Chapter 10 Willow
Chapter Ten
Willow
“Do to you?” Ronan asks before pulling off a piece of meat, breaking it in half, and tossing it in his mouth. “It’s cool enough now,” he says, holding up the other piece to my lips.
I don’t know why they don’t think I can feed myself.
Maybe they think I’m too injured? I try to take the meat from him, but he pulls it away and shakes his head at me.
“No, I want to do it.” I don’t understand why he’s so insistent, but letting him feed me isn’t exactly a hardship, so I open my mouth and let him gently place the piece of meat inside.
I close my mouth and chew as a pleased smile covers his face. “Good girl.” My cheeks grow warm, and I feel another strange need inside me. But this time it’s noticeably lower than my belly. My eyes grow round in realization.
It’s my private area that’s pulsing with need! Is this desire? Do I… desire Ronan?
I have no idea what to do with this new realization, and luckily, Bo distracts me from my thoughts before I can freak out about what it means.
“Holy shit!” he exclaims, staring at the ground behind me.
I glance over my shoulder and see another patch of grass, similar to the first one he saw, but this one is twice the size and has a tiny blue wildflower growing from the center.
“That definitely wasn’t there when I was sitting there,” he says in awe.
“How did it grow so fast?” Ronan asks as he reaches over to run his fingers through the soft blades.
“It must be some sort of magic.”
“Magic?” I ask in surprise as I look around the cave, wondering what other surprises could be in here.
“Yeah. I’ve never heard of a magic cave before, but anything is possible,” Bo says, as he eyes the area cautiously.
I bite my lip as a new question surfaces, and Ronan gives me a little squeeze when he notices. “Ask,” he tells me, clearly already able to read me.
“Is magic normal in this world?” I ask.
“Not normal,” he says, his lips twisting in thought. “But there are a few rare people born with magical abilities. But it tends to be looked down upon on the mainland. I’ve even heard of people being arrested for possessing magical abilities.”
That only opens up a dozen new questions, like what type of magical powers could people get? Were they dangerous? Was it hereditary or random? Do any of these three have magic?
“I can see your mind is filled with questions,” Ronan says, clearing watching me through my spiral. “But maybe we should start with your first question.” When I just stare at him, he reminds me, “You asked what we’re going to do to you.”
I nod nervously as he lifts another piece of meat to my lips and continues feeding me while he speaks.
“Earlier, I asked if you knew of fated mates, and you said you didn’t.” I nod, remembering he brought that up right before we had to flee from the pond.
“They are very rare in our world. So much so that mainlanders think it’s a myth. But in Redmere, we have never forgotten the old days, when almost everyone was graced with a fated mate. The stories of what that means, and feels like, have been passed down for generations.”
“But what are they?” I ask right before he pops another piece of meat into my mouth. I chew silently and listen intently.
“It’s when your soul has been fated to belong to another, and theirs to you. It means that you are destined to be the perfect match.”
I lick my lips as I ask for clarity, “Do you mean… in a romantic way? Like as a husband and wife?”
He nods. “Yes. Although we tend to call them mates.”
I chew on another chunk of meat as I glance at Bo, who’s staring at me with a great deal of intensity, making me glance away at Hawk. His hazel eyes bore into mine, as if trying to tell me something before he looks away.
Does one of them think I’m their fated mate? They’ve all been quite forward with me, and I don’t feel any stronger about one over the other.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Ronan asks, and I shake my head, needing him to spell it out for me. “You, Willow, are our fated mate.”
My jaw drops open as I stare at him with wide eyes. I mean, I sort of guessed he was going to tell me I am one of theirs, but all three.
“All of you?” I whisper in shock.
He nods slowly, then presses a finger to my chest, over my heart. “Do you feel it in here? A pull toward us?”
My eyes widen again, and I nod. I had wondered what that feeling was, but… “I don’t feel it anymore,” I tell him with worry.
His lips curl into a breathtaking smile. “That’s because we’re touching each other. When you were in the tree, did you feel it? A tug toward us? Telling you we were safe?”
“Yes,” I tell him, rubbing my palm over my heart as I try to make sense of it.
“It’s how we found you,” Bo explains. “When we were released into the Mating Hunt, we followed the pull straight to you.”
The reminder that we’re still in this strange game, or ritual, has a new set of questions arising.
“What would have happened if I wasn’t in this world?
Would you have felt the pull toward the other Willow?
Would you have hunted down one of the other women?
” My brow furrows at the thought of them with anyone other than me.
It’s a completely new and foreign feeling. I don’t like it.
“No,” Ronan says confidently. “It was always meant to be you.”
“But why did you come here to join the Mating Hunt? You didn’t know I’d be here,” I ask in concern.
“We came here for another reason, not to join the hunt,” Ronan explains. “But the moment we saw you, we knew you were ours, so we signed up.”
I blink at him in surprise, my heart feeling light and full of joy. “You entered… just for me?” I ask in awe.
He hugs me gently. “We’d do anything for you, tiny treasure.” He presses his lips to the top of my head, and I soak up his affection as I consider everything they’ve told me.
Fated mates are a foreign concept to me. It sort of sounds romantic, but it also feels a lot like what I’d gone through at the cult, having someone else dictate who I will be with.
“So…” I start, before licking my lips as I gather the courage to ask my question. “You’re saying that fate has brought us together?” They nod, and I continue. “That you are being forced to be with me, that there is no free will involved?”
“No, no, nothing is forced,” Ronan tries to explain.
He presses his lips together in thought before continuing.
“None of us have to accept the bond. We all have complete control over completing it or rejecting it. But the fates are never wrong. They are able to find the perfect match for us, the one who completes us, makes us feel whole. The one who we will love with all our heart and be loved by in return just as strongly.”
He makes it sound romantic, as if we were chosen by fate and not by chance.
“So when you ask what we’re going to do with you…” Ronan says, reminding me of my original question. “We’re going to keep you safe.”
Bo reaches out and squeezes my hand gently as he adds, “We’re going to take care of you.”
Hawk lays a hand on my foot, adding, “We’re going to love and cherish you.”
Ronan cups my cheek, tilting my head toward him. “We’re going to win the Mating Hunt with you in our possession, then we’re going to let you decide what you want to do next.”
My brow pinches as a mix of confusion, hope, and desire battles within me. “Next?” I ask.
He nods. “We can help you find a way back to your world, if that’s what you wish,” he says, sounding a little sad. “Or we can take you back to Redmere with us.”
“You don’t need to decide that now,” Bo adds as Ronan feeds me the last piece of meat. “None of us can leave until we’ve won the Hunt, anyway.”
“In the meantime, let us take care of you,” Ronan adds. “And maybe, let us show you what it could be like… to be our mate?”
I bite my lip, unsure what that means as I consider their behavior toward me so far. “Is feeding me a mate thing?” I ask, and he nods. “And the carrying me and sitting in your lap thing,” I ask, gesturing to how I’m currently perched in his lap.
“We have a deep drive to care for you,” Hawk explains from the cave entrance. “All our actions extend from that need.”
“Are you a virgin, Willow?” Ronan asks out of the blue, making my cheeks heat as my wide eyes turn to him in surprise. “There is no wrong answer. I just need to know,” he explains. Nervously, I bite my lip and nod.
He said there was no wrong answer, but from the way his eyes darken, and he clutches me a little tighter, I think he’s pleased.
“Have you been intimate with a man before? In any way?” he presses, and I shake my head, even my ears heat with embarrassment now.
“What about a kiss?” he asks, his eyes darting down to my lips as I suck in a sharp breath of surprise. What I now know must be desire swirls inside my core. The thought of his lips touching mine has my heart racing faster than I’ve ever felt before.
Slowly, his head starts to lower toward mine, and I realize that this is it. This is the moment I get my first kiss. “Watch out!” Bo yells, grabbing my hips and yanking me into his arms as he stands and backs away.
I look down at Ronan, my eyes wide as I take in the vine slowly creeping across his lap, as if it were growing right before our eyes. Bo readjusts me so my legs are around his waist and my arms around his neck as we watch. The grassy spot has spread to cover the entire area where we’d been sitting.
I worry the vine will try to harm Ronan, but when he nudges it aside, it doesn’t fight back. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be growing anymore.
“I don’t like this,” Hawk says, standing beside us. “Maybe we should find another spot.”
“I hate to leave such a well-protected area,” Ronan says as he pushes to his feet and stares back at the grass that somehow grew right underneath where he’d been sitting.
“But this cave seems almost… sentient,” Bo says, clearly in favor of leaving as he rubs his large hand up and down my back. “It might be mad we’re in its space.”
Ronan nods, looking reluctant. “We have a few hours of daylight left. If we leave now, we have a chance of finding somewhere to stop for the night.”
“I have an idea,” Hawk says, looking between us. “That waterfall we were at earlier? I’m pretty sure there was a small cave behind it.”
“Behind the falls?” Bo asks.
“Yes.”
Ronan nods as he steps toward the cave entrance.
“That’s our best chance then. Let’s put out this fire and go.
” He steps out of the cave, coming back a few moments later with his hands full of dirt.
He dumps it on the flames, and it immediately dies down.
He does this again until there is nothing left but rising smoke.
“Willow, Bo will carry you on his back. That way, his hands are free for defense.” I nod as I unhook my feet from his waist, and he lowers me to the ground. Then he spins around and squats low, allowing me to climb on his back.
Once I’m secure, he picks up his two swords, sheathing one at his side and carrying the other in his right hand. He uses his free hand to hold my thigh as we follow Hawk out into the forest.
“Try not to speak unless necessary. We never know who’s in earshot,” Bo whispers quietly, and I nod, the side of my head brushing against his, to let him know I understand.
As I’m carried through the forest, my mind tries to wrap itself around everything I’ve just been told.
They are my fated mates. My soul mates. I still don’t fully understand that, but a part of me still worries it’s similar to how my father had promised me to Paul.
Now I’ve been promised to these three men, by fate.
Except I’m not repulsed by them like I was by my father’s second in command. No, it’s the complete opposite. Even now as I cling to Bo’s back, my fingers itch to move against his bare skin, to explore his body and know what he feels like. I’ve never touched a man before meeting them.
Suddenly, I’m wondering what he looks like between his thighs. Of course, I learned all about the male anatomy and how procreation works when I attended school in the cult, but I’ve never seen one before. Not even a drawing. The way it was described made it impossible to picture.
I feel my cheeks heat in embarrassment from where my mind has drifted, but I know I can at least bask in the knowledge that he can’t see my face right now and doesn’t know what I’m thinking.
That is… until he speaks.