Awakening:Mates!

Days turned into weeks, with the passing of those days being quiet yet underlying with tension. The brothers rotated in caring for the young woman they found, Jude continuing out of a sense of duty that turned into genuine concern. Every day, Dave, Dean, and Dan seemed to find their way to her room, each in turn just looking in to make sure she was comfortable and her wounds were healing. Even Jude seemed less skeptical now, almost protective, in the way he gave her medicine and cleaned her injuries with care.

Yet, she was still very unconscious, her breathing soft and steady. Her beauty had remained haunting in the house-a grim reminder that there was something peculiarly different about her, something that none of them could actually define. In their minds, each brother struggled; those questions not finding any answers seemed to keep gnawing at them. Who was she? Where did she come from? And why was it that she felt. so familiar in some strange, unknowable way?

Then, in the morning of the seventh day, something changed.

The room was silent, the early light licking through the small window and painting everything in meek hues. Emma stirred, her fingers twitching against the blanket that covered her. Her eyelids fluttered open and she blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light. For a long moment, she did not move. Her mind was fuzzy and blank. It was as if she had been pulled from somewhere far, far away, and now reality was fuzzy at the edges.

Finally, she struggled to her elbows, her head pounding in her skull in a confusing manner. She scanned her surroundings with wide, cautious eyes. Her gaze darted between the strange walls and small, sturdy furniture. The room was simple but clean and lent off a warmth that felt… safe. Yet, there was no soothing comfort for the hurricane of disorientation clawing in her stomach.

Emma pressed a hand to her forehead, willing herself to remember something, anything. Her thoughts felt like scattered pieces, lost and unreachable. Panic began to claw at her chest as she struggled to recall who she was, where she was, how she'd ended up here. Images flickered through her mind: dark trees, the feel of cold wind, and… falling. But the rest was blank, like a door in her mind that refused to open.

One thing was for sure: the name Emma. It was that which echoed in her skull, steady and known, like the beat of her heart. Emma, she whispered to herself, perhaps in the hope the utterance would steady her voice. Her voice sounded foreign in her ears, but the name, well, was something she could cling to, the only solid thing in a sea of emptiness.

She swung her heavy legs off the bed and tried to stand. Her knees shook; she had to lean against the bedside table for support. Her hair fell down her back and shoulders, almost to her waist, a river of gold framing her face with its soft undulations. She took a deep breath and found calm in the quiet strength inside before turning her attention around the room, stopping on a mirror hanging on the wall.

Dazed, she stared at her reflection. Her golden eyes met her own in the mirror-wide and unsteady. A strange sensation washed over her, like never before, she was staring at a stranger-a perfect yet alien face. She reached up hesitantly and touched her cheek, the light brush of her fingertips tracing the faint scars that marred her otherwise perfect skin. Who was she?

Before she could remain befogged for a bit longer, the sound of footsteps approaching broke her trance. Her heart thudded as she turned towards the door, grasping the bedpost as she watched it swing open.

Dave, Dean, Dan stepped into the room, and then just stopped. Emma was standing there, her gold hair ablaze in that light, her delicate features arrested between weakness and fortitude. Her eyes met theirs, and they were struck by the intensity of her gaze, as though she could see right through them.

There was a heartbeat length of silence between them, taut and electric, beyond words.

Then, a burning pain started to course through both brothers. Dave was the first one to clutch at his chest, his face contorting in agony as an ache deep inside him grew fiercer by the second. Dean followed suit, a groan escaping from his lips as one hand pressed over his heart, fighting for even breaths. Dan grimaced too, as pain heightened, his heart racing with a force to send him dizzy.

It was as though their very souls were torn apart-something raw and fundamental, something impossible to disregard. The bond just did not have any misunderstanding-it was an invisible thread tugging at them, binding them to this woman they barely knew.

Emma's eyes widened, watching them as concern flared in her gaze despite the fact that she herself was so confused. An instinct to help overcame the growing hesitation, and she lurched forward, reaching out to steady Dave as he staggered.

The instant her fingertips touched his arm, the ache seemed to dissolve and in its place was a warmth spreading like fire in his body, soothing the ache over his heart. He released a shaky breath as his heartbeat cooled down to a slower pace, and he looked down at her almost in wonder. Then she moved on to Dean, then Dan, her touch bringing the same relief, the same strange comfort that seemed to flow from her like balm on open wounds.

They exchanged a look, with each man's expression reflected in the other man's-one of shock and awe. The truth smacked them right between the eyes, leaving them short of breath with something they had never contemplated but now couldn't refute.

"M-Mate." Dave whispered in a hoarse tone of utter disbelief, but his wolf stirred beneath his skin in acknowledgement, as if to claim her as their own.

The word echoed from Dean and Dan, their voices low, almost reverent, as speaking it made it real. Their gazes were intense, holding hers as if they could see something in her that she couldn't even see herself.

Emma glanced between them; her heart quickened as their eyes hung on her with raw, unfamiliar emotions. The word mate whispered around in her brain, foreign and strange, yet somehow vital, as if a meaning was attached to it that she couldn't grasp yet. The depth of their stares made her feel fragile, exposed, but also. treasured in a way she couldn't explain.

Then the quiet was finally broken, as Dan shouted, in a voice that quivered with the weight of what they'd discovered, "How could it be?