9. Thorne

Iris is still unconscious when we get back to the pack house.

I carefully lay her down on my couch. She looks so small there. The couch is admittedly large, which I have on purpose because it's big enough for me in my wolf form.

I tuck a blanket around her then step back.

She looks so peaceful there.

There's a scratching sound and a flash of white, with a small spot of brown, scurries across the floor. The ermine from her house hisses at me before settling into the crook of her elbow. He tucks himself in and bares his teeth.

"Easy, little guy," I murmur.

The ermine hisses at me again.

"T," I hear my brother's voice and spin. Evander walks into the room, his eyes wide. "Is it true?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Is it true that your two goons came without your knowledge?"

"I swear, Thorne, I really didn't tell them to do that."

I sniff, cautiously. People usually have a scent when they're lying. Sweat and guilt.

My brother, who I have known my whole life, is no exception.

I don't smell either of those things on him, and I relax slightly.

"Is she…"

I look down at Iris, who is still sleeping on the couch. "Yeah. She is."

Evander whistles. "How?"

"I have no fucking idea."

It's all still so… new. When the mate bond snapped into place back at Iris' house, I hadn't been expecting it. Of course; why would I? Fated mates weren't more than a fairytale until recently. I had absolutely no reason to think that I would ever find mine.

Or that she would be human.

I rub at my chest. It's strange, but I feel like I can somehow... sense Iris there. Like, her feelings, her emotions. Her presence.

I feel connected to her.

It has to be fated mates.

"Did you glow?"

I laugh at Evander's question. "Yeah. I did. And so did she."

He whistles again. "What's it like?"

I shake my head. "It's like nothing you've ever felt, man. Like, somehow, I know where she is. I know how she's feeling. I know that she's… mine."

I can't stand to be away from her right now. I slide over to the couch, slipping underneath her so I can cradle her in my arms.

She lets out a little puff of air, and the ermine glares at me before scrambling over to her feet.

He settles there, and if looks could kill, I'd be ermine food.

Off to the side, Evander is staring at her with something like awe in his eyes. "Thorne…"

"Yes?"

He looks over at me. "I'm so sorry. I'm so fucking sorry. I had no idea. If I had known…"

"Ev. You couldn't have known."

"But you did."

I look over at him. "No. I really didn't."

He shakes his head. "You did. Whether or not it was conscious, you knew that she was your mate. That she was the one who was meant for you. Even though she's human, you knew the whole time that she was the one for you."

I shrug. "Ev, I didn't know. I just knew that with her everything feels… right," I end on a near whisper.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Thorne. I almost took you from her."

I look down at where Iris is sleeping in my arms. Gently, I push a lock of her hair, so white it's almost pale, out of her face.

"Somehow, Ev, I don't think anyone could have kept us apart."

He whistles. "Fated mates. Two pairs. And you weren't even a hundred years after Gabe and Cara. What does it mean?"

I look up at him. "I have no idea."

But it feels like hope.

We both stare at the woman in my arms. Evander shifts, and when I look up at him, there's excitement in his eyes. "You still think this is your baby?"

I have no idea how to answer that question. "I just don't understand how."

Maybe there's a reason. But every time I wrap my mind around it, the answer comes up the same.

Humans can't have shifter babies.

And fated mates didn't exist either.

He grins.

"You know who would know?"

I nod, picking up on what he's saying. "The faerie woman."

When I bought the town of Oakwood and the surrounding land, Evander and I found a little cabin there that hadn't been included in the property maps. We, of course, decided to check it out before we bought the place.

To our shock, there had been a slight faerie woman inside.

Coral.

Apparently, her entire hive was murdered by lion shifters outside of her home in Seattle. She had been traveling at the time, which was fairly odd for a faerie, as they tended to be greatly rooted to locations. Their magic came from nature, and they didn't like to move.

Coral and I had made a bargain. I would allow her to stay on my land.

And she would help me out if I ever needed it.

Bargains, for faeries, were binding.

Evander nods. "I'll go make sure she's ready."

On the couch, Iris stirs.

Eyes going soft, Evander looks at her. "Happy for you, brother," he whispers.

"Thanks, Ev."

He is out the door quickly, leaving me with a blinking, sleepy Iris.

My mate.

My fated mate.

I still can't believe it.

"Thorne?" she whispers.

"Hey, sweetheart," I murmur.

Iris stiffens. "Sweetheart?"

Yeah. I deserved that. "Iris, then," I say. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

She sits up, blinking. The little white ermine hisses at me before tucking itself against her side. Idly, she strokes it.

The ermine closes its little black eyes in joy.

Yeah. Iris is kind of like that, little guy.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in the pack headquarters. Outside of town, about thirty minutes up the highway."

She blinks. "Pack?"

I see the moment she remembers everything. She scrambles back, tucking herself away from me, disrupting the ermine again. At the other end of the couch, she bites her lip, staring at me.

"What the hell happened, Thorne."

Well.

It's one of the major rules of our world that we can't tell humans about the world that we're a part of. Shifters, faeries, all of us. We can't let humans know that we exist.

However…

In this situation, I think that I can probably make an exception.

"You saw me change from a wolf into a human."

She nods. "Okay. Good. That was real?"

The question in her voice kills me. "Yes, sweetheart. That was real."

"Have you always been a wolf?"

I nod. "Always."

"And it was you in the forest. When you scared away the bear?"

I give her a little half smile. "Well. I wanted to scare her away. But you kept me from going full protective wolf on her."

"She was just trying to defend her baby," Iris says.

"She was going to eat you."

"And rightfully so, if I was between her and her cub!"

I shake my head. "Yes. That was me in the forest."

"And you can just… turn into a wolf. Whenever you want?"

Her face furrows in concentration. She nibbles at that plump bottom lip, the motion making my cock stiffen.

"Yes."

She wrinkles her nose. "How?"

I sigh.

And I begin to explain.

Nearly an hour later,Iris is still staring at me. I'm not sure if the explanation helped at all, because for the most part, she just seems really overwhelmed.

Finally, she opens her mouth. "So. You're a wolf."

"Yes."

"And there are other… shifters. Who turn into animals."

"Yes."

Iris bit at her lip. "Like all different types of animals?"

"Mammals are most common. But there are crocodile and snake shifters. Some birds."

"Oh," she murmured. "Oh!" she glares at the ermine. "Are you a human?"

It lets out a little huff and snuggles closer to her.

I shake my head. "I don't know what's up with that thing, but I don't think he's a shifter."

"Okay, well. You just never can tell these days, can you," Iris murmurs.

"Iris, look at me."

She does, somewhat slowly.

"You haven't asked me about what it means to be mates."

"Yeah. Because…" she looks away. "I don't know that I'm ready to know yet."

The pain of what I said to her before…

It's so clear on her face.

My heart sinks. We're fated mates, but I don't think that actually matters.

That's like… a magic thing.

She doesn't have to love me.

Let alone like me.

I think.

"I'm sorry. Iris, please…"

"You were convinced that I was sleeping with someone else. You thought I lied to you. And you were so…" she blinks.

"I was horrible," I say back.

She nods.

"I know. I'm so sorry. There's no excuse. I just… you have to understand, Iris. I didn't lie to you when I said that we wouldn't be able to have kids. Shifters can't reproduce with humans. Ever. It's something that we just biologically can't do."

She frowns, looking down at her belly. "Okay well. Here we are again…"

"I know. I know. I don't know how all this is possible. We aren't supposed to be fated mates either. They're not supposed to be real. That's something else that's just… look I don't know how all of this could happen if you're human."

"I am. I'm definitely human," she says sadly. "And this baby is definitely yours."

"Iris. That's not possible. Was the father someone in town? Did he… was it without your consent?"

"No. Thorne, I really don't want to get into this again. There is no other father. It's just you. I haven't slept with anyone else. Haven't been with anyone else. It's only you."

I can't deny that the words make my cock twitch. The possessive part of me loves her saying that.

"Iris," I say gently. "It can't be possible. I know you have your reasons for not telling me but…"

"There's no one else. But of course, this is how everything turns out for me."

I lean in. There's more than just a little bit of sadness in her tone. "Iris?"

She laughs, and the sound is bitter. Her little ermine friend nuzzles at her hand, and she strokes him again.

"It's just… of course I don't fit in with you either."

My heart crumples. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've never fit in anywhere. My whole life. When I lived in Denver, people always thought I was weird for wanting to spend more than just a fun ski trip in the mountains. I would go on backpacking trips as a teenager instead of going to parties or sleepovers. In college, I never wanted to go out drinking or partying, because I wanted to spend time in the lab. Even in my own family, my parents think that I'm weird."

"Iris…"

"So of course, the first person who I really care about, the person who I l…" she stops.

Was she about to say love?

"Of course, I don't fit in with you either."

I'm not sure if she wants to be hugged. I have no idea.

But I pull her against my chest.

Iris stiffens for a minute, then sags. "What?" she mutters.

"Iris. It doesn't matter to me that you're human. You fit in with me. You belong with me," I say, my voice getting thicker as I go. "I need you to understand that. Okay?"

"Mmf," she mutters in my chest.

I press a kiss to her head. "We'll figure this out. I don't care who the baby's dad is. I want them to be raised as mine. As ours."

"Thorne, there isn't…"

My phone rings.

I glance down and grab it. "Yes?"

"Coral is ready for you," Evander's voice says.

I put the phone down and give Iris another hug. The ermine takes a bite at my fingers, but I move out of the way before he can sink his teeth in.

Iris pulls back. "What?"

"Do you want to go get some answers?"

She blinks at me. "Um. Sure?"

"Come with me."