Chapter 15
TRUTH REQUIRES WITNESSES
MURIEL
Muriel sat cross-legged on the floor of Armand's library, surrounded by leather-bound volumes she wasn't reading. The words had stopped making sense an hour ago.
The Codex sat in her lap, humming softly. Not the usual rhythmic purr—this was different. Gentler. As if the ancient grimoire was offering what comfort it could.
Or maybe it missed Brandon as much as she did.
Your father didn't abandon you, Armand had said, his voice gentle as he'd broken the news Jason had uncovered. He died protecting your mother. Protecting you.
Declan Rourke. Consilium operative turned protector. He'd taught her mother the wards that had kept them hidden for thirty years, then died defending them with his last breath.
And her mother—her mother had felt every moment of his death through their mate bond.
Just like Muriel would feel Brandon's if something happened to him.
The thought made her chest ache. The part of her bonded to him didn't care about lies or manipulation, only the comfort and peace he offered. The rest of her was still bruised and betrayed.
Not just by Brandon, but by her mother as well.
Her mother had kept the truth about Declan to protect her from the pain of knowing. She had let Muriel believe he was just another lying mage rather than reveal the devastating reality.
Brandon had kept the truth about the bond for the same reason. Thinking he was protecting her.
They were both wrong, regardless of their intentions. She was so tired of other people deciding what truths she could handle.
Her eyes burned, swollen and gritty from crying. The door opened.
“There you are,” Ana said softly. “We've been looking for you.”
Muriel swiped at her eyes and looked up to find the entire cavalry: Ryssa, Tedi, Dani, and Jessie, wearing expressions that said they knew exactly what had happened.
“Oh no.” Muriel's hiccup-sob-laugh was bitter. “This is an intervention.”
“Damn right it is,” Dani said, dropping onto the couch. “You've been hiding in here for hours, and Brandon’s walking around looking like he's lost his best friend and someone kicked his puppy.”
Muriel knew just how he felt.
Jessie sat beside her on the floor, bumping Muriel's shoulder the way she had since they were kids. “Talk to us, Ree.”
“About what? The fact that I've been magically manipulated?” Muriel's voice cracked. “Or should we talk about how everyone knew about the mate bond except me?”
“Most preternaturals can sense that kind of magic,” Ana said, settling into a reading chair. “But it wasn't our place to tell you. That was between you and Brandon.”
“Except Brandon didn't tell me either. He just let me wander around thinking it was a simple resonance binding.”
“Stop.” Jessie's voice was sharp. “That's not how mate bonds work, Ree.”
Muriel sniffed. “How would you know?”
“Because I have one,” Jessie said, gesturing between herself and the door where Matt was probably pacing in the hallway.
“The second we met, something clicked. It was terrifying. Here I was, being forced into a mating with Lucas, and suddenly this other wolf shows up and my entire world tilts. It’s destiny. ”
“But you chose him.”
“I would have chosen him, but I couldn’t, remember? Regardless, the bond didn't make me love him. It just made it impossible to pretend I didn't.”
Ana leaned forward, her voice gentle. “I was in your position once. Vlane marked me without my knowledge or consent. One bite at a masquerade ball, and suddenly I could hear his thoughts. I was terrified.”
“But you stayed with him.”
“Eventually.” Ana's smile was slow. “But not because the bond forced me to. The bond let me feel what he felt—his genuine care, his protectiveness, his loneliness. It showed me his heart.”
“The bond is a tool,” Tedi added. “What matters is the intent behind it and what you choose to do with the connection.”
Ryssa had been silent, but now she spoke, her voice carrying weight. “Choice is complicated. Sometimes the universe makes choices for us, and we have to decide how to respond. What matters isn't how the bond formed. It's what you do with it once it has.”
“You sound like you're speaking from experience,” Muriel said.
Ryssa’s nearly colorless eyes blazed momentarily. “Choices have consequences, but destiny will not be denied. The question isn't 'did I choose this?' It's 'what do I choose now?'”
Dani, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke.
“Look, I'm going to say what everyone's too polite to mention.
At least he didn't try to eat you.” She jerked her thumb at Ana.
“Her mate literally drank her blood without permission.
Brandon just didn't tell you about the bond. Yeah, he should have told you immediately. But on the scale of supernatural boundary violations? Could have been worse.”
Dani mimicked having fangs and made a snapping, chomping noise. Despite everything, Muriel's lips twitched.
“There she is,” Dani grinned. “Here's the thing. Brandon fucked up big time. But he fucked up because he was terrified of losing you, not because he was trying to control you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because if he wanted to control you, he'd be up here right now trying to convince you to forgive him,” Dani said. “Instead, he's giving you space while sulking in abject misery. That's guilt-ridden devotion.”
Muriel reached for the bond before she could stop herself. Brandon was exhausted. Still working. Still protecting her even though she'd walked away.
Her magic stirred, wanting to comfort him.
“It’s important to remember that the bond goes both ways,” Ana said softly. “It not something that can be manufactured. What you feel from him is real. Just like what he feels from you is real.”
“I don't know what I feel,” Muriel admitted, her voice breaking. “I'm so angry with him. But I also—” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I can feel him, here. It doesn't feel like a cage though. It feels like home. And I hate that.”
“That’s okay,” Jessie said, squeezing her hand. “You can be angry and drawn to him at the same time. Hurt and still connected. Emotions aren't mutually exclusive.”
Muriel looked around at the circle of women. “How did you get past the fear of losing yourselves?”
“We didn't lose anything,” Ana said. “We upgraded to a better version of ourselves. The bond doesn't change who you are, Muriel.”
The others nodded in agreement.
“And you have us to talk to,” Tedi added, gesturing to the group. “We’ve got your back.”
Muriel wanted to believe them. She really did.
“There's something else,” she said quietly. The Codex warmed in her lap, encouraging. “Something Armand told me tonight. About my father.”
The women waited.
“He didn't abandon us.” The words came out broken. “He was a Consilium operative sent to find my mother, but he fell in love with her instead. When they sent retrievers, he died fighting them off. Protecting her.”
Ana's eyes widened. Jessie's hand tightened on hers.
“And my mother—” Muriel's voice cracked. “She felt him die. Through their mate bond. Every moment of it. And then she had to keep living, keep maintaining the wards he'd taught her, all while carrying his death in her soul.”
Silence filled the room.
“Oh, Muriel,” Ana whispered.
“She lied to me my whole life,” Muriel said, sniffling. “She let me believe my father was a mage who made promises he didn't keep. That he had abandoned us. And now I find out she was protecting me from the truth because it was too painful to talk about.”
Ryssa's eyes sparkled like smoky diamonds. “And now you understand why people keep painful secrets.”
The parallel hit Muriel like a fist to the chest.
Her mother had lied to protect her from unbearable truth.
Brandon had hidden the bond because—why? Because he thought she couldn't handle it? Because he was afraid she'd run?
“It's not the same thing,” Muriel said, but her voice wavered.
“Isn't it?” Tedi asked gently. “Both were trying to protect you from pain. Both were wrong to take that choice from you. But both did it out of love.”
Muriel pressed her hands to her face.
“The question is,” Ryssa said quietly, “which hurts more? That your mother didn’t tell you the truth about your father? Or that Brandon hid the bond?”
Muriel had to think about that. Really think.
Her mother's lie had robbed her of knowing her father's sacrifice. She’d grown up believing she was the daughter of a man who didn't care enough to stay.
Brandon's lie had robbed her of... what? Knowledge of something she couldn’t change and would have only sent her spiraling? The bond had formed accidentally. He hadn't created it deliberately. He'd just hidden it after.
“I don't know,” she whispered. “I'm angry at both of them. But my mother's dead, so I can't even talk to her about it.”
Jessie pulled her close. “You can still be angry. You can grieve what you didn't know.”
“And you can be angry at Brandon and still love him,” Ana added softly.
“I don't love him,” Muriel protested automatically.
Five knowing looks met hers.
“Okay,” Dani said. “Let's try this. If the bond disappeared tomorrow—if you woke up and it was just gone—how would you feel?”
Muriel opened her mouth. Closed it.
The thought of losing that constant connection, that warmth in her chest, that sense of him—
“Devastated,” she whispered.
“There you go. That's not the bond talking,” Jessie said. “That's you.”
Muriel sat with that for a long moment.
“What do I do?” she finally asked.
“What do you want to do?” Tedi countered.
That was easy. She wanted to run into Brandon’s arms, feel his body and his magic wrap around her, and not think about secrets or surges or Collectors. What she said was, “I want to know if he sees me as someone who needs to be protected and managed—or as an equal.”
“Then ask him,” Ryssa said simply.
“I can't. Not yet.” Muriel shook her head. “I'll say something I'll regret.”
“Or something you won't regret but should,” Dani said wisely.
“Give yourself tonight,” Ana suggested. “Process everything. Sleep on it. Talk to him in the morning when you're calmer.”
“What if I'm still angry in the morning?”
“Then you'll be angry,” Jessie said with a shrug. “But at least you'll be thinking clearly.”
“For what it's worth,” Tedi said, her eyes swirling hypnotically, “I've seen how this could have gone. You might have discovered the bond during a crisis, without context or support, and you would've exploded and taken all of us with you. Like, literally. Boom. Crater where the estate used to be.”
Dani snorted. “Well, when you put it that way, finding out in a library doesn't seem so bad.”
“This?” Tedi continued, waving her hand around vaguely, encompassing all of them. “This is better. You have time. You have us. You have the choice of what to do next.”
“What did you see me choosing?” Muriel asked.
Tedi smiled. “That's not how it works. I see possibilities, not certainties. What you choose is completely up to you.”
Muriel looked around at the women who'd circled her with support. Women who—with the exception of Dani—had personal experience with mate bonds. She’d be a fool not to listen.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For coming. For not judging. For just... being here.”
“That's what we do,” Dani said, raising an invisible glass. “SLUT club solidarity.”
Despite everything, Muriel laughed. It felt good.
“I need to sleep,” she said finally. “My brain is fried.”
“Go.” Ana said. “Rest. We'll keep Brandon away until you're ready.”
Muriel nodded, grateful. She wasn't ready to see him yet. Wasn't ready to face those blue eyes that now had flecks of green. But she was no longer as outraged as she had been.
Maybe tomorrow, she’d talk to him.
And maybe then, she'd decide what to do about this bond that tied her to a man who'd kept the truth from her—but who also, if the lore was true, loved her enough to die for her.
Just like her father had loved her mother.
The Codex pulsed with warmth and something that felt strangely like approval.
“Get some rest,” Jessie said, hugging her tight. “Everything will be clearer in the morning.”
Muriel hoped she was right.