Evolution’s chosen mate

Chapter 9

Lisa

I stayed curled up on the floor long after Sydney left, my back pressed against the wall beside the giant plant while the party continued outside like my entire world hadn’t just shifted beneath my feet.

Lucille had finally quieted down some. I could still feel her lingering beneath the surface of my mind, emotional and restless, but the complete chaos from earlier had dulled into something softer now. Sadness. Hope. Fear. I understood all three.

The bond still pulled at me steadily beneath my skin no matter how much distance I tried to put between Rowan and I. It felt strange, constant, like some invisible string had wrapped around my ribs and tightened every second I ignored it. I hated how badly I wanted to follow it.

I slowly wiped my face with the sleeve of my dress before pushing myself off the floor. My legs felt weak, my emotions so all over the place I barely recognized myself anymore.

This morning I was worried about surviving another council event without spiraling. Now I had somehow found my impossible mate.

A witch.

Lucille stirred softly at the thought. “Our mate.”

I sighed heavily. “Lucille, please.”

“You felt it too.”

Of course I did. That was the problem. If it had only been her then maybe I could have ignored it, blamed instinct or excitement or desperation from how rare mates had become. But I felt it too. Every second of it. The pull, the sparks, the way my chest tightened every time his eyes landed on me.

And goddess his eyes.

I groaned softly, dropping my head into my hands. This was horrible timing. Not that there was ever a good time for an impossible mate bond, but still.

I finally forced myself away from the wall and started slowly through the palace halls. The farther I got from the garden the quieter things became until only distant music echoed through the halls. My heels clicked softly against the floor as I moved toward the quieter side of the palace where the council offices and private rooms were.

I just needed a minute. One single minute where no one was staring at me or talking about me or accidentally turning my entire life upside down.

The bond pulsed suddenly, sharper than before, and my breath caught. Lucille immediately perked up. “He’s moving.”

“Do not start tracking him,” I muttered under my breath.

“You are literally tracking him too.”

I clenched my jaw because annoyingly she was right. I could feel him. Not exact thoughts or anything insane like that, but enough to know he was still outside and still close enough for the bond to tug every few seconds. It made my stomach flutter in a way I absolutely refused to acknowledge.

I pushed open the door to one of the empty sitting rooms and slipped inside with a relieved sigh. Moonlight spilled through the large windows painting the room silver and blue. Quiet. Thank goddess.

I walked toward the window staring down at the gardens below. From up here the party looked beautiful. Warm lights glowed across the gardens while music drifted through the night air. Wolves and witches mixed together laughing and drinking like everything between our species was finally healed.

But it wasn’t. Not really.

There was still tension underneath all of it. Fear. Distrust. The council worked because everyone forced it to work, because after the war nobody could survive another divide. But a mate bond between a wolf and witch was different. That was personal. Intimate. Permanent. People would not accept it easily.

Especially not for me.

I wrapped my arms around myself tightly as the darkness inside me shifted faintly at the thought, almost reacting to my emotions. Not fully awake, just enough to remind me it was there. Always there.

I stared down at my left hand remembering the way Rowan looked at me earlier. Not fearful. Not cautious. Just overwhelmed, like me.

Something about that hurt in the best possible way because everyone looked at me differently after the darkness. Even people who loved me did sometimes. My mother watched me too carefully when I got upset. The pack avoided standing too close when my emotions slipped. Patients whispered. Children stared at my eye before hiding behind their parents.

But Rowan hadn’t looked at me like I was dangerous.

He looked at me like I was his.

Heat rushed through my body instantly and I groaned. “Nope. Absolutely not.”

Lucille laughed softly in my mind. “You like him.”

“I met him ten minutes ago.”

“And?”

“And he is literally everything that would destroy my life.”

Lucille went quiet for a second before answering softly, “Or change it.”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t know which possibility scared me more.

A soft knock sounded against the door making me jump. My heart instantly sped up as the bond flared sharply. Lucille surged forward excitedly. “It’s him.”

Panic flooded through me immediately. I wasn’t ready. I still looked insane probably, my eyes swollen from crying and my emotions barely hanging together as it was.

Another knock sounded quieter this time.

“Lisa?”

Not Rowan.

Lacey.

Relief and disappointment hit me so fast together it almost made me dizzy. I hurried toward the door pulling it open just enough for her to slip inside.

The second she saw my face her expression softened. “Oh, Lis.”

I looked away immediately embarrassed all over again. “I’m fine.”

Lacey snorted softly. “You have literally never been able to lie to me.”

I sighed as she wrapped her arms around me pulling me into a hug and that was all it took for my emotions to crack all over again.

“I can’t do this,” I whispered against her shoulder. “Lace this is bad. Like really really bad.”

“I know.”

“He’s a witch.”

“I know.”

“My mate.”

“I know that too.”

I pulled back looking at her helplessly. “Why are you so calm about this?”

A small smile spread across her face. “Because impossible things happen around us all the time.”

I stared at her. “That is not comforting.”

She laughed softly squeezing my hands. “Lisa, look at me.”

I did reluctantly.

“You are not cursed for finding your mate,” she said firmly. “And you are not wrong for wanting him.”

Tears burned in my eyes again instantly. “You didn’t see how impossible it felt.”

Lacey smiled sadly. “Actually I think I probably did.”

That made me pause because out of everyone in the world maybe Lacey really did understand. Hybrid. Feared. Different. Impossible. And still somehow loved.

“He felt it too,” I whispered quietly.

Lacey’s smile grew slightly. “Well that sounds like a him problem too then.”