And then there were four

Accepting the future

   Damian POV
   When I walked into the house, I knew it was late. I knew my brother James wouldn't fight the urge to see her. Out of all of us, he cared for her the most in the past.
   She was everything to him.
   His first real love. His only love.
   "You're awake." James turned from the open fridge towards me and nodded. No longer was he unkempt and dirty. They must have had fun because he was now freshly shaven and showered in my kitchen. "Where's Ivy?"
   "Sleeping." He quickly retorted as he placed a bottle of water on the counter with the sandwich he had obviously made. "Care to explain to me what happened?"
   "Are you going to actually listen this time?" I responded with a smirk as I walked towards the counter taking a seat.
   James wasn't impressed by my attitude but nonetheless, he rolled his eyes and shrugged, "don't push it, Damian. This was all your fucking fault to begin with."
   Pressing back the annoyance I wanted to lash upon him, I squared my shoulders and let a breath escape me. "I understand I fucked up in the past, James. I can't change the past, but I am trying to fix things now if you will help me."
   "Help you?" He snorted, "that's rich."
   "I'm serious. We came here to find you first. Next, we are going after Hale."
   James stared at me with a blank expression, "he left too?"
   Nodding, I sighed. "You all did. She woke up, and I was the only one still there for her."
   My revelation made him flinch, but no matter the guilt he may have felt, I knew why he did what he did. I wanted to do the same thing, but one of us had to be there when she woke up.
   "How could I not feel the bond before, but as soon as she touched me, I could? That shouldn't be possible, Damian."
   "I know." He was right. It shouldn't be possible. "I took her to see the seer. She explained that Ivy is favored by the goddess, and now the bond has been left to her. She can choose a normal life, mating with one of us or a few... Or she can have us all. At the end of the day, though, it's her choice."
   "...and she didn't run for a normal life..." he murmured with surprise.
   "Obviously not if we are here, and from the looks of it, I take it she rekindled her bond with you."
   He was silent for a moment before slowly nodding, "I didn't think she was real when I saw her again."
   "You mean at the restaurant?" I inquired, knowing full well he was there.
   Nodding, he groaned, "I had come to tell you to leave me the fuck alone, but then I saw her. How happy she was, and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Seeing her again was too much."
   "I get it. It was a lot for me when I saw her in the hospital awake as well. Even if I didn't have the bond with her like you three did."
   Both of us sat there in silence for a moment before he looked up at me again, "why haven't you bonded with her yet? I smelt you on her, so I know you had sex."
   Glancing down at my clasped hands in front of me, I mulled over the idea.
   Why hadn't I marked her when I had the chance?
   "I suppose, in the moment, it didn't seem right." I responded, looking at him again, "I want you three to reconcile with her first, and then I will have my chance."
  "So you could fuck her first but not mark her. That makes a lot of sense." He snaps.
   Grinning at his jealous remark, I ran my tongue over my teeth, trying to hold back the cynical comment that was pushing through.
   "James, if you remember correctly, you all were fucking her before I did."
   Slapping his hand against the counter, I observed the fire swirl within his eyes, "because you didn't fucking want her. Remember that minor detail?"
   "It wasn't because I didn't want her, James. But that is what you want to believe, right?"
   "fuck you, Damian." He snorted, "you didn't want to be tied down. Admit it."
   "No." I snapped, "I wanted her to have a normal life, dammit. Was that so hard to ask?"
   The anger simmering within James, he leaned back and scoffed. At one point in time, we all wanted her to have a normal life. That's why they all chose to leave.
   They could have stayed and refused what I told them to do, but they didn't. They left.
   "You didn't have to leave, James. Even if I said to go. You could have stayed."
   A growl ripped through him as he clenched his fist, "fuck you, Damian. You put that shit in our heads and made us feel like we had no choice. We all love her, and you only now see what we lost. How important she is in the long run. She was gifted to us by the goddess herself."
   "You're right." I replied with a smirk crossing my arms over my chest, "she was gifted to us."
   I knew deep down the moment I had found her as my mate that there were going to be problems. The idea of one woman being mated to the four of us was just asking for problems.
   I had never been one for sharing, and the thought of sharing my mate was disgusting.
   At the time, but now I wanted it more than anything. I wanted her.
   "How do you even know she truly wants this, Damian? How do you know that she just doesn't feel guilty, and that's what's going on?"
   Shrugging my shoulder a smile crept across my lips, "ask her yourself."
   Confusion flashed through his eyes as I pointed behind him towards Ivy's shadowed figure. I knew very well she had been listening to us, and as he turned she stepped forth, she smiled.
   "Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt."
   No matter what Ivy did or what she had been through, she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on. I regretted every moment of not finishing my bond with her, but at last, all I could do was make up for my past mistakes.
   "You don't ever have to apologize," James replies, dropping his food on his plate, and wrapping his arms around her as he kisses the top of her head. "I'm sorry I left you."
   A grin crossed her plump, kissable lips as she pulled away from him, "Damian is right, James. We can't change the past, but we can fix the future."
   He seemed to consider her words over mine, and even though the Alpha in me itched to say something about it, I didn't. She would become the luna of our pack, and with her place by our side, she would have the ultimate say.
   At least behind closed doors.
   "Are you sure this is what you want, Ivy?" He asked with desperation. "You could be free."
    Laughter escaped her, though, at his comment. Pulling down the collar of the oversized shirt she wore, she displayed her mate mark. "Too late for that."
  "Fuck." James whispered, running his hand through his hair, "I shouldn't—"
   Quickly bringing her finger to his lips, she shook her head, "don't. I have thought about all of this, and this is what I want, James. Damian knows this. My future career can still happen one day, but not without all of you by my side."
   The moment she spoke those words, my heart swelled with pride. She truly did care about us, and the look in her eyes when she proclaimed her desire to have us all spoke volumes.
   She didn't regret her choice, and she was determined to be with us all.
   "Okay, then. Well, what's the plan? Where's Hale?" James asked.
   As her eyes met mine, I gestured for her to explain. If she wanted to be the boss, I'd let her.
   "Pack your shit. We're heading to Japan." She giggled.