Chapter 206: Your Feelings Matter

Days had passed, and the wolves had settled into the Dow clan with an ease that surprised everyone, including themselves.

Tera had managed to rope them into helping her clan rebuild the remaining shelters.

The meat and fruits Tera had fed them on their first night had apparently purchased their loyalty for the foreseeable future, and not a single wolf complained about the work.

Though they still eyed the finished shelters with deep suspicion and refused to sleep in them.

Now Tera was lying in her own refurbished shelter, her back against Xavi’s chest, her legs tangled with Ermin’s, and both cubs sprawled across her stomach like they owned it.

Puff Dumpling had wedged himself into the narrow gap between Tera’s hip and the furs, his ridiculous moustache puffs splayed out on either side of his face.

This was home.

Tera pressed her cheek against Xavi’s arm and breathed in the warmth. The shelter smelled like dried herbs and warm fur and the faint sweetness of the cubs’ skin, and every inhale loosened something tight in her chest that she hadn’t realised she’d been carrying.

She had missed this so much while at the wolf pack.

The past few days had been a blur of construction, supervising, feeding wolves, and watching the two clans slowly stitch themselves together. Through all of it, she had been present but distracted. Her mind kept drifting to the corrupted beast in the swamp, to the bamboo she couldn’t reach, and to the plans forming in her head that she hadn’t told anyone about yet.

Even when the system had asked about her response earlier, she had been vague about it.

And to Calis.

She felt guilty about that.

After what had happened in the cave, after the way he had held her and washed her in the rain and kissed her like he was learning what gentleness meant for the first time, she had barely spent any time with him.

Her mind had been so consumed by the corrupted beast and being with her mates and cubs that she hadn’t made space for the male who was quietly falling apart every time she had moved on without stopping for long.

She couldn’t give him what he wanted yet, not without involving her mates.

Tera’s fingers traced idle patterns on Xavi’s forearm.

"I need to talk to you both about something."

Xavi’s arm shifted slightly around her waist in silent acknowledgement. Ermin’s eyes opened from where he had been dozing against her shoulder.

"What is it?" Ermin murmured.

"It is about Calis."

The name sat between them.

Xavi’s breathing didn’t change, but the arm around her waist stiffened by a fraction. Ermin’s tail, which had been loosely curled around Tera’s ankle, went still.

"I have been spending some time with him. More than just the work. And I..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "I have taken a liking to him... I wanted to let you both know."

The silence that followed was uncomfortable.

Xavi slightly frowned.

He wasn’t entirely pleased, but he had noticed the wolf leader’s behaviour.

He hadn’t liked that the wolf leader’s eyes had always been on his mate. The first time they had come to their clan, when he had gone to theirs and even now.

And the longing in his eyes had only gotten stronger recently.

A possessive part of Xavi bristled at the idea of another male looking at Tera like that. But another part of him noticed the slightly fond look in Tera’s eyes when she had spoken about Calis. And despite considering Calis, he appreciated that Tera always found time for Xavi and Ermin, and most especially their cubs.

However, Xavi recognised something in the wolf’s eyes that was achingly familiar.

Ermin sighed, not happy about this. This was another male sniffing around his mate. He still didn’t like how Calis had taken Tera away that first time, but the wolf appeared more reasonable as time passed.

Though a memory surfaced.

Naiya.

The Jackdaw tribe leader had kept a harem of males who came and went at her discretion, selected for their looks, their strength, or whatever momentary fancy had caught her attention. Ermin had been one of a few, and the others had simply appeared. One day there was a new face in the group, and that was that.

Naiya had never told any of them beforehand, and even though he looked past it, a small part of him had been hurt by that.

But Tera telling them about this...

Xavi spoke first.

"The wolf does not hide his interest in you. I have seen it. I didn’t know you... felt the same way too."

Tera smiled faintly. "Not entirely. He is growing on me... but I don’t think I am there yet."

Ermin shifted beside her, raising his head to look down at her.

"Do you want him as a mate?"

The directness of the question caught Tera off guard. "I do not know yet. That is why I am talking to you. I would never pursue this without considering you both."

Tera did like Calis, and it saddened her how hurt he would be were she to turn him down.

Then again, the system had assigned him as her potential mate, but that can be adjusted and removed if she wishes.

The system had let her know of that earlier.

Ermin paused, stunned by Tera’s words, and Tera looked just as surprised by his reaction.

"What is it?"

Tera blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Why?" he asked, his voice quieter now.

"Why what?"

"Why are you telling us? You could just do it. Many would."

The words carried the ghost of every time Naiya had made a choice without him, every new male who had appeared without warning, every moment Ermin had swallowed his feelings because no one had thought to ask if he had any.

Tera reached over and took his hand. She held it firmly, her thumb pressing against his knuckles.

She then adjusted her cubs to her lap, sat up and looked between Xavi and Ermin, a tender look in her eyes.

"Because your opinions and your feelings matter to me, Ermin. Both of you. You are my mates. If a decision affects us, then it belongs to all of us. Not just me."