Chapter Twenty-Two
She drew in a breath.
“In the supernatural community, the gods sometimes gift individuals with mates,” Kat began. “Partners. Soulmates, in human terms.” Her voice softened. “It means they are the other half of your soul. Two beings created to find one another.”
Anabelle’s fingers curled into her palms.
“You’ll learn more about the bond during training,” Kat continued, “but every mate bond manifests the same way. The males bear a mark over their hearts. The females carry a smaller version of that same mark, an exact copy, somewhere on their body. The design itself is unique to each bond. No two are ever alike.”
Anabelle stared at her. Her throat tightened. “What?” she breathed, hand instinctively rising to her chest.
Kat nodded, expression gentle, almost wistful.
“Humans are almost always born with their marks,” she said softly. “Supernaturals, however, can be born with them or... develop them later in life, sometimes when their abilities awaken or when reach their height of their full potential.”
Her eyes flicked toward the window, where laughter drifted faintly from outside.
“My daughter, Celeste, received her mark when she was three. That was when her abilities first surfaced.” Kat hesitated, then met Anabelle’s gaze fully. “And it seems… that your brother is her mate.”
The words didn’t land softly. They detonated.
“Fuck,” Anabelle whispered, stumbling back a step. Her hands flew to her head. “This is...this is...oh my fucking god. Jesus Christ.”
Kat let out a breath that was half laugh, half disbelief herself. “At least you’re finding out from me,” she said wryly. “I found out from an evil mastermind of an ex who took delight in hanging me in some kind of torture chamber before throwing me in a cage.”
Every single male behind them went rigid. Dominik sucked in a sharp breath. Joshua’s hands clenched into fists. Cameron’s jaw tightened dangerously. Rian’s wolf stirred beneath his skin.
Kat turned toward them immediately. “I’m okay,” she said firmly. “I can talk about it. It actually helps.”
They nodded, subdued but visibly affected.
“I’m sorry you ever had to find out like that,” Cameron said quietly. “It’s supposed to be a special moment.”
“And that you had to go through any of it at all,” Joshua added, voice rough. “If we’d been there, believe us, we would’ve made him suffer far longer.”
Kat smiled faintly at that, then walked to the window again.
Outside, Alastair was crouched low, laughing as Celeste and Emmett darted around him, their voices bright and carefree, utterly unaware of the cosmic implications tethered to their tiny hands.
“I wouldn’t change it,” Kat said after a moment, still watching them. “Not now. Not after living through it.” She turned back to the room. “Everything I went through led me here, to this moment. To being happy. Surrounded by my mates. My family.”
“And leading our community,” Dominik added quietly.
Kat smiled. “Yes. That too.”
Then her expression shifted, subtle, but unmistakable.
“Which brings me to another matter,” she said, turning slowly toward Anabelle.
Her tone softened, but the gravity behind it was unmistakable.
“We need to talk about your parents.”