The Mate They Threw Away

“Truth or dare?” I should have picked truth. I knew that the second Jace Wilder smiled at me from across the fire. That smile had gotten me into trouble since we were eight. “Dare,” I said anyway. Jace slapped his hand against his knee. “There’s my girl.” “Your girl?” Asher asked beside me. His voice was calm. Too calm. Jace immediately raised both hands. “Our girl. Obviously.” Rowan laughed. Silas didn’t, but the corner of his mouth moved. I rolled my eyes. “Can we continue before you four start fighting over ownership rights?” “You started it,” Jace said. “I literally said one word.” “And it was the wrong one.” The bonfire cracked between us, sending sparks into the cold night. We were sitting behind the Blackwood pack house, where we had spent more nights than I could count. There were empty bottles of soda, half-finished snacks, blankets, and six people sitting in a loose circle. Six. That still felt strange. For most of my life, there had only been five of us. Me. Asher. Rowan. Jace. Silas. Then Selene Ashford came back. She sat between Rowan and Silas now, wrapped in a thick cream blanket. Her dark hair fell over one shoulder as she watched us with a small smile. She had returned to our pack three weeks ago. Everyone called it a miracle. A lost pack child coming home after years. I liked her. Or at least, I was trying to. “Stop distracting her,” Rowan said. “Let Jace give the dare.” “Thank you.” Jace leaned forward. His eyes were shining. I narrowed mine. “No.” “I haven’t said anything yet.” “I know your face.” “You love my face.” “Unfortunately, I’ve been forced to look at it for eighteen years.” Selene laughed. Jace pressed a hand over his heart. “Elara Quinn, you wound me.” “Give her something easy,” Rowan warned. Jace looked offended. “Why?” “Because the last time you dared her to climb the old watchtower, she almost broke her arm.” “I caught her.” “You pushed me!” “I encouraged you.” “With both hands!” Asher’s arm moved behind me, resting across the back of the wooden bench. “You’re not climbing anything tonight,” he said. I turned toward him. “Why?” “Because I said so.” There it was. That irritating Alpha tone. Asher Blackwood had not officially become Alpha yet, but apparently nobody had informed his personality. I leaned closer. “And when did you become my boss?” His dark eyes dropped to my face. “When you proved you require supervision.” My heart did the stupid little thing it always did around him. Eighteen years. You would think I would have developed immunity. I hadn’t. Asher knew I loved him. Everyone knew. I had never exactly hidden it. When I was twelve, I had announced I would marry him. When I was fourteen, Jace had teased me about it for six straight months. When I was sixteen, I stopped denying it. Asher had never given me an answer. But he had never pushed me away either. Sometimes that felt like an answer. “Found it,” Jace suddenly said. He pulled four folded papers from behind him. I frowned. “What are those?” “My dare.” He handed one to me. I unfolded it. At the top was the silver crest of Ravencrest Academy. I stared at it. Then at him. Then back at the paper. “No.” Jace burst out laughing. “You haven’t even read it.” “I don’t need to.” Ravencrest wasn’t some ordinary training school. It was one of the most prestigious supernatural academies in the country. Future Alphas, Betas, warriors, healers, and high-ranking wolves trained there. And it was far. Very far. I looked at the address. My stomach dropped. “You’re insane.” “Probably,” Jace agreed. Rowan pulled another application from beside him. “We’re applying.” I blinked. “What?” Silas lifted his own copy. So did Asher. I stared at all four of them. “You’re serious?” “As a funeral,” Silas said. “Why is that your comparison?” Jace muttered. Silas ignored him. I looked at Asher. “You’re going to Ravencrest?” “If I get accepted.” “But…” I glanced around. “You never told me.” Something uncomfortable moved inside my chest. We told each other everything. At least, I thought we did. Asher’s expression softened slightly. “We’re telling you now.” “During Truth or Dare?” Jace grinned. “More dramatic.” I threw a cushion at him. He caught it. Selene smiled from inside her blanket. “It sounds exciting.” “Exactly,” Jace said. “Thank you, Selene. Finally, someone supports my genius.” I looked down at the application again. My fingers tightened around it. “No.” Rowan frowned. “Why not?” “Mom.” One word was enough. They all knew. My mother and I had always been alone. My father had never been part of my life. Mara Quinn had raised me herself. The boys weren’t just my friends. They were her boys too. Our house had always been full of them. Jace stealing food. Rowan fixing things Mom hadn’t asked him to fix. Silas sitting quietly at our kitchen table. Asher walking in without knocking. Leaving Mom behind for an academy over a thousand kilometers away wasn’t something I could decide during a game. “I can’t just leave her.” Rowan’s expression softened. “Your mom will understand.” “That doesn’t mean I want to go.” Jace leaned forward. “Come on, Ellie. All five of us at Ravencrest?” “All five?” Selene asked it lightly. Silence lasted half a second. Jace looked toward her. “I mean—” “It’s okay.” Selene smiled. “You five grew up together.” Something about her smile made guilt prick me. She had spent years without this. Without people who knew her favorite food or remembered embarrassing childhood stories. Maybe we made her feel like an outsider without meaning to. I shifted closer and touched her blanket. “You could apply too.” Her eyes widened. “Oh. I don’t think—” “She’s only just come home,” Rowan said quickly. I looked at him. His tone wasn’t harsh. Just protective. “She needs time here,” he added. Selene looked down. “Yeah. I think I want to stay for a while.” “Then stay,” Silas said. His voice was unusually gentle. She smiled at him. I looked back at the paper. Something felt different. I couldn’t name it. Maybe because everything had changed so quickly. Three weeks ago, Selene had been a name from an old pack tragedy. Now Rowan remembered how she took her coffee. Jace knew what made her laugh. Silas noticed when she was cold. And Asher— I stopped myself. Don’t be ridiculous, Elara. There was nothing wrong with them caring about her. She deserved that. “Still no,” I said, folding the application. Jace groaned. “Elara!” “No.” “Coward.” “You’ll need a better insult.” “I’ll carry your bags.” “No.” “I’ll do your assignments.” “You can barely do yours.” “That was unnecessarily personal.” Rowan laughed. Then Asher took the application from my hand. My laughter faded. He looked at the paper for a moment before turning to me. “Come with us.” Three simple words. My chest tightened. “Asher—” “You wanted to train outside the pack.” “I wanted to train somewhere nearby.” “Ravencrest is better.” “It’s fourteen hundred kilometers away.” “So?” “So my mother is here.” “You can come home during breaks.” “You make it sound easy.” “It is.” “For you.” His gaze held mine. The fire reflected in his dark eyes. Then he said, “What would make you say yes?” Jace went suspiciously quiet. So did Rowan. I laughed nervously. “Nothing.” “There has to be something.” “There isn’t.” Asher leaned closer. My wolf stirred. Traitor. I could smell cedar and smoke on him. A scent I had known nearly my entire life. A scent that had always meant safe. “You’re scared,” he said. “I am not.” “You are.” “I’m being responsible.” “You’re hiding.” I glared at him. He knew exactly which buttons to press. “I hate you.” “No, you don’t.” The words came too easily. My breath caught. His eyes stayed on mine. He knew. Of course he knew. Across the fire, Jace made a strange choking sound. Rowan kicked him. “What?” Jace whispered. “Shut up.” Asher didn’t look away from me. “Come to Ravencrest with me, Elara.” My heart began beating harder. “With you?” “With all of us.” The correction shouldn’t have disappointed me. It did. I looked away first. “No.” Asher was silent. Then— “If you come, I’ll mark you.” Everything stopped. The fire. The laughter. My breathing. Maybe the entire world. I slowly turned back. “What?” Asher’s expression hadn’t changed. Behind him, Rowan stared at the ground. Jace’s smile disappeared. Silas watched Asher carefully. Selene looked between us. Asher spoke again. “If we both get into Ravencrest, and you come with me, I’ll give you my mark.” My mouth went dry. An Alpha’s mark wasn’t a joke. Especially not Asher’s. One day, he would lead Blackwood Pack. The woman he marked would stand beside him. His mate. His Luna. “Asher,” I whispered. “You wanted an answer.” My fingers curled against my jeans. “Are you serious?” “Yes.” “Don’t say that just because you want me to apply.” “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” I searched his face. I had known this boy almost my entire life. I knew the tiny scar near his eyebrow. I knew he hated cinnamon. I knew he became quiet when angry. I knew he slept badly before important days, though he would rather die than admit it. I knew him. I trusted him. More than anyone. Maybe even more than myself. “You’d really mark me?” His eyes didn’t move from mine. “Yes.” Heat rushed into my cheeks. Jace suddenly clapped. “Well, that worked.” “Shut up,” I whispered. He laughed. Rowan smiled, but it looked strange. Silas reached for his drink. Selene remained silent. I looked at the application. Ravencrest Academy. Fourteen hundred kilometers away. My mother would kill me. Then probably help me pack. I looked at Asher again. “You swear?” Something flickered across his face. Gone too quickly for me to understand. Then he held out his hand. “I swear.” I placed mine in his. His fingers closed around mine. Warm. Familiar. Safe. “Fine,” I whispered. Jace jumped to his feet. “Yes!” I laughed as Rowan shook his head. “You’re an i***t,” Rowan told me. “You’re applying too!” “Still an idiot.” Silas pushed a pen across the table toward me. I caught it. “Do it before you regain common sense.” I smiled. Then I bent over the application. Name. Elara Quinn. Pack. Blackwood. Age. Twenty-one. Training specialization. I hesitated, then began filling everything in. For one second, I looked up. Asher was watching me. Jace and Rowan were arguing. Silas had gone quiet again. Selene was staring into the fire. I should have noticed how nobody else was filling out their applications. I didn’t. I signed my name at the bottom. Then I pushed the paper toward Asher with a grin. “There. Happy?” His eyes dropped to my signature. For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Asher folded my application carefully. “Very.” My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out. Mom: Don’t stay too late. And bring my four useless sons home if they’re hungry. I laughed. “What?” Rowan asked. “Mom called you useless again.” Jace looked offended. “After everything I’ve done for that woman?” “You ate half her dinner yesterday.” “I was protecting her from overeating.” Everyone laughed. Even Selene. I typed back. Me: They’re all here. I’ll bring them home. I pressed send without thinking. Because that was what I had always done. I included them in every plan. Every tomorrow. Every version of my life. Across the fire, Asher slipped my signed application into his jacket. And for the first time in eighteen years, all four boys knew something about my future that I didn’t.