Merida
"Bullshit." I growl out at him.
This is utter bullshit.
I'd been in the training room for three days, working off my exhaustion and fatigue. My initial plan was to begin training with the other warriors before checking in on Mia for the fifth time today. A plan that was abruptly halted and then abandoned, especially when I realized why he summoned me here.
"You need to." He demanded.
"I don't need to do a damn thing when it comes to her." I snap.
"Merida, dear." He breathes. "You see it, the same as we do. It's possible that you're affecting her."
"A witch nearly killed her and you're telling me to stay away." I throw my arms in absolute disbelief. "When it was because of our bond that we found out in the first place and it's also likely that our bond is reason that she's currently unharmed."
"You need to understand-"
"Screw your damn enlightenment. We're mates and it's undeniable by this point. Why can't you just accept that?!"
"Your connection is different. Mia's different. And until we can figure it out, you need to stay away from her. You have a gift inside of you, and so does Mia. And together that can be dangerous."
I run my fingers through the white strands in frustration. "You're asking me to deny my nature."
"I asking you to help me protect this pack. We already have one witch blood related problem to deal with. Merida, look. I'm not asking you to break your bond, but your connection isn't normal."
Melody growls at his insult.
"What I mean," He says softly, "is that the things both of you feel shouldn't be possible without a full link. The longer you're near her, the more the link tightens. It's the magic between you too. But it's different. And two types of magic don't blend well."
I look over to the picture of my older brother as a child and my biological mother. The two pairs of eyes from long ago reflect into mine. "You and Mother blended well. Twice actually."
"That's different, the power in me is ancient." Magic from an Old God passed through our bloodline, he means. "Natalie... pulled from the same source, her coven worshipped that same God." Father closed his eyes for a moment, likely remembering her.
"It's the same feeling, you know." The thought of her leaving me again tears me from the inside out. "I felt like this for the past four years. Just without the realization that she was my mate."
We both linger in silence for a moment before I eventually speak up.
"I can't do what you ask of me."
"Merida." He begins ready to fight me on my decision.
"No, Father. I'm going to tell Mia." I tell him, my resolve already set. "She needs to know."
"Tell me what?" My head snaps to the door at the same time Father's does. Mia lingers at the entrance, her expression tense as she stands in a gray top and sweatpants that now sag slightly due to her rapid weight loss from the three day coma.
My nature rises in me, wanting me to feed her. "Mia, you should go back to bed. It's only been a few days."
"What do you need to tell me?" She questions, pushing further.
I turn towards Father for a moment and notice his tense expression.
Our worries are reflected in one another but like I told him before, I'm done running. I'm going to tell her.
"Not here." I turn back towards Mia. "I'll explain when we go back to the room."
Her brown eyes bore into mine for a moment and I feel stripped bare underneath her demanding gaze. Maybe Father was right about one thing. Our bond is different than it was when she first got here. After a beat, she turns leading the way into her room and I close the office door behind me, following her up the steps.
The pack house is bustling with wolves moving to and from, each with a destination and a purpose in mind. I breathe deeply, taking in some of their strength in hopes that it might alleviate my rising anxiety. Mia passes them with ease as they give us space and I take a moment to notice just how similar she's become to the pack.
I can only pray she's also became close enough to the pack mindset to understand and accept what I'm about to tell her.
Soon enough, I close the door to her room, giving us the well needed privacy. She walks over the antique desk across the door and a few feet away from the bed. She doesn't sit instead deciding to lean against it, facing me.
"Okay," I begin, struggling to find the right words. "I don't want you to be afraid."
"Merida, I'm surrounded by werewolves. Cut the crap." She scoffs. "What is it?"
I take a small step towards her and then another. "This is difficult, to say the least."
She cocks her head to the side, her stubborn earth colored eyes refusing to take that as an answer.
"Mia, we're connected." I blurt. Crap, that's not what I wanted to say.
"What do you mean?"
"Connected," I repeat, as if that word explains anything. "Bonded."
"For fucks sake, stop being so damn cryptic."
I take another small step towards her, eager to close this awful gap between us. "We're mated, Mia."
I wait for her response, something, anything. All she does is stare at the floor for a long time, absorbing the information before she shakes her head. My anxiety begins to rise again.
"Kristen spoke about it, but I still don't understand. What does it mean? Is it like just being friends? Or are our wolves similar to each other or something?" She asks still staring down at the floor. "I don't understand, she said it was impossible." The final part was barely a whisper.
"Do you know what I said in the break room that night?" I move closer, our bodies only about four feet apart. "We're connected Mia. In every way. Separated by nothing."
She looks up at me, and I continue. I take a gamble and pull at our bond, wanting her to feel the truth between us.
"When you left, I nearly lost control of Melody. We searched for you every chance we got. Every full moon, Melody would take over and I," I take a moment, remembering the hell I went through each month. "We ran for miles. Sometimes I would even wake up in another state."
"I-" She begins but I stop her.
"When we met again, I finally realized why Melody spent so long searching. Our wolves knew the moment we saw each other that night. It's more than just being friends." I say, answering her earlier question. "It's impossible to just be friends."
"Kristen said your wolves want to be together... all the time." She said.
I nodded. "Yes, it's like that but more. So much more." I breathe. "I want to be around you. I even get anxious every time you're not near me. I want to take care of you. Feed you. Protect you. I want..."
She stares at me as I continue to close the space between us, tightening the bond. "This-- I just don't get it, Merida."
"The universe around me comes to a halt when I look into your eyes. Your heart becomes the unbreakable center piece of my very essence. I breathe for you, live solely for you, and would gladly die for you. I adore every aspect of you, and I would burn this damn planet down before allowing anything to happen to you." My patience shatters immediately and I allow the nature I've been denying for years to take hold.
I don't allow Melody to call Madness forward. I want Mia to be aware of this. To feel it for herself. It's the only way she'll understand.
"This is what being mates means." I move quickly as the bond locks between us, pressing our bodies together as my hand snakes into her twists.
I revel at the feel but continue my purpose, not leaving any chance for her to push me away. Her eyes widen and then close as our lips meet, the warmth creating currents of electricity between us. I grip her hair harder as I press into her. A soft moan escapes us both as her hands dig into the front of shirt.
Mia catches herself quickly because I'm blindsided by the well-deserved punch that follows sharply after, taking me three steps back, but what really kills me is her expression.
The sting of the punch on the side of my face pales in comparison to the pain that shoots in my heart. Mia takes deep breaths through the hand that covers her mouth, her expression twisted in agony and disgust.
"That's... but you're my sister." She gasps.
"Step-sister." I elaborate, grounding out the word. "But Mia," I begin trying to get closer once more but her hand shot out creating space between us.
"You're still my sister." She emphasizes. "We're sisters."
I steel myself as I finally prepare to tell her the truth that I've fought for so long. She needed to know. "I have never once thought of you as my sister."
Her face contorts into one of utter repulsion. I try to bite back the tears that begin to surface at the revelation in front of me.
"This...it's wrong." She whispers as she bolts into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.
Mia...
Mia rejected me.
In an instant, I'm out of the house and deep into the woods. My emotions overtake me as I sprint into the dark forest.
Melody rose to the top, furious, our anguish too great for one body to bear.
Falling into the first oak tree I come across, I ram my fist into it over and over, splintering the hard wood, until the waves of anguish and the pain of her rejection overflows within me punching to escape.
Losing my will to hold it back, Melody and I scream.
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