled.
“You look very pretty tonight,” she said.
“So do you.” I brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned closer. “Are you wearing makeup?”
She nodded. “Momma let me put on sparkles!”
I laughed and spun her around, but she quickly became distracted by one of her classmates and raced off after him, and Maeve wrapped an arm around my waist to pull me into a hug.
I bounced around the party, catching up with elders and gossiping with the teenager group, and as the night neared closer to the new year, I grew antsy and restless.
I hadn’t seen the one person who urged me to come, nor had he staddled up behind me and taken his turn on my dance card.
Since Lyra had been in the infirmary, we hadn’t taken much time for ourselves.
I’d been busy trying to figure out what was wrong with her, and he’d done his best to play nursemaid.
That late-night conversation in the cafeteria grew farther away.
With five minutes to spare, I figured he’d blown me off, and I’d just been about to leave when the skin on the back of my neck pricked with awareness. My inner wolf yipped and wagged her tail, urging me to glance around, to check again. Cinnamon and bergamot called to me from across the room.
I looked over my shoulder and zeroed in on bright blue eyes near the windows, solely trained on me.
It clicked. My world narrowed. The rest of the party faded away. My stomach jolted, and my nerves blazed to life, all-consuming and mindlessly flayed. A weight sank into my chest, but instead of yanking me down, it forced energy through my veins.
Mate.
Mate.
Mate.
It was him. And it was me. Us.
Nothing else mattered—only this infinite expanse of connection.
A tunnel opened between us, surging magic through what had once been a tiny thread.
Now, it decimated any barrier between us like a sledgehammer, and Fen’s magic overwhelmed me.
I understood what the rest of the pack had been talking about, how one moment could change the entire meaning of my life.
I was made to be the pack’s healer, yes. But I was made for him, too. And he was made for me. And we fit so perfectly together, I’d been an idiot not to notice it sooner.
My body moved through the crowd seemingly on its own, without my conscious consent, and when I stood in front of him, he raised an eyebrow and curled his perfect lips into a smile.
“There she is,” he whispered, grabbing my hand to bring it to his mouth. He kissed my knuckles before leaning in to plant another on my cheek.
“Did you feel it, too?” I asked with a breathy murmur, and I internally chastised myself for being so transparent.