Page 97 of When Ashes Fall

She wanted a mate; that was something I never saw coming from Lyra. She was so fierce and independent.

“I hope I never find him,” she whispered.

“Why?” I blurted.

She rocked from her heels to her toes as she surveyed the land. It took her so long to respond that I began to wonder whether she heard me.

“We’re all so broken,” she said. “And nothing can ever put us back together. I don’t want my mate to deal with that. Neither does Knox, but he doesn’t have a choice; he’s already found you.”

I decided to ignore that last part. “If your mate is a shifter, then they’ll also feel the draw of the mate bond. I don’t think it will matter to them if you’re broken or not.”

“Does that make it any better? They say mates are the two halves of one soul. Why would I choose to hoist my broken half on a man who doesn’t have a choice in the matter?”

“I’m not a shifter. I have choices.”

She looked at me over her shoulder again. “And that’s what makes it so scary for Knox.”

I hadn’t been expecting that at all. “What?”

“Shifters have no choice; they can never walk away from their mate, but you can walk away from yours. If it becomes too tough, if things aren’t working out the way you expect, or⁠—”

“Or if the shifter who claims you as their mate is a complete asshole ninety-nine percent of the time?”

When she lifted an eyebrow in amusement, I smiled back at her. “You think Knox isn’t an asshole one percent of the time? You give him more credit than I do.”

I chuckled, but her words gave me pause. “Once the curse is broken, will you choose another alpha to follow?”

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Briar

“I could, but I never would. Knox is an asshole, and he’s as broken as me, but he’s also the fiercest fighter and strongest shifter I’ve ever seen… including his father.”

I wondered what would happen with his father if Knox succeeded in breaking the curse. How would he feel about his least-favored son becoming stronger than him?

“I follow strength, as do Dromon and Pierce, but more than that, we’ll follow the man who would die for us, freed us from the harem, and gave us back our lives… even if those lives are far different than the ones we left. I would follow Knox into the depths of Hell and back again if he asked me to, because he wouldn’t hesitate to do it for me.”

I gulped at her words and the hoarse emotion in her voice. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you have to understand that learning his mate plans to run scared him far more than the dying roses.”

“He told me that he has no intention of claiming me as his mate again.”

Lyra sighed. “He’s such an idiot. Knox may have told you that he would never claim you as his mate again, but you are his mate, and he will always see you as such.”

“He never asked me if I planned to run; he just accused me of it.”

“When he learned you taught Zephyr how to make the potion, he knew you were planning to run away. We all did. I don’t blame you; I’d try to run too if I were you. This place is a prison for you… just as the harem was for us. When I was finally free of that place, I vowed never to be caged again; I don’t blame anyone for feeling the same way.”

I didn’t deny her words. I couldn’t lie to her when she was being so truthful with me. “He doesn’t make it easy to want to stay.”

“No, he doesn’t, but you must know that if you run, he’ll hunt you until he has you again. It won’t matter where you go.”

“I know.”

But that wasn’t going to stop me, especially not after today. He could hunt me, but if he couldn’t get to me, then I wouldn’t come back.

“Do you still love him?” Lyra asked.