CHAPTER 100: BOUND BY FATE

Josie

I couldn’t help the sharp curl of curiosity unfurling inside me like smoke. Someone had asked to see me.

Me.

Not the triplets. Not the Alpha council. Not one of the warriors or elders. Me.

But the more I turned the thought over in my head, the less it made sense. Everyone who had ever been tied to me by blood was long gone—scattered, buried, and left to fade into dust with the parts of my past I refused to dig up again. The idea that anyone would come specifically for me didn’t sit comfortably in my chest. In fact, it made something cold and restless press against my ribs.

Varen’s touch brought me back before my thoughts could spiral further. His hand brushed my arm—warm, firm, grounding in the way only he could be. The contact was small, but it carried weight.

"You’ve got nothing to worry about," he murmured, his voice pitched so low that only I could hear it. "I’ve got you."

I gave the smallest of nods, trying to ignore the way my shoulders relaxed despite myself. I didn’t trust easily, but when Varen said something like that... part of me believed him without question. We started toward the door together, his hand brushing mine every few steps, as if to remind me he was still there.

We didn’t get far.

A hand caught my wrist, firm but not unkind, and pulled me back.

Kiel.

He was watching me with that maddening mix of intensity and amusement, green eyes locking onto mine like he could read thoughts I hadn’t even had yet. His mouth quirked up into the kind of smirk that made my pulse trip over itself—half challenge, half promise.

Without saying a word, he reached up and brushed his thumb across my bottom lip, slow enough to be deliberate. The calloused pad skimmed lightly, sending a shiver down the center of my spine.

"You’ve gotta look like the badass you are," he said, his voice dropping into a deep, teasing drawl that seemed meant for my ears alone.

Before I could even come up with a sharp reply to put him in his place, Varen stepped in.

"She’s already a badass," he said flatly, like it was a simple fact of the world. His gaze swept over my outfit—black trousers tucked into boots, a fitted shirt, belt snug at my waist. Then the corner of his mouth tugged upward. "Hell, her clothes prove it. I approve." He paused just long enough for mischief to spark in his eyes. "In fact, I wish I could take it off her to make my point."

My lips parted in outrage, but Kiel was faster.

He turned his glare on Varen, and if looks could kill, the man would’ve been ashes on the throne room floor. "That’s not the right thing to say," he snapped, the words sharp and quick. "Because I made out with Josie, not you."

"Oh my god," I muttered under my breath.

Varen’s head tipped to the side, a faint, dangerous smile curling at his lips. "Pull your head out of the gutter, Kiel, or our mate here might actually be right about you."

I groaned and brought my hand to my forehead. "Can we not?" My fingers pressed into my temples, massaging away the headache these two seemed determined to give me. "It’s too early for this level of stupidity."

By some miracle—or maybe just because I glared at both of them like I was ready to throw them out a window—we made it to the main throne room without more bickering. The tension between them lingered in the air like low-hanging storm clouds, but at least they were silent.

Until we stepped inside.

The moment my boots crossed the threshold, I felt it—a strange, oppressive quiet that didn’t belong.

The twins froze. Not just stilled—froze. I could see their shoulders tighten, the way their breathing subtly shifted.

And then I felt it too.

The air had changed. Thickened. It pressed against my skin in a way that felt almost alive, prickling with a charge that made the hair on my arms lift. My eyes found the source almost instantly.

She stood at the far end of the room.

The witch.

I knew it without needing anyone to tell me. She was exactly how the triplets had described her, only worse—wrapped in a glow that was both light and shadow, white and black threads twisting together like they were two halves of the same dangerous coin. It made my stomach knot.

Kiel’s hand came to rest at the small of my back, steady and warm, an anchor in the thick, unnatural air.

The other door burst open.

Thorne strode in like a storm about to break. His jaw was set in a hard line, his eyes burning with a protective anger that locked on me instantly.

"Why wasn’t I told about this arrangement?" His voice cut across the room like a blade. "Josie shouldn’t be in danger because of this."

My throat worked, but before I could get a single word out, Varen’s tone slid in, sharp enough to draw blood.

"Read the room, Thorne," he said, his voice flat and biting. "And stop behaving foolishly. If you don’t know what happened this morning, maybe you should start asking questions before you open your mouth."

The tension between them flared instantly.

"Don’t talk to me like—"

"Then don’t act like—"

Their voices climbed, clashing like steel against steel.

"Enough!" My voice cracked through the argument, sharp and unyielding. I stepped forward, planting myself between them. "Stop talking about me like I’m not standing right here."

My gaze shifted to Thorne, narrowing. "And I’m not going to tolerate you acting like you’re my parent when you barely speak to me properly on a good day."

His jaw flexed, the words clearly gathering on his tongue.

"Don’t," I warned before he could try me. "I don’t want to hear it. What I want—" I took a step forward, my voice ringing harder than before— "is the truth. All of it."

The silence that followed was heavy. The kind of silence that had weight.

And then a single word cut through it.

"Brave."

The voice was smooth and strange, a note of amusement threading through it.

We all turned to look at her.

The witch’s eyes gleamed like molten metal as she studied me. She didn’t blink. "This one," she said, almost like she was speaking to herself, "will be the one to save the pack."

Her certainty hit me like a strike to the chest. The room seemed to shift around her words.

"But—" her head tilted slightly, the movement making her glow ripple like liquid— "she will need help to nurture and contain her powers. Without it..." Her voice softened into something almost dangerous. "...there will be disaster."

My stomach tightened, but I forced my voice to stay steady. "What should I do?"

Her gaze fixed on me, unblinking. "You will need a guide. Someone to train you. Someone to teach you control before the wrong moment strips it from you."

"Who?" Varen asked, suspicion rough in his voice.

Her lips curved faintly, a knowing edge to the gesture. "Liam."

"Who the hell is Liam?" Kiel demanded, his tone somewhere between a growl and disbelief.

The witch didn’t bother explaining. Instead, she lifted one pale, glowing hand and snapped her fingers.

The air warped. The space beside her rippled like disturbed water, bending in on itself until something stepped through.

He was tall. Broad-shouldered. Barefoot. The only thing covering him was a strip of strange, earth-woven cloth knotted low at his hips. His skin was warm bronze, his hair a wild mess of dark waves that looked like they’d been tousled by the wind itself. Every line of his body radiated quiet, unshakable strength.

And then he smiled—soft, calm, like this was the most ordinary thing in the world.

"I," he said, his voice rolling like distant thunder over stone, "am something like a god of the earth. And I will lead Josie... right."

The words seemed to settle over me like a mantle I hadn’t asked for.

For a long beat, no one moved. No one breathed.

And then—

"No way!"

The triplets’ voices hit the air in perfect unison, shattering the stillness like glass.