“Penelope Jenkins came here asking for help,” Mimi states. “Help with the love lives of her sister and her two nieces. My cousin Lyrica took payment. The only extra help that was intervened with was what was necessary and that mostly affects Kathleen Brennan finding out the truth about her husband. That marriage was interfered with but only to bring truths to light and open the door for Kathleen to find happiness. Not outside of what was allowed. As for the chain of events leading to where you, your pack mate, and your fated respective mates… that was already in motion, and the team only interfered where necessary in order to facilitate things that were meant to happen while minimizing complications because of the old birth order guidelines.”
“Why?” I ask. “And respective? What about that?”
“What indeed,” Mimi replies cryptically.
“What about the birth order rules? Our pack librarian says logically Tyson should’ve mated Amelia.” Just saying it sickens me. Bile bubbles at the back of my throat. “And what if Amelia and Ivy have questions? Or Tyson? I guess I’ll have them call you since it involves them?”
“Tyson Savage won’t have questions. He knows this is how it was meant to be. As do you,” Mimi replies.
Dani speaks up. “If you weren’t suited to her and he wasn’t suited to the younger sister, it would not have happened the way it did.”
“You’re saying that superseded birth order rules?” I ask. “Did you have to get involved to make it happen that way? Did you keep me in limbo so Tyson could claim Ivy? Would I have done it otherwise?”
Dani stares into my eyes. “Is the knowledge that it’s all working out the way it’s supposed to with all four of you mean it’s worth the price you’ve paid?”
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.
“Then stay the course, Mason Quinn. Be the person you are. The alpha. The man. That’s who your mate needs and who she was meant to have.”
I stare.
Grey steps in again.
Mimi speaks now. “When our coven helped your pack form, guidelines were put in place that made sense at that time. Guidelines, not laws. And even laws can become archaic, therefore needing to be altered to suit the current time and circumstances. Birth order confusion might be explained by the fact that nature saw that the birth order between you and Tyson and the two sisters didn’t align. Maybe one wasn’t suited to the logical one. Maybe there are other reasons for the pairing that are yet to be revealed. And sometimes spells have flaws and things go awry and require us to help with the untangling. Sometimes magic attempts to work against nature. Or spells are perfect, and nature simply intervenes for what’s best.”
“Which of those things happened when I lost time? When I thought I was going mad? Do you people have any idea how fucked up that was? Was trapping me in limbo and making me think I was losin’ my fuckin’ mind your version of untangling a mess?”
“Do you prefer the younger sister?” Dani asks.
“Absolutely not,” I reply.
Dani shrugs. “Then accept it for what it is. Instead of getting caught up in what you’ve been taught, trust your instincts. You have those instincts for a reason.”
“Not so easy to discount everything we’ve been taught.”
“Do humans also not have to discount everything they’ve been taught when they’re blessed with the knowledge of the supernatural things they’ve previously been told aren’t real?”
I sigh.
Mimi walks over and her hand lands on my forearm. A frisson of unease slides through my blood. “Things can get warped,” she says, “distorted, requiring our assistance to do the untangling. Maybe you were simply more suited to Amelia. Maybe the untangling left you confused temporarily. Do you have clarity now?”
“Mase,” Grey interrupts, “I think we need to get him outta here before things are revealed that require extreme damage control.”
Fuck.
“Right. We’ll be going. Dani. Miss Mimi.”
Mimi nods and lifts her knitting bag.
“If my mate, her sister, their mother, or anyone else approaches your coven and tries to get you to undo this –”
“Won’t happen,” Mimi states and gives Dani a look I don’t know how to decipher.
“We can trust that? With what your sister did?” I ask. “Because if you dare…”
“Do not threaten me, wolf.” Mimi leans forward and her eyes blaze with fire.
I stare, unflinching.
“Mase,” Grey warns then turns to them, “We’ll reach out if we need more information. Thank you for the information and your time.”
“We’ve shared as much as we can share,” Mimi states. “But there will need to be a conversation between my coven and your council after the seventh of you mates.”
“Why?” I ask.
“The next generation of council alphas after yours may need a new roadmap. You and I need a conversation, too, at some stage, Greyson Blackwood.”
“About?” Grey asks.