Bound by Fate

by Claire Cullen

  Leona's voice went silent, her hand pulling away as she opened her eyes. Fionn opened his a moment later, smiling at them both, the relief clear.

  "What did you see?" Thane asked.

  "Our baby… our baby has your eyes," Fionn replied, sounding dazed.

  "There now," Leona said. "Your dream was just that. A nightmare. Not surprising given all the power your body is trying to deal with on top of growing that baby so quickly. It won't be long now. I'd say another month, two at most."

  "That soon?" Fionn asked, unable to hide a yawn. He leaned into Thane, his body clearly worn out.

  "Sooner, if you don't manage to relax. Tension isn't good for either of you. Or you for that matter, Thane."

  Thane cupped a hand under Fionn's chin and kissed his cheek.

  "I'll see that you get plenty of rest."

  "That's all I've been doing," Fionn said with a groan. "Rest, rest and more rest. I'm a professional rester at this stage."

  "I didn't say rest, I said relax. Plenty of meditation, good food, swimming and other pleasurable activities," she said with a knowing smile.

  Fionn blushed as he got her meaning. Thane pressed a kiss to his forehead.

  "I'm sure we can find a few things to keep us occupied while we wait."

  "That's the spirit," she said brightly. "You might as well take advantage of the time you have now. Once that little one arrives, you're going to be flat out for at least the first few months."

  "Why don't I make us all some breakfast?" Thane suggested as Fionn's stomach growled.

  "An excellent suggestion," Leona said, standing as Thane did, the two of them helping Fionn to his feet.

  Cal was waiting for him when he arrived the next morning.

  "Let me see that ankle," the other man said, dropping to a crouch beside him. Dylan helpfully rolled up his pants leg and let him take a look. Cal spent a long moment examining it before giving his verdict.

  "It looks better. How does it feel?"

  "Better," Dylan echoed.

  "Good. I was thinking we could go for a walk if you felt up to it?"

  Dylan nodded eagerly. He wanted to make the most of his time with Cal.

  "Where will we walk to?"

  "I'm sure you know the area better than I do." Cal smiled at him, and Dylan couldn't help but smile back.

  "I'm not supposed to go far. I don't cross the river or go beyond the edge of the valley."

  The smile on Cal's face fell, but only for a moment.

  "Well, let's walk along the river bank."

  As they walked, Dylan eyed the bow and arrow slung so casually across Cal's back. Cal caught him looking.

  "Have you ever used one?"

  Dylan shook his head.

  "Would you like me to show you?"

  He hesitated before he nodded. Part of him wanted to stretch out his time with Cal as much as possible, but there was a voice in his head telling him he should turn around and go home, back to the safety of Shay's company. Shay talked often about dangerous people and how they didn't always look like what you'd expect. Dylan thought Cal couldn't be what he was talking about, but maybe that was the point?

  "Come on then, let's go find a good spot."

  Cal nodded his head toward the forest and they set off, walking between the shades of trees and sporadic spots of sunlight where there were gaps in the leaves.

  "We need somewhere relatively flat but with enough distance," Cal said. "Let's try over here."

  Where he led, Dylan followed, until they found a small clearing which had everything they were looking for.

  "This will do nicely. Enough light, a large enough target and plenty of space."

  The target was the trunk of an old oak tree.

  "Will it damage the tree?" Dylan liked to leave things as he found them. Shay had taught him that.

  "A few notches in its bark, that's all. Now, watch me first, and then you can have a try."

  Dylan stood to the side as Cal took the bow and a single arrow in his hands. Each movement of his hands was slow and precise as he pointed the bow toward the ground and notched the arrow. As he drew the bow back, he raised it toward the target and loosed it. It hit the trunk with a quiet thwack.

  Cal turned to him, grinning. "Now you. Left or right-handed?"

  Dylan looked from one hand to the other. "What do you mean?"

  "Which hand is your dominant, your left or your right?"

  That didn't make it any clearer. "They're both the same."

  "Well, which hand do you write with?"

  "Either."

  The look of consternation on Cal's face had him worried, but only for a moment.

  "Well, you can try it right-handed, like me. That'll make it easier to explain to you. Come on." He gestured Dylan forward to stand next to him.

  "So, you're going to hold the bow in your left hand. Here, around the grip."

  Cal took Dylan's hand in his and wrapped it around the widest part of the bow.

  "Keep it pointed toward the ground for now. Turn to the side, and take the arrow in your right hand. The head of the arrow points forward, and you need to line up the nock, that little notch at the other end, with the bow string."

  Dylan fumbled with the arrow, feeling it slip from his hands as he tried to do what Cal said.

  Cal stepped closer, pressing against Dylan's back, his hands covering Dylan's own and steadying them. Between the two of them, they got the arrow notched.

  "Now we draw the bow back and raise it toward the target."

  Cal stayed pressed against him, his hands guiding Dylan's.

  "Once we have the target in our sights, we take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and release."

  The arrow shot through the air, hitting the tree just above Cal's arrow.

  "See, nothing to it," Cal said. His hands had let go of the bow and were holding Dylan, one hand on his arm, and one around his waist.

  Dylan leaned back against him. "That was… that was really cool."

  "It takes time and practice, but once your hands learn what they need to do, they don't forget."

  His hand on Dylan's waist pressed tighter, and Dylan turned slowly toward him, holding the bow by his side.

  He was suddenly very aware of the fast beat of his heart, the rush of his breath, and the air that played across his skin. Cal's eyes were watching him with a look Dylan didn't recognize.

  "God, you're beautiful," Cal murmured, brushing his knuckles across Dylan's cheek. Dylan swallowed hard at the words, at the touch, and inched closer. He'd never been this close to another person. Ever.

  His eyes were drawn again and again to Cal's lips—pink and parted just slightly. Like an invitation. It was nothing to close that distance between them and press his lips to Cal's. The other man's hand moved from his cheek to his head, fingers trailing through Dylan's hair as they kissed.

  Cal's tongue swiped against his lower lip. The sensation made Dylan jump, and he pulled away.

  "Whoa," Cal said, reaching for him. But it was too late. Dylan realized what he'd done, what a mistake he'd made.

  "I… I should be getting home. Thank you for… for…"

  He thrust the bow back to Cal, keeping it between them like a shield.

  "What's say we slow things down, talk about what just happened," Cal said, holding his hands out.

  "I can't. I'm sorry. I have to go."

  He thrust the bow more insistently at the other man, who took it with reluctance.

  As he turned to walk away, Cal called after him, voice soft, "Dylan, there was nothing wrong with what we just did. Nothing."

  "I have to go. I need to think." His head was spinning, his body caught between wanting to throw himself into Cal's arms and the need to run very far away.

  "Okay. Then take some time. I'll be back in a week or two."

  Even hearing that—that Cal, the man he'd just met, was going to be gone for so long—it pained him. His heart throbbing in a way Dylan was sure it wasn't supposed to. But he for
ced himself to walk on, back toward home. Shay had said that bad people could look like good people, and you wouldn't know until it was too late. Had he walked into a trap?

  Cal shadowed Dylan until he was sure the younger man had safely reached his home. There was no doubt in his mind now of what he'd known since the second he set eyes on Dylan. They were destined to be mates. Dylan knew it too, on some level, but there was something that had him holding back. Something Cal had seen in that wariness the first day they'd met. It made sense given what little he'd learned about Dylan's life. He was isolated, sheltered, and saw the world at large as dangerous. Cal was a part of that world, so maybe he was dangerous too.

  Cal turned back into the forest. He needed advice. He needed to talk to someone. He needed his brothers. He'd go to Evenfall and check in with Rowan Pack on his way to let them know he'd found another snare.

  Chapter Five

  Cal reached Evenfall by early afternoon the next day, Thane sitting outside in the sun, a look of concern on his face.

  "Is everything alright with Fionn?"

  His brother smiled tiredly. "As far as we can tell, everything is as it should be. At least, that's what Leona says. You just missed her."

  "But?" Cal could hear it in Thane's voice.

  "He's suddenly developed a rather severe form of morning sickness. And a complete unwillingness to leave Evenfall."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It might mean he's earlier along in the pregnancy than we thought. Or he's later than we thought. Or that his shifter and magic sides aren't playing well right now, so his hormones are all over the place, and that's causing his symptoms. Either way, Leona suspects, in less than two months, there will be the pitter-patter of tiny feet."

  Cal tried to smile at that, only it reminded him of his own predicament and all that implied.

  "Fionn is in the kitchen. Why don't you come on in and say hello," Thane said, getting to his feet.

  "Sure," he replied, making his way through the house, his brother at his heels. When they reached the kitchen, Fionn was sitting at the table.

  "Cal. We weren't expecting you back so soon." A tired Fionn greeted him from the table but didn't move to get up.

  "I hear you've been having a rough time of it," he said to the Omega.

  Fionn made a face. "I'd be fine if everyone would stop hovering around like I'm moments away from death."

  It was a bad choice of words and Cal saw Fionn visible tense beside him.

  "Sorry, Thane," Fionn mumbled.

  "It's fine," Thane replied turning the conversation back to Cal. "So, what brings you home so soon?"

  Cal slipped into a seat at the table, wondering where to begin.

  "I found my mate." He gave them a moment to digest the information.

  Fionn leaned over to squeeze his hand. "Cal, that's great."

  Thane stepped closer, clasping a hand on Cal's shoulder. "That's fantastic, Cal. I'm so pleased for you."

  They'd all been worried, given the difficulties Thane had had finding Fionn, that history would repeat itself. And in a way it had. Nothing was as straightforward as it should be.

  "So what are they? Wolf, kestrel…"

  "Human," Cal said quietly.

  There was a pause. "Just like Father," Thane said. "What's her name?"

  "It's not a her, it's a he. A human male." The silence was much longer this time, Cal could hear the ragged sound of his own breathing, loud against the quiet.

  "Are you sure?" Thane asked.

  "I'm certain. There's no mistaking that he's my mate."

  "Can that… can that happen?" Fionn asked. He was resting his hands on his stomach, looking saddened and bewildered.

  "I've never heard of it happening before. It's always been a female shifter, Omega, or human female. To keep the family line," Thane said.

  "But has there ever been a bear family with three brothers? Maybe all of us aren't meant to have children. Maybe I'm not meant to have children."

  It was a hard, bitter truth to swallow, but what else could he take from the reality that his mate could not conceive a child?

  "I'm sorry, Callix," Thane said, taking a seat next to him. "But children are just one part of a mating. They're not everything. Father and Mother had full lives, it wasn't just about us."

  "But Father was different. And so was Mother. This human, he's fragile, naive, and isolated. He's nothing like Mother. He turned tail and ran after we kissed. Can you imagine what he'd do if he saw me change?"

  "Those kind of stories, like how Mother and Father met, always sound different when recounted later. Do you really think she saw a bear change into a man and didn't bat an eyelid? Of course not. But they looked back on it through rose-colored glasses. Don't lose heart because of this."

  "You found your mate, Cal. The one person in all the world whom you're fated to make a lifelong connection with. I know it is easy for us to say, but focus on what you have, not what you don't."

  And Cal knew, despite Fionn's words, that it wasn't easy for them to say. Fionn and Thane had gone through terrible trials before they were finally united. And Cal knew how long Fionn had suffered for want of a child. They were right. He had to focus on what was in front of him and how to make that work. Dylan's instinct seemed to be to get close to him, so Cal could work with that and use it to draw him out.

  "His name is Dylan," he said out loud, drawing Fionn and Thane's eyes to him once more. "And he is stunning. He has the bluest eyes I've ever seen with light blond hair that's almost white and when he looks at me, it takes my breath away."

  With each day that passed, Dylan became more and more preoccupied with thoughts of Callix. Had he made a mistake walking away like that? Would Cal really come back? He couldn't think why. What was he to Cal, except some stranger he'd rescued in the woods.

  Shay was watching him more closely, especially when Dylan didn't leave the yard for three days straight.

  Dylan was standing at the gate one morning, lost in thought as he stared into the forest.

  "Something on your mind?" Shay's quiet voice asked.

  "No," he replied quickly, turning to see his grandfather's concerned face.

  "Did something happen out there? Did you see someone?"

  "No, of course not." His words were too quick, his answer sounding hollow to his own ears.

  "So you'll be going out today?"

  With one last glance toward the forest, Dylan shook his head. "There's nothing out there I haven't seen before."

  Shay didn't try to stop him when he walked back inside. He made a beeline for the bathroom, rolling up his pants leg. His ankle was starting to hurt again. He couldn't understand it. He was sure the infection was gone, but the skin remained red, hot, and throbbed with his pulse. He'd stopped bandaging it. He couldn't tolerate the feeling of the cloth against his skin.

  A knock on the door had him jerking upright.

  "I'll get started on lunch. Mushroom soup?"

  His favorite. A peace offering from Shay.

  "Sounds great," he called, his voice faltering. Shay's footsteps faded into the distance. He felt a pang of guilt for making Shay worry.

  Each day, things got a little worse. He became more distracted watching out for Cal, and his ankle got worse. It throbbed every moment of the day and only seemed to get worse at night. He couldn't sleep with the pain.

  "You're sickening for something," Shay commented on seeing the dark circles under his eyes. He pressed a palm to Dylan's forehead. "No fever." He stepped back, looking Dylan up and down.

  "No chores for you today. Back to bed."

  Dylan didn't have the strength or will to argue. Back under the covers, he drifted into a restless sleep, tossing and turning. The creak of his bedroom door alerted him to Shay's return. A cool palm pressed against his cheek.

  "You're burning up," Shay said, eyeing him with concern. "I'll get you some Tylenol."

  He returned a few minutes later with some pills and a glass of water. Dylan sat u
p to take them, then flopped back down, feeling weak and tired.

  "Dylan, you need to tell me what's wrong," Shay said, sitting on the bed next to him. "I can't help if I don't know what the problem is."

  "It's my ankle."

  Shay pulled back the blanket and pushed up Dylan's pajama leg.

  "I don't know what's wrong with it. It was getting better and then it wasn't. It's burning, like someone's pressing hot coals against it."

  "That doesn't look right," Shay murmured. "You didn't just twist it, did you?"

  "No," Dylan finally admitted. "I got caught in a wire snare."

  "A snare?" Shay's eyes widened. "Why on earth didn't you tell me? How did you manage to get free?"

  "I didn't want you to worry. There… there was a man. He cut me free and helped me back here."

  "You spoke to a stranger." His grandfather's voice was very quiet and flat, which worried Dylan much more than had he been shouting.

  "He was kind to me."

  "Have you seen him again?"

  Ashamed, Dylan looked down at his hands. "He came back to check on me. We went for a walk."

  "How many times have I told you. Strangers aren't what they seem. They're dangerous."

  "I know. I'm sorry."

  "You clearly don't know or you would have told me about him the moment you came home. Instead, you disobeyed me, lied to me, and put yourself further in harm's way. All I have ever tried to do is protect you, keep you safe. And this is how you repay me."

  Shay stood.

  "I'm sorry, Grandfather," Dylan said, swallowing a sob.

  "Sorry isn't good enough, not this time. For the next week, you will not leave this room except to use the bathroom. And you are not to leave the yard anymore without my express permission, which I will be very unlikely to give. And you are never to see that man again. If he comes to you, you turn and walk away. Do you hear me?"

  "Shay, I'm not a child." Even as he said the words, Dylan knew they were a mistake.

  "Well, you're certainly acting like one. If you live under my roof, you live by my rules."