Chapter 5

"Wh – what?" Elizabeth stammered, shocked.

"You smell like you are Darcy's mate. And you have a claiming bite on your neck. I have not seen Darcy since he left Hertfordshire in the autumn. Did you bond with him?"

"Are you – are you a wolf shifter, too?" she asked tremulously.

He nodded. "I am his beta. He is the alpha wolf of our pack. Pemberley is his base. But how is it that you are bonded to him? I thought you barely knew each other; and when you did speak, you argued."

Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably, looking over to where her aunt and sister chatted nearby, apparently oblivious. She turned back to Bingley. "It turns out that I am Mr. Darcy's moon fated mate," she said.

Bingley looked shocked. "A human as a moon fated mate! But that is unheard of!" He looked at her closely. "But does that mean that you have been bonded since before he left Hertfordshire?"

"No," Elizabeth shook her head. "I did not know anything about it. Apparently, Mr. Darcy realized my dislike of him and decided not to tell me about the bond. He was dying when Lady Anne came and found me."

Understanding came over Bingley's face. "So you bonded with him."

"Yes."

"Then you are engaged? I assume you are going to be married soon?"

"Yes. He just needs to speak with my father for permission before we tell anyone else." She looked at him carefully. "Does Jane know what you are?"

He nodded. "I told her when I proposed. In fact, I shifted for her. She was shocked, but she still accepted my proposal."

"I am glad I will be able to discuss it with Jane, then," said Elizabeth with relief. "It has been hard to hide such a thing from her."

"When are you thinking of marrying?" asked Bingley.

"We had hoped we could wed at the same time as you and Jane, if you do not object."

Bingley beamed. "Certainly not! And I am certain Jane will agree."

"I will speak with her about it tonight, then."

Suddenly Bingley groaned, as if he had just thought of something.

"What is it, Mr. Bingley?"

"I was just thinking about my sister," he said. "Caroline will not be pleased that Darcy is marrying anyone but her."

"Was he – interested in her?" asked Elizabeth cautiously.

"Oh, goodness, no," said Bingley. "He never spared her a second thought. But that did not stop her from plotting all the same." He sighed. "I suppose I will have to break the news to her."

Elizabeth smiled. "I am sure you are up to the task, Mr. Bingley."

Soon after, Bingley said goodbye. Elizabeth waited eagerly to find a moment to speak to Jane alone. She had to be patient until bedtime when they both retired to their shared room.

"Jane," she said, as she helped her sister unbutton her dress, "Did you know that Mr. Darcy is a wolf, like Mr. Bingley?"

Jane turned to stare at her with wide eyes. "What?" she cried. "You know about them?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I will tell you a secret, Jane. I am Mr. Darcy's moon fated mate. Which is supposed to be an even stronger bond than the chosen mate."

Jane's eyebrows shot to her forehead. "You mean you have already completed this bond?"

"I have," Elizabeth nodded. She told Jane about what happened when Lady Anne had visited and how she had gone to Darcy House to save Darcy's life, leaving out the more intimate details.

"Goodness me," Jane breathed. "Lizzy, I had no idea you were going through such a thing."

"I could not tell you. I had no idea you knew anything."

"I understand. But how did Mr. Bingley know? Did Mr. Darcy tell him?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, apparently I –" she blushed, "smell like Mr. Darcy now. And he could see the claiming bite on my neck."

Something like comprehension lit Jane's face. "That's what you were talking about, the bite mark on your neck – when you were recovering at Darcy House." Suddenly she looked concerned. "Is that why you were sick, Lizzy? Because of the bite?"

"That is what Lady Anne said," said Elizabeth with a shrug. "Although apparently it was amplified in me because I am Darcy's fated mate and not his chosen mate." She looked at Jane carefully. "Mr. Bingley told you about the bite?"

Jane blushed. "He did, but he said not to worry about it, that it is very pleasurable."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I was afraid of that. I do not wish to scare you, Jane, but I think the bite is different in humans. It was extremely painful for me. I don't want you to be unprepared. I had no idea I was going to be bitten at all."

"Oh, poor Lizzy!" She leaned forward to hug her sister. "It must have been awful!"

Elizabeth smiled faintly. "It was not my favourite day, but it is over now. And Mr. Darcy has been more friendly lately than he ever was in Hertfordshire."

"I can tell he adores you, Lizzy," Jane beamed.

Elizabeth still wondered whether it was the fated mate bond that was making Mr. Darcy act against his character. The book had said nothing about that, but she still could not help but wonder. He had not appeared to even like her, let alone be attracted to her, in Hertfordshire. Then all of a sudden he was desperately in love with her? It all seemed very unlikely to Elizabeth.

Still, she said none of this to Jane.

"I have a book that Lady Anne lent me, about wolf shifters. You can borrow it, if you wish," Elizabeth said.

"Thank you, Lizzy. I shall have to take a look at it sometime." She put on her nightgown and crawled into bed next to Elizabeth. "So you and Mr. Darcy are going to be married?"

"Yes, we had hoped to be married in the same ceremony with you and Mr. Bingley, if you do not object."

"I would be delighted!" said Jane. Then her faced morphed to a look of concern. "But, Lizzy, what do you truly think of Mr. Darcy? I know you – bonded with him to save his life, but do you have any fond or tender feelings toward him?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Not at this time, although I do admit that I have always felt a strange pull and attraction towards him that I could not explain. And he is much more agreeable than he was in Hertfordshire."

Jane seemed disappointed by her reply, but endeavoured to smile. "Hopefully he will improve upon further acquaintance."

"I hope so, Jane."

"Why did you not tell me that Miss Elizabeth was your moon fated mate?"

Bingley had just invaded his townhouse without invitation and proceeded to make himself at home, as usual.

"At first it did not seem necessary. She despised me, and rightly so. I did not treat her well in Hertfordshire."

"So you determined to just – what – die?" Bingley looked shocked. "You were not going to make any sort of effort to win her over?"

"I did not want her accepting me out of pity or compassion, Bingley," said Darcy stiffly.

Bingley snorted. "Well, that seems to have happened anyway, doesn't it?"

Darcy flinched, and Bingley apparently realized the cruelty of his words. "Oh, say, old man, I didn't mean it like that," he said. "I just meant –"

Darcy lifted a hand to stem his words. "It is well, Bingley. I asked her if we might start again, and she agreed. I am doing my best to woo her now."

"Is it true that you can feel her emotions?" Bingley asked with interest.

Although he was loathe to reveal private details of his and Elizabeth's relationship, he supposed this piece of information was harmless enough. "I can," he said. "I have a feeling that she can sense mine, too, although she was confused by it at first. My mother gave her a treatise on wolf shifters, so I assume she had been reading assiduously."

Bingley chuckled. "I suppose we can always count on Miss Elizabeth to read."

Darcy smiled.

Bingley suddenly looked serious. "But – I did have to tell Caroline." He winced. "It was quite the scene."

Darcy grimaced. "I never had any intention of offering for your sister, Bingley."

"Oh, I know that quite well. But she was still deluded that you would choose her at some point."

"We are keeping the engagement quiet until we can speak to Mr. Bennet."

Bingley nodded. "Are you going to go to Longbourn when the ladies return to Hertfordshire next week?"

"I am."

"I hope you will feel welcome to stay at Netherfield. Caroline will leave you alone, now that she knows you are soul bonded."

"I would be glad to. Thank you, Bingley." His friend nodded. "I cannot stay long, however. I must return to Pemberley to set things in order. The last time I was there I thought I was dying, so I had put all my affairs in order."

"Good God, Darcy!" Bingley's eyes were wide. "You certainly were serious about never telling her!"

Darcy shrugged. "I did not want her to be miserable."

Privately, he was still worried she would be miserable. He had gone to visit her every day for the last week, and while she had softened toward him slightly, he never sensed any happiness or delight from her when she saw him.

He resolved to be patient. They had time.

They had their whole lives together.