Gabe pulls me close into a scorching hug. His lips suck on me in a wet, warm demand. His insistent hands caress me as if I am some long-lost hope he has just found back. My body is about to give in, but my brain fights back.

“Gabe… please!” I try to utter through his kisses but in vain. I did not know it would be like this when I walked with him this afternoon. It feels like the secluded sawmill is Gabe’s clue. This dark willow grove is our rendezvous place where we get cozy.

“Gabe! I told you to stop!” I push him with one last mighty effort. It does not affect him anyway, but he gives in, taking a step back.

“Can we just…talk? I have so much to ask, so much to know…” I beg, wiping my mouth of his saliva. His face hardens.

“We are not talking again, Danny. It’s this talk that got me in trouble the last time. I am not doing that again.”

I frown. “But…”

He shakes his head, putting a finger on my lips.

“It just causes confusion. I said the last time that mates can heal each other, and you ran with it thinking Adam is your mate. Why Danny? Why didn’t you ask me? I would have clarified it then and there.”

I colour a furious red. “I…I’m sorry.”

“Do you know how hurt I was? Do you know how hurt I was when I saw you two…” His mouth clenches with the effort of the words. My face flames. Of course, he was there when a stark-naked Adam carried me into the house. How can I forget the look on Gabe’s face? That day and every day after that, Gabe had looked as if I have pierced him with a thousand needles. Suffice to say, he has suffered as much as me, and all because of my thoughtlessness.

“I am sorry, Gabe. It was a mistake. I did not know any better. It was my half knowledge, and I didn’t think to ask anyone else.”

“And that’s why we are not talking about it anymore.” He holds my hand to pull me back in. His body is taut with tension; I see the veins in his forehead popping out. They are green, just like his eyes. Green, mossy, fathomless.

Leaning back, he rests against a slanting willow trunk, with me in his arms. Its weeping tendrils shroud us even more, closing us in.

“From now onwards, Danny, we are not talking. At least not about the useless stuff that you do not need to know. All we will talk about is us. Our past, present and future.” He pulls me to his lips into a deep kiss again. I feel my legs giving in. My heart hammers in my chest as brain ponders in muddled confusion. All I know is that this is not what I want at this moment. This is not what I need from Gabe.

My dreams…they have awoken a yearning but for someone else. Standing here in Gabe’s embrace as he drinks me thirstily, all I know is that this is not the solace I seek.

Oh, I feel like a lost cause. It was I who led him here, and now I want him to stop. This is my mistake. This is all a horrible, horrible mess.

“We cannot be together, Gabe. Not in the sense you want us to.” My voice comes in a dreaded whisper. He withdraws himself, putting an inch between us.

“You mean your heart condition?”

“Yes.” I avoid his gaze. This is another thing I deceived him about. He did not know it, but I did, yet I kept it from him. And now that he has completely fallen, I am using it as a shield, all because I want another. When did I fall so low?

“It does not matter.” He says, tucking a stray tendril away from my face. I frown.

“What?”

“I said your heart condition does not matter.”

“It does to me.” I step back, detaching myself from him. “Do you understand what it means? Can you…comprehend? It means we cannot be like normal couples. This all…kissing and hugging will lead to nothing. It cannot be any more, Gabe. One lapse and you will send me to the grave, then how will you live?”

“We can treat it.” He is calm. I scoff.

The futility of the argument is galling. The man is set on this and it’s all my fault. I curse myself under my breath, my face flaming with embarrassment, guilt.

“It’s untreatable, Gabe. It’s a congenital defect. I have it from birth and no one, I repeat, not a single doctor has ever said he could cure it. It’s only a matter of time before I…”

“I said we can treat it.” He is still calm as an ocean. “Human doctors have limitations, Danny. We do not. They rely on knowledge and skill. We also have magic. And the mate bond is a beautiful thing. It can cure the weakest of the weak.”

“But we do not share a mate bond.”

“We will, after I choose you as a mate.”

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“Wh…what?” I stare flabbergasted. A determined muscle pops on his calm face.

“Yes, you heard it, Danny. It’s all I have wanted ever since I saw you. It took me some time to understand it, to accept it. But the more I have been with you, the more I believe it’s what I want. And after the past one month… well, let’s just say it’s been an eye opener.” His green eyes gaze into mine as if searching for some lost cause. I lick my lips as the sincerity of his words hits me like a rock.

“All I want now is to be with you, Danny. So forget all the worries. Just remember that I am with you. And as long as we are together, you do not have to worry.”

I do not know what to think. His words floor me, showing a mirror I needed to see long back. His intentions are pure, so pure he is willing to take me despite my condition. And I on the other hand, have been a lying, deceiving bitch, using him only to get a one-up on Olly and Adam. Both of them do not deserve a second thought, while Gabe…

My face clouds. I don’t deserve his kindness. I do not deserve this happiness.

“But… what about your real mate? What if she turns up?” I whisper as doubts flare.

“It won’t happen.” He says adamantly, pulling me close. “The mate bond will adjust, and we will be the real mates. After that, it does not matter who comes and goes.”

We stand there against the willow tree for heaven knows how long. The afternoon sun has slanted, and the grove has grown chillier. I shiver as a cool breeze invades our privacy. Gabe’s protective arms tighten around me, warming my heart.

“Just a few weeks, my love. This full moon I’ll lay my claim. This harvest festival you will be mine.”

*****

The next few days are magical. I glide in clouds, careless and carefree. I have finally started taking Arome’s potion, and that’s got rid of my nightly dreams. Who needs fantasies when I now have something to look forward to? A real mate. A real escape from my lifelong condition. A real chance at happiness without some shackle always holding me back.

My days are filled with training, reading, learning, and Gabe. He fills my every waking moment. I dream of him every night.

Harvest Festival. The first full moon of autumn. It’s the most important time of the year for wolves. It’s a time when the Goddess is at her peak. Whoever is blessed on this day is the luckiest of the wolves.

“I am happy for you, Danny. I am so glad at least one of my brothers has had the guts to do the right thing.” Tammy says one day, holding my hand. I don’t really understand what she means, but smile anyway. The dreams have vanished and with them, the weird yearning I felt for Adam. I do not even know why I associated them with him. The man in my dreams always had a smoky, earthy scent. With Adam, I had never smelt anything.

With Gabe… yes, I have always felt his pine scent. Pine and autumn wind mixed together with wet mud and rock salt. Right from our first meeting, when I had looked into those green eyes and hoped to sink in them. It must be a sign.

“Yes, Tammy.” I shrug, pulling a wide smile on my face. “I am very happy. Gabe is the best thing ever to happen to me.”

“As I said, I am glad.” She smiles, patting my arm.

My days pass in a blur. I now teach Tina with extra care. I haven’t told her about my talk with Arome, but she does not need to know. I am just happy that she has chosen this path in life, and will help her in whichever way I can.

The rest are all the same. Jeff has thawed towards me, and I cannot complain. Billy is nicer than ever and Myra… she has become an unexpected friend thanks to Tammy.

The only person I avoid and ignore is Olly. The whole family knows not all is well between us, but luckily, they choose not to interfere. People have something else to worry about than petty sibling squabbles. The rogue trouble that shows no sign of abating.

“I do not understand why they are behind Mrs. Bates. She… she cannot be a witch. It’s preposterous.” I muse to Tammy one day over breakfast. Her eyes turn thoughtful.

“It’s her scent. They have looked for years and years but never found the witch. And now out of the blue they found a scent, so powerful and potent. No wonder they are in a tizzy.”

“They have been looking for a witch for years?” I look in surprise.

“Fifty years, to be precise.” Jeff interjects, chomping on a bacon slice. “Ever since the queen died and the girl fled, they are on the lookout.”

“Queen?”

“The Witch Queen, Agatha. Don’t tell me you don’t know?” Jeff raises an eyebrow. “What do you do in the library for such long hours?”

I fall silent, chewing my lips. I have combed the entire library and by now I know what book is on which shelf, who the authors are and what the general content is. I have read about half of them and the rest I have marked to go through in the coming days. In my memory, there is no book on witches. There is no witch queen.

“You mean there is a separate Witch kingdom? Just for Witches?”

“Yes. The Selgurathian land, a kingdom of witches, for the witches, by the witches. It’s the kingdom of the horizon where dusk meets dawn. Where Shadows cast light and light makes shadows. The last queen was Agatha, before she was murdered. Now it’s run by a council.”

“And who’s it that the rogues are looking for?”

“That’s enough!!” John’s stern voice booms in the room. The table falls silent as the air suddenly crackles, indicating the Alpha is extremely agitated. His face is purple, eyes wary yet startled. In all my days here, I have never seen John so perturbed.

“You know the topic is banned in this house.” He thunders at Jeff. “We do not talk about them. It’s a bad omen. Just watch your mouth and get back to the fields. There is much to be done.”

He glances at me in a scathing disapproval. I sit confused, not understanding why the topic is banned. Surely, if the rogues are making such a trouble, it needs to be discussed. But perhaps this is not the place or time.

I make a mental note to comb the library one more time to find something on Witch history, when Tammy’s warning whisper sounds in my ear.

“Don’t even think of it, Danny. You heard father. The topic is banned, and you’d only get yourself in trouble.”

Right! I nod and frown at my food, wondering what to do. So far, I only thought of it as some sort of a hoax. The rogues thinking Mrs. Bates as a witch was nothing but a silly joke. But now… now I see it in a different light. There is more to it. Certainly, much more than John is letting on.

I look up to glance at John, only to catch him looking my way. Startled, he pinches his lips, then turns back to his food. I do not know what to make of it. I can smell something amiss, but cannot guess what.

Sighing, I am about to scoop up my porridge when Adam storms through the door startling the shit out of us. He looks wild. Angry. Scared.

“The Nightwatchers have sent a message.” He announces in a ragged voice, scanning the table. There is a pin-drop silence as everyone stills, taking in his words. “They want to make it official. This Harvest Festival, they want to assemble the Triumvirate. Damien will be there, and he wants to claim his mate.”

The last line is addressed to Tammy, who stands up in shock. Her face is white as if she has just been passed a death sentence.

***** *****