Her Mates

29

I sat on the edge of the bed, my mind spinning as Dorian closed the door behind him. His jaw was tense, his hands clenched at his sides like he was trying to hold something back. The room felt suffocatingly quiet, but I could still hear the faint sounds of the others moving around the house.

"Talk," I said finally, crossing my arms. "You said you had something to tell me. About Lena."

Dorian exhaled through his nose and ran a hand through his hair, pacing slightly before turning to me. "Lena is manipulative, Maeve. She always has been. She thinks if she can't have what she wants, no one should. And what she wants—" His eyes flickered with something unreadable before he continued. "—is to break you away from us."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "Yeah, well, she's doing a damn good job of that."

Dorian stepped closer, his voice quieter now. "She's been spreading rumors, twisting truths. She knows about our past together—about all of us. She's using it against us, against you."

I swallowed, my throat dry. "Your past together," I echoed. "What does that mean?"

He hesitated, then sighed. "Lena was involved with us. Not seriously, not like this," he gestured between us, "but she wanted to be. She wanted something permanent, something we couldn't give her. We never gave her any promises, but she still felt entitled to us."

A sharp, bitter laugh slipped from my lips. "And you didn't think that was important for me to know before now?"

"It was over long before you came into our lives," Zac said firmly. "She means nothing to us. But she's trying to make you think she does. She's trying to make you doubt us, to make you think we're just... using you."

I stared at him, trying to ignore the ache in my chest. "And should I be doubting you?"

His brows pulled together, frustration flashing across his face. "No," he said, stepping even closer, his voice dropping to a near growl. "We are yours, Maeve. Every single one of us. No one else."

The possessiveness in his tone sent a shiver down my spine, but I still felt the weight of uncertainty in my gut. "Then why does she seem so convinced otherwise?"

Dorian huffed, his hands gripping the back of his neck. "Because she can't stand that you have what she never could. And she thinks if she keeps pushing, keeps whispering poison in your ear, you'll walk away."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust them, to let go of the doubts clawing at my mind. But Lena had planted a seed, and now it was growing, twisting around my thoughts.

"She told me you've all been with each other," I admitted. "That you've... done things together. Things I wasn't aware of." I thougt about it and saw things but they never said anything.

Hunter's expression darkened. "We haven't hidden anything from you, Maeve. Everything we've done, everything we are—it's all been laid out in front of you. If you'd asked, we would've told you. But she didn't tell you to inform you. She told you to hurt you."

I looked away, exhaling slowly. He was right. Lena hadn't wanted me to understand—she'd wanted me to doubt. And I had walked right into it.

Dorian stepped closer, lifting a hand hesitantly before brushing his fingers along my jaw. "You're ours," he murmured. "And we are yours. No one can change that unless you let them."

His touch sent a shiver through me, heat curling low in my stomach. The pull between us was undeniable, stronger than the doubts Lena had tried to force into me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then met his gaze. "I want to trust you," I whispered.

"Then do," he said, voice rough, full of something raw.