Chapter 194

Ronan

The babies’ cries faded into softer sounds as they nestled against Lila’s chest. Relief lingered thick in the air, but underneath it something else clawed at me.

That moment, my Mate’s hand brushing mine, the jolt of recognition, the bond roaring through my blood… it still burned in me like fire.

Mate. After years of exile, of silence from the Gods, of believing fate had forgotten me, she was here. Standing only steps away, with my charge’s blood on her hands and compassion in her eyes.

And I had no idea what to do with it.

I forced myself to focus on Lila through the doorway to her room. That was my vow, my anchor. Yet the pull of the mating bond gnawed at me, relentlessly, demanding acknowledgment.

When the other midwives shifted about, tidying the aftermath of the delivery, I felt her draw closer again. My heart thundered so hard it shook my chest.

“Congratulations,” she said softly. Her voice was soft, gentle, but laced with hesitation that resonated deep inside me. “You have a beautiful family.”

The words staggered me and the bond inside me surged, grasping at the idea, screaming to build a family with this female until my throat tightened.

I couldn’t breathe for a moment, this timing, this place, made it feel like I was betraying another vow.

I swallowed hard, looking at her. Her face was flushed from the long hours of work, strands of hair clinging to her temples. Ordinary, except she wasn’t, she was … everything.

I should have stayed silent, should have buried it. But her eyes searched mine with quiet certainty, as though she could feel the storm in me just as I felt it in her.

“They’re not mine,” I said finally, the words rough, torn from my throat.

Her brows lifted slightly, but she didn’t speak, letting me go on.

“I’ve stood with her,” I continued, glancing toward Lila, “but not as you think. We’re not mates. We’re bound, yes, but by circumstance and a promise I need to keep. I fought to keep her alive long enough to see this moment.”

Admitting it aloud left me raw, stripped bare before this stranger.

Her gaze lingered on me, assessing, calm but sharp. I could feel her testing the truth in my voice, in the bond thrumming between us. My wolf leaned forward, desperate for her acceptance, but I held myself still. I had no right to demand anything of her, least of all her trust.

I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling raggedly. “You came into this room to save her life. And instead, fate saw fit to remind me I still have one of my own. But I won’t turn away from her until they’re safe, maybe not even then.”

The admission hung in the air. My chest burned with the new guilt of telling my newfound mate that there would be another female in my life; but there was also a strange, aching relief.

The truth was spoken now. Whatever came next, it wouldn’t be built on silence.

She nodded once, a simple gesture, but it carried weight. She held no anger or judgment, just acknowledgment.

The bond thrummed, eager, alive, pulling at me with promises of a future I couldn’t yet claim. And still, I turned back to Lila, to the fragile miracles in her arms, holding my ground.

For now, survival came first.

The silence between us stretched. The midwife, my mate, studied me with eyes that bored into me deeper than was comfortable. Her presence was steady, as she weighed every word I’d spoken.

“You speak like a soldier,” she said at last, her tone even. “Loyal. Determined. And like a male used to giving orders.”

I almost laughed, though there was nothing amusing about it. “It’s all I’ve ever had,” I admitted, voice low. “My word. My loyalty. Even when it cost me everything.”

Her gaze flicked to Lila, then back to me. “And her? This female you stand for…what is she to you, if not a mate?”

I looked at Lila, her head bowed over her daughter, exhaustion pulling at her frame. My chest tightened.

“She’s…” I searched for the word, but none of them seemed enough. “She’s family. Not by blood. She asked me to help her when no one else would. And I promised I’d keep her safe.”

The midwife tilted her head slightly, the flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. Testing. Probing. The bond between us thrummed louder, insistent, demanding I reach for her, but again I held my ground.

“You’d stand for her even now,” she said. Not a question. A statement.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. “Until she and her children are safe, I won’t leave her side, I swore it.”

For a heartbeat, fear coiled tight in me. That she might reject this truth, that she might see my loyalty as betrayal of what our bond might solidify into. But then she exhaled slowly, a sound almost like surrender.

“You’re being truthful,” she said softly. “I can feel it.”

Relief hit me so hard it nearly took my knees out. My chest loosened, breath spilling from me in a ragged rush I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

She stepped closer, her hand brushing mine. Not really touching, but near enough that the bond sparked hot through my chest. “Fate ties us,” she murmured. “But I won’t pull you from where you’ve pledged your honor.”

The generosity of it cut deeper than any blade. I swallowed hard, bowing my head. “I’ll come when I can. When it’s right.”

Her lips curved faintly, not quite a smile, but it was gentle with understanding. “Then I’ll wait. If you’re the male I think you are, you’ll be worth waiting for.”

The bond pulsed between us, a quiet acknowledgment.

I let out a shaky laugh, low and quiet, pressing a hand over my face for a moment to collect myself. Then I looked back at her fully. “Thank you...?” I realized I hadn’t asked her name.

“Thalia. My name is Thalia.”

I felt my world realign one more time and whispered her name with reverence. Her shy smile in reply melted my heart.

Thalia didn’t step away immediately. Instead, she leaned just close enough that her breath brushed my cheek, her eyes bright in the low firelight. “It’s hard to look anywhere else when you’re in the room… but I know your place is at her side tonight.”

Her honesty cut through the haze of exhaustion and adrenaline. My chest tightened, every instinct screaming to close the distance, to claim her, to make her mine. I forced myself still, though my hand trembled at my side.

“I could never deny you,” I rasped, voice breaking. “But if I take one step closer, I’ll never let you go.”

Her lips parted, her gaze locking to mine, and for a heartbeat the world narrowed to us alone, just two wolves caught in the gravity of destiny, with only honor holding us apart.

Thalia nodded once and stepped away, turning back to her work, folding linens, checking herbs, as though nothing extraordinary had just passed between us.

But I felt it. Every nerve in me still thrummed with her nearness. The bond hummed like a promise in the background, a future waiting. But for now, she was right, my duty was here by Lila’s side.