Not long after that, I found myself alone in the cabin with my brother. Zale offered us some privacy, which I gratefully accepted, knowing that I had a lot to explain. 

“You have no idea how worried we’ve all been!” Den exclaimed, still smiling. “When your scouting group didn’t report back, we feared the worst. We found the funeral pyre and figured someone must’ve survived, but with that storm… we didn’t hold out much hope. There wasn't a lot to go on, but we picked up a trail and tracked it here. What the hell happened out there?”

“Trolls,” I replied bluntly, “A lot of them.”

“Trolls,” Den repeated, furrowing his brow, “but there was enough of you to handle a group. Did they catch you by surprise?”

“They did, but that wasn’t the problem,” I told him, shaking my head, “There were at least ten of them, Den. I’ve never heard of a group of over three, but somehow there were ten. We didn’t stand a chance. I only survived because I was knocked out and they thought I was dead.” 

“Ten?” Den repeated with a look of horror on his face.

"Ten," I confirmed. 

Den immediately grasped the weight of that number. It took a minimum of six men to take down a single troll and survive to tell the tale. Since trolls typically traveled in groups of two or three at most, thirty men should have been more than enough to survive an encounter. But against ten, it was nothing short of a miracle that even one man survived.

“It was awful,” I stated, trying to maintain my composure as I remembered the carnage of that fateful morning, “I missed a lot of the fight, since I was knocked out early on, but the aftermath was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”

Den placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, giving me a moment of silence before asking, “But how the hell did you end up here?”

“After I burned the bodies, the storm hit,” I explained, my voice strained as the memories came flooding back, "I was trying to seek shelter in the forest, but the storm was too fierce, and I got lost. Zale found me buried in the snow not far from here. He brought me to the cabin, treated my injuries, and said I could stay until the end of the season.”

“Zale…” my brother murmured, his expression sharpening, “Is that the big one or the one with the messed up face I saw clinging to you?”

My eyes narrowed in displeasure at Den’s choice of words, “Zale is the big one, yes. He’s a bear beastman. And don’t talk about Elio like that. It’s not like he asked for that scar... and he’s beautiful with or without it.”

“Beautiful?” my brother scoffed, “He’s a damned beastman, Bryn.”

“I’m well aware of that fact,” I replied stiffly.

“If you’re well aware of that, then you’re also aware that we’re at war with them. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that we should spare their lives since they rescued you. But if you go around saying things like that, people are going to get the wrong impression,” Den lectured, speaking to me as though I were a child. 

“Their impression wouldn’t be wrong," I snapped without thinking. Den flinched at my tone and I immediately regretted my outburst. After taking a deep breath, I calmly tried to explain, "Den, I know this is going to sound crazy but–”

“Don’t you dare!” Den interrupted, his eyes darting around us as if he thought someone might be listening, “Whatever you were about to say, don’t. You got lucky. They saved you. Anything else you think you’re feeling is just a byproduct of that. You’ve been through a lot, so it’s only natural that you’d be confused. They’ve probably been filling your head with nonsense this whole time. What you were about to say is something you must never utter aloud. Now, I’m going to take you home and we’ll never speak of this again.”   

“Den, please listen,” I begged, grabbing onto his arm, “See, the thing is… First of all, I was planning on going back. My bag is packed and I'm supposed to leave tomorrow morning. The Northern Army needs to be notified and I owe it to the others to let their families know what happened. But after that…”

“After that, what?” Den asked, his voice thick with emotion.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him. He sounded so disappointed in me, betrayed, like he already knew what I was about to say.

Summoning my courage, I continued, “After that, I had every intention of coming back here. I know what you’re going to say, so please just listen. All my life, I've never had a choice. I’ve always known that I would serve in the Northern Army, then I would take a wife and we would have children. That's the life cycle of the north, and not once did I ever think to question that. But now, I’m questioning it. I should have died, Den. Twice over, I should be dead. But here I am. I was given a second chance and my gut is telling me that this is the reason why.”

“So you’re abandoning your duty to play house with a beastman?” Den shouted, pulling his arm out of my grip, “Gods, Bryn, I thought you had more common sense than this. Even if they saved you, beastmen are our enemies. They’ve been raping and murdering our women for years. How do you know you won’t end up as another mutilated body found near the borderland?”

“Because I know!” I yelled back, frustrated with my brother’s attitude, “I’ve never been so certain in my life! I’m happy here. Not only that, but for the first time in my life, I feel like my happiness actually matters. I don’t care if they’re beastmen and I don’t care about the southerner’s stupid war! When have we northerners ever cared about southern politics anyway?!” 

It wasn’t that I hadn’t expected his reaction, because I had. But that didn’t make it any less disappointing. Den was possibly the most easygoing person I'd ever known, so I'd foolishly held out hope that he would be willing to listen. I had hoped he’d at least try to understand.

The door to the cabin opened and Zale and Elio entered the room, looking between Den and I with visible concern. They must have heard us shouting. 

My brother snarled and drew his sword.

“Den," I hissed, glaring at him, "I swear to the Gods if you point that sword at either of them, I will never speak to you again."

“How ‘bout we all calm down a little,” Zale suggested, raising both hands in a gesture of peace, “No need for swords when we can use our words, right?”

“I have no words for you,” Den growled, “By all rights, I should kill him where he stands.”

Den's words were aimed at Zale, but his eyes were focused solely on Elio. 

“And how are you going to justify that to Bryn?” Elio inquired, stepping toward us and meeting his gaze unflinchingly, “I understand that you feel like you have to protect him, but have you considered–”

“Don’t speak to me like you know anything about us, beast,” my brother snapped, his knuckles turning white around the hilt of his sword, which was thankfully still pointed at the floor.

Elio ignored my brother’s glare and calmly took his place beside me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned his head against mine. 

“You’re Den, right?" Elio confirmed, smiling in the face of Den's unveiled anger, "Which means you recognized his bag because you gave it to him. It was a gift from you for passing basic training, if I'm not mistaken. He never told you this, but you’ve always been Bryn’s favorite brother. I really hope that’s not going to change now, because despite what you might think, all I want is for your brother to be happy.”

Despite the tension in the room, my heart soared at his words. For a moment, I forgot all about my glowering brother and leaned into Elio, whispering, “You make me happy.”

Elio beamed, “Back at you, my sweet.”

“And what about you?” Den asked, turning to Zale, “How do you fit into all this? I’m guessing scarface over there was yours first. You’re really okay with being pushed aside?”

“I don’t know what you imagine our situation to be,” Zale replied calmly, ignoring Den's provocation, “but I can assure you that it’s different from what you’re thinking. I care deeply for both of them, and I’m not being pushed aside. Like Elio, I just want to see your brother happy.”

Zale glanced at me and Elio with a gentle, almost tender expression, something my brother couldn’t help but notice. Den’s scowl faded into something closer to confusion, looking between the three of us in dismay.

He shook his head, “And what exactly is your situation?”

Zale glanced in my direction, as if asking for permission, and I gave a small nod. 

“They are both my mates,” Zale replied simply, “Bryn’s arrival was unexpected, yes, but we both wish for him to stay with us. Bryn believes this is the will of your God of fate, and I’m inclined to agree. We belong together, all three of us.” 

“Den, I won’t ask you to understand,” I added quietly, “To be honest, I don’t fully understand it myself… but I can't shake the feeling that I was brought here for a reason. I’ve thought about it a lot. Why was I spared? And why would fate lead me here of all places? The only conclusion that makes any sense is that this is part of Mariosopie’s plan for me. The three of us were destined to be together, I’m certain of it.”  

I pleaded with my eyes for him to understand. Den looked at me helplessly, then his shoulders sagged as he finally sheathed his sword.

“I can’t support this,” he stated, his voice heavy with resignation, “but I can respect your right to make your own choices. If you are determined to stay here, I will bring word home for you. Just know that I can’t tell them the truth. They wouldn’t accept it. Mom would be heartbroken and Dad would insist on coming after you. I’ll have to tell them that you perished in the battle with the trolls. The men who came with me, they can be trusted to guard your secret.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, “Thank you, Den. You really are my favorite brother.”

“Bah! Come here, you little shit,” Den grumbled, a smile tugging at his lips despite the sadness in his eyes. He pulled me into another bone-crushing hug and asked, “You’re really sure this is what you want?”

I nodded with confidence, “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

“Then I won’t stand in your way,” Den promised.

My brother and the other soldiers stayed for the night, leaving the following morning with promises to keep my survival a secret. Honor was satisfied and their silence would allow me to stay in the Beastlands, free from the constraints of the life I once knew.

As I watched them go, I felt a quiet ache in my chest at the realization that I'd left my family behind. I was going to miss them, especially Den, but I knew deep down that I was making the right choice. The Beastlands were my home now, and Elio and Zale were my family, my mates. 

I couldn't be sure what the future would hold, or whether we would live happily ever after like in the stories my mother told me as a child. But I was determined to try. After all, they were my destiny.