49. Fate
forty-nine
Fate
*AZADEH*
I open my eyes to a dimly lit room. To… my room. This is… I’m back. Was it all a dream? When I look at my palms, though, I can still feel the cold from the snow, and on my wrist there is a small silver tattoo now, a snowflake.
I smile. The goddess gave me a gift; it seems.
Talking about gifts…
My gaze shifts to the side, noticing how Endellion is sitting on a chair, his head resting against his arm. He looks exhausted. On the floor, I can see a book with fairy tales… he was probably reading it for me.
“Endellion,” I say softly.
As if I emptied a bucket of cold water over him, his head snaps up and his eyes are open. “What… where… Aza!!”
“I’m back,” I say softly.
“Are you hurt? Do you need something? Can I help?”
“I’m fine,” I say with a smile. “I learned a lot on this trip.”
He reaches out his hand as if he can’t believe that I’m here and real, and touches my cheek gently. Sudden tingles shoot through me, and Endellion pulls his hand away as if he is in shock. “What was that?” he whispers, grabbing my hand.
I can feel more tingles and a possessiveness and love for this man that I can’t explain. It’s like before, just more enhanced. Endellion’s eyes turn dark. “Mate!” he growls, before his eyes turn to silver again, and he just gapes in shock.
“It was a gift,” I explain to him. “From Arianrhod, from the goddess. She asked me if I made my choice, and I said yes. It’s you.”
He closes his eyes. “I have a bond,” he says. “I have a mate bond with you.” He takes my face between his hands and pulls me into a kiss. He kisses me repeatedly, making me laugh at how excited he is. “Don’t get me wrong, Azadeh,” he says, completely earnest all of a sudden. “I would have been more than happy with you as my chosen mate. Mate bond or not, I wanted only you.”
“I know,” I say. “I have no doubts about your feelings.” I pause. “I have no doubts.”
Endellion scoops me up in his arms again, making me laugh. “And you really want me, too?” he asks me.
I slip out of his grips and jump out of my bed. Now with the curse gone, I feel so refreshed, full of energy and life. I’m dressed in a clean nightgown. It seems like one of the girls cleaned me up. I turn my back towards Endellion, slowly taking off my gown. I haven’t even dropped it to the floor when I feel my mate behind me, one of his arms around my middle, the other hand cupping one of my breasts. I should feel embarrassed and shy to stand all naked in front of him, but I’m not.
I understand it all now. It’s like Arianrhod said, I chose this man because I love him with all that I am. There is no place for any doubts.
Endellion’s hand moves from my waist over my stomach and down between my legs. I spread my legs, gasping when I feel his calloused fingers touching my core. He adds pressure to one of his fingers, making me want to clench my legs for more.
“Your scent was already driving me crazy before,” he whispers into my ear. “But, now it’s intoxicating.”
He turns me around, making me wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist before he carries me back to bed. “I love you,” I whisper. “The best thing my father ever did to me was send me to your kingdom.”
“I love you, too,” he says, gently laying me down. He climbs on top of me. “If you want me to stop, anytime, tell me.”
I grab a fistful of his shirt. “I believe you are wearing too many clothes.”
A smirk curls his lips when he strips out of his shirt. “Better?” he teases.
“A little, but could still be improved upon.” I push myself up on my elbow and look at him expectantly.
“I see,” a rare, silly smile spreads over his face, making my heart jump at how cute he can be. He jumps out of bed and shimmies out of his pants. I look at him with a mix of curiosity and awe. All I know about the male anatomy I’ve learned from books. This is the first time I’m seeing it for myself.
“Disappointed?” Endellion asks.
“Not in the least.”
“Worried?” he asks, while he steps closer.
“Not in the least,” I repeat with a smile. “Can I touch you?”
“I am yours,” he says while sitting on the bed next to me. He pulls me into a gentle kiss before allowing me to touch his body. I trace my fingers down his chest, feeling his muscles flex beneath my fingers. My, he is built so well, so strong, and he is all mine.
My hand soon wanders downwards, following the trail of hair that starts from his belly button and leads me towards my goal. I’m in awe of how his penis seems to grow in my hands, and getting harder. To my surprise, the skin is smooth and… warm.
“What can I do?” I ask.
“You are doing just fine,” Endellion reassures me. “You can grip it between your hands and apply a bit more pressure. Don’t worry too much.”
I get up on my knees, smiling when I feel Endellion brush his hands through my long hair. He pulls it to the side, gently kissing my neck while I continue my touch. Spurred on by his words, I wrap my fingers around his shaft and apply more pressure to my grip. It feels funny, but oddly fascinating too. The skin seems to be a bit dry, though, so maybe… should I… or would that be too bold?
No doubts.
Endellion seems to be perfectly fine with me being bold. The wolves are very comfortable with their sexuality, that much I’ve already learned. I bend my head down, carefully licking over the shaft of my mate’s penis. He gasps, his fingers tightening in my hair in surprise. I assume that’s good, so I continue, letting my tongue draw a wet trail over the sensitive skin of his erection before wrapping my lips around the tip of it. With it being slick now, my fingers are able to move faster.
“Fuck, Aza!” Endellion groans. “This feels fantastic.”
I stop sucking him, and instead use both my hands to pump his dick, surprised when I can feel his muscles twitching and his white cum shooting out onto my chest.
“I did too much, didn’t I?” I ask, feeling a bit nervous.
“Are you kidding?” Endellion grabs me by my hips and pulls me into a kiss first before shifting our position and making me lie down on my back. “I’m glad I got this out of my system, so I can spend time cherishing you.”
He goes right to work, kissing my neck before moving down to my breasts. He is spending a lot of his time outside, working, and it shows because the skin of his hands feels a bit rough. It feels magical against my own skin, though, and when he uses his thumb to brush over my nipples, I gasp. I can feel them hardening under his touch. He keeps teasing my nipples, twisting and pinching them before attaching his lips to one, softly biting into the nub before soothing it with his tongue.
“Ah,” I moan. My body is so sensitive to his touch, and at the same time, craving it. The newly created bond between us makes the sensations even stronger.
Endellion moves downwards towards my core, lifting me slightly by my hips and licking over my most sensitive spot. The first time he did that a few nights ago, I felt a tad insecure and didn’t know what to expect, but now I know, and I just crave more.
“You are so wet for me already, my princess,” he teases while moving his tongue and lips over my clit.
I moan, bucking my hips slightly. Endellion answers by pushing two fingers inside me. I gasp at the sudden intrusion; it feels odd but not uncomfortable. He keeps scissoring his fingers, pushing them in and out, until I adapt to the sensation. He takes his time stretching and preparing me before adding a third finger.
“Does this hurt, my love?” he asks me.
I shake my head, unable to speak from the assault on my senses.
He smiles in relief, going back to licking and fingering me, until I feel the pleasure inside me building.
“Ende,” I beg. “I want you now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I say, reaching out my hand towards him to touch whatever part of him I can reach.
Endellion pulls his fingers out and settles between my legs, kneeling there and pushing my hips up so that my ass rests against his thick thighs. He has such strong thighs. Next time, I want to kiss them. I don’t have much time to consider what else to do next time, as the tip of Endellion’s cock starts to bore itself into me. I gasp at the sudden intrusion, feeling myself being stretched open. Fuck, it burns. I gasp, my breath hitching slightly.
Endellion bends down to kiss my cheek, entwining our fingers. “Try to relax,” he says softly. “And remember, we can stop anytime.”
“I’m alright,” I murmur, feeling how my muscles loosen slightly. “Just go slow.”
He nods, carefully pushing into me inch by inch until he is buried inside me. It’s weird and painful at first to be filled up like that, but Endellion patiently waits for me to adapt, while gently kissing me. I close my eyes, feeling the tingles of the bond wherever his lips meet my skin.
I gently start to move my hips, feeling how the burning sensation subsides. “I’m fine,” I breathe.
Endellion very carefully starts to move his hips against mine, his cock slipping in and out. It’s odd at first, but soon I get used to it, finding myself wanting more. “Faster,” I beg him.
Endellion obliges, picking up the pace of his thrusts.
“Make me yours whenever you want to,” I whisper.
“Are you sure?” he wants to know, his eyes widen and he slows.
“Yes, unless you want the marking ceremony and-”
“Fuck the marking ceremony,” he growls. “I wanted to wait for it first, but then I almost lost you… twice. I don’t need a ceremony.”
“I don’t need it either, but would do it out of respect for you,” I say.
Endellion groans, his eyes turning black. “Mate,” Caspian growls as he comes forward. “We don’t want to wait anymore. We want you to be ours.”
“Then make me yours,” I spur him on.
Caspian’s hands and movements feel rougher, but not any less arousing. His strong hand grasps my face and makes me look up to kiss him, while he starts snapping his hips forward. One of his hands soon finds its way between our bodies, his thumb circling my clit. “My beautiful princess,” he says, while he licks over a spot between my neck and shoulder.
I feel a tremble going through my body, my muscles twitching slightly as he keeps pushing me further towards my orgasm.
I close my eyes, feeling Caspian’s hot breath against me, before his sharp teeth rip through my skin. For a moment the pain is almost blinding, but soon it makes room for something warm. It feels like my nerve strings are completely shaken, being torn apart, just to find themselves again, but also merging with something new and strong.
I can feel Endellion so much more intensely now. I can feel his passion and love for me. “Ende!” I call out. I shudder, my feet curling when my orgasm finally comes over me, one wave after another. I keep my arms around Endellion’s neck, feeling him push into me a few more times before his hot seed fills me up.
It takes a while for my body and mind to calm down and to register what just happened. When it finally settles, I remain latched onto Endellion, wrapping my arms around him. I’m united with him forever now.
I wish I could spend the whole night with Endellion and just enjoy what we have, what we newly created, but now that we mated and marked, and I have calmed down, I remember that I literally just woke up from the dead and have a lot to do.
I have a lot to do!
What am I even doing here?
It’s like when I woke up, my whole mind was just focused on Endellion; there was no place for anything else. It was like I just had a one-track mind, like I was only able to see and hear him. But maybe this is what was supposed to happen. He has marked me now, and I can feel a new kind of strength flowing through me.
Wait a moment… Ende has marked me, does that mean…? I close my eyes, trying to focus on my bond with him, on the shining, beautiful, strong bond our love created. Endellion?
Endellion sits up abruptly. “How were you able to mind link so fast? It usually takes non-shifters some time to learn it.”
“We have a lot to do,” I tell him.
He frowns for a moment before clarity settles in. “I know,” he says, jumping out of the bed and tousling his hair. “I don’t even know what happened. I mean, I do know what happened, and the bond is intense, but-”
“I believe it had to happen,” I soothe him, while we both cleaned up together. “But, now I need to tell you what I found out. Make sure to gather everyone. I know how we stop the woman in white and beat the witch.”
“I will tell everyone,” Endellion says, his eyes glossing over. He seems to communicate for a few minutes before he is back with me. “I’ve told them to gather in Aylin’s cottage. Tynan wants to reach out to General Shayan.” He pauses. “Also, my mother is back, Alana woke up, and Caspian and I can shift into an actual ice wolf. My mother says it was you who brought this forward in me, that genetically we all have the gene somehow, but that it barely awakes in some.” He smiles. “I think it was you.”
I stare at him in shock. Seems like he went through a lot, too. “Probably,” I say quietly. “I don’t understand everything yet, but Arianrhod told me more about my powers, and-”
“Wait, you met the goddess?” he exclaims. “Right, you mentioned it before too!”
“Yes,” I smile. “And you know what she told me? The bond between us… the mate bond, we created it. It was not fate, not her that determined it, but because I fell in love with you, and you loved me in return; we managed to build a connection. It also means that Flinn and Caelan will be able to form a mate bond of their own, now.”
“And, you managed to wake the beast sleeping in me,” he adds. “That’s what my father meant back then,” he surmises. “When he said he wants one of us to melt your heart or something like that. He just wanted nature to take its course and see who you would choose. He knew your destiny was connected to our lands and to one of us.” It seems to dawn on him all of a sudden. “This means you could have also chosen Caelan or-”
“Endellion,” I laugh. “I didn’t. I chose you. No reason to freak out.”
He scoops me into his arms and kisses me. “And you made me the luckiest man alive.”
All freshened up and dressed, we decide to meet everyone and set the plan into motion.
*ALANA*
Tynan and I visit Ita’s family first. I was so scared that they would hate me, but the moment her mother sees me, she just pulls me into a hug and cries, making me burst into tears as well. I’ve cried so much during the last days, I feel like I must have run out of tears, but apparently there are still some left.
Tynan and I both spend some time with Ita’s siblings, all of them devastated by their beloved sister’s death.
“I will make sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain,” I promise her parents before we leave. “She was a true hero,” I say.
“Thank you, Princess,” her father says quietly. “Please be careful. Both of you. Ita loved you two so much.”
“We don’t want to lose you, too,” her mother adds.
“We will be careful,” I appease her.
“Come for lunch when you can,” she says. “But you don’t have to; don’t feel pressured.” “We’d love to,” Tynan says.
I nod, hugging her mother once more before we take our leave. Our next stop is Ita’s grave. Where Ty tells me about how she was sent off, and how all the fallen warriors got the funeral they deserved. I’m glad that she got a warrior’s send off, like she would have wanted it.
I kneel down in front of her grave, putting a single red flower on it. “I will never forget you,” I whisper. “You were my best friend, my strongest ally and my first love.” I feel tears filling my eyes. “I’m still so angry that the future was ripped out of our hands - out of your hands; but I will forever cherish your memory, and I will keep your last words in my heart.”
I wipe my tears away. “I miss you so much,” I whisper, feeling the dull ache in my chest getting stronger again, tears filling my eyes once more. I can’t help it, whenever I think of her; when I envision how she stands in front of me, smiles, even the little things like how she tied her hair back, how she would sometimes… chew on a piece of beef jerky all of it means so much to me, and I hate that I have to live in a world where I’ll never see her again.
“I will fight for you and for what you wanted; I will try to become the best version of myself so that you will be proud. I will make sure we win this battle!” I pause. “And, I will make sure our huge baby back there gets laid by his mate.”
“Hey,” Tynan huffs.
I turn to look at him, noticing his eyes are slightly red, but now he frowns at me. I walk to him, squeezing his arm. “I will make sure you get your mate,” I say.
“Thanks,” he says quietly. “I… I’m so sorry for asking this from you, for asking for emotional support when you, well…”
“Oh Tynan, shut up,” I say. “I will be with you and help you, like you have always helped me. You are my friend. There is no way I won’t support you.”
Tynan looks relieved. “Thank you.”
Before we can talk further, a mind link from Endellion comes through, telling us that Azadeh woke up and is summoning us to Aylin's cottage. Azadeh is going to tell us everything she found out while battling the curse. Ende says she knows how to stop the woman in white and the witch. We just need Aylin to track the bear creature, Artio, that fought against us… and for Tynan to reach out to Shayan.
Ty and I hurry to the meeting point. I can feel his nervousness rising more and more.
“Ty,” I say quietly. “I don’t know much about Shayan, but I know what Azadeh told me. She said he is an incredibly intelligent man and one of the most honest people she knows. A man like him for sure knows that he is your mate, and if he hadn’t wanted you, he would have told you straight away.”
“But, why didn’t he say anything back then?” Tynan replies.
“Because sometimes we want to take things slow, sometimes love is a gamble, and we are insecure.” I pause. “Have faith in your bond.”
Before Tynan can answer, Eibhlin comes running towards us. “Here you are! Come, everyone is already there. I bet this is some crazy stuff.”
Tynan and I exchange a glance and then hurry after her. When we reach the cottage, everyone is already waiting. Azadeh immediately runs towards me and hugs me. I return her hug, relieved to see her alive and well, and… My gaze falls on her neck, and I smile.
“Endellion,” Flinn says seriously, more seriously than I have ever heard him. “What is going on? Since tonight, I feel a mate bond to someone, not just the hint of it. It never existed before that strongly, but now it’s there. Clear. Someone is waiting for me.”
“For me too,” Caelan says. “I felt a hint of it a while ago, but now it’s clearly there.”
“But, how is that possible?” our father asks, completely stunned.
“It’s because Azadeh and I are mates,” Endellion says.
At his words, everyone is quiet.
“What?” Aylin finally asks.
“We chose each other, and created a bond between us,” Endellion says. “But, Azadeh can explain it better. She was the one who met the goddess.”
Aza doesn’t wait any longer and proceeds with telling us about how she met Favian, and then the goddess. How Arianrhod explained her gift to her, and how her love for this country and us enabled her to heal it; and that her powers grow.
When she finishes, she looks at us. “I know how to reach out to Cailleach,” she says. “But I need to meet her alone. I will just need Elio.”
“Elio?” Flinn asks. “What for?”
She smiles. “To fly.”
“Azadeh and I share a bond now and I have marked her.” Ende says. “We think our mind link will work even over a long distance. Once Aza has reached Cailleach and freed her, she will link me.”
“You will let her fly off on her own?” Caelan asks.
Endellion looks torn but nods eventually. “She is the only one who is able to stop this nightmare. And I have my own battle to fight. I trust her judgment.”
“We do need to know where Artio is, though,” Azadeh tells Aylin.
Aylin nods. “Sine and I have tracked him down. He is roaming around no-man's land, close to the town the general and Royan were inspecting. I will give you and Elio the exact coordinates.”
“And we need you, Tynan,” Endellion says, looking at Ty now.
“I know. This is it,” Tynan says earnestly. “I’m ready.”
“Then let’s do it. You have a mate to save.”