Page 22 of Faeheart (Widdershins Supernatural Academy #2)

Elias

O ur first full day in the mansion had been tougher than I expected.

When I went to bed the previous night with Wild’s cum smeared over my belly and our bond glowing, it felt like everything was right in the world.

But the dawn brought reality crashing back in and before I knew it, our entire lives were unraveling at the seams.

Being asked by the Elder Council to help them defeat the Purity Front was so unexpected that I really hadn’t had time to process it.

At first, it felt like an honor, a way to salvage the Thorne family name after my parents had sullied it.

But the longer I thought about it, the more I didn’t understand.

The Elder Council was a group of the most powerful witches and shifters in the entire world.

They helped keep the paranormal world a secret from the humans and cleaned up any messes that threatened our exposure.

They also kept the paranormal world in line and prosecuted anyone that broke our most sacred laws.

That meant the Purity Front was their responsibility to stop.

So why did they need help from a group of college students who had formed an unstudied bond completely by accident?

Wild’s reaction was right. It was completely unfair of them to ask us to permanently bind ourselves together for the rest of our lives and all eternity just because they didn’t want to face the Purity Front head on.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from feeling depressed that Wild didn’t want to bond with me.

So, I tried to cover it up with anger at the people in charge.

Blackwood had no right to give us the Resonance Stones without fully explaining the risks.

The Dean had no right to lock us down after he failed to keep the campus properly warded.

And the Elder Council should never have asked us to stop a war for them before it could get out of control.

Every single adult who was supposed to be protecting us had failed and now we were the ones that had to pay the price.

I found myself pacing the room Wild and I had shared the night before, my emotions a churning mess of anger, hurt, and confusion. The scent of our intimacy still lingered on the sheets, a painful reminder of how close we’d been just hours ago. Now everything felt fractured, uncertain.

A soft knock at the door interrupted my spiraling thoughts. I expected to see Wild, maybe coming to apologize or explain. Instead, Caden peered around the doorframe, his expression cautious.

“Can I come in?” he asked quietly.

I nodded, settling heavily on the edge of the bed. Caden entered and closed the door behind him, then surprised me by sitting beside me rather than maintaining his usual respectful distance.

“You’re hurt,” he said simply. It wasn’t a question.

Through our tetrad bond, I supposed my emotional turmoil was probably broadcasting to all of them like a beacon. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know.” Caden was quiet for a moment, his fingers absently tracing patterns on the coverlet. “Can I tell you something about Wild that he probably wouldn’t want you to know?”

I looked at him sharply. “Caden...”

“He’s terrified,” Caden continued, ignoring my protest. “Not of the bond or even of you specifically. He’s terrified of permanence because the only permanent things in his life have caused him pain.”

Despite myself, I felt my curiosity pique. Wild had always deflected any serious conversations about his past, keeping things light and surface-level even as our connection deepened.

“What do you mean?”

Caden sighed, running a hand through his auburn hair.

“His parents... they’re not exactly warm people.

They see him as a political tool, a way to advance their standing in the Seelie Court.

Every relationship he’s ever had, every friendship, has been evaluated for its potential benefit to the family.

He learned early that caring about someone just gave them power to hurt him. So he just… stopped .”

The revelation hit me like a physical blow. Through our bond, I’d sensed Wild’s loneliness, his desperate need to be accepted for who he truly was rather than what he could provide. But I hadn’t understood the depth of it.

“He cares about you,” Caden said softly. “More than he’s probably ever cared about anyone. That’s exactly why he’s running.”

“Then why did he say it was just sex?” The words came out more bitter than I intended. “Why make it clear that it didn’t mean anything?”

“Because he’s protecting himself the only way he knows how.

” Caden turned to face me fully. “Think about it, Elias. If this soul recognition thing is real, if you two are truly bonded in some cosmic way, then he can’t just walk away when things get complicated.

He can’t use his usual shields. He’s in a situation he’s never been in, and his defenses are completely useless. ”

I felt my anger beginning to transform into something else. Understanding, maybe. Or at least the beginning of it.

“So, what am I supposed to do?” I asked, staring down at my hands. “Just accept that he’ll keep pushing me away every time we get close?”

“No,” Caden said, his voice gentle but firm. “I think you need to meet him halfway. Show him that permanence doesn’t have to mean pain.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “That’s easier said than done when I’m not exactly an expert on healthy relationships myself. The Thorne family isn’t exactly known for its emotional openness.”

“Maybe that’s why you two recognize each other’s souls,” Caden suggested, a small smile playing at his lips. “You’re both broken in complementary ways.”

The thought was oddly comforting. Through our bond, I could feel Caden’s sincerity, his genuine desire to help both Wild and me navigate this impossible situation.

“Atlas went to talk to him earlier,” he added. “Wild’s still in the conservatory.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. “I should go find him, shouldn’t I?”

“Only if you want to,” Caden said, standing. “But for what it’s worth, I think you two are good for each other. When you’re not too busy driving each other crazy.”

“Really?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Do you think we stand a chance?”

“I know you do,” Caden nodded. “Atlas and I will be right here to help you because… well, we care about you and Wild, too. This bond isn’t just between you and him, you know?

I’m finding my feelings growing for you two as well.

So is Atlas.” He shook his head. “It’s getting a little complicated, but I know you and Wild are meant for one another.

” Caden took a step forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. “So, if you’re ready, go talk to him.”

I smiled and pulled Caden into a quick hug before I headed for the door.

As I made my way through the mansion’s shifting corridors, I tried to organize my thoughts.

What would I even say to Wild? That I understood his fear?

That I shared it? The truth was, the idea of being cosmically bound to anyone terrified me almost as much as it seemed to terrify him.

The mansion seemed to guide me, doors appearing and hallways shortening until I found myself at the entrance to a massive glass-walled conservatory.

Through the crystalline panels, I could see Wild sitting alone on a stone bench, surrounded by luminescent flowers that seemed to pulse in time with his breathing.

He looked smaller somehow, hunched over with his arms wrapped around himself.

Vulnerable in a way I’d never seen him before.

For a moment, I considered turning back, giving him more time.

But the pull between us was undeniable, drawing me forward despite my hesitation.

Caden’s reassuring words echoed in my head and I forced my feet to move.

I pushed open the glass door, the humid air washing over me in a wave of earthy scents and fae magic. Wild looked up, his green eyes widening slightly when he saw me.

“Atlas sent you?” he said, turning his gaze back to the floor.

“No,” I replied, approaching slowly. “Caden told me where you were, but I came on my own.”

Wild nodded, making room for me on the bench, though he didn’t meet my eyes. “Come to convince me to complete the bond? Save the world? Be a good little soldier in the Elder Council’s war?”

“Actually,” I said, settling beside him, careful to leave space between us, “I came to tell you I think you’re right.”

That got his attention. His head snapped up, those fae-bright eyes searching my face for any sign of deception. “What?”

“The Elder Council, Blackwood, even my own family... they’ve all manipulated us from the beginning.

” I stared at a cluster of night-blooming jasmine, its sweet scent almost overwhelming in the enclosed space.

“We never had a real choice in any of this. The Resonance Stones, the bond, being brought here... it’s all been orchestrated by people who care more about their political games than what we actually want. ”

Wild’s surprise rippled through our connection, followed by something that felt like relief. “I wasn’t expecting you to agree with me.”

“Neither was I,” I admitted, finally turning to look at him. “But sitting in that room, thinking about everything that’s happened... I realized I’ve been so focused on living up to everyone else’s expectations that I never lived my own life. I never even stopped to ask what I actually wanted.”

“And what do you want?” Wild asked quietly, his voice barely audible over the gentle hum of magical plants around us.

I took a shaky breath, knowing that my answer would change everything between us.

“I want you,” I said simply. “Not because some ancient magic says we’re supposed to be together.

Not because the Elder Council needs us to save the world.

I want you because when I’m with you, I feel like myself for the first time in my life. ”

Wild’s breath caught, and through our bond I felt the walls he’d built around his heart trembling. “Elias...”

“I’m terrified too,” I continued, reaching for his hand.

When he didn’t pull away, I twined our fingers together.

“I’ve never been in love before. I don’t even know if that’s what this is.

And I don’t know how to do any of this. But I’d rather figure it out with you than spend the rest of my life wondering what we could have been. ”

“Love?” Wild whispered, the word hanging between us like a fragile butterfly.

Heat flooded my cheeks as I realized what I’d said. “I... yes. I feel like I’m falling for you, Wild. Maybe I have been since that first day in Blackwood’s classroom when you challenged everything I thought I knew about magic.”

For a long moment, Wild was completely still, his emotions cycling through our bond too quickly for me to follow. Fear, wonder, longing, terror... and underneath it all, something warm and golden that made my heart race.

“I don’t know how to be in love,” he finally said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “I don’t know how to be a boyfriend or a… a mate . What if I screw this up? What if I hurt you?”

“What if you don’t?” I countered, squeezing his hand. “What if we’re both terrible at this and we figure it out together? What if we get to choose our own path instead of letting everyone else decide for us?”

Wild laughed, a sound caught between joy and hysteria. “You’re suggesting we rebel against cosmic destiny itself?”

“I’m suggesting we make our own destiny,” I said, turning to face him fully. “The soul recognition, the calling... maybe it’s real. Maybe we are meant to be together. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we make the choice and that we choose to be together.”

Wild’s eyes met mine, and for once, I saw none of his usual deflecting humor or carefully constructed indifference. Just raw vulnerability and something that looked dangerously like hope.

“Our own destiny,” he repeated softly, his thumb tracing circles on my palm. “I’ve spent my whole life avoiding anything that felt like fate. Every time someone tried to tell me who I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to want, I ran in the opposite direction.”

“I know,” I said. “And I’ve spent my whole life trying to be exactly what everyone told me to be. Maybe that’s why we drive each other crazy. And why I find you so damn frustrating.”

The luminescent flowers around us seemed to pulse brighter, responding to the surge of emotion flowing between us. Through our bond, I could feel Wild’s internal struggle, his desperate desire to believe what I was saying, warring with his lifetime of learned caution.

A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. “I do excel at being frustrating.”

“It’s one of your many talents,” I agreed, returning his smile.

Wild’s fingers tightened around mine, and through our connection, I felt something shift, a tentative lowering of barriers that had been firmly in place since we’d met.

“So… we’re going to do this?” he asked, leaning his shoulder against mine.

“I’m game if you are,” I replied, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“Also, just so you know, apparently Caden and Atlas are developing feelings for us too,” I added with a sigh. “I have no idea how to handle that.”

Wild let out a low laugh. “This whole tetrad thing is really complicated, isn’t it?”

“Seems like it.”

“Well,” he said, kissing me on the cheek and sending a pulse of warmth through my body.

“As long as you’re cool with not being monogamous, I don’t think we’ll have an issue.

Alpha wolves are supposed to be great in the sack.

And Caden’s plant powers? Well, let’s just say I’ve heard dryads can do some incredible things with their magic. ”

A jolt of excitement coursed through me before pooling in my groin as I imagined all the ways they might spice things up in the bedroom. I felt the heat flush into my cheeks as I tried to push them away, but the images kept pushing through. Wild just chuckled beside me.

“Don’t worry,” he said softly, kissing my cheek again. “We’ll take it slow. Nothing says we have to complete the bond today or even this week. Let’s just practice our magic and take our time getting to know one another, alright?”

I nodded, pulling him tighter against me. “Alright.”