I stand and pace to the window. “How much time does she have?” I ask without turning around. “To make the choice before circumstances make it for her?”
“Not much. If Thornridge attacks while the curse is active, Llewelyn falls. If the curse isn’t broken before that happens…” Wyn trails off, but he doesn’t need to finish. “She needs to decide soon.”
“I can’t push her. The magic won’t work if she’s acting under duress. You know that as well as I do.”
“I know. But sitting here doing nothing while Thornridge positions for attack isn’t working, either.” He moves away from the door. “When’s the last time you talked to her?”
“Two days ago. Right after I told her about the marriage requirement and she walked out. She’s dealing with everything she learned about her pack and what breaking the curse requires. Pushing her now would only make things worse.”
“Would it? Or are you just afraid of what she’ll say?” Wyn challenges. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re hiding in your house doing research instead of fighting for your mate.”
“You’re assuming she wants to be fought for.” I return to the papers on the floor. “She made it clear she hates being in this position. Hates that breaking the curse means marrying me. Pushing harder won’t change her mind. It’ll just confirm every suspicion she has about me manipulating her.”
“So you’re giving up.”
“I’m respecting her autonomy to make her own choice without pressure from me.” I organize documents that don’t need organizing. “Isn’t that whatyourmate told me I should do?”
Wyn crouches beside me, forcing me to look at him. “Are you so terrified of rejection that you’d rather hide than risk hearing her say no?”
The accusation lands harder than it should. Because he’s right. I am terrified. Terrified that Sera will choose to walk away. That she’ll decide her pack isn’t worth the cost of binding herself to me. That the mate bond we share isn’t enough to overcome three hundred years of curse conditioning.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask, throwing my hands in the air. “Show up at your house and demand she make a decision? Force a conversation she’s clearly not ready for?”
“I want you to be honest with her.” He stands and heads for the door. “Tell her about Thornridge. Tell her time is running out. But more importantly than all that, tell her what you actually want from all this instead of hiding behind ritual requirements and historical research.”
“She doesn’t want to hear what I want.”
“Maybe not. But she deserves to know anyway.” Wyn pauses with his hand on the doorknob. “Raegan’s making dinner. You should come. Talk to Sera without me having to drag you there.”
He leaves before I can argue, and the silence returns, even heavier than before.
I look around my destroyed study. Papers and books scattered everywhere. Research that might break a curse or might just be a useless academic exercise. A desk I can’t use anymore without remembering how Sera looked spread across it, furious and wanting and mine.
Wyn’s right. Hiding here accomplishes nothing.
I shower for the first time in two days and change into clean clothes. Find my keys and force myself out the door before I can talk myself out of this. The drive to Wyn’s house takes ten minutes but feels like hours.
Raegan answers when I knock, and her psychic abilities probably show her exactly how much of a mess I am.
“She’s in the guest room.” No greeting, just the information delivered with the kind of directness I appreciate. “Has been since she got here two days ago. Barely eating, not sleeping. You both look like hell.”
“Thanks.”
She steps aside to let me in. “I’m not trying to be mean. Just honest. Whatever happened between you two, fix it. Or at least try. This silent misery thing isn’t working for anyone.”
I find Sera exactly where Raegan said—curled up on the bed in the guest room with a book she’s clearly not actually reading. She looks up when I appear in the doorway, and something crosses her face too quickly for me to identify.
“Can we talk?” I stay in the doorway, giving her space. “I have news. About Thornridge.”
She sets down the book. “What kind of news?”
I clear my throat and swallow hard. “They’re positioning forces near Llewelyn’s eastern border. At least fifty operatives, possibly more. But that’s not the only news. Our intelligence confirms they know about the curse—we suspected as much when they came after you the first time. They know you’re in Grayhide territory.”
She goes very still. “They know I’m here?”
“They’re discussing either extraction or elimination before you can attempt the ritual. And they’re starting to mobilize additional forces in this direction along with their positioning near Llewelyn.”
“So you’re here to tell me I’m running out of time,” she surmises with a shake of her head. “That I need to decide whether to marry you before Thornridge either kills me or attacks my pack.”
