But I do not mind. Right now Bay and I are curled up together on a rattan lounger, watching the fireworks Winter and Snow send up every now and then.
At one point Dereck walks over to us and sits down on one of the seats.
We talk a bit about college, and then unexpectedly Dereck changes the subject and asks,
"So… do you already know your mateship level?"
That question would not be touchy in almost any other situation, except ours, because neither Bay nor I, for some strange reason, have fully matured glands yet.
They usually mature around seventeen, eighteen at most, which means that as of today we have officially joined the minority who reached eighteen without fully developed glands, without knowing our Allure, and without knowing our level of genetic compatibility.
Dereck can’t smell it, since he’s a beta.
Bay and I rarely talk about it, but we both strongly believe our compatibility will be really high because of how well we understand each other, and it is interesting how often that goes hand in hand, a really strong emotional and personality match paired with genetic compatibility.
So we never really worry about it, we do not discuss it, we do not spend time thinking about it, we both just accept the fact that we are late bloomers.
"No, we have no idea yet," Bay says, leaning slightly and tapping the spot where his neck meets his shoulder before shrugging. "Our glands are still dormant."
"What will you do if it turns out you’re not a good match?" Dereck raises his eyebrows.
"Dereck, we’re basically like twins," I say, a bit arrogantly. "Since we met, we haven’t argued even once. Can you believe that?"
"I can," Dereck mutters with a soft laugh. "And even if you’re genetically incompatible, you can always use suppressants. I know a couple that does that, but in their case they fight more than they get along, such a toxic relationship…"
I raise my eyebrows.
"Seriously? And their families accept that?"
In ABO society, relationships between genetically incompatible people are deeply condemned. They are only slightly better regarded than relationships between siblings. Nearly seventy percent of children born to incompatible partners are either not viable or have severe genetic defects that make normal life extremely difficult.
Such relationships are disapproved not only by culture and tradition but also by the state. Incompatible people have trouble getting legally married. Because the divorce rate in incompatible pairs is practically one hundred percent, no reasonable person chooses to stay in such a relationship. Even people with lowbut still acceptable compatibility levels have better odds. They actually stay together until the end in almost thirty percent of cases.
Still, I’m almost certain it won’t apply to us, because we’re like two well tuned parts of the same machine, in sync with each other in everything.
Besides, my dad once told me something funny, that both Lake and Aiden are his High Mates. Their scents, as a mated couple, are muted and do not hit as strongly as they would in unbonded individuals, but the fact that my dad has such high compatibility with both of Bay’s parents is pretty convincing proof that I will at least have medium compatible levels too.
I once read an article showing that when members of two families have high compatibility with each other, it is almost impossible for children born in those families to be completely incompatible with one another.
When Dereck walks away, Bay leans closer and looks into my eyes.
"You’re not worried about what Dereck said, right?"
I shake my head.
"Of course not, no way."
I smile at him. His dark green eyes, framed by long lashes, study me for a moment.
"I want to take you somewhere tomorrow. Wear something nice."
"Where are you planning to take me?" I tilt my head slightly.
"It’s a surprise."
He lifts his hand, gently brushing my hair away from my face, and his eyes hold a kind of melancholy.
"Thank you for everything, Alex. Thank you for just being here. I don’t know what I would have done without you during these three and a half years since we met. I think I would be in a completely different place…"
