Sometime later, I awake in a soft comfortable bed. I vaguely recall falling asleep in their arms as they held me, gently rocking me back and forth.
Suddenly wide awake, I sit up. The light outside the window tells me it is already day. The three of them are fast asleep on the large bed, wearing only pajama pants. Their bare, muscled torsos gleam gently in the sunlight, making me want to touch them, to kiss them until they awaken.
I am dressed in a silken robe. It touches me that they must have all put me to bed last night.
I try to creep quietly off the bed, but my movement wakens them. Dane sees what I am doing and swiftly pulls me onto his lap.
“Just where do you think you’re going, miss?” he says, nuzzling my neck.
“I need to get back to my room,” I mumble.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Aeron says gently.
“Sofia will be worried,” I say, making an excuse. I know that they are going to try and keep me here, but I am determined to listen to what the oracle said. “And I need my things.”
“We already got your things,” says Aeron, gesturing at a packed case near the bed.
“And Sofia was very excited when she packed them for you,” says Tyler looking amused. “I have a feeling she’ll be demanding you visit her later for a catch up.”
“So there’s no reason for you to leave,” says Dane. He kisses me gently, then cups my face in his hands to look into my eyes, searching my expression for what I am thinking.
“You are the love of our lives,” he says quietly and intensely. “I never thought I’d ever say that. I never thought I’d find you. You’re staying right here with us.”
I feel the warm sting of tears in my eyes. I shake my head. “You know I can’t. I told you what the oracle said.”
Dane kisses my forehead gently. “And we heard you.”
Just then my stomach growls loudly, complaining that I haven’t fed it since lunch yesterday. My eyes go wide, and I blush.
Dane chuckles. “We will eat first, and then we’ll talk. Okay?”
I hurry to the bathroom to shower and change. I doubt there is a thing they can say to make me change my mind. They deserve to have the future the oracle wanted for them. I will not get in the way of that.
When I get out of the bathroom, there is golden-haired woman in the room. Dane is scowling at her, and Tyler is struggling to hide a smile.
“Mom, this is so inappropriate,” says Dane.
“How is it inappropriate?” she says, her eyes wide. “I came to have breakfast with my son. How was I to know he’d have all these lovely guests?”
Dane rolls his eyes. “As if you didn’t arrange the soirée and then cancel it on purpose. Just admit it.”
“Oh, stop complaining,” his mom says. “I cancelled it for your benefit. And things turned out exactly as they should have. I hope?” She looks a little concerned as she says the last two words.
And then she sees me standing by the bathroom door, and her eyes light up.
“Mom!” Dane says warningly.
But she rushes across the room and throws her arms around me. She kisses me on both cheeks.
“It so lovely to meet you finally, my dear. I’ve been waiting such a long time.”
I blush, and look towards Dane for help. He comes over to me and puts his arm around my shoulder.
“Mom, this is Lola. Lola, this is my mom.”
At my confused look, he elaborates, “She found me in the sea and raised me as her own.”
His words bring a rush of bittersweet tears to my eyes. Sadness that he grew up so far from his own family and home, and happiness that he was found and raised by someone who loved and wanted him. He senses my conflicted emotions and wraps him arm around me to give me a cuddle.
He guides us both back towards Aeron and Tyler, who are standing near the open balcony door. He introduces his mom to both of them. She kisses them both on the cheek, and suddenly she bursts into tears.
“Three sons and a daughter,” she says. “What a happy day.”
She rests her fingers on both sides of Aeron’s face and gazes at him in fascination. “How like Dane you are,” she marvels.
Aeron beams. He plants a kiss on the back of her hand, and one on her cheek, making her laugh in delight.
She gives Tyler a long warm hug. “How awful for you to grow up believing your father murdered Aeron and Dane’s parents. And what happened to your mother was a great tragedy. I am truly sorry you experienced that. I wish I could have helped.”
“Thank you,” Tyler says, his voice husky. He holds her close in a hug and then kisses her cheek. Almost as if she was his mother. Tears are running freely down my cheeks now. I quickly wipe them away.
She also wipes her eyes and clears her throat. “Well, I can see that I should leave the four of you alone now. But I look forward to getting to know you all better at dinner tonight.”
Her tone makes it clear that the last part is not up for negotiation. She kisses my cheek again before leaving.
“Wow,” Dane says, after she is gone. “You guys made my mom cry. I have never seen her cry before.”
“She is pretty great,” says Aeron wistfully.
“Pushy is what she is,” Dane complains. “She’ll be planning our wedding already.”
“Do you think she’s got his wedding clothes already picked out for him?” says Tyler, elbowing Aeron. The two of them chuckle.
Dane rolls his eyes. “Very funny. You really don’t know my mother if you think she’s going to let you two off lightly. She’s probably already picked out the names of our children too.”
The idea shocks me and makes me shiver in delight. My eyes dart to the three of them, filled with hope. And then my heart sinks.
“She seems really sweet,” I say, sadly.
She had been so happy to meet me. She’d almost made me believe the future she wanted for us was possible.
My eyes land on the breakfast spread that she had bought for us, and my stomach lets out another loud growl. The array of food is clearly for more than just two people. For the next ten minutes, I say nothing at all while I eat ravenously.
The guys laugh, and waste no time joining me.
After I’m finished, I sip my coffee. I sigh. “I don’t know what there is to talk about,” I say. “I want you all to be happy, and the oracle said—”
“She said what you needed to hear,” Aeron interrupts. “I discovered that recently when I confronted her. It made me so mad. I cannot believe she never mentioned that she had spoken to you.” He looks grim at the last few words.
“You said oracles never lie.”
“It turns out she spoke the truth, but left some important bits out,” he says.
“Like that Tyler’s father never killed yours?” I ask, speaking carefully, hesitant to bring up a painful topic.
For the briefest moment pure anger flashes across Aeron’s face. He makes an effort to keep his voice calm. “I was so angry about that. Geoffre convinced us all that Tyler’s dad killed Dane and our parents that night.”
“How could the oracle not tell you that?” I ask hotly. “She must have known! Why didn’t she stop it from happening?”
Aeron sighs. “She said that for months before it happened she dreamt of a great darkness approaching, but she could not see what would happen within that darkness. That Geoffre used strong magic to cloak it from her. He was the alpha so he was the one that she went to, seeking help. She was bitter about that. She never truly knew exactly what happened that night, but she kept a close eye on Geoffre after that.”
“Tyler’s dad was loyal to the end,” Dane says fiercely. “He died trying to protect the ones he loved. Trying to protect me.”
Aeron and Dane exchange a brief intense look with Tyler. And Tyler’s jaw grits as he holds back his emotions. He nods, seeming to understand and acknowledge their unspoken words. Their sadness. Geoffre killed all of their parents. His lie was the reason Tyler’s mother killed herself. It is as if the realization of this truth has bound the three of them together.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” I tell the three of them. I squeeze Tyler’s hand. “I’m so sorry about what happened to your mother too.”
Tyler looks haunted. “My mom was always fragile. The oracle told me that my mom must not have been in her right mind when she did it. That she loved me and would never have wanted to leave me. Geoffre taunted her, threatened to cast her out. She couldn’t take it.”
“What use is the oracle if she couldn’t stop any of it?” I ask bitterly.
“She is trying to help now,” Tyler says. “She’s always tried to guide things as best as she can towards a safer future for us.”
Aeron speaks urgently. “The oracle said you needed to leave so that I could heal, right? Well, I’m healed now.”
“She said something about a war,” I insist.
“She was probably right,” Tyler says. “The elders were in uproar while Aeron was unconscious. And they weren’t the only ones. But it’s fine now. Can’t say they’re all ecstatic with the sudden change of plans for the pack’s future, but that’s tough.” He smirks.
“What Tyler means,” says Aeron, “Is that there might have been a battle for succession if I hadn’t recovered. Dane would have had to fight it out with any challengers, and they would not have been happy about a bloodstone-bearer leading the pack. But that’s not a problem now.”
“The bloodstone-bearer has always only supported his twin’s leadership,” says Dane. “The Balthazars have always had twins. It’s always been their way.”
“Our way,” Aeron corrects. “Our pack. We will lead it together.”
“And you’re happy wearing the bloodstone?” I ask, reaching for Dane’s hand.
He raises my hand to his lips to kiss it. “Absolutely. It saved your life. It saved Aeron’s.”
I frown. “My life?”
Tyler’s jaw clenches. “When Geoffre cut your throat…” He shakes his head, as if the memory is too painful. “I thought you were going to die. Dane roared, and there was this flash of immense light from the bloodstone. It healed you.” He looks incredulous. His eyes go to the bloodstone around Dane’s neck.
Aeron smiles. He tussles Dane’s hair. “Pretty spectacular magic. No wonder you wanted to steal it, bro.”
Dane looks pained. “I never knew it could kill you.”
I bite my lip. “It was my fault. The oracle knew I would betray you, and she was right.”
Aeron pulls me onto his lap and wraps his arms around my waist.
“I’m really mad at her for sending you away like that,” he says. “But I’ve always trusted her. I think she’s helped us navigate the only path that could bring us here, where the four of us are together. And I’ll always be grateful to her for that.”
“And you can’t leave us now,” says Tyler. “Dane’s already proved that he loves you too much. Imagine how awful it would be if he was miserable all the time. We’d get no power from the bloodstone at all.”
“Shut up,” Dane says, laughing. But when he looks at me his eyes are serious again. “You brought us all together. You helped me find my family again.”
I twist my fingers on my lap, trying to remember the oracle’s exact words.
Aeron kisses my cheek and the corner of my lip. “She must have known we’d find you here. She was the one who insisted we come. We’ll stay for as long as Sofia needs you, but after that we’ll take you home to clear things up with the oracle. Deal?”
“I don’t need that,” I say softly. “I believe you.”
And I do. I feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel as free as a leaf dancing in the breeze. And so full of hope. My heart flutters with anticipation.
“Good,” Dane says, pulling me onto his lap so that I am facing him. “Because I’ve been wanting to do this all morning.”
He plants a trail of kisses along my jaw and down my throat, and he pushes the straps of my dress and bra down my shoulders, revealing my breasts.
“God, I love these breasts,” he murmurs, and lowers his mouth to nuzzle them.
And then Tyler is behind me, eagerly kissing my bare shoulders and back. His hands slip to between my legs, and I gasp out loud as he touches me.
“You’re making me feel left out,” Aeron jokes.
As Dane and Tyler explore my body with their mouths and hands, I put my arms around Aeron’s neck to pull him close enough to kiss.
I murmur against his lips, “This alpha never needs to feel left out. I have a feeling he is always going to get exactly what he wants.”
The end.
