.... OKAY fine he was right. Gods' help her, he was right. If any of them had told her this before tonight, before her power had woken and the goddess had shown her the truth, she would have thought they were insane. She would have called the police, changed her number, moved cities. She would have done everything possible to get away from them.
But that didn't make their deception hurt any less.
"The five bonds," Sophia said quietly, and she saw them all tense. "The prophecy mentioned five bonds. Five souls intertwined with mine." She looked around the room, counting the faces staring back at her with varying expressions of concern and guilt. Alexander, standing closest with that intensity in his ice-blue eyes. Sam, looking worried and protective. Marc, still crouched near her, his expression carefully neutral. Amanda, arms crossed, jaw tight. Jessica, uncharacteristically serious. Tally, her gentle features creased with concern. Jack, watching from the shadows with his ancient, knowing gaze.
Seven people. But the prophecy spoke of five bonds.
"I don't understand," she said, confusion cutting through her anger. "There are seven of you here. The prophecy said five."
Alexander and Sam exchanged a glance, some silent communication passing between them. Then Alexander stepped forward, his movements careful, like he was approaching a wounded animal.
"The prophecy speaks of two different things," he said gently. "The six guardians, and the five bonds. They're not the same."
"What?" Sophia's head was spinning. "What do you mean they're not the same?"
Sam cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose in that nervous gesture she'd seen a hundred times at the café. "The six guardians—that's us. Well, six of us." He gestured around the room. "Marc, Amanda, Jessica, Tally, Jack, and me. One guardian from each of the major supernatural species. We were chosen by fate to protect you, to keep you safe until you were ready to awaken to your power. We're your protectors, Sophia. Your friends. But we're not..."
"We're not your mates," Marc finished quietly, his voice rough. "The five bonds the prophecy speaks of—those are different. Those are your fated mates. Your romantic partners. The ones whose souls are tied to yours in ways that go beyond friendship or duty."
Sophia's breath caught. Her gaze snapped to Alexander, and suddenly she felt it—really felt it for the first time. That pull she'd been trying to ignore all night, that magnetic attraction that went beyond his ridiculous good looks or his commanding presence. It was deeper than that. Fundamental. Like recognizing a piece of yourself you didn't know was missing.
"You," she whispered, staring at Alexander. "You're one of them. One of the five."
"Yes," Alexander confirmed, his jaw tight, his hands clenched at his sides like he was physically restraining himself from reaching for her. "I'm your mate, Sophia. One of five fated bonds written into the fabric of reality itself. I've felt the pull toward you since the moment I first sensed your power. It's why I've dedicated my life to protecting you, why I've waited so patiently for you to be ready."
Mate. The word should have sounded insane. Mates implied possession, implied a lack of choice, implied that her life was even more predetermined than she'd thought. But somewhere deep inside, in that place where her power lived, she felt the truth of it. Felt the thread connecting her to Alexander, an invisible cord that had been there all along, just waiting for her to notice.
She could feel his steady strength, like bedrock beneath turbulent water. The absolute certainty of his presence, the way her power seemed to recognize his and reach for it instinctively.
"And the other four?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Where are they?"
"Out there," Alexander said softly. "Somewhere in the world. They'll find you when the time is right, when you're ready. The bonds will draw them to you, just as mine drew me."
Sophia pressed her hands against her temples. It was too much. The six guardians who'd been watching her, protecting her, pretending to be normal friends. Five fated mates, one of whom was standing right in front of her while four others were scattered across the world, waiting to upend her life even further. The prophecy. The power. The destiny she'd never asked for.
"I can't do this right now. I'm starting to get a headache," Sophia said, her voice cracking. Everything was too much—too loud, too bright, too overwhelming. She could feel things she'd never felt before, sense things that shouldn't be possible to sense. The supernatural energy radiating from each person in the room, the mate bond thrumming between her and Alexander like a living thing, the ley lines beneath the Earth that she'd somehow never noticed, the thin places in reality where dimensions pressed close together. It was like someone had turned on every light in a dark room at once and her eyes hadn't adjusted yet.
"What do you need?" Marc asked immediately, his voice gentle despite the guilt she could see in his eyes. "Tell us how to help."