Isolde gulps. "Okay. Sorry."
Nash shakes his head. "It’s fine."
"It didn’t look fine."
"It’s fine," he repeats quietly.
She nods. "Okay... well. I’ll go. You’re probably busy..."
Then, because her nerves are sprinting and she has no idea how to act around a boy who maybe likes her sister more, she tries to walk away.
Just... escape. Reboot her brain somewhere else. Maybe behind a tree. But before she can take two steps, a strong hand catches her wrist.
Her breath hitches. She turns very slowly because she already knows who it is.
Nash.
His jaw is tight. His eyes are wild in a way she hasn’t seen before; panicked, something like desperation flickering in them.
His other hand scratches his hair. "Isolde, please. Don’t walk away. At least, not yet."
The mate bond pulses between them in the hottest and most terrifying way. Auro rises in her chest, claws curling in interest. Isolde swallows, but her throat is dry.
"...What do you want, Nash?" she whispers.
Nash presses his lips together. "If I tell you I want you and your forgiveness, can I have both?"
Isolde stares at him like he’s just spoken in tongues.
Surely he didn’t... surely Nash, future Beta, professional playboy, serial avoider of emotional responsibility, did not just stand there in the middle of the courtyard and ask for forgiveness.
Her lips part, but nothing immediate comes out because her brain is stuck between shock, anger, falling for him, and anger again.
Finally, she finds her voice.
"...What?"
Nash doesn’t blink or waver. His hand stays firm around her wrist, warm and rough and so unfairly grounding that it makes her spine tingle.
"Isolde," he says again, deeper this time, like the name physically sits heavy on his tongue. "I want you. And I want your forgiveness."
Ohhhh okay. So he is insane. Good to know. Her shock mutates into heat... anger-flavored heat.
Isolde lifts her chin, shoulders stiffening. "Do you... think you deserve that?"
Nash reels back slightly, not expecting that. Good. He needed shaking.
She continues, "I’m not mad at you, but whatever you’re about to demand from me? You shouldn’t. You really, really shouldn’t."
His brows knit, jaw ticking with frustration. But she’s not done.
"You hurt me," she says. "And not in some dramatic, mate-bond, star-crossed, forbidden-romance way. Just... in the basic ’you’re a jerk’ way."
Then she pulls her wrist, trying to walk away and that’s when Nash freaking loses his mind. He yanks her straight into his chest.
Isolde collides against him with a soft gasp. The world tilts. Her palms flatten against his shirt, and dear goddess, why does he have to smell like cedar and storm air and a hint of apology?
Gasps burst around the courtyard like popcorn. Students are whipped into a frenzy.
"Oh my god—is he pulling her?!"
"THE BETA HEIR?!"
"He was dating the sister???"
"THIS IS PEAK ENTERTAINMENT."
Isolde can barely process the noise because Nash is right there. Right there. Close enough she can count every fleck of gold in his irises. Close enough she can feel his chest rise and fall against hers. Close enough his breath is warm on her cheek and makes her knees feel... unprofessional.
Nash swallows hard. "Listen to me. Please. Maybe it took Daphne slapping me hard enough to send my soul to another dimension..."
A few students snort.
"... but my brain finally reset. And I know one thing for sure." His voice cracks almost imperceptibly. "I would spend the rest of my life making things up to you."
Auro practically rolls onto her furry stomach inside Isolde’s chest. "He loves us!"
No, he’s panicking! Isolde snaps mentally.
"Same thing," Auro replies smugly.
Isolde shakes her head weakly. "Nash..."
She tries to put space between them, but he only tightens his hold by half an inch, eyes pleading. "Don’t pull away. Not yet."
She exhales shakily. "Okay. Fine."
Then, because she is a messy, emotional, defensive little creature of pride, she adds, "Good luck with... everything. And for the record? I’m not holding anything against you."
Nash freezes.
She pushes on before her nerves betray her. "Just... properly reject me next time. And, I don’t know—maybe don’t amplify my heartbreak by hanging out with my little sister again. That worked great the last time."
There’s a sharp inhale from a cluster of onlookers. Nash looks like she stabbed him with a blessed silver blade.
Then, slowly, he lets her go.
Isolde takes one step back. Then Nash does something no one, not even the Moon Goddess probably, expects. He drops to his knees. Right there in the middle of the courtyard before the entire school.
A collective scream ripples through the crowd.
"NO WAY!"
"IS HE—HE’S REALLY..."
"The Beta Heir is KNEELING?!"
"RUNNING TO SNAP THIS."
"I’m LIVE-STREAMING IT!"
Isolde’s jaw unhinges. "N–Nash?! What are you doing?!"
He looks up at her, eyes burning with so much raw emotion she can barely breathe.
"Isolde Bellamy," he says, voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "I accept you as my mate."
Another eruption of shrieks. Girls clutch each other. Boys grab their heads and even some teachers peek from their windows.
"I accept you," Nash continues, hand pressed to his heart like he’s pledging allegiance, "and I beg you not to turn away from me."
Isolde’s throat closes.
Nash swallows hard. "When I finally realized it was you... when the bond snapped into place, it was a shock. And the only thing I’ve ever known how to do with shock is... avoid it."
His voice shakes. "I turned to Daphne because I thought if I distracted myself... if I pretended it wasn’t you... maybe the bond would weaken. Maybe I could keep you away."
"Why?" she breathes.
Nash’s eyes glisten. "Because I’m terrified of love."
Isolde’s heart stutters painfully.
"She was my first love," he whispers. "My mother. And when she died— I decided I never wanted to love a woman again. Not in the kind that breaks you open and leaves you bleeding."
Isolde’s breath shakes.
Nash continues. "But then you happened. And it scared me more than anything ever has."
Isolde’s eyes sting.
"You hurt me," she finally says, voice wobbling.
"I know," he says immediately. "And I’m ready to spend every day making it better."
Auro nudges her. "Mate is sorry. Mate is begging. Mate is on the floor. Accept the darn apology!"
Isolde lets out a tiny sob, grabbing his forearm to help him up. He rises. They stand there, inches apart, shaking with adrenaline, mate bond glowing like wildfire between them.
Then she whispers, "Nash... please don’t hurt me again."
"I won’t," he breathes and so, their lips meet and the world erupts.
Clapping. Screaming. Whistles. Someone yells,
"FINALLY!" Another shouts, "THE BETA AND ALPHA DUO JUST SHOOK THE PACK ORDER!"
Nash pulls her close, lifting her slightly off the ground as the kiss deepens, claiming her in front of everyone. Isolde clings to him, heart sprinting, soul bright, wolf howling in triumph.
The mate bond amplifies everything by a thousand. And for the first time all morning, Isolde thinks: Maybe destiny doesn’t hate her after all.