Chapter Thirteen:He Chose Us-Kai
1948 Words
I was getting weaker.
There was no other way to describe it.
Every morning, I woke feeling as though I had fought a war in my sleep.
My body was exhausted.
My mind was exhausted.
And my wolf…
My wolf was barely holding himself together.
The attack at the southern border had almost become another problem.
A group of rogues had been planning an attack, but Aiden had caught them before they could cross into our territory.
His mind-link had reached me just as I had been struggling with my wolf.
Alpha, we’ve handled it. The rogues are contained. You don’t need to come.
I had closed my eyes in relief.
At least I hadn’t needed to shift.
Because if I shifted now, I wasn’t sure I could take control again.
My wolf had become too agitated.
Too desperate.
Too emotional.
And I was keeping him caged.
Every hour.
Every minute.
It was slowly destroying me.
I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling.
Mate.
I closed my eyes.
“Not now.”
Mate.
“Please.”
Let me out.
“No.”
A low growl echoed through my mind.
We need him.
“I know.”
Bring him back.
“I can’t.”
Why?
“Because he has to choose.”
My wolf slammed against the invisible wall between us.
The pain shot through my chest.
I winced.
He is ours.
“He isn’t property.”
He is our mate.
“I know.”
Then why are we suffering?
I didn’t answer.
Because there was no answer that would satisfy either of us.
I had waited eleven years.
And now my wolf had finally found his other half.
Only to lose him almost immediately.
A soft knock came at the door.
I didn’t respond.
The door opened anyway.
My mother walked inside carrying another cup of tea.
“You need to drink this.”
I looked at the cup.
“I’m tired of tea.”
“I know.”
“It isn’t helping.”
“I know that too.”
She placed it on the bedside table.
Then she sat beside me.
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
She smiled sadly.
“I wasn’t trying to insult you.”
“I know.”
She touched my forehead.
“You have a fever.”
“I’m fine.”
“You aren’t.”
I closed my eyes.
My wolf suddenly became still.
I frowned.
Something had changed.
A sensation.
A presence.
Someone had crossed the pack border.
I couldn’t identify who.
I was too weak.
“Did someone enter the territory?”
My mother looked at me.
“I was actually coming to tell you.”
I opened my eyes.
“Who?”
“Someone is here to see you.”
I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
“Kai—”
“I don’t want to see anyone.”
“You need to.”
“Mother, I’m not in the condition to deal with anything.”
“You really need to see this person.”
“Tell Aiden to handle whatever it is.”
She stared at me.
Then she said softly,
“Kai.”
Something in her voice made me look at her.
“Please.”
I sighed.
“Who is it?”
She smiled.
“You’ll have to come downstairs.”
My wolf suddenly slammed against the wall.
Mate.
I froze.
“Stop.”
My mother looked at me strangely.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
Mate.
“Stop!”
I said it louder than I intended.
My mother raised an eyebrow.
I rubbed my face.
“I’m sorry.”
She stood.
“Come downstairs.”
I reluctantly got out of bed.
Every step felt heavy.
My legs were weak.
My head was pounding.
But something was pulling me downstairs.
My wolf knew something.
I didn’t.
Yet.
⸻
The moment I reached the staircase, I stopped.
I couldn’t breathe.
There, standing in the foyer, was Sebastian.
My mate.
He was wearing his priestly robe.
For one terrifying second, my mind went completely blank.
Then my wolf screamed.
Mate!
I gripped the railing.
My heart hammered.
Mate! Mate! Mate!
“Quiet.”
I barely managed to whisper it.
My first thought was devastating.
He chose the Church.
Maybe he had come to tell me goodbye.
Maybe he had come to reject me properly.
Maybe he had come to tell me that everything Father Archie had said meant nothing.
My wolf began pacing violently.
No.
“Calm down.”
He came back.
“Don’t assume anything.”
He came back.
My eyes met Sebastian’s.
And everything inside me stopped.
He looked worried.
Not disgusted.
Not cold.
Worried.
His beautiful eyes moved over me.
I knew what he saw.
The exhaustion.
The weakness.
The dark circles beneath my eyes.
The Alpha who had been reduced to barely holding himself together.
“Hello,” he said softly.
That voice.
That same gentle voice.
The voice that had haunted my dreams for weeks.
“Hello.”
My mother smiled.
“Sebastian.”
“Good evening.”
He greeted her respectfully.
She hugged him.
I stared.
My wolf was practically dancing inside my mind.
Mate came back.
I almost laughed.
Almost cried.
I didn’t know which emotion was stronger.
Sebastian looked at me again.
“Can we talk?”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
⸻
We went into my office.
Sebastian sat across from my desk.
I sat behind it.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
I could see the nervousness in him.
His hands were clasped tightly together.
He kept looking down.
I wanted to reassure him.
But I was terrified too.
Because I didn’t know why he was here.
Then he finally spoke.
“I don’t know what your world looks like.”
I listened.
“I don’t understand everything.”
He swallowed.
“I don’t understand the traditions. The bond. The wolves. The pack. I don’t understand what my future is supposed to look like.”
His eyes lifted to mine.
“But I know one thing.”
My heart stopped.
“I want to be your mate.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
I couldn’t breathe.
My wolf went completely still.
Then—
Mate.
I closed my eyes.
A wave of relief hit me so hard that I nearly broke.
He chose us.
He actually chose us.
When I opened my eyes again, Sebastian was still looking at me.
“I want you to be patient with me.”
“I will.”
“I mean it.”
“I will.”
“I’ve spent my entire life choosing the Church.”
“I know.”
“I wanted to become a priest.”
“I know.”
“And giving that up isn’t something I can simply do overnight.”
“I understand.”
He took a shaky breath.
“But I’ve realized something.”
“What?”
“The bond.”
He looked down at his hands.
“It’s more sacred than I understood.”
My chest tightened.
“I thought choosing you meant betraying God.”
He paused.
“But Father Archie helped me understand that serving God isn’t limited to priesthood.”
I nodded.
“You can still pray.”
“I know.”
“You can still serve.”
“I know.”
“You can still help people.”
“I know.”
He looked at me.
“So I made my decision.”
My heart pounded.
“I chose you.”
My wolf howled.
I had to grip the edge of my desk.
I couldn’t believe it.
Eleven years.
Eleven years of waiting.
And now my mate was sitting in front of me, telling me he had chosen me.
But then he whispered,
“There’s something else.”
I immediately became attentive.
“I’ve never…”
He hesitated.
“I’ve never been in a relationship.”
I nodded.
“I understand.”
“And the physical part…”
His face became red.
“I don’t know how to do any of that.”
I softened.
“You don’t have to.”
He looked surprised.
“We don’t have to rush anything.”
“But you’re my mate.”
“That doesn’t mean I get to rush you.”
He stared at me.
“The physical part is only one aspect of a bond.”
I smiled faintly.
“We have an entire lifetime to figure everything else out.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“I was scared you’d be angry.”
“Angry?”
I shook my head.
“Sebastian, you came back.”
I couldn’t hide my smile.
“That’s all I care about right now.”
He smiled too.
It was small.
Shy.
But it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in weeks.
“My wolf has been struggling,” I admitted.
His smile disappeared.
“Because of me?”
“Because he thought you were rejecting us.”
Sebastian looked down.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“But you suffered.”
“So did you.”
He looked at me.
“I felt it.”
My heart stopped.
“You did?”
He nodded.
“Sometimes.”
I couldn’t speak.
He could feel me.
Maybe the bond was already stronger than either of us understood.
I reached across the desk but stopped before touching him.
“I promise you something.”
He waited.
“I’ll be patient.”
I continued.
“I’ll teach you about our world.”
“I’ll explain our traditions.”
“I’ll never force you into anything.”
“I’ll give you time.”
“And I’ll never make you regret choosing me.”
His eyes became glassy.
“I promise you that.”
⸻
That evening, we had dinner together.
My mother was happier than I had seen her in weeks.
Aiden nearly couldn’t stop smiling.
He kept looking between Sebastian and me as though he still couldn’t believe it.
My wolf was finally quiet.
Not completely.
But peaceful.
For the first time in weeks, there wasn’t screaming in my head.
There wasn’t anger.
There wasn’t desperation.
There was simply…
Mate.
And happiness.
After dinner, Sebastian stood.
“Goodnight.”
My mother smiled.
“Goodnight, Sebastian.”
I showed him to a room near mine.
I had specifically prepared it for him.
He looked inside.
“You prepared this?”
“Yes.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“You deserve somewhere comfortable.”
He smiled.
“Thank you.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Kai.”
He entered.
I stood outside for a moment.
I could hear him moving around.
Then silence.
A few seconds later, I heard him praying.
I smiled.
Of course he was praying.
I walked away quietly.
I didn’t go to my room immediately.
Instead, I stood at the end of the hallway.
Listening.
My mate was here.
He had chosen me.
He was sleeping under my roof.
And he had asked me for patience.
I would give it to him.
I didn’t know why he had ultimately chosen me.
Maybe it was love.
Maybe it was the bond.
Maybe it was faith.
Maybe it was simply the quiet certainty that had led him back to me.
But I didn’t care.
I didn’t need all the answers tonight.
He was here.
That was enough.
For eleven years, I had waited for my mate.
Tonight, for the first time…
I didn’t have to wait anymore.
And somewhere inside me, my wolf finally whispered:
He chose us.
I closed my eyes.
“Yes.”
For the first time in a week, I smiled.
“He did.”
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