Chapter 47
1568 Words
Cash
I knew the second I woke up.
Didn’t need anyone to say it. Didn’t need to see them holding hands or catch the glow on Gwen’s cheeks. I felt it. Like the air had shifted—like something final had clicked into place between them.
And it wasn’t just in my head.
The bond between fated mates had a way of rippling out, brushing against the rest of us. I could feel it, like the heat off a flame I wasn’t close enough to touch. It didn’t hurt… not exactly. But it lit something sharp and raw in the back of my throat.
I sat up in bed and ran a hand through my hair. My room felt too quiet. Too empty.
I wasn’t mad. Not at Cain. Not at her.
Okay, maybe a little at the Moon Goddess. For stacking the deck the way she did. For making me love someone with my whole damn soul, only to have to share her in the most intimate way.
But that was the deal, wasn’t it? All three of us. One mate.
I pulled on a shirt, pacing. It wasn't that I didn’t know it would happen. I did. Hell, I’d even told Cain I expected him to be the first. Gwen trusted him more. She always had.
Still. Knowing and feeling weren’t the same thing.
What got me, what actually sank into my chest and twisted, was this: I wanted to be there for her too. To hold her through something that vulnerable. To be the one she turned to when she was finally ready.
And now that Cain had crossed that line with her, I had no idea if she’d ever want that with me.
I sat down on the edge of my bed and exhaled hard. I wasn’t going to be a jealous asshole. Gwen didn’t need that. She needed safety, stability… love.
And I had more of that to give her than I even knew what to do with.
So I’d wait. I’d be there. And when it was my turn—if it ever came—I’d make damn sure she knew just how much she meant to me.
Even if I had to fight the ghosts of her past, and the shadows of her present, to prove it.
Gwen
I found Cash in the garden just after breakfast.
He wasn’t sulking—Cash never sulked—but he sat on the edge of the stone bench with his elbows on his knees, staring out at the rose bushes like he was trying to solve some unsolvable equation written in thorns.
My stomach twisted. I knew what this was about.
"Hey," I said softly, stepping onto the path.
His head turned toward me. His eyes, usually teasing or smoldering, were unreadable. Quiet. Still.
“Hey,” he said back, voice low.
I sat beside him without asking. Close, but not touching.
The silence between us stretched for a long moment. Birds chirped. Wind rustled through the ivy. Cash’s fingers tapped absently on his knee.
“I wanted to see you,” I said. “Alone.”
He didn’t answer at first. Then: “Thought you might be too busy with Cain.”
There was no bite in his voice, just a weight that made my chest ache.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have come to you sooner.”
His head tilted just slightly. “Did you… Did you love it?”
It wasn’t a jealous question. It was something more fragile. Like he was testing whether there was still space for him inside my heart.
I nodded. “Yeah. I did. But that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
He let out a shaky breath. “Gwen, I don’t want to be your second choice.”
“You’re not,” I said instantly, turning to face him. “You’re not second anything. You’re just… you. The one who makes me laugh when I’m falling apart. The one who listens even when I don’t know how to say what I’m feeling.”
He finally looked at me then. Really looked.
“I miss you,” he said, voice rougher now.
“I’m right here,” I whispered.
I leaned in slowly, giving him time to pull away if he needed to. He didn’t. Our lips met in a soft, lingering kiss that carried every unspoken word between us.
His hand came up to cradle my cheek, his thumb brushing gently under my eye. When we broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I don’t need to rush,” he murmured. “I just need to know I still matter to you.”
“You do,” I said. “So much.”
We sat like that, forehead to forehead, hearts finally beating in rhythm again. No pressure. No expectations.
Just us, finding our way back.
I found Cole in the library, exactly where I expected him to be.
He was curled up in the armchair by the window, one leg tucked beneath him, a book open in his lap—but he wasn’t reading. He was just staring out the glass, watching the clouds drift across the sky.
My heart fluttered, a strange mix of guilt and longing tightening in my chest. I hadn’t meant to hurt him with my absence last night. But I’d needed to be with Cain—to take that step—and now, I needed Cole.
“Hey,” I said softly from the doorway.
He looked up. His eyes landed on me, and the smallest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Hey.”
I walked over and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him, resting my arms on the edge of his chair. “Can we talk?”
“You’re here,” he said gently. “That’s already enough.”
But I didn’t want to let it go unsaid. “I didn’t want you to think I was choosing between you all. That’s never what this was.”
“I know.” He closed the book and leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. “I’ve known that from the beginning.”
“I missed you,” I whispered.
“I missed you too,” he said. “It was weird last night, not having you tucked under my arm.”
“I kept thinking about you,” I admitted. “About how steady you are. How safe I feel when I’m near you.”
He smiled, slow and warm. “I like that you feel safe with me.”
“You’ve always made me feel seen, Cole. Even when I was trying to be invisible.”
He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering just a moment too long. “That’s because you shine so bright, Gwen. I couldn’t not see you, even when you tried to disappear.”
I stood then, and climbed into his lap without asking—without hesitation. He wrapped his arms around me immediately, holding me like I was the most natural thing in the world.
We stayed like that, tangled together, my head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His hand ran soothing circles over my back, grounding me in a way that made me want to cry.
“You’re my calm,” I whispered. “My center.”
“And you’re everything,” he murmured.
Gwen
We were tangled in the sheets again, the sun casting lazy golden lines across Cain’s bare chest as he traced slow, aimless patterns on my back. My legs were thrown over his, my cheek resting just beneath his collarbone, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
After everything we’d shared—again—I felt lighter. Like some tight, hidden knot inside me had finally loosened.
He kissed the top of my head. “What’re you thinking about, firefly?”
I hesitated, then smiled into his skin. “I think I want a bigger bed.”
He chuckled, a deep, satisfied sound that rumbled against my cheek. “Was the Queen too small for us?”
“Not for us,” I said slowly, running my fingers across the curve of his ribs. “But… I was thinking. Maybe something big enough for all of us.”
He shifted beneath me so he could look into my eyes. “All of us?”
I nodded, suddenly shy. “I want all three of you with me tonight. I want to fall asleep surrounded by my mates.”
Something flickered in Cain’s green eyes. He cupped my cheek. “You’re sure?”
I nodded again, more firmly this time. “You’re all part of me. I don’t want to keep separating what we are. Not anymore.”
Cain leaned in, kissing me softly. When he pulled back, his expression was full of warmth—and something fiercer. Love. Pride. Possession. “I’ll have the bed replaced before dinner.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
He smirked, brushing his thumb along my jaw. “You know they’re both going to try to sleep next to you, right?”
“Good,” I whispered. “Let them fight for it.”
Cain laughed again, pulling me closer. “We’re all already yours, Gwen. You don’t have to fight for a thing.”
- Writer
