Chapter 322

The eve of my birthday, I rest in bed and stare at my ceiling. It’s late, near midnight, but I still have my bedside light on.

With my feelings shared and grown with Neil, Archer, and Steven, I didn’t expect to spend any night alone, especially the one right before the day that could change everything.

Yet here I am, alone. Waiting not to be.

I’m starting to give up hope.

It also makes me curious. What could the brothers be doing right now? Did they just decide to go to bed on their own? That seems wildly unlikely.

I toss and turn a few times, trying unsuccessfully to distract myself, but I just don’t want to be alone tonight. What if, when the clock strikes midnight, my wolf manifests, I feel the call of a mate, and everything changes?

I’m afraid to close my eyes, worried that I’ll awake a different person.

After a few more minutes of frustration, I give up and throw back the covers. I cross my room in my socks and pajamas and slip out into the hallway.

Voices echo down the hallway, coming from the direction of the living room. I quietly follow the sound, careful not to make too much noise.

At the corner of the living room, I stop and I listen, deciding not to make my presence known.

“I’m not going to let some unknown asshole waltz in here and steal Chloe away,” Steven says, with an unusual amount of fire and passion that’s usually reserved for his experiments. Though I recognize his voice, I still peek around the corner to be sure.

Steven’s hands are in tight fists. He stands before Neil, whose arms are crossed. Archer stands near the far wall, glaring at everyone. Beau stands beside Steven, gaping at him with wide eyes, mirroring my own shock.

“Since when do you care so much?” Beau asks. “You’ve had your nose buried in your books so much, I was starting to doubt you even noticed her.”

Steven looks at him. “I love her.”

Beau seems taken aback somewhat.

“I love her too,” Neil says. “So of course, I also want to keep her away from this theoretical stranger she might become mated with. But… because I love her… we need to respect her wishes on the matter.”

“She stays with us,” Archer says, voice so low it’s nearly a growl. “Mated or not, she belongs to us.”

“She doesn’t,” Neil says. “As much as I wish otherwise. She still must make her own choice.”

Beau glances around at all of his brothers. “Are you all in love with her, then?”

Steven studies him right back. “Aren’t you?”

My heart leaps into my throat.

All of the other brothers have confessed, except Beau. While I know we share a deep connection with each other, he hasn’t said anything to name those feelings. Though, per our earlier conversation, I suspect he doesn’t even know what love is, let alone whether or not he feels it.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” Archer says. “We need to decide how to keep this unknown away from Chloe.”

“Archer,” Neil says in a stern tone.

“I don’t care what you say, Neil. If she wants to leave, she can. But if she decides she doesn’t, we need to keep her safe.”

“It’s not unheard of for mates to reject each other,” Steven says, thoughtful. “But it would require an extreme force of will from Chloe…”

“So we keep her distracted,” Archer says.

“We are good at that…” Beau adds.

This is ridiculous. I can’t listen to this anymore, while they stress and worry about what I might choose and what options they might have based on that choice.

It’s not a choice at all for me, not really. Not anymore.

I know who I want to be with, and some mysterious mating bond is not going to change that for me.

“You won’t have to keep me distracted, although… I mean, if you want, I wouldn’t say no.” I step out from behind the wall and enter the living room. None of them seem particularly surprised to see me. They must have scented me the moment I arrived.

Damn alpha wolves and their heightened senses.

“I’ve already made my choice,” I say. “Honestly, I think I made it a long, long time ago.”

Archer relaxes marginally. Steven starts to smile.

Neil turns to me, worry still on his face. “You say that now, Chloe. But the pull could be strong…”

“I don’t care how strong it is,” I tell him. “I’m not going to let some mysterious force dictate my entire life. The guys I love, the ones I want to be with, are all here in this room. There is no one else, and there won’t ever be anyone else.”

“How can you be so confident?” Neil asks.

“I know my own heart. After everything we’ve been through, after all we’ve faced and overcome for each other and to stay together, I know what I want, and where I want to be.”

I step further into the room, walking right up to Neil. Stopping a few inches away from him, I lift my hand and place it flat on his chest.

“I want to stay here, Neil. With the four of you.”

Neil’s face softens, his sternness melting away.

“Even with me?” Beau asks.

I turn my attention toward him. His face is crumpled with confusion.

“Yes,” I say. Removing my hand from Neil, I walk to Beau. Steven steps back, giving me more room. “I love you, Beau. You don’t have to say it back, but…”

The confusion instantly clears from Beau’s expression.

“Chloe,” he says, moving closer. He grips me around the waist and drags me to him.

Chloe? That feels all wrong. “Call me Nanny,” I tell him.

He laughs for a moment. As he sobers, he lowers his forehead to mine.

“I don’t know what love is, or what it feels like,” Beau says. “But I do know that I want you and… only you. Other girls have all lost their charms. You are the only one I think of anymore. It’s maddening.”

“It’s love,” Steven provides.

Beau seems startled a moment, but then he recovers. “Yes. It must be. Nanny, I love you.”

Warmth floods through my veins. Inside, my heart feels so large, it might burst out of me at any moment.

I can’t remember a moment in my entire life where I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now.

I don’t care what tomorrow brings. If I have another mate, I can deal with it. The five of us will find a way forward together. We have to, because we love each other, and that’s not something you just give up or let go of – not once you have it.

“Stay with us,” Beau says.

“I…” I open my mouth to respond, when suddenly I begin to feel very strange. That warmth inside of me starts to burn hot – it’s suddenly, overwhelmingly painful.

I stumble back from Beau. It hurts too much to touch him. My skin is on fire.

“Ah!” I cry out and clutch at my throbbing head.

The brothers crowd around me, all bearing worried expressions. Even Archer is there, having pushed away from the wall.

“Chloe?” Archer asks.

“What’s happening?” Neil asks me first, then looks to Steven.

“I don’t know,” Steven replies. “But it could be her wolf manifesting.”

“Hang on, Nanny,” Beau says. “Keep your resolve. Don’t let go of us…”

I can hear the plea in his voice.

He says don’t let go. What he means is keep loving us.

I want to. I claw desperately at the parts of me that adore these four men, and I hold on with all of my quickly waning strength.

Then, for better or for worse, I black out.