I exhaled. Why couldn’t people just answer my damn questions when I asked them. I took another big breath. “How do vampires mate? I know it has something to do with biting, but I don’t know the logistics or the magic behind it.”
Rick squirmed in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with the topic. “Well... I mean, you are partly right. Vampires need to bite and ingest the blood of their mate for the bond to form. Then a mark will show up on the mate’s body, signaling to all other vampires that they are taken.” He looked down at his hands. “It’s said that your mate’s blood is the best-tasting blood you will ever have, and that when you are mated, their specific scent becomes intensified, and you are able to smell them from miles away.”
He looked like he was about to ask me why I was asking, so I kept with my questions. “And if the mate is mixed species?” That caught Avery’s and Ax’s attention, which was another interesting thing to observe.
Rick eyed me, trying to figure out what I was after. “It’s just like any mixed-species mating, it’s unique to the mates. Sometimes the whole thing is backward, sometimes you get a few of the traits but not the rest. Sometimes the mate mark doesn’t show up right away, but maybe a day or so later. It all depends.”
Well, that was all something to think about. Then I noticed Avery’s thoughtful expression and Ax looking at the table intently. Could we all...? I thought back to the interactions with Rayla and the others. She won against each of us individually, which would make men like us respect her. Then the challenge in the club when she danced with each of us, she was very good at picking out what each of us preferred in terms of sexual appeal... almost like she had some firsthand experience with it. Then with the weird emotions I had been having... about her, about not getting so worked up over them around her, but another man, even Rick, before I knew what he enjoyed personally, drove me up the wall. At first, I thought it was a Syndicate thing, but maybe it was more than that?
I turned to Ax, not wasting any more time thinking. “And wolves?”
Ax crossed his arms, looking down at me with one eye slightly more closed than the other, but he answered me. “Our wolves do the picking. As soon as our wolf gets our mate’s scent, they tell us who our mate is... then we have the option to pursue it or not.” My eyes flashed open for a second, surprised that with wolves mating they had an option between following it or not.
When he saw my expression, he rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t happen often. Most of us are not that stupid to go against our wolf. They usually pick mates that can handle our wolf and human side. But a rejection can happen, I think there are only two known ones in the books.”
“Are there situations where one wolf picks someone but the other picks someone else?” Now I was just curious and asking more questions to make sure any hypothesis I came up with was sound.
“Naw. The wolves feel each other out with magic. That’s why it’s actually easy for wolves to mate outside of the species—if a wolf doesn’t vibe with the lady wolves, he won’t even try.” Interesting. Very interesting.
I turned to Avery leaning on the table expecting my question. “Why do you want to know all this, Falcon? What is your angle?”
I knew lying to him would only be detrimental to the thin line of trust we had built, so I gave a sort-of truth. “I’m interested because of a test I am running.” I put my hand up to stop Avery from asking more questions. “Anyhow, what about the fae? How do you mate?”
Avery eyed me again, somehow seeing I was digging for something, he just didn’t know the something, but judging by his facial expression, I was guessing he would not give up any time soon.
He licked his lips as he drummed his fingers against the table. “For us, it starts with the eyes. We know our mate as soon as our eyes meet. That is when a bond between the two starts. A craving for the other person starts and then a gradual color changing of our wings happens.” My brows furrowed at the craving part.
“Your wings, how long do they take to change? What do they change to?” I had never been more fascinated since I’ve been here, and I was soaking this in.
“Look”—Avery sliced his hand in the air—“wings are a very personal thing, but since it’s for science... wings can take three to seven days to fully turn from a clear to an iridescent beauty that sparkles in the light.”
“Can you reject a mate bond?”
Avery shook his head, his pink hair bouncing around as he said, “No. Once it is set, it’s done. You are mated, but we have never had an issue with a mating before. Everyone who has been mates says they are as happy as they could be.” I lifted my finger to my chin in thought.
“I am guessing it’s the same with the vampires if you have an out-of-species mating? Weird order, or having some reactions but not all?” They both nodded, still trying to figure me out.
“And you?” Avery’s smug voice sounded against my thinking. “What is it like to be a mage and mated?”
I almost recommended a book that he should read, but I knew that was impossible for him. He was more of a show-and-tell guy than a find-all-the-answers-yourself kind of person like me. “A mage mating is quite simple. We have one person in this world that is able to withstand an individual’s specific magic.” When his eyebrows squished together, I knew I needed to go even more remedial. “If I made a ball of fire, my mate would be able to put her hand through it and not get burned. Also, mates for us are called neutralizers because they are immune to our magic and keep us grounded.”
We all stayed seated for a second, taking in all the information that we told each other when the door to the kitchen slammed open, and Cosmo walked in. He looked even worse than when he left the palace.
His normally buttoned-up, perfect, soldier-boy outfit was all in disarray. Blood stained his shirt, his body was sluggish, and his eyes were barely able to stay open. Rick cried out, “Look, you have been searching for a long time. I think you need some sleep.”
He abruptly turned away from us. “I don’t have time.”
I’d about had it with his attitude and blurted, “Don’t take it out on us that you haven’t found her yet.” When he opened his mouth, I only kept going. “Also, what do you want us to do? I could run myself into complete exhaustion, like you, but that’s not wise, either, is it?” Something seemed to sink in as he paused.
“She needs someone who is strong and smart. Someone who can keep his shit together in the worst of situations.” I raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. “What if you drive yourself into exhaustion and we find a clue? What if we get there and she needs help? What are you going to do?” His mouth pinched. “What kind of help would you be to her then?”
Rick stood up, walked over to Cosmo, whispering, “He’s right, Cosmo. We might even think of something different if we get a couple hours of sleep. Just a few won’t hurt.”
“Where’s Ternin?” Cosmo asked sharply.
“They all went down into the lab with my father. They wanted to figure out how the drug was made,” I rushed out.
“They think this might be all connected somehow, so they are working from a different angle,” Avery said before yawning.
