I was fairly sure the world stopped turning for a moment. Or maybe it was just me. I couldn't concentrate enough to make my body move an inch.

"Shit. Did I break her?"

"Shut your mouth, Theo. I think you've done enough damage today."

"She deserves the truth, Thane."

"I know she does. But if you'd think for more than a second you'd see that maybe this was not the wisest way to do it."

"I just did what no one else had the balls to do. The sooner we stop hiding everything from her, the safer she'll be."

The sound of a scuffle slowly brought me out of my stupor. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Thane and Theo pushing each other. They would be no help. So my gaze fixed on Trey, who was watching me carefully.

"What does that mean? That I'm your mate?"

Trey ran his hands down his face. "Shifters form bonds. Humans date and get married. Have a bunch of kids. We have mates."

"But… who's mate am I, then?"

"You are the mate of all four of us."

The breath seemed to get stuck in my lungs. I forced myself to exhale.

"I...I don't understand. If it's a shifter thing, then how can I be your… I'm human."

Trey suddenly found the arm of the couch extremely interesting as he seemed to think over what to say.

My patience, which was pretty much nonexistent at this point, only kept me silent for about thirty seconds. "Will someone answer me!?"

Theo, because who else would it be, pushed Thane one final time before taking his seat. "It's simple, babe. You're not."

"I beg to differ. I am one-hundred-percent average. I have not sprouted fur suddenly or had an overwhelming urge to lick my own nono space."

Thane cleared his throat, gaining my attention. "I could tell the first time I met you. Even with tot up my nose." He gave me a smile. Trying to lighten the mood, I would guess. "You are our mate, and you're not just a human."

I wasn't expecting that sentence to feel like a kick to the chest, but it did.

"We will circle back to the, 'Harper's not all human', thing. Because I'm not convinced. Actually, I'm not convinced of any of this. And do you know why? Because I'm probably going through some sort of mental breakdown right now and I'm hallucinating. It's probably been in the works for a few years now. I'm surprised it took this long."

Theo just gave me the 'are you stupid' look and pointed at the still-wolfy Tripp.

Trey walked over and knelt beside me. Surprisingly, I didn't flinch. Even knowing what they were, I still felt safe. "I know it's confusing. And I am really sorry you learned about it this way. But we are here to answer any question you have."

Oh, I definitely had questions.

"How did you know I was your mate?"

Thane spoke. "Your scent. I knew it as soon as you fell into my lap. Same with you not being human."

"So, maybe you were mistaken? There was a lot of smells there that day, especially the moth ball smell. And you had tot up your nose. How could you smell anything?" I couldn't help but hold on to a glimmer of hope.

Which was shot down when Thane and Theo shook their heads. Trey was the one that answered. "There was no mistake. Shifters always know. It's in our blood."

"How?"

"Mates are predestined. Some shifters never find theirs. But once you catch the scent of yours, it's like your entire body recognizes them. There couldn't be a mistake."

Frick…

I nibbled on my lip as I considered the new information. "Mates are predestined? What do you mean by that?"

Trey scratched at his jaw, appearing a bit uncomfortable. Join the club, buddy…

"It means that we grew up knowing there was one female that would be meant for us. Our wolf would call to hers."

"I don't have a wolf."

Theo piped in. "Yes you do."

Which was followed by a thud.

"And you all are just OK with this? The arranged marriage situation? Can't you just say no?"

"It's normal for us. This has been how it is for… centuries or more. As far as saying no, I haven't heard of a single shifter that has refused their mate."

"So what happens if someone does refuse?"

"I don't really know."

As the implications sank in, I could feel what was left of my Swiss-cheese heart shatter.

They really believed in this whole 'fated mate bond' thing. And with what I've seen, it could really be the truth. However, it was the only thing that I couldn't accept because of one simple fact.

No one was given a choice.

But what made the tears start falling in rivers down my cheeks was the fact that these decent, albeit annoying, men would never actually love me. They only cared because of some fairy tale mate bond that they had no control over.

It was almost touching how they seemed to be worried. But none of it was real. It was never real.

I stood up, not bothering to wipe my face. "I want to leave."

Theo placed his hands on the sides of my face, holding just tight enough that I couldn't shrug him off. "What is happening here?"

"Please take me home."

Thane held his hands out as he would to a skittish animal. "Harper, maybe we should talk about this."

Tripp kept up a soft whine by my side.

I closed my eyes, the unshed tears pouring down my face. "I am not refusing. But you either take me home or I'll start walking."

No matter how devastated I felt, they didn't deserve my refusal.

Trey gave his brothers a look before turning his attention to me. "Okay. If that's what you want I will take you home. But know this, Harper. We're not going anywhere. And we will be talking about this."

I just nodded and headed outside toward the truck.

The drive home was mostly quiet, after Trey finally figured out that I didn't want to speak. I just stared out the window and tried not to think.

I ran into no one as I quickly made it to my room. Then, and only then, did I allow myself to break.