Page 94 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
“Both.” More tears fall. I don’t bother wiping them away. “Do you understand what you’re telling me? That my fated mate —the one person meant only for me in all existence — is someone I can never truly have? Someone who puts himself in constant danger just by existing in our world?”
My chest heaves with the effort of holding back sobs. “He could’ve died today.”He threw himself at Jayme with nothing but a metal bracket for Goddess’ sake.
“He’s only in Clarion to help with the summit, which is going terribly, by the way.” I want to cut myself off before I can spiral further. “He’s going to leave after it’s over because he doesn’t think he belongs here. He thinks that he’s not good enough, and I—” The rest dissolves. I can’t finish.
“And now?”
“Now. . .I know he is mine.” The admission settles in my bones with sturdy finality.
Senses flood my mind. Ethan’s grin when he knows he’s gotten under my skin, the way sweat rolls down his bare torso during training, dirt streaking across those ridges of muscle. The scent of copper from his wounds sending my wolf into a frenzy, convinced he’s injured. The warmth of his arms, solid and safe. The way his jade eyes find the parts of me I’ve buried beneath a veneer of rank and duty. He sees through the armor I wear like it doesn’t exist.
Not even Xander managed that. Ethan doesn’t define me by my role in this pack. He only seesme.
For a heartbeat, pure joy floods through me.He’s mine. Truly mine.The bond I’ve been fighting, the pull I couldn’t explain. It all makes perfect sense now.
I love him. He is meant for me.
But the joy quickly turns dark and cold. My stomach drops.
“What will the Council say when they learn their Commander has bonded with a human? What if the Alpha King orders Ethan’s execution? Will I have to leave our pack and flee with him to the Outer Lands? What if—”
“What if you stop gripping the oar,” Mahal says with firm gentleness, “and let the current carry what the Goddess has already set in motion?”
“Embracing this doesn’t alter reality. The laws exist for a reason. The pack would never accept—”
“The pack accepts their Luna, who is half-Shaman.”
“Thea’s different,” I say. “She has Lycan blood. Powers beyond any of us. She belongs here in a way Ethan never will.”
“Has he not demonstrated that he belongs? This human who risks his life for beings he barely knows? Who sees through deception that fools wisened Lycans? Who connects with you on levels our own kind cannot?” Mahal leans forward. “Belonging is not forged by blood. It is a vow. It is sacrifice. It is what you choose when fear begs you to choose less.”
“Love,” I nearly spit. “What good is love if it destroys everything? My position, his safety, the pack’s stability. . .”
“That is fear wearing truth’s mask.”
“There are possibilities — probabilities, even — that this doesn’t end well.”
“Yes.” He doesn’t deny it, which makes it worse. “The path ahead holds suffering. There will be those who will never accept him. I will not lie about that. Yet, your souls are intertwined and avoiding that bond will not spare you pain. It will only guarantee it.”
I push myself to my feet, needing distance from everything he’s just said. “This doesn’t change anything. Knowing he’s my fated mate doesn’t erase the laws or protect him from those who’d rather see him dead than allow him to stay in Clarion.”
“No,” Mahal agrees. “But it might give you the strength to fight for him and for yourself. For the future the Moon Goddess envisions.”
“What future doyousee for us?” Desperation tinges my every word, and I don’t care anymore. “Just tell me how this ends.”
His smile holds secrets I’ll never understand. He gestures upward. “I see only fragments. Moonlight through broken glass. Not the whole sky.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“Comfort is not the purpose of truth.”
My focus drifts back to the reflection pool. “Does he know? Does he sense it too?”
“The bond pulls at him, though humans lack our awareness of such things. However, his heart knows, even if his mind doesn’t understand.”
My wolf snarls in protest at the thought of Ethan, lost and aching, unable to grasp why he would be drawn to someone who pushes him away. She hates me for pushing him away.
“Thank you,” I say, though I’m not sure I mean it. I turn to leave.
