Page 49 of Whisker me Away
"So we need to complete the bond." Freya's voice came out steadier than she felt. "The full claiming, not just physical joining."
"According to every source I can find, yes." Edgar hesitated, then continued gently. "But there's something else. Something about the original binding that changes everything."
He led them to another text, this one so old the pages crackled at his touch. The writing was in the ancient tongue, but Freya could make out enough to understand the basic meaning.
"Celeste didn't sacrifice herself alone," she breathed, translating the archaic phrases. "Her mate chose to share the burden, to split the cost between them so neither had to die."
"A willing sacrifice from both partners," Edgar confirmed. "Not death, but complete surrender to the bond. Total trust and shared power creating something stronger than either could achieve alone."
"A feedback loop of protection," Kieran said slowly. "That's why the binding lasted over a century instead of burning out immediately."
Freya stared at the ancient text, seeing her ancestor's true legacy written in faded ink. Not heroic sacrifice, but partnership. Not death, but transformation into something more powerful together than apart.
"She was never meant to face it alone," Freya whispered. "The guardian bloodline was meant to work in pairs, mates supporting each other through the burden of protecting others."
"Which means you don't have to face it alone either," Kieran said, his voice warm with understanding. "We can share the load, make it something manageable instead of impossible."
The offer should have filled her with relief. Instead, terror clawed at her throat with renewed force. The idea of completing their bond, of surrendering so completely to someone else, felt like stepping off a cliff into unknown territory.
"What if I can’t, even with the complete bond?" she asked. "What if we try again and I fail you the same way I failed everyone else?"
"At least we'll know we gave it everything we had."
"I'm scared," she admitted. "Not of the bond itself, but of disappointing you. Of being the weak link that breaks under pressure."
"You're the strongest person I know," he said simply. "And even if you weren't, I'd rather face impossible odds with you than guaranteed success with anyone else."
"The claiming," she said finally after a long moment of hesitation. "How exactly does it work?"
Edgar cleared his throat diplomatically. "That's between mates. But it involves marking each other permanently, binding your lives together in ways that can't be undone."
"Forever," Freya said, testing the word.
"Forever," Kieran agreed. "No take-backs, no second thoughts, no escape clauses."
The finality should have scared her as it had not long before. Instead, she felt something settle in her that had been restless for weeks. Not peace exactly, but rightness. The bone-deep certainty that whatever came next, she wanted to face it with this man at her side.
Maybe it would be enough. That love really could overcome ancient evil.
Or they'd both die trying.
Either way, she was done running from her destiny.
26
KIERAN
Kieran left Freya at her cottage with strict instructions to rest. The weight of what they were about to attempt pressed down on him like a physical force, but underneath the nerves was something else: anticipation. They'd finally complete the bond that had been pulling them together since their first kiss.
But first, he needed advice from someone who'd walked this path before.
The construction site where Emmett Hollowell was rebuilding Mrs. Patterson's storm-damaged fence sat on the outskirts of town, far enough from the corruption zone to feel almost normal. Kieran found the former pack leader exactly where he expected: working with methodical precision while his enhanced hearing monitored everything happening in a three-block radius.
"Kieran." Emmett looked up from the fence post he was setting, his gray-blue eyes taking in Kieran's obvious tension. "You look like a man with something heavy on his mind."
"Need to talk. About mate bonds and what completing one actually means." Kieran grabbed a second post and begandigging, needing physical work to keep his tiger calm. "Figured you'd have insight, given your situation with Katniss."
Emmett's expression softened at the mention of his podcaster mate. "Ah. So you and Freya are finally taking the plunge."
