Chapter 17

RI

I catch her before she hits the floor, my arms moving on instinct before my brain can catch up. Shit. One second, Swyn's standing there, glaring at me, like she's about to tear my head off, and the next, she's collapsing, her face pale, lips trembling.

"Swyn!" I don't even recognize my own voice. It's high-pitched, almost frantic, and I swear my heart stops as I scoop her up, cradling her against me.

Her body's limp, her breathing shallow. "No, no, no. Come on."

"Ri, what the hell?" Sol shouts, already by my side, trying to get a look at her. "Why did you keep on at her?"

"I didn't—she just—" I can't form a full sentence. My mind's racing too fast. I tighten my grip around her, her head resting against my chest. "We need to get her out of here."

"Ri—" Kel starts, but I'm already moving, pushing through the door to the reception desk and heading toward our living quarters in the back.

My brothers and I have a small flat we live in on site, because running the motel is a 365 days a year job, and we're out in the middle of nowhere, unable to leave the vicinity of Spells Hollow.

My legs feel shaky, but I keep going, swallowing down the panic that's rising in my throat. She's going to be fine. I've dealt with worse. I've seen people knocked out cold, barely breathing, and they turned out okay. Right?

But none of them were her . None of them were mine.

"Princess, come on. You're fine, you're okay," I whisper, barely aware of the words leaving my mouth. I keep moving, trying to ignore the way Kel and Sol are hovering behind me, like I might drop her at any second.

"You just need to wake up, alright? Please, sweetheart, just open your eyes."

"Sweetheart?" Kel scoffs from behind me. "Now you care?"

"Shut up," I snap, glaring over my shoulder. "She needs help."

"You think?" Sol growls, shoving past Kel to keep pace with me. "Maybe if you hadn't been such a colossal dick , she wouldn't have passed out in the first place."

I bite back a retort, too focused on Swyn's face, too focused on the way her lashes flutter slightly, but not enough. Come on, lucky charm, open your eyes. Please. My chest feels like it's caving in.

"I didn't mean—" The words catch in my throat.

I don't even know what I'm trying to say. I didn't mean to push her like that. I didn't mean to make her faint, for fuck's sake. I didn't mean to care this much about her in the first place. I didn't mean to meet the one I'd be fated to spend all of eternity with.

My brothers don't get it. They don't understand. They're yet to experience what it's like, but when they do, when they meet their fated match, they'll realise why I'm so out of sorts.

I kick open the door to our living room and lower her onto the couch, brushing the hair away from her face, my fingers trembling. She's too pale.

"Swyn, come on. Please, wake up. You're scaring the shit out of me," I mutter the words under my breath, my heart pounding in my ears. I didn't mean it, I didn't mean any of it.

Of course I didn't mean it. It was a shock. To see my intended running from my naked brother. To discover she slept with him and kissed Kel…it was all too much. Not that excuses what I did.

Sol looms over me, shoving me hard in the shoulder. "Ri, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't know!" I bark back, but it comes out more like a plea than a shout. "I don't know, okay? I just—" I look down at her, my chest tight. I can't think straight. Can't focus on anything, but the rise and fall of her chest.

"Just wa

e up, Swyn. Please. I swear, I'll never say another shitty word to you again. Just... please, sweetheart."

"You're such a hypocrite," Sol growls. "Calling her ‘sweetheart' now? After all the crap you've been throwing at her? You're unreal, man."

"Do you think I don't know that?" My voice breaks as I snap at him. "I know . I've been an asshole. But I—" I pause, looking down at her again. I didn't want this .

I didn't want to meet my mate. I didn't want to care. But I do. More than I'm ready to admit. I brush her cheek with my thumb, voice lowering and taking on an edge of command.

"Come on, princess. You're tougher than this. Don't let this knock you down."

Kel's standing in the corner, arms crossed, frowning hard. "This is why you don't push people, Ri. She wasn't ready for whatever the hell you were trying to throw at her. You think she was just going to take it?"

I grit my teeth, barely holding back a string of curses that we'd all regret.

"Kel, just shut the fuck up."

"You better hope she's okay. Otherwise, I'm?—"

Kel's words cut off as a soft sound escapes Swyn's lips. I freeze, my breath catching in my throat. Thank god.

She stirs, her brow furrowing, and after what feels like an eternity, her eyes flutter open. I can't stop myself. I exhale hard, relief crashing into me like a wave.

"Swyn?"

Her gaze is unfocused, disoriented, but at least she's awake. She blinks up at me, her voice weak, barely a whisper. "Ri?"

I swallow thickly, trying to keep my voice steady. "Yeah, sweetheart, I'm here. You're okay."

Her brows pinch, confusion flickering in her expression. "You... you called me sweetheart?"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," I mutter, my voice rough, but the tight knot in my chest is already unravelling. She's alright. She's going to be alright.

"What happened?" She asks, blinking slowly and glancing around the room. "Where am I?"

"You fainted, princess. But I caught you."

"You caught me?" Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper, and she's looking at me like I've just grown a second head.

I run a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the panic that's still clinging to me like a second skin. "Yeah, I caught you. What, you think I'd just let you hit the floor?"

Swyn blinks at me, then glances around the room like she's piecing everything together. She's pale, but her colour's slowly coming back, and I can't stop staring at her face, just to be sure she's really okay.

"You're in our apartment," I say, more gruffly than I intend, shifting on my feet. "It was the closest place to bring you where we could lie you down."

Her eyes flick back to mine. "I fainted?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, you fainted. Scared the hell out of me." I don't mean for the words to come out as soft as they do, but it's like they slip past my guard before I can stop them.

She's silent for a second, her gaze sweeping over me, taking in the worry I can't hide. It's like she's trying to figure me out—like she's always trying to figure me out—but I don't know how to explain the way I feel right now.

I can't explain it. I barely understand it myself.

"You... called me sweetheart again," she mutters, her lips twitching just the slightest bit, like she's amused, but too weak to really show it. "You don't seem the sort to do pet names."

"I'm not," I grumble, pulling back slightly, trying to regain some semblance of composure. "Guess you bring out the worst in me."

She lets out a small, breathless laugh, but it's weak, and it makes my chest tighten all over again. I glance over at Sol, who's been hovering nearby, arms crossed, glaring daggers at me.

His jaw is clenched tight, and he's clearly biting back whatever insult he wants to throw at me right now.

"You're lucky she's okay," Sol mutters, his voice low and angry.

"Yeah, I know," I snap back, but my heart's still pounding too hard for me to really care about Sol's judgement right now. I turn my attention back to Swyn, who's still looking at me, her eyes a little clearer now.

"What happened?" she asks again slowly, her brow furrowed, like she's struggling to put the pieces together. "I remember...you said something, and then..."

I wince. Of course she'd bring that up. I pushed her too hard. Too fast. It wasn't supposed to go down like this.

"You passed out, Swyn," Kel chimes in from the other side of the room, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Probably from the shock of everything." He shoots me a pointed look, and I grit my teeth. "You've had a lot thrown at you in a very short time."

Her hand instinctively goes to her head, fingers rubbing her temples as she processes that. "Right...the triplets. And the...dog…hell thing." She lets out a small, strained laugh. "This is the weirdest day of my life."

"You'll get used to it," I say, trying to keep my tone light, though the tension in my chest is still there, coiled tight.

She looks back at me, and for a moment, I'm exposed, like she's seeing past every wall I've put up. "Ri, why were you so mad at me earlier?"

The question hits me like a punch to the gut. I hesitate, my jaw working, trying to find a way to explain without admitting too much. "I wasn't mad at you. Not really."

She frowns. "Sure seemed like it."

"Look," I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "I've got a lot on my plate, alright? And I said some things I shouldn't have. But you...you're not the problem. You never were."

Her eyes soften, and for the first time, I see something there I wasn't expecting. Vulnerability. And it twists something inside me I didn't even know could twist. "Then what is it?"

I swallow hard. Everything. But that's not a conversation I want to have in front of my two nosey as fuck brothers. How am I meant to tell this woman, this woman who not only probably hates me, but who has clearly formed some sort of relationship with both of my brothers, that she's fated to be mine?