Chapter Two
Anabelle sat curled into an armchair in the living room, a warm mug of coffee cradled between her hands. The ceramic seeped comfort into her palms, grounding her in the quiet, amber-lit space. For the first time since everything had unravelled, she felt… still. Not whole. Not healed. But present.
Her gaze drifted to Kat and Mara, and a soft smile tugged at her lips.
Mara, who she found, in so many ways, felt like a sharper, louder reflection of herself, was perched sideways on Dante’s lap in a two-seater couch.
There was more than enough room beside him, but she had claimed her spot as if it were the most natural place in the world.
One arm looped around his neck, the other gesturing animatedly as she spoke, her expression fierce and alive.
Feisty. Quick-witted. Entirely unapologetic.
Dante didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. His arm was draped securely around her waist, fingers splayed possessively at her hip, as though the idea of her being anywhere else simply didn’t compute.
He watched her with that quiet, steady devotion, half amused, half reverent, that made it painfully obvious just how deeply he loved her.
Anabelle’s smile lingered. It was… nice to see. Real. Easy.
Her attention shifted to the other couch.
Kat sat on the right side, practically folded into Alastair, her back against his chest. Her legs were stretched out and resting comfortably across Ezekiel’s lap, his hands absently tracing slow, grounding patterns along her calf as he listened to the conversation.
Alastair’s arms were wrapped loosely around Kat’s waist, his chin near her shoulder, the picture of relaxed intimacy.
The sight made Anabelle’s chest clench. Unbidden, a memory surfaced, too clear, too close.
Sitting half-reclined against Joshua, his presence solid and warm behind her, while Rian held her feet, his hands gentle as he massaged away the ache from a long day.
The easy laughter. The unspoken understanding.
The way it had felt like home without her even realizing it. Gods… that felt like a lifetime ago.
Since her and Kat came down here, they had been talking about everything and nothing for a while now. Light, meandering conversation. Stories. Teasing. Kat, true to her word, had banned all work talk for the night, though she had allowed herself one exception.
“So,” Kat had said earlier, fixing Anabelle with a knowing look, “how are you actually getting on in the program?”
“It’s been okay,” Anabelle replied now, shrugging slightly. “I definitely didn’t expect to do so well in the written exams. But… we’ll see about practical week.”
Mara let out a dramatic gasp, throwing a hand to her chest. “Oh, I would have died. A slow-agonising death. There’s absolutely no way I’d ever sit exams, there’s literally not enough money in world.”
She leaned further into Dante, grinning wickedly. “They’d have to physically tie me to a desk. And even then? I’m scrappy. I’d probably find a way out.”
Laughter bubbled up from Anabelle before she could stop it, and soon everyone else joined in.
“You are scrappy, love,” Dante said fondly, turning his head to look at Mara. He pressed a kiss to her temple, slow and affectionate. “I can picture it already. Punches and kicks to their heads, and if that didn’t work...you’d talk their ears off until they just… let you go to save themselves.”
Anabelle smiled at the sight, right up until her heart tightened again, sharp and sudden and then before anyone could reply, Kat’s phone rang. The sound cut through the room, bright and intrusive in the early-morning quiet.
Alastair glanced down at her with a curious smile. “Who’s calling you at two in the morning, sweetheart?”
Mara laughed. “Jealous, lover boy?”
Alastair groaned dramatically and buried his face in Kat’s neck. “Please reign your mate in, Dante.”
Dante chuckled. “Gods, is that even possible?”
Kat was already reaching for her phone, her gaze lifting, and locking instantly onto Anabelle’s.
“Yes?” she answered calmly.
There was a pause. Then...
“Ah. Okay. Thank you for informing me, but that is not the case.”
Anabelle’s fingers tightened around her mug.
“Yes, I do, but I’m not disclosing that at this time. She’ll be returning in the morning.”
Her breath caught.
“It’s quite late, Cameron. I’ll call you tomorrow to discuss next steps. For now, I suggest you all get some rest.”
Another pause.
“Alright. I’ll pass that along. Good night.”
Kat ended the call.
She never once broke eye contact with Anabelle. By the time the phone lowered into her lap, Anabelle realized she had been holding her breath.
Kat exhaled softly. “So,” she said, voice gentle but honest. “When they couldn’t find you, they assumed you’d gone to Polly and Agatha’s.”
Anabelle swallowed.
“But by one a.m., they were worried enough to go check,” Kat continued. “When you weren’t there… they searched the entire campus before calling me.”
She tilted her head slightly, expression unreadable but not unkind. “I’d say they’re worried, but that's an understatement.”
The room fell quiet again. And Anabelle stared into her coffee, wondering how something could hurt so much and still feel so undeniably tethered to care.
Mara tilted her head, sharp eyes flicking between Anabelle and Kat. “So,” she said lightly, but with unmistakable curiosity, “who are they?”
The question landed heavier than it sounded. Anabelle swallowed, her throat suddenly tight. She stared into her mug for half a second longer than necessary, then lifted her gaze. “They’re… the protective detail Kat assigned to me.”
Her voice faltered.
“My…” She paused, breath catching, then forced the word out as if saying it aloud would make it real in a way her heart still wasn’t ready for. “My mates.” She nodded once to herself, a small, grounding motion, confirmation more than confidence.
Across the room, Dante’s posture shifted subtly. His voice, when it came, was slow and careful. “I’m assuming they’re the reason you needed a break from the program.”
Anabelle nodded again. “Yeah. A couple of hours ago I... saw the mark on one of them.” Her fingers curled into the armrests. “That’s when I realized they knew. They’ve known all this time and they kept it from me.”
A low, rumbling growl tore from Dante’s chest.
Anabelle flinched instinctively, shoulders tensing, but before the sound could linger, Mara smacked her palm flat against his chest. “No babe...Cut it out.”
The growl cut off instantly, melting into a deep, pleased purr that vibrated through him as she leaned closer. His arm tightened around her waist without thought.
Dante exhaled, sheepish. “Sorry, Anabelle. I’m not quite sure what’s gotten into my demon today.”
Anabelle blinked, and then laughed, the sound light and surprised. “That’s okay. I’ll take it as solidarity.”
Mara grinned. “Alright, but seriously, who are they exactly?” She turned to Kat. “Who did you assign?”
Before Kat could answer, Ezekiel spoke from his seat, voice calm and certain. “Oh. The Thornes.”
Mara froze.
“The Thornes?” Her brows shot up as realization dawned. “Holy shit. Kat’s four prison buddies?”
Anabelle’s hands clenched hard on the armchair, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. Heat flared in her chest, sharp and instinctive, like something inside her was bristling, offended on her behalf.
Kat let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t call them mine anything,” she said dryly, casting Mara a pointed look. “Especially not with their mate in the room.”
Mara winced. “Oh...sorry, Anabelle. That just… slipped out.”
“It’s fine,” Anabelle said quickly, forcing her fingers to relax. “You can call me Ani, by the way. And honestly? I don’t care how close Kat is to them.”
Twin growls rippled from both Alastair and Ezekiel at the same time.
Ani blinked, then burst out laughing. “Gods, not like that,” she said, waving a hand. “Just… if it weren’t for her intervention, they’d still be in that place. I’m grateful she saw them. Believed in them, that she helped them.”
She smiled at Kat, genuine and warm. Then her brow furrowed. “Wait. They’re not related. How do they all have the same last name?”
Alastair shifted, leaning forward slightly. “Bond groups usually choose a shared name,” he explained. “Males sit down and decide on it before they ever meet the female. It’s usually the one thing females don’t choose.”
Ezekiel nodded. “We had five different family names. Once we realized we shared the same bond mark, we became the Rothvales.”
“And after the bond is complete,” Kat added, “the female usually takes that name. I dropped Cole, so now I’m just Katarina Rothvale.”
She smiled softly at Anabelle. “If you choose your males, you’d drop Cl—”
A sharp cry sounded out through the room from upstairs. Then another.
Kat glanced at her watch. “Half two,” she sighed. “Like clockwork.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Ezekiel said, already shifting to stand. “I’ve got them.”
“Thank you, Ezek,” Kat said, leaning in to kiss Ezekiel’s cheek. His hands tightened instinctively on her waist before he let her go.
Anabelle hesitated, then spoke quietly. “Could I… crash here? Just for tonight? I’ll find my way back in the morning.”
Kat didn’t hesitate. “Of course. And...I was thinking, you don’t have to talk to them now if you’re not ready. I can call them back from duty and give you the next two weeks to finish your training, that is if you want.”
Anabelle released a long breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Maybe… yeah. That might give me time to sort my head out.”
Kat nodded. “No problem at all, also if there’s no objections, Dante might take you back in the morning, You’ll need someone to activate the portal for you... just until you’re registered.”
Mara perked up immediately. “I’m sure he’d love to go back to driving important people around.”
Dante laughed, leaning in to kiss her soundly. “Gods, I love you.”
Then he turned to Anabelle, posture formal but eyes warm. “It would be my pleasure to escort you, Miss Anabelle.”
Anabelle laughed softly. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
And as she settled back into the armchair, surrounded by easy affection and gentle teasing, all she could think was that these were good people.
Loveable people. She curled deeper into the chair, the warmth of the room and the low hum of voices around her fading into the background as her thoughts drifted inward.
Two weeks. That was all she had before she would have to see them again. Before she would have to talk to them. The thought made her chest tighten, not in panic this time, but in something heavier, quieter. Uncertainty.
She tried, truly tried, to picture what her life had looked like before them.
Before Joshua’s steady presence at her side.
Before Cameron’s softness, the way he watched her like she mattered.
Before Rian’s easy warmth and laughter, before Dominik’s intensity anchoring her when everything felt like it was slipping.
And she couldn’t.
The days before them felt blurred now, distant and colorless, like a life she’d lived in grayscale without realizing it. Somewhere along the way, they had threaded themselves into her routines, her safety, her sense of home, without ever demanding space. Without her noticing when it happened.
Is that what having mates is like? she wondered. Not thunder and lightning. Not instant devotion and declarations. Just… presence. Constancy. A quiet reshaping of your world until imagining it without them felt wrong?
Her jaw tightened.
Gods, could she even be angry at them for keeping it from her?
She didn’t know. She knew it hurt. She knew it felt like betrayal.
But beneath that, under the ache and confusion, was the undeniable truth that they had never once put themselves before her.
Not her safety. Not her wishes. Not her pace.
And that made everything so much more complicated.
She closed her eyes and let the question linger unanswered.
Two weeks, she thought.
Two weeks to figure out how she felt… before facing the four males who had already changed her life, whether she was ready to admit it or not.