“What does that mean?”
Finn looks to me. “It means that we were taken from our families when we were children and sent to live in a training house among the Elders so they could teach us about the prophecy and also how to guard you.”
My heart clenches. “You were all taken from your families?”
“Yes,” Finn replies. “But we still were allowed to see them from time to time.”
I reach out and take his hand, squeezing it gently. “I’m so sorry. You gave up so much for me.”
He shakes his head as he looks to his brother. “Do not be sad for us, Ella. Cash and I had each other and the rest... we are close as brothers. They are our family. And now you are as well. We are bound to you, just as we are bound to one another in an unbreakable bond.”
Cash cups my cheek. “All my life, I dreamed of what it would be like to finally meet you. And now that we have, I know that you are brave and kind, intelligent and beautiful, Ella. I am honored to be your guard. I will protect you with my life if necessary.”
“I will as well,” Finn adds. “All of us would.”
Cash stares down at me with a pained expression. “When Finn and I were growing up, no one could tell us apart. Even our bond brothers and our parents have difficulty with this.” He sighs heavily. “At first, we thought of it as a game.”
A faint smile curves Finn’s lips. “It was fun until the day we realized that even the people we knew best could not tell us apart.”
Cash glances at Finn, then turns his attention back to me. “We even met another female shifter of our kind. She was quite taken with me. Or so she claimed. But I wanted to know if her feelings were true before I allowed myself to fall. So, I told her that I was not interested but that my brother, Finn, was.”
“What happened?” I ask.
Cash’s eyes fill with sadness. “She said one was just as good as the other and had no qualms about going after Finn at that point.”
Finn places a hand on Cash’s shoulder. “I love my brother, but it has been... difficult for us because of this. Almost no one considers us as our own person. We are simply Cash and Finn—instead of being considered separately.”
Still holding Finn’s hand, I reach for Cash’s as well. I look at Finn. “You are Finn, and you,” I look to Cash, “are Cash.”
They both smile down at me. Finn presses a tender kiss to my hand. “You are the only one who has always been able to tell. Even on the first day you met us. Even the Elders could not tell us apart half the time.”
“Who are the Elders?” I ask for they keep mentioning them without any further explanation.
Cash answers. “They are the ones who interpret the ancient scrolls—prophecies written hundreds of years ago. They are written almost like riddles—difficult to interpret. But one thing is certain: the Chosen One’s prophecy is that she will unite the two kingdoms. The human and shifter kingdom will become one because of her influence and relationship with the human prince.”
I think back on the wolf shifter disguised as my supposed future husband. “The prince is probably already dead. How are we supposed to fulfill the prophecy now?”
“You are alive,” Finn says. “You are the key. Whatever happens otherwise is nowhere near as important as that. That is why we must keep you safe. You are to unite our two kingdoms.”
A tear slips down my cheek. “So, who are you going to try to marry me off to now?” I ask bitterly, remembering all that I just went through.
The wolf shifter was my first kiss, the first man ever to touch me so intimately. I wrap my arms around myself as I think back on it. I hate that this happened to me.
Finn pulls me into his arms and smooths his hand down my back. “Forgive us, Ella. It was our fault for leading you to him. We thought—” his voice catches. “We thought you would be happy with him. We did not know he wasn’t the prince. I’m sorry.”
Tears prick my eyes. “But how could you just give me away to someone else like that?” I take his hand in mine and place it directly over my heart. “Do you not feel something between us? Because I do. I feel it here, in my heart.”
I turn to Cash and take his hand as well. “I feel it for both of you. And I know it is wrong to feel this way for two men, but I cannot help it. And perhaps it’s too early to say it is love... but, if it is not, I don’t know what else it may be, because I have never felt it before the two of you.”
Finn and Cash share a glance then look down at me, their green eyes studying me intently. “You love us, Ella?”
“Yes,” my voice quavers. “And the entire time I was with the prin—” my voice hitches. “I mean the wolf shifter,” I correct myself. “All I could think of was you and Cash.”
Cash cups my cheek. “I must tell you something, Ella. The Elders warned us that the bonds would make us feel strongly toward you. And that you would feel strongly for us in return. What you are feeling may be a result of this and not—”
I press a finger to his lips to silence him. “Even if it is the bond, I don’t care. If what you’re saying is true and we are all bound to each other, then this feeling will remain, will it not?”
He nods.
Finn’s eyes meet mine. “I cannot deny that I have been drawn to you from the first moment I saw
