Chapter 9
Elodie
Iwas shamelessly avoiding my partner. I’d crawled into bed before sundown, before she’d even made it back to our temporary cottage for the evening.
When she’d cracked open my door to check on me, I’d pretended to be asleep, hoping she didn’t notice the tears soaking my pillow.
Then this morning, I’d gotten up before the sun to run in the forest.
Letting my wolf out felt so good, I was tempted to just keep on running.
Wolves didn’t care about oaths or sisterhood. They had the ground under their paws and the air in their lungs, and nothing else mattered but the hunt.
But once her belly was full and her urge to hunt satisfied, she lazed under a tree and thought about Valens, wondering how his wolf would look.
I’d shifted back, unable to take her quiet introspection. She was calm and happy, whereas I was devastated. It was a dichotomy I couldn’t quite process yet.
Though I knew I was out of time. I had to tell Lyna. Had to.
But the words just wouldn’t come. So, I put my exercise uniform back on, laced up my tennis shoes, threw my sword over my shoulder, and ran until I was drenched in sweat and my sides heaved with the effort.
Too exhausted to think, I stumbled back into town midday, completely remiss in my duties. After a shower, I’d check in.
I was walking between a pizza joint and a cobbler when I heard indignant female voices around the corner. I froze, listening for any sounds of danger.
“What a bitch. Are you serious? Your brother is a catch. It’s bad enough that an outsider is taking our strongest male. It’s damn insulting that she’s acting like she’s too good for him.”
“I know. And it’s pissing me off that he won’t just call her on her shit.
I’m sorry, but you are not too good for us.
Your pack is soooo special? Hah! Troublemakers, every single one of them.
And this bitch isn’t even marked. She’s got a sword and somehow thinks that makes her important.
Big whoop. You crush my brother, I’m going to crush you. ”
The rage in the second woman’s voice was clear. But so was the sinking feeling that they were talking about me.
Valens had a sister, but I hadn’t met her yet.
I stepped around the corner, keeping my demeanor carefully calm as I spotted the four women clustered together.
Every head turned my way, and the sneer on the pretty brunette’s face told me she was the sister. I could see the resemblance. His burly muscles had been trimmed down into a petite, feminine form, sure, but she was fierce in a way that matched his energy. And they had similar noses.
“Isn’t that her?” someone stage-whispered, and I flinched.
“Yeah, that’s the bitch who thinks she’s too good for my brother,” Valens’s sister said loudly, not at all trying to whisper or hide her opinion.
Anger bubbled up in my chest, and I knew it was a bad decision, but I spun their way and closed the distance anyway.
“If you have something to say to me, go right ahead. But I’m telling you, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you haven’t rejected my brother outright? You don’t think your little lonely hearts ladies’ club is more important than the Goddess’s own calling?” his sister demanded.
The woman to her left spoke up. “We would all kill to find our mates, and you’re throwing a good man aside for no damn reason. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
“If you lay one single finger on my mate, I’ll cut it off with a smile.” My hand flew to my sword’s hilt before I consciously thought about it, the blade swinging free with a deadly hiss of metal leaving the sheath.
“Elodie!” Galyna’s harsh bark froze me in place, her thunderous expression making me forget all about these mean girls.
“Lyna. How—how much did you hear?”
“Enough. We need to talk. Now.”
I sheathed my sword and walked away from the judgy women. I’d sealed my own fate, and it was time to own up to it.
The cottage door shut behind us quietly, but it might as well have boomed like thunder. The resulting silence was so loud, it hurt.
“The second is your fated mate?” She spun on me, not even letting me put my sword down before she launched the inquisition.
“I— Yes.” There was no point denying it.
“Do you have mate marks? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” Her gaze raked over me, lingering on any bits of exposed skin that my exercise uniform left visible.
“What? No! I’m not pursuing a bond, I just needed to… come to grips with it. Figure out what to say.” I dropped my sword across the nearest chair, resisting the urge to pace. When I got antsy, I needed to move.
“You couldn’t tell me?”
The hurt in her voice was a shot to the chest. “I couldn’t put you in the position of having to report me to Marciana.”
She rocked back on her heels. “You thought I would report you? After everything we’ve been through?”
Shit, I was just making it worse on worse on worse.
“I thought you had always been an honorable partner who puts duty first, as it should be. And I don’t expect you to keep my secrets.”
“I would’ve.” She looked away, staring out the window, as if she wished she could run away. When she looked back, her expression was unreadable. “Congratulations.”
She walked to her bedroom and shut the door.
I dropped into the chair next to the one my sword occupied and dropped my head into my hands. This was one big, ugly mess. And I knew what I had to do to make it right.
After a deep breath, I grabbed my standard-issue cell off the charger and pressed the first preset button.
It only rang once before the head priestess picked up.
“Marciana. What do you need, Maiden?”
Just “maiden.” To the enclave, I was a cog in a machine, one piece that helped the whole function smoothly. If I was calling her, she knew I was on a mission and nothing else mattered.
“Maiden?” The sharp snap told me she was concerned I was injured, which got my mouth moving.
“It’s Elodie, head priestess. I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Elodie, good. Is everything well with your charges?”
Guilt swamped me. I hadn’t even checked in with Olivia this morning. Galyna had been out and about, so she’d probably handled it, but that was my job. And I was already making a mess of it.
“I believe so, priestess. That’s not why I’m calling.”
There was a heavy pause, and I could almost feel her censure over the distance at my inability to answer her question. “Go ahead, then.”
“I have… There’s a man…” I shook my head, struggling to get the words out. “My wolf has claimed a male. Of the Hungarian pack.”
“I see.” Her tone changed, tightening near imperceptibly, as if she wore a grimace, perhaps?
“I need to know what to do. I don’t know what to do.” I hated how desperate I sounded, but I was. I wanted her to fix it for me, as she had when I was a new maiden, fumbling through the forms and barely strong enough to hold my heavy sword correctly.
A touch here, a correction there, and everything was back on track.
“That depends. Do you have mate marks?”
“No, no marks.” My fingertips dug into the arm of the chair.
“That’s good. Why do you say your wolf has claimed him, then?” I could hear footsteps as she paced in her office.
“She told me.”
A disgruntled noise in her throat. She didn’t like that. “Nothing else? No scent, no bite, no… physical connection?”
The current head priestess didn’t care if the maidens had sex, unlike in the early days, when the maiden part of the enclave was brutally enforced.
But she preferred to look the other way about our sex lives rather than get the gory details.
If it didn’t interfere with our training or our missions, it flew under the radar.
“His scent is alluring.” Even saying the words brought it to mind, smoky and warm and sweet, like a roasted marshmallow over a crackling fire. He smelled like fall and cuddling under a plaid blanket. Goddess, I wanted to track him down just to steal one more hit of that scent.
“You have options, then, if that’s as far as it’s progressed.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“There are only two ways forward. Option one: You pursue the mate bond and surrender your sword. You will be formally released from your oath.”
I swallowed hard. “What’s option two?”
“You formally reject your mate and return to the enclave. You wouldn’t be able to remain on the mission to his pack lands, but your status with the sisterhood would remain intact.”
“I would have to leave the pack when they need me the most? Brielle’s powers have grown exponentially, and the stone is whole and active.”
“I’m aware. Your partner has been giving diligent and thorough reports.”
Another reprimand. I let my eyes fall closed, wishing I could scream. It was just too much, too fast, all at once. Fur sprouted along the backs of my fingers, and I clenched my fist. I had to calm down, or I would shift right here in the living room.
“How long do I have to decide?” I asked.
“Technically, there is no time limit. But once the marks appear, you can no longer bear your sword nor fulfill your oath. If you think there is any chance of rejecting the bond, you need to leave right away.”
“Thank you, head priestess.”
“Be blessed, Maiden.”
She hung up the phone, and I dropped it back on the table next to the charger.
I had a choice to make, but I had no idea how to make it.