“Connor’s a good man. One of the best in the pack. He’d never hurt you.”
“You can’t know that for certain.”
“Actually, I can. The mate bond doesn’t work that way. Once you’re connected, your partner’s well-being becomes as important as your own. Hurting you would cause him pain.” She must see the skepticism on my face because she adds, “I know it sounds strange, but it’s true. Mated pairs in this pack are devoted to each other. It’s not some kind of prison sentence, Fern.”
“What if we’re not compatible? What if the magic gets it wrong?”
“There are ways to dissolve a mating bond if things truly don’t work out. It’s rare, but it can be done.”
“How rare?”
Skylar shrugs and glances away. “Honestly, I’ve never seen it happen in my lifetime.”
A cold knot forms in my stomach. “So essentially, this is permanent.”
“It’s permanent because the lottery works. The magic finds compatible matches—people who are meant to be together.” She gestures toward the platform where the Alpha stands with his arm around a dark-haired woman. “Look at Nic and Luna. Look at Ruby and James, or Thomas and Fiona. Every couple matched by the lottery is still together, still happy. The spirits don’t make mistakes.”
“But I’m human. The magic wasn’t designed for someone like me.”
“Maybe not. But you’re here, aren’t you? At this exact moment, in this exact place. Elder Amelia has conducted dozens of these ceremonies, and she’s never once stopped the proceedings to add someone’s name. Not ever. Whatever brought you to the Hollow tonight, it wasn’t random chance.”
I want to argue with her. I want to point out all the logical flaws in her reasoning, all the ways this situation is completely irrational. But a small, traitorous part of my brain whispers that maybe she has a point.
I’ve spent the last six months running. From Robbie, from New York, from everything I used to call my life. I’ve been alone and scared and constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for disaster to strike.
Maybe it’s time to stop running and start building something instead.
“Let’s say I agree to this,” I say carefully. “What happens next?”
“Your name goes in the bowl with the others. Elder Amelia draws a name. If it’s yours, you become Connor’s match.” Skylar tilts her head. “If it’s someone else’s, you go back to your cottage and this whole thing becomes a strange story you tell at dinner parties.”
“And the odds of my name being drawn?”
Skylar glances at the innermost circle, where several dozen women stand in ceremonial attire, waiting. “There are about forty eligible females participating tonight. So, not accounting for magic, your odds are roughly one in forty.”
One in forty. Less than three percent.
“Those aren’t terrible odds,” I admit.
“Exactly. The chances of you actually being chosen are tiny. But if Elder Amelia is right and the spirits did guide you here, then maybe those odds don’t matter at all.”
I look at Connor again. He’s stopped talking to the other man and is watching me openly now, making no effort to hide his attention. There’s something in his face that I can’t quitename. Concern, maybe. Or hope. Or some complicated mixture of both.
Can I really do this? Can I put my name in a magical lottery and potentially bind myself to a man I barely know?
A week ago, the answer would have been an emphatic no. But a week ago, I didn’t believe werewolves existed. A week ago, I was sleeping in my car at rest stops, terrified that Robbie would find me before I could escape.
Everything has changed since then. Maybe I need to change, too.
“You’ve spent so long running from things,” Skylar whispers, as if reading my thoughts. “Why not try running toward something for once? See how it works out?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It’s not simple at all. But the best things in life rarely are.”
I take a deep breath and hold it for a count of five before slowly releasing it. My hands are trembling, and my heart is racing, and every logical part of my brain is screaming at me to walk away from this clearing and never look back.
But logic hasn’t gotten me very far lately.
