“What about the rest of my pack?” I ask. “If I break this curse, every woman in Llewelyn is going to feel everything all at once. What if they can’t handle it?”
“They’re stronger than you think.” Raegan stands and refills both our mugs. “And they’ll have help. Ash has already offered to coordinate with the psychics, and Veva’s working on magical support for the transition. You won’t be throwing them into the deep end alone.”
I wrap my hands around the fresh coffee. Steam curls up from the surface, dancing in my field of vision. “Reeyan said he wants me. Not just because of the mate bond or the curse. He said he wants me.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know,” I confess with a groan. “I want to. But how do I trust that when everything about how we got here was forced?”
Raegan sits back down. “You don’t have to trust it all at once. Trust is something you build. Day by day, choice by choice. He made some terrible decisions about how to keep you safe. You have every right to be angry about that. But from what I’ve seen, he’s willing to put in the work to earn your trust back.”
I take another sip of coffee. “You really think this can work?”
“I think you’ll never know unless you try.” She tilts her head. “And I think the fact that you’re this scared means it matters to you. You don’t agonize over things you don’t care about.”
That hits somewhere deep. I stare at the table and try to imagine it. Marrying Reeyan. Breaking the curse. Feeling everything without that familiar distance between me and my emotions. The thought makes my chest hurt.
But then I think about Caelan. About my sister growing up the way I did, believing independence means isolation and strength means never needing anyone. I think about her falling in love someday and not being able to feel it fully. Not being able to choose whether she wants that person or not because the curse will make the choice for her by dampening everything until it’s manageable.
That’s not freedom. That’s a cage.
“I need to do this,” I quietly declare. “Not just for me. For all of them.”
Raegan smiles. “There’s the Sera I know.”
We finish our coffee in comfortable silence, then I stand and rinse my mug in the sink. “I should go back. Reeyan’s probably wondering if I ran off in the night.”
“He knows you didn’t. Wyn’s been getting updates from the security detail outside.”
I turn to stare at her. “There’s a security detail?”
“Did you think Reeyan would let you stay here without protection? Especially with Thornridge mobilizing?”
Part of me wants to be annoyed about that. The other part recognizes it for what it is—not control, but care. I’m not sure how I feel about the distinction yet.
Raegan walks me to the door. “Whatever you decide to tell him, make sure it’s what you actually want. Not what you think you should want, or what will make things easier. What you want.”
I nod before I step outside into the cool morning and start walking.
The security detail follows at a distance. I pretend not to notice them.
By the time I reach Reeyan’s house, my stomach is doing flips. I knock once and push the door open before I can change my mind.
He’s at the dining table surrounded by books and papers, exactly where I expected him to be. His head snaps up when I enter. Those green eyes search my face like he’s trying to read my answer before I say anything.
I close the door behind me. “I’ve made my decision.”
He stands slowly, keeping his palms flat on the surface of the table. “And?”
“I’ll do it. I’ll marry you and break the curse. But I need you to understand something. I’m still angry about how this started. About you forcing my hand and not giving me a choice about staying here. That anger doesn’t just disappear because I’ve decided to go through with this.”
“I know. And I’m not asking you to forgive me. Just to let me try to make it right.”
I walk into the kitchen and grip the back of a chair. “It’s going to take time. And I need you to be patient while I work through it. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” No hesitation. No qualifications. Just yes.
Something in my chest loosens at that. “Then we should start planning. How long do we have before Thornridge makes their move?”
