42

Ivy’s POV
“What?” I say, bewildered as what he told me sinks in. “I’m…”
“You’re my mate, Ivy.” Nate says lovingly but with hurt in his voice.
“You’ve known this entire time?” My voice shakes with emotion, and he nods. “I’ve known since the first day we met.”
I back away and bring my arms up, lightly touching my cuffs.
“I never felt anything because of these.”
“Most likely. But I think you felt some sort of connection, just not as a mate bond.”
I look at him, tears still streaming down my face. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I see the pain cross his face and I know it must have been difficult for him to keep this hidden and as shocked as I am, I’m sure he had his reasons.
“Come into my room, let’s talk.” I nod and follow him down the hallway. We enter his bedroom and we sit on the bed together, the darkness of the blacks and greys of the room aligning with how I feel at this moment.
Nate takes my hands in his and I look directly into his eyes as he speaks.
“I didn’t tell you right away because I was scared. Your situation at Red Moon was a lot for you, and I didn’t want to add to it without knowing you more. You’re mated to a royal, and I wasn’t sure how you would feel about me, my title, my responsibilities. Plus, after seeing how you were treated at your pack, I didn’t want to give Cole anything else to use against you when I couldn’t be there.”
“You didn’t want to add to my plate.” I state and he nods. “I was trying to look out for you but then I realized I was doing it out of my own selfish fear. Honestly, I had just come to terms with having to tell you but you approached me first. This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out, but I’m glad it’s out now.”
I take a few minutes to process, and I feel the tension from Nate. “I’m sorry, songbird. I really am. I should have told you sooner. None of this would have happened if I had just said it. The attack, the high emotions and not knowing if you were good enough.” He pauses, his voice trembling.
“I’ve probably made things so much worse for you.”
“No.” I state, and he looks at me with confusion.
“You are right. There was too much happening and too many unknowns. I get the hesitation. I’m not mad really. I’m shocked but you were looking out for me in a way. I’m pretty sure I would have reacted negatively if you had told me sooner. I wouldn’t have believed you.”
“I am having some internal struggles right now, sure. But every time I was with you, you made me feel accepted, heard, and cherished. If you were hiding this from me with ill intent this would be different entirely. As for the attack? Probably wouldn’t have mattered regardless. If I was there that night as your mate, they still probably would have tried to kill me once you left.”
I look at him and the torment on his face eases a little.
“You sure?” He asks and I nod, wiping my face. “Yes. I was not in a state to handle much before, let alone a mate bond with a royal Alpha. The time with you made me more accepting of the things around me, more aware of myself and how I needed to stand up for myself again.” I inhale and exhale deeply, trying to ground myself as I continue.
We need to get it all out.
“Is that why you also distanced yourself from me once I got here?” He nods. “I didn’t want to keep taking advantage of you without you knowing. I just didn’t know how to tell you.”
He pulls me into his lap, and I rest my head on his chest. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I also chose to get close to you.” I pause. “I’m sorry for yelling at you.”
“It’s okay. I was fighting telling you anything straightforward. I would have been pissed at me too.”
“I do feel a connection with you, I have since we met at Iron Wolf.”
“Really?” He leans and kisses the top of my head.
“I made up a shitty excuse to come back upstairs so that I could see you again. Not sure why I did it at the time, but now I do. It must be because I’m your mate.”
“You said you forgot something right?” He says and I chuckle. “Yeah, when I hadn’t brought anything up with me when I came up to see you for the first time. I’m sure Tobias knew I was lying.” Nate chuckles.
“Oh, he did. But he knew what you were to me, so he played along.”
I smack his chest playfully. “No way. That’s so embarrassing.”
“Does your pack know?” I look up at him and he nods. “They do, but I had asked them to give you space for me to tell you. Kane guessed it once I came to Red Moon and Evie just found out the night you were attacked.”
“How?” I ask, sitting up in his lap a bit more.
“I gave you my blood when you arrived. It helped you get strong enough so Nadine could patch you up.”
“Blood doesn’t help unless we’re mates. That’s how I recovered faster than normal.”
“Correct.”
“I wish I could feel a bond with you.” Nate caresses my face as I look up at him and he smiles. “You will, I have no doubt of that. First thing is we’re going to get those cuffs off you.”
“They’re spelled.” I state sadly.
“I know. I have a good friend in the witch covens. She’s already agreed to come by to look and see if we can remove them. Might take some work, but she’s willing to try.”
“Seriously?!” I exclaim, backing off of him and sitting back on my knees as I look at him in disbelief. “They could come off?” He nods. “More than likely, and then we can work from there.”
“Nathaniel…” I trail off.
“Yes, mate?” My body tingles at his words.
“I love you.” His eyes widen but then soften immediately after. He leans towards me, grasping the back of my neck.
“I love you too, my little songbird.” He pulls me in and kisses me softly and I wrap my arms around his neck.
We break away and he looks at me with admiration.
“So.”
“So what?” I question and he laughs. “Should we be moving all your stuff from your room up here?” I chuckle and nod. “Yes. Very much so.”
(The Next Day)
Nathaniel’s POV
The ease I feel at having her know is surreal. I know why I hesitated, but her knowing means I don’t have to hold back now. We’re only going to get stronger. No more secrets.
“Where should this box go?” Tobias asks as he exits the elevator. We’re currently moving Ivy’s stuff upstairs to our room. Ivy walks in front of me and looks inside it. “That’s books. Those can go in the bedroom.” She doesn’t have much from her time here since we haven’t gotten hers, Kane’s, or Evie’s belongings from Red Moon. We will eventually but decided against it for now.
“You got it Luna Queen.” Tobias addresses her with her title and I see her stiffen, but then turn around to look at me. “Still getting used to that.” She sighs and I open my arms and she walks straight into them. I kiss the top of her head. “It’ll come with time, princess.”
“I know.”
“I’m glad I know now, mate.” Ivy says, emphasizing our bond title, and I chuckle.
“That means we must accept them soon. The bonds.”
“Yes, songbird.”
“Not sure how that will go with me being wolfless. I can’t mark.”
“There are other ways to accept the bonds. Wolves have human mates sometimes. They accept them temporarily another way and then once they turn or shift, then they mark like us wolves would. We will figure it out my love. I promise.”
“I know we will. Together.”
“No doubt.”
My mate, my love, my Luna queen, we will figure it all out.