Mal plonks a milky cup of tea in front of me before sitting in the one remaining chair. Gray wanders in, cradling my former cup of coffee. I’m about to get up and offer him the chair, but he settles on the counter with an eerie grace.
“Let’s hear your list of questions then,” Mal says with a grin.
I sigh and sip my tea. Where do I even start?
Mal drinks his tea while looking at me expectantly. I take a deep breath, trying to order my thoughts.
“Okay, well, first off, what exactly is this mate bond thing?” I ask. “And how do I get rid of it?”
Mal exchanges a glance with Gray before turning back to me. “The mate bond is a powerful connection between two individuals. A joining of souls and of life force. As for getting rid of it... It’s complicated.”
I narrow my eyes. “Complicated how?”
Mal leans back in his chair. “It varies. Species to species. And you being human, further muddies the water.”
“Great,” I sigh. “This is your way of saying you don’t have a clue, isn’t it?”
Mal chuckles. “You’ve got me there, kid.”
Well, a fat load of help that is. I’ve learned absolutely nothing new. All I’ve gained is a shit cup of tea.
I take a deep breath and set my cup down, steeling myself to voice the thought that has been swirling in the back of my mind since he opened the door. I don’t want it to fester, so I’m going to have to air it out.
“Mal, why didn’t you tell me about the mate bond? I thought we were family,” I say, and my damn voice wobbles.
Mal’s expression softens, and he reaches across the table to place a comforting hand on mine. He really has become a soft touch since falling in love, and it’s lovely to see.
“Kid, I wanted to tell you. But you needed to hear it from Blue,” Mal explains.
I glance over at Gray, who is watching me intently from his perch on the counter. His gaze is intense, yet there’s a hint of something else there. Something vulnerable that tugs at my heart.
A despondent, sad sounding sigh escapes me. That’s actually fair enough and makes perfect sense. And just like that, my fledgling grudge disintegrates and I’m back to merely feeling sad about Blue and this mate stuff.
“Why does it have to be so complicated, Mal? Why do I feel like I’m being pulled in a million different directions? I’m not surewhat is me and what is the mate stuff,” I confess, feeling the weight of the mate bond pressing down on me.
If that’s even what it is. For all I know, my dumb human ass might be incapable of sensing the bond at all, and all my dramatic feelings could be nothing more than a silly crush. And as I’ve already concluded, it doesn’t matter. Blue doesn’t want me, so wherever they stem from, all my feelings need to go.
But semi-confessing to Mal and Gray does feel good. Like a weight lifted off my shoulders.
Mal’s gaze softens even further, a mix of sympathy and understanding in his eyes. “It’s never easy when the heart is involved, kid. And when it comes to the mate bond, things can get even more tangled. But you’re not alone in this. We’ll figure it out together,” Mal reassures me, his voice steady and comforting.
I’m so glad he seems to understand me even though I haven’t been able to be at all coherent. He definitely was the right person to talk to. He knows me, and he knows mate bonds.
I feel a surge of gratitude towards Mal and Gray. It is so frigging nice not to be alone and have to deal with everything life throws my way, by myself. When I was younger, I never understood the point of families. Now it is the only thing I want.
Taking a deep breath, I nod slowly, determination blossoming within me. “Okay. So, where do we start?”
Mal smiles and squeezes my hand gently. “We start by figuring out what exactly is going on with this mate bond. And then we go from there.”
His words settle over me like a comforting blanket, and as I sit in this tiny basement kitchen with Mal and Gray, sipping my tea and feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside me, I can’t help but feel a glimmer of hope flicker to life in my chest. Maybe, just maybe, with the guidance and support of these two unlikely allies, the mate bond can be fixed, Blue can be freed. And my broken heart can be mended.
Chapter thirteen
Blue
If I walk any slower, I’d be standing still. I’m behaving like a child. Yes, it is humiliating that the household needs to have a meeting to figure out how to undo my mess, but literally dragging my feet over it is absurd. I’m better than this.
I grind my teeth and force my legs to move faster. The soft material of the sweatpants swishes and I don’t like it. But that’s probably just because I’m already in a bad mood.
