Chapter 43 - Mountain Batman
1031 Words
*Rafe – pov*
The world stopped.
I had seen wolves find their mates before.
Warriors brought to their knees.
Alphas forgetting how to speak.
Men who had faced rogues without flinching suddenly looking like terrified boys.
I had always thought they were exaggerating.
Then I stepped through the doorway and saw her.
Everything inside me went silent.
Mine.
The word thundered through my mind with such force that I nearly staggered.
Claire.
The woman sitting on stairs with a half-eaten pastry in one hand and confusion written all over her beautiful face.
Mine.
For a second I couldn't breathe.
My wolf surged forward so violently that I had to fight to keep my feet rooted where they were.
She smelled like citrus and vanilla and expensive perfume.
This wasn't possible.
I had spent years convincing myself that the Moon Goddess had overlooked me.
That perhaps after losing my sister and watching Lucien destroy everything good in this pack, some part of me simply wasn't meant to have this.
My wolf had grown quiet over the years.
Emotionally withdrawn…until now.
She's meant for us.
I stared.
Claire looked nothing like the woman I had imagined.
Not that I'd ever truly imagined anyone specific.
When I met Elara, she looked like winter personified. She is absolutely stunning and I imagined that my mate would have blonde hair as well, with moonlit skin and a similar quiet strength.
This woman was the complete opposite.
Dark curls spilled over tanned shoulders.
Warm olive skin glowed beneath the entryway lights.
Sharp cheekbones and full lips framed a face expressive enough to reveal every emotion she felt.
She looked like sunlight personified.
As I glanced toward Elara, something unexpected caught my attention.
Their eyes.
The same silver-blue. Not really identical in shade perhaps, but close enough to notice.
Neither of them seemed to notice.
Elara was winter, Claire was summer, but both carried storms in their gaze.
Mate is far stronger than she knows.
My wolf's certainty settled heavily in my chest.
She is ours.
Claire blinked at me.
Then pointed to herself.
"Me?"
I realized, with a sudden rush of horror, that I had said the word out loud.
Mate.
The room fell silent.
Jake immediately looked delighted.
Raiden pinched the bridge of his nose.
Elara looked exhausted.
And Claire...
Claire looked like she was trying to decide whether this was a joke or whether she'd accidentally wandered into some sort of a cult.
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Tried again.
"You can't actually be my mate."
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd made a terrible mistake.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Wow," she said flatly. "Rude."
Panic hit instantly.
"No."
I stepped forward before forcing myself to stop.
"That's not what I meant."
It wasn't.
It was impossible.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Perfect.
Human.
And suddenly I had no idea what to do.
---
*Claire – pov*
The giant terrifyingly attractive werewolf had just called me his mate.
Then immediately informed me that I couldn't possibly be his mate.
Rude.
Ten out of ten first impression.
I lowered the pastry in my hand.
"You know," I said carefully, "most people start with hello."
Jake snorted so hard he nearly choked.
Elara looked like she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.
Rafe looked actually horrified.
Like he'd accidentally insulted the Queen of England.
I folded my arms.
"Because it sounded suspiciously like rejection and I need you to know I'm at least an eight."
Jake doubled over.
Even Raiden's mouth twitched.
Rafe stared at me.
I noticed things then.
The dark hair.
The tribal tattoos disappearing beneath his shirt.
The broad shoulders.
The permanent brooding expression.
Deep brown eyes that looked entirely too serious for a man who apparently believed in soulmates.
Offensively attractive.
I pointed toward him.
"So let me get this straight."
I gestured around the room.
"Elara gets tortured mountain prince."
I pointed toward Jake.
"He gets magical forest girlfriend."
Then jabbed my finger back toward Rafe.
"And I get... what exactly?"
Jake answered immediately.
"Trauma."
Airena muttered, "Chaos."
Elara sighed. "All of the above."
"You people have absolutely no respect for personal boundaries."
"Technically," Jake replied, "wolves have almost zero boundaries being part of a pack and all."
"That sounds very invasive."
The corner of Elara's mouth lifted.
For the first time since arriving, she looked lighter.
I looked back at Rafe.
He hadn't taken his eyes off me.
Not once.
There was awe there.
Fear perhaps and protectiveness so fierce it made my chest tighten unexpectedly.
"You aren't afraid," he said quietly.
I should have been;
Werewolves.
Witches.
Mate bonds.
Murderous pack politics.
It was insane.
But Elara stood beside them smiling.
Jake hovered near Airena.
Raiden touched Elara like she held his entire world together.
Monsters didn't grieve like that.
Didn't love like that.
I shrugged.
"I probably should be."
I glanced toward Elara.
My oldest friend, the sister the universe blessed me with.
The woman who preferred books to parties and overthought absolutely everything.
She looked happier standing beside Raiden than she had in years.
Then I looked back at Rafe.
"But you don't feel dangerous."
His expression shifted.
Softened slightly.
As though I'd handed him something precious.
I stepped closer.
"For a giant supernatural warrior, you're surprisingly nervous."
His throat moved.
"You're human."
"Last time I checked."
Silence stretched between us.
Charged.
Then finally I asked,
"So what exactly does being somebody's mate involve?"
The room erupted.
"Trauma," Jake repeated.
"Responsibility," Raiden corrected.
"Chaos," Airena added.
"All of the above," Elara muttered.
Rafe remained silent.
Until finally, his gaze locked onto mine.
"It means..." His voice roughened slightly.
"...that from the moment I saw you, you became the most important person in my world."
The teasing response sitting on the tip of my tongue disappeared.
Because he meant it.
Every word.
And for the first time since stepping into this impossible world, my heart stumbled.
Maybe I should have been afraid.
Instead, standing beneath the gaze of a man who looked at me like I'd hung the moon, all I felt was the terrifying certainty that my life had just changed forever.
- Writer
