Chapter Sixteen

SETH

After our kiss ended, I didn’t want to let Ellie go. I craved her closeness. Not just for now, but forever.

I needed her. I think I’d always known that. But I think she needed me even more. She just hadn’t figured it out yet.

I had a hunch that her evening walk wasn’t just a casual stroll. And I doubted it was a coincidence that she’d ended up at the place where she first shifted. Was it her decision, or was her wolf guiding her?

I knew her wolf wasn’t active. The fact that Ellie couldn’t sense her, and neither could the pack, was proof of that.

But a wolf doesn’t just disappear. They sometimes retreat deep into their host’s subconscious, usually to heal. To everyone else, they seemed to be gone. But they weren’t really gone.

The truth was, after the rejection, and after Ellie didn’t accept it, her wolf felt that Ellie had killed her mate. Goddess knew she would need time to heal from that.

But with the right trigger, her wolf would come back. Just like Ellie’s wolf came back when we first brought her into the pack.

I had a pretty good idea what that trigger could be, but it would be Ellie’s decision. ~If~ Clayton and her father agreed. Ellie would have to be marked for her wolf to come back—I doubted there was any other way.

This was Alexander’s fault, just as much as her idiot of a mate. I still couldn’t believe that her grandfather hadn’t told her everything about mates. About rejection.

Rejection wasn’t taken lightly, especially not in this pack. Mates were a gift. But that didn’t mean it didn’t happen. If both mates were members of this pack, then Clayton had to approve it.

That’s why I hadn’t pursued Ellie after I realized my mate was gone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but if her mate had been a member of the pack, it would have been unfair to everyone.

Looking back, I wished I had. If we’d been together, she wouldn’t have run away. Elijah wouldn’t have found her, and she wouldn’t have had to kill him.

I held her a little tighter as we sat by the lake. The moon reflected off the water, as if the goddess herself was watching over us.

“Where were you going?” I asked softly.

She looked down at the ground. Dodging the question.

“Tell me, Ellie. This wasn’t just a moonlight stroll, was it?” I pressed.

Ellie sighed. “I can’t…I can’t be here anymore. I’m useless. All I can think about is everything I used to be, and without my wolf...”

A tear slid down Ellie’s cheek. Did she really believe that? Did she really think so little of herself?

I let go of her waist and held her face in my hands, wiping away her tears with my thumbs. More tears escaped from her eyes.

“Where were you going?” I asked, more firmly this time.

I watched her swallow nervously.

“My brother...he wanted me to stay with him anyway,” she whispered.

I shook my head. She could have killed herself, trying to cross the lake alone.

She seemed so small. She had always been a bit smaller than the other she-wolves, but right now she seemed so fragile, so broken.

“Just because your wolf isn’t with you right now doesn't mean you’re any less of a person. You’re still the same Ellie. Your dad, your friends, Clayton, me...we love you just the same,” I reassured her.

“What use am I to the pack? I can’t fight, I can’t track. I can’t even give my grandfather an heir,” she whimpered.

I rolled my eyes. “Who said you can’t fight? You're one of my best fighters, and that has nothing to do with your wolf.”

Ellie frowned. “You didn't want me to fight, even when I had my wolf,” she shot back.

“I was wrong,” I admitted. “You’re your own person, Ellie. If you want to fight in this war, then who am I to stop you?

“People treat you as though you’re special, and you are. But not because of who your grandfather was—it’s because of who you are. You’re a fighter...a survivor.

“So if you want to fight, to get revenge on those who wronged you, I won't stop you. I’ll have your back, though. I’ll protect you, make sure you don't get hurt.”

She looked up at me. “And if I want to leave? Join my brother?”

I shook my head. “Not going to happen. I’m not telling you that as your friend, I’m telling you that as your Beta. No one leaves the pack without the Alpha’s permission...unless they go rogue.”

“And what if I want to go rogue?” she challenged.

I turned to face her, gripping her shoulders firmly.

“That’s never going to happen,” I growled, my wolf partially surfacing. “You’re mine, Ellie. I choose you as my mate.”

Ellie stared at me, her mouth hanging open.

“You… We...” she stuttered, her face turning red, the color reaching the tips of her ears.

It was adorable. I loved that I could make her react like that.

I let go of her shoulders and gently held her face in my hands.

“Yes, Ellie, I choose you. We’ve both lost our mates, so we’re free to choose. I just have to ask Gabriel and Clayton.”

She didn't say anything for a moment, and fear swept through me. What if she didn't want me? Our kiss on the dock hadn’t been one-sided, but I’d hurt her in the past. It hadn't been on purpose—I’d had to give her the chance to find her mate.

Now, after everything that had happened, I wished I hadn't.

“Will it...will it feel like real mates, like a real bond?” she asked in a whisper.

I smiled, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Yes. Once I mark you, the bond will form.”

She blinked, then raised her hand to my face.

“Mark me now, Seth...please,” she pleaded.

My heart nearly missed a beat. My wolf was itching to take over, but I had to keep him in check. I couldn't mark her right now—not without Clayton’s approval as Alpha.

I didn't require Gabriel’s consent, and if we were fated mates, I would have marked her without a second thought. But Gabriel was her father, even if not by blood. So, while I didn't ~need~ his permission, it felt like the right thing to do.

I wrapped an arm around her slim waist, my other hand’s fingers tangled in her hair, holding her exactly where I wanted her.

I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her scent. My wolf and I couldn't get enough of it.

My tongue gently traced the spot where I would mark her.

Ellie moaned. Hearing that sweet sound, it took all my willpower not to give in to her request and mark her right here, right now.

But I didn't. I needed to do this right. Not just to respect the pack rules, but for Ellie as well.

This was a big deal. In some ways, it was even bigger than finding your fated mate.

With a fated mate, you knew instantly. Both of you did. With chosen mates, the bond wouldn't form until one or both of you were marked.

And I wanted to make this special for Ellie, especially after what her fated mate had done. I just hoped and prayed that once I had marked her, it would bring her wolf back.

Not for me—I didn't care if she had a wolf or not. But for Ellie...losing her wolf like this had hurt her.

“I want to,” I murmured into her neck, “but Clayton has to approve all non-fated matings, and I want your father’s blessing.”

Ellie moaned as I showered her neck and shoulders with kisses, occasionally grazing my teeth against that special spot.

“I...I need to get back,” she stammered, but made no move to pull away.

I hummed in response, continuing to kiss her neck, my hand tightening its hold in her hair, just in case she tried to pull away.

“Please, Seth,” she moaned. “My dad...”

Her voice faded as my hand slipped beneath her shirt.

My fingertips gently traced the soft skin of her back. I traced the scars left by her tormentors. I loved every part of her, even these.

“Please...I have to...”

Her back arched, and she moaned again.

“The letter...”

I stilled my hands and pulled my lips away from her neck.

Of course. She wouldn't have left Gabriel without an explanation, even if it wasn't face to face. If she had told him what she was planning, he would have done everything to stop her.

It was just luck that my patrols had spotted her. Luck that she had ended up on the shore, rather than at the dock.

Or maybe it wasn't just blind luck. Maybe the goddess had been guiding us both tonight.

“Come on, then,” I whispered. “We better retrieve it, before your dad finds out what you were planning!”