Chapter 12 Corin
CORIN
Her skin was warm beneath his fingers.
That was his first thought. His second was that her scent had changed.
It hit him like a wave, rolling over his senses and drowning everything else. Sweet and green and alive, like spring growth after rain, sunlight through new leaves. Underneath it, something deeper. Something that called to a part of him he'd kept carefully leashed for years.
His bear surged forward with a recognition so absolute it nearly drove him to his knees.
Mate.
The word thundered through him, ancient and undeniable. Chosen mate. The one his bear had been waiting for without him even knowing it. Standing right here in his orchard with snow in her pale blonde hair and confusion in her green eyes. And she had no idea.
Corin released her wrist and stepped back so fast he nearly slipped on the ice himself.
"You okay?" His voice came out rough, strained almost.
Chloe blinked at him, still off-balance. "I... yes. Fine."
She was rubbing her wrist where he'd grabbed her. He could still feel the ghost of her pulse against his palm, quick and startled.
Get it together.
He shoved his hands in his coat pockets, putting distance between them. His bear snarled in protest, demanding he close the gap, pull her against his chest, breathe her in until that scent was permanently imprinted on his memory. He had to focus on something else.
"We should talk," he said. "About the land."
Chloe's brow furrowed. "Now?"
"I had some thoughts. Last night, when I was patrolling." He was grasping for anything, any distraction from the roaring in his blood. "About druids."
She went still. "What about them?"
"You said you can't control your gift. That you don't fully understand it." He forced himself to meet her eyes, to keep his voice steady. "Is it possible for a druid to affect the land without knowing? Accidentally?"
The warmth drained from her face. "You said you didn't think I was causing this."
"I don't. I'm just trying to understand how it works."
"I don't know how it works." Her voice had gone flat. "That's what I've been telling everyone. I can feel things, but I can't explain them. And I definitely can't poison soil across half an orchard without noticing."
"I know."
"Do you?"
He was making this worse. Every word coming out of his mouth was wrong, too distant, too clinical. But he couldn't seem to stop. If he let himself soften, let himself lean into the pull that was screaming through every nerve, he'd do something he couldn't take back.
"Chloe." He took a breath. "I believe you. I'm just trying to rule out possibilities."
She studied him for a long moment, her expression guarded in a way it hadn't been before. Then she nodded, a short jerky movement.
"It's getting late. I should go."
"The roads might be bad."
"I'll be careful."
She was already moving toward her car, her boots crunching through the icy slush. Corin watched her go, unable to do anything else.
He'd hurt her. He could see it in the stiff set of her shoulders, the way she didn't look back. She thought he was accusing her. Thought his questions meant he'd changed his mind about her innocence and right after touching her.
He should correct it. Should call out to her, explain that his distance had so little to do with suspicion and everything to do with the fact that he'd just discovered she was his mate and had no idea how to handle it.
He should, but he didn’t.
Her car started, headlights cutting through the falling snow. She pulled out of the drive without a wave, and then she was gone.
Corin stood in the cold until he couldn't feel his fingers anymore. He was in shock of how badly he had reacted to this knowledge and now, right after Chloe trusted him enough to share her own pain, he had passively sounded as if he was accusing her.
He had to move. He had to figure out damage control, but first he had to understand this. He went back only to grab his keys, then took off to see Elias.
The Vane workshop was quiet at this hour, the other cousins long gone for the night. Elias was in the back office, reviewing invoices by the light of a single lamp. He looked up when Corin walked in, took one look at his face, and set the papers aside.
"What happened?"
Corin dropped into the chair across from the desk. For a moment, he couldn't find the words.
"I found my mate."
Elias went very still. "When?"
"Today. About an hour ago."
"Who?"
"Chloe."
"The herbalist?"
"Yeah."
Elias leaned back in his chair, those silver-gray eyes studying Corin with an intensity that would have been uncomfortable from anyone else. "Does she know?"
"No."
"You didn't tell her."
"I panicked." Corin scrubbed a hand over his face.
"She slipped on the ice, I caught her, and the second I touched her skin, my bear just..
. knew. And I had no idea what to do with that, so I started asking her questions about druids and whether she might be accidentally poisoning the land, and now she thinks I suspect her. "
"That's bad."
"I know it's bad."
"You should probably fix that."
"I know." Corin's voice came out snappy.
He forced himself to breathe. "I don't have a clue how how to be around her now.
Every instinct I have is telling me to claim her, protect her, keep her close.
But she doesn't know anything about the bond.
She probably thinks I'm just some strange bear shifter who can't hold a normal conversation. "
Elias voice was quiet, watching Corin.
"Vane bears don't rush claims. You know that."
"I know."
"We wait to be chosen. We let our mates come to us." Elias tapped a finger against the desk, thinking. "The bond is real whether she knows about it or not. But it won't mean anything if you force it on her before she's ready."
"I'm not going to force anything."
"Good." Elias's gaze softened slightly. "Then give her time. Let her get to know you. The bond will pull her toward you whether she understands it or not. Your job is to be worthy of her when she figures it out."
Corin stared at the floor, his thoughts churning. He wanted to act. Wanted to go to her right now and explain everything, lay it all out so she understood what was happening between them. But Elias was right. That wasn't how this worked.
He needed to do what he was taught: protect, provide and wait.
And right now, the best thing he could do for Chloe was focus on the actual problem: the sickness spreading through his land, the whispers blaming her for something she didn't do, the unknown enemy hiding in the shadows.
He couldn't give himself away. Couldn't let his feelings cloud his judgment or compromise his ability to investigate. But she was his mate and that meant keeping her safe came first. Even if it meant keeping his distance.
"What do I do tomorrow?" he asked. "She's supposed to come back to check the beds."
"Then let her come back. Act normal. Or as normal as you can manage." Elias almost smiled. "You've spent years keeping your bear in check. This isn't that different."
It was completely different. But Corin didn't say that. He simply nodded, pushed to his feet, and headed for the door.
"Corin."
He paused, looked back.
Elias's expression had gone serious again. "The mate bond doesn't make you weak. It makes you stronger. Remember that."
Corin didn't answer. He just walked out into the cold.
The drive home was silent. His bear paced underneath his skin, restless and unhappy, and for once, Corin couldn't blame it.
He'd found his mate. And he had absolutely no idea what to do about it.