BETRAYED BY MY MATE: Mated by My Stepbrothers

g to the smell of fresh

y, casting pale golden light th

of the blankets around me, trying to hold on

ng through the fog of my dream

more than that, what was I supposed to do wi

hose thoughts, the flap of the

way. His eyes met mine immediately

, his voice low, j

wasn't sure if I

it feel heavier, like everything around us was su

sked, stepping inside and lowe

s gaze, as though he wasn't

und stronger than I felt. The words

ead, he studied me wit

n his eyes since we met-like he kn

ftly, offering me a warm smile, tho

e was more to his words, more to h

ing me that there was hope, but I wasn't

find an answer in his express

aid after a beat, my voice barely above a whisper. Th

moment, then he stood, giving me sp

stepped back, and for a moment, t

he doorway, his lean figure silho

was intense and watchful, Lyraeus's was quieter, filled w

mooth like honey, though there was an und

plied, my throat dry

the tent with an easy grace, like

ce with their presence. There was something about the way they were so comfor

ward me. "We're leaving soon. But n

xchanged a glance, the kind of look that told me they had

glint in his eyes. "You'll

nswer they gave only seemed to deepen my confusion, an

could feel that much. But what wer

ween us was

ould race, and the air seemed to shif

was deeper than that, something ancest

tion to my father. Mayb

in, like gravity-unseen, unavoidable, and somehow fam

voice quieter now. "Why are you helpi

ike a challenge, but neither b

r some reason, I was starting to feel lik

ou'll understand soon enough. But right now, your safety is all that matt

t at his words. There was something about th

"Don't worry, Morrigan. It's not all about protecting you, th

re was something else behind them-someth

could they possi

raised his hand slightly, his gesture s

e reason, it made me feel like I was being sh

, his gaze never leaving mine. "Jus

the knot in my st

e pull between us. The more I resiste

nd the world outside the ten

ns' presence a constant comfort, but also a

inded me of what a real pack could look like, without

feeling that I was just another piece in some

he twins as they

eir language, something foreign

ite my confusion, I couldn't deny the strange wa

re where I was, but the ca

place, there was a rhythm to it that seemed anc

thud of feet on the earth echoed like

nded, as if it had

their bodies acting in sync lik

elt this tug inside of me-like I was being pulled in,

reaking the silence between us, his

in front of me, as though he was

h mine, as if instinctively sensing my unease. "You look like you have

gment in his ton

that had settled over me. "I don't kn

said with a small, knowing smi

was going on, the connection between us f

to focus on somethin

though there was an almos

the wind, and I wondered how much of th

hese paths, side by side, before

anced at Lykon, whose eyes were scanning the horizo

sked, though I suspected

rougher now, the hint of something unspoken lingering in

d, my curiosity pi

ely, his gaze never waver

wer he wasn't ready to give, or a question

imself in a language I didn't recognize. The wor

ame enigmatic smile. "It's not about the destination, Morrigan," he said

l it-the invisible thread that pulled us together, tightening the more I

I felt like I was standing on the edge of

the distance behind us, swallowed by

going back to civiliza

feel the tension in the air now. Whatever la

dipped lower in the sky, painting the

s cool, but I didn

ween us was like a flam

t, aren't you?" Lyraeus's voic

d. The words were raw, as though I was f

expression unreadable. "You don't have to have all the answers n

certainty in my mind, I realized something

I wasn't just a victim of

hing that had always been h