CHAPTER 112: WHAT IS A MATE

BLAZE POV

It took everything in me not to launch that mutt through the goddamn wall.

The way he sat there—like he had any right. Like he cared more. Like he knew her.

Fuck him.

The moment we stepped into her apartment, my entire body tensed. I could smell him before I saw him—Reed. The wolf. The other mate. My every instinct screamed to dominate, to crush, to tear. But Clare was fragile, still trembling, and I had promised her safety. Peace. Comfort.

So I stayed still. Barely.

He had the audacity to look calm. Legs stretched out, arms folded, back resting against the couch like this was his territory. He didn’t speak. Just watched me with those calculating, simmering wolf eyes. No doubt ready to rip me apart if I made one wrong move.

He wasn’t there when she screamed like the world was ending. He wasn’t the one who held her while she thrashed, covered in sweat and tears, begging for mercy from dreams that were far too real.

So why the hell was he here?

His scent clung to the apartment walls, soaked into the furniture. He had been here for a while. Probably sniffing around like the obsessed dog he was. It made my jaw clench hard enough to hurt.

I didn’t say a word. Not yet. I kept my gaze on Clare, watching as she slowly came back to herself. Her eyes still haunted, the ghost of her nightmare clinging to her expression.

I clenched my jaw, fangs pressing against my tongue. One word from him and I’d give in. One smug look, and I’d remind him exactly why vampires ruled the food chain.

But then she walked in from the kitchen.

Her mug shook in her hands just slightly, and the smell of burnt instant coffee hit my nose before she spoke. She looked smaller, like the nightmare had hollowed her out from the inside.

Her voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"What does the word mate mean exactly?"

I turned to her slowly. So did the mutt.

Her eyes were dull. Like she wasn’t really asking. Like she already feared the answer.

Her voice was quiet, but it cut through the room like a blade.

I turned to her slowly, locking eyes with her as my heart thudded once. Once.

That was all it took to feel the bond tighten.

Behind me, I heard Reed shift forward. Tension thickened like smoke.

I stood up.

I didn’t care if the wolf liked it or not.

She was asking me.

I stood up—slow, careful, like I was trying not to spook a wounded creature. She looked at both of us, but not the way she used to. Not with fire. Not with annoyance.

Now she looked like we were strangers. Strangers with claws.

"Mates..." I started, my voice rough, low, "—are everything to us. It’s not a choice. It’s... instinct. Bond. Fate."

"Like... soulmates?" she asked, still holding the mug too tight.

I nodded. "More than that."

"They complete us," the wolf added, and I nearly growled at the interruption. "Tie our souls together. Our wolves—our instincts—they recognize them, even before our minds do."

She stared at the coffee like it might give her answers.

"So you’re both saying I’m... what? Claimed by two creatures with fangs and fur who want to tear each other apart?"

I took a step forward. "You’re not claimed. You’re ours because fate chose you. Not because we decided to play tug-of-war."

Reed scoffed. "Sure doesn’t feel like that from this side of things."

I ignored him.

My eyes were only on her. "The bond you felt... it’s real. It’s ancient. It’s sacred."

"And yet you let your people—your family—do that to me." Her voice cracked, quiet but shaking. "So sacred, huh?"

My stomach twisted. Guilt—a rare, bitter emotion for someone like me—flared in my chest.

"I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have left you if I thought—"

"But you did leave."

Her words were soft.

But they cut deeper than any blade.

I looked at her—really looked. The shadows under her eyes. The subtle tremble in her fingers. Her heartbeat thrumming too fast.

"Clare..." I stepped closer again. "You want answers. I’ll give them. All of them. But don’t ever think that this bond is fake. Don’t ever think what I feel for you is anything less than real."

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t run either.

So I stayed still, waiting. Watching. Burning.

And from the corner of my eye, the wolf watched too, jaw tight, fists clenched.

Good.

Let him see.

She’s not just his. She’s mine too.

I saw it. She was beginning to understand. What it meant to be a mate in a world that didn’t care for her permission.

She wrapped her arms around herself, mug still cradled in one hand, and for the first time, I felt something shift in her.

Not acceptance.

But recognition.

REED POV

"What does the word mate mean exactly?" she asked.

Both me and that leech scrambled to answer like damn teenagers trying to impress a girl in class. Gods, we were pathetic. Fighting like pups when she was sitting there barely holding herself together, wrapped in trauma she hadn’t even begun to process.

We were really acting like immature, hormone-wracked teenagers instead of two powerful supernatural beings. This girl—this human—had us wrapped around her finger without even trying. Or maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe it was the damn bond. That ancient, soul-twisting tether that neither of us fully understood.

Blaze opened his mouth, but I was already speaking. "It’s... more than love. Deeper than that. It’s a bond the soul makes before we even understand it."

"We feel it here." I touched my chest. "And here." I tapped my temple. "It’s instinct. Nature. Divine design—whatever word you want."

Blaze gave me a side glance, like he didn’t appreciate the poetry. Tough shit.

"Has anyone of your kind been mated to a human before?" she asked again, quiet, eyes flicking between us.

We both hesitated.

Because that question carried weight.

"Rare," Blaze muttered. "Almost never."

"Same for wolves," I said. "Most of us mate with our own kind. The bond tends to stay within species. Humans aren’t built to withstand it."

Her brow creased. "Then why me?"

Silence again.

Why her?

I’d asked the Moon the same question a hundred times since the bond hit me like a sledgehammer.

Why a human girl with a smart mouth, anger issues, and more secrets than any creature should carry?

I couldn’t answer her. Because maybe there wasn’t a why. Maybe the bond didn’t care about logic or history or species.

It just was.

"I don’t know," I said finally. "But I don’t question it. Not after what I feel every time I look at you."

Blaze gave a low hum, like he didn’t like me speaking first. Tough.

Blaze finally spoke, his voice cool and firm. "You’re not like most humans."

I shot him a glare. Not because he was wrong—but because it was his voice she responded to first. Always him. The damn vampire.

She scoffed. "Right. Because I’ve got what? Some kind of special blood? Soul magic? Is that what you two are sniffing around for?"

I stood then, pacing once, hands clenched at my sides. "No. Clause, it’s not like that. The bond—it’s not something we chose. It chose us. And trust me, I’d rather it hadn’t."

Blaze’s eyes flicked toward me, sharp.

"I didn’t mean it like that," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "I just... You think I want to be tied to someone I can’t even protect properly? You think I’m proud that last night, I could feel your fear and do nothing about it except tear apart a room like a madman?"

She flinched at that.

"I’m sorry," I said quietly.

Both of them looked at me.

"I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this. That this isn’t something you chose. I can’t change what we are—but I can promise I’ll never let anyone hurt you like that again."

Blaze didn’t scoff.

He didn’t interrupt.

Because he knew, just like I did—this wasn’t a game.

This wasn’t some rivalry over a pretty face.

This was war.

And she was the battlefield.

Clare looked down into her coffee, like it held all the answers neither of us could give.

"You guys keep saying I’m yours," she said. "But no one asked me if I want this. If I want either of you."

My heart sank a little. I didn’t blame her.

Hell, she was right.

We were pulling her into a world of blood and shadows, of curses and wars, fangs and claws—and acting like she should be grateful.

She wasn’t a damn prize to be fought over.

She was a person.

"I know this is too much," I said. "But if you give me time, I’ll prove I’m not just some beast looking to win a girl like a trophy."

Blaze snorted at that. Asshole.

Clare stood up, sighing, and walked toward the kitchen again.

She needed space.

And for once, I didn’t chase her.

I just watched her go... wondering if maybe fate was cruel for ever dragging her into this.

But one thing was certain.

No matter what, I wasn’t going to let her face it alone.