Fates Entwined

11

I ignored the hint of sadness that came with that trail of thought and went straight home, eager to relax with a cup of tea and a good book in my own space. As soon as I arrived at the cottage my shoulders eased and the pressure around my chest didn’t seem quite so bad. The small house was pale yellow with a white door and had a garden of herbs on one side and a little stream on the other. Late afternoon sun cast shadows from the large oak tree which I’d used to climb when I was a kid. The golden light danced on the water's surface, casting a warm glow on the surrounding forest. I took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent of the trees and the sweet fragrance of the wildflowers that lined the banks. The quaint little cottage had once been my mother’s place, which she’d inherited from her own mother. She’d never lived inside but used it as an art studio and a place to escape from the pressures of being the alpha female. After her death, the house had been abandoned and neither Kaden nor I had been brave enough to venture inside until a few months ago when I’d realized I couldn’t spend another day living with my brother and his new mate. Shifter hearing was way too good and those walls were far too thin. Besides, I’d lived with my big brother long enough. It was time for me to get a place of my own.

When I stepped inside, I was greeted with the scents of rosemary, chicken, and potatoes. My roommate Larkin stepped out of the small, dated kitchen and smiled at me. “You’re back! I thought you might be hungry, so I’m cooking dinner. How did it go? Tell me everything!”

“It smells delicious.” I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. “Give me a minute to put my stuff down and then we’ll chat.”

I headed to my room, the slightly larger of the two bedrooms in the house, and quickly dropped my bag and stripped out of my travel clothes. Once in my comfy yoga pants and an old ratty T-shirt, I steeled myself for Larkin’s interrogation. She was my best friend, but she was also a hopeless romantic, made worse by the fact that she’d never been in a relationship before. Larkin was a Moon Witch who'd been trapped in Lunatera, the realm of the Moon Goddess Selene, for most of her life. Although she was technically in her forties, she appeared to be about fourteen years old. Now that she was living on Earth again she was aging normally once more, and she'd already filled out a little and grown an inch or two taller since I’d first met her. But she still didn't look like an adult yet either.

When I went back out, Larkin already had some tea waiting for me. She sat in her favorite chair, sipping from a mug with a cat in a witch hat on it. “Dinner won’t be ready for another half hour, which gives you plenty of time to tell me all about your first real Convergence.”

I sank into my usual spot on the sofa and grabbed my tea. “It was good. The Ophiuchus are finally accepted as a real pack. There were a lot of joyous reunions and some surprise matings. It was... intense."

“I bet.” Larkin peered at me over her mug. “I’m surprised you’re back. I thought for sure you'd be mated with Ethan." She tried to sound casual, but I detected a hint of relief in her voice. She had a huge crush on the Libra alpha, even though he showed no interest in her beyond polite friendship. I couldn't blame him, since Larkin still looked like a kid, after all.

“Nope. Ethan is still unmated, actually.”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up with hope for a brief moment before she hid it away. “But what about you? I can't believe none of the males there were your mate."

I hesitated, feeling the weight of my secret pressing down on me. I avoided her eyes and took a long sip of my tea, hoping she'd ask me a question about something else.

Larkin leaned forward, her gaze probing. She could always tell when I was holding something back. "Spit it out, Stella. What aren’t you telling me?”

I reluctantly set my mug down. “I didn’t shift during the mating ritual.”

"What!" Larkin's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Why not?"

With a deep breath, I confessed, "Because I already knew who my mate was.”

"Who?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I covered my face with my hands. "Jordan."

"Jordan?" Larkin let out a shocked laugh. "Wow. The stars certainly have a wicked sense of humor."

I dropped my hands and glared at her. “This isn’t funny.”

Her laughter died down as she saw the seriousness in my eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry. What happened?”

"Jordan tricked me into shifting into a wolf, activating the mate bond. I didn't want it. He knew that, and he did it anyway."

Larkin's expression instantly turned sympathetic. "I'm so sorry. That must have been awful."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. "I was furious, and I still am. I rejected him as my mate, and I never want to see him again."

Her eyes widened. "You rejected him?"

“I had to. I can’t be with him. Not after what he did.” My heart twisted with a mix of bitterness and regret.

"But that means you'll always be alone. You'll never find another mate. You'll never have children."

My heart clenched as she said all the things I'd been trying not to think about. "I know."

She looked like she wanted to say more as she frowned into her mug, but she kept her mouth shut. We both sipped our tea as the weight of my decision settled between us. By rejecting Jordan, I'd doomed both of us to a life without a mate and therefore without children, and a big part of me worried I'd made the wrong decision. Still, I couldn't imagine doing anything else after what he'd done.