They could only feel hints of each other’s emotions when they were this far apart, and even then, the further they got the fainter it got. It was then like a good or bad feeling. His father said it was there to make sure no one was ever cut off from the pack.
Malachi sighed and lowered his voice because he knew Malek would be able to hear him anyway. He could hear everything going on at home through the phone, even Axel trying to feed Mason.
“He’s my mate,” Malachi said.
“Who?” Malek asked.
Malachi heard Axel coo at Mason“Come on eat for papa. There you go, there you go.”Chi couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face as he listened to his brother and Axel. It had him glancing at Alfie… That could be them in the near future.
“Wait, what did you just say? I need you to repeat that because I may have heard wrong,” Malek said.
Chi grinned. “Well, what do you think you heard?”
“I think my brother just told me that he’s found his mate, and not only that, but his mate is my mate’s brother.”
Chi had to move the phone away from his ear. The scream from Axel damn near took his eardrums out. He could hear Axel saying “give me the phone,” over and over while also trying to soothe Mason. Apparently, Mason wasn’t a fan of his papa’s screaming either.
“Babe, why don’t you go put Mase down, and I’ll get you all the details,” he heard Malek suggest to his mate.
There was a pause, probably Axel debating if he should leave. His nephew’s crying picked up again, and he heard Axel sigh. “Fine, but you better tell me everything.”
He listened as Axel left the room they were in, even heard the door shut behind him.
Malek didn’t waste any time. “So, you found your mate, huh?”
“Yeah, I have.” Malachi couldn’t stop the grin that appeared on his face. He stood and moved away from Alfie, even though he was pretty sure his mate wasn’t paying attention to him. It worked in his favour right now, but Malachi hoped that wouldn’t be the case for long because he had a feeling that there would never be a time from this day forward that Alfie didn’t have at least eighty per cent of his attention.
You mean more like ninety-nine point nine per cent, don’t you…
Malachi snorted at himself because yeah, he knew it would always be closer to ninety-nine per cent. Alfie had just become the most important person in his life—and always would be.
“Congratulations, brother. I know how much this means to you,” Malek said.
Chi couldn’t stop the flush that stained his cheeks. He could hear the underlying comment in his brother’s voice. One of the downsides of being who they were was nothing was truly hidden, and there’d been times he hadn’t locked his thoughts down fast enough.
“You know I never—” Chi began.
“I know,” Malek cut him off, “I probably would have felt the same way if you’d found your mate first. You’re happy for me, that’s all that matters.”
“I was… am, I just…” Chi trailed off.
“You just wanted your mate, too, and goddess be praised, here he is and he’s my mate’s brother. You don’t know how much that means to me and Axel.” There was a relieved tone in Malek’s voice.
Before he could ask what Malek meant, his brother spoke up.
“I can feel my mate’s joy,” Malek whispered, his brother’s voice choked with emotion. “He’s been terrified he would have to watch as his siblings die because…”
This time it was Malek who stopped speaking.
“Because he’s been gifted our life span,” Malachi finished for him.
“Yeah, I could feel his worry and his sadness. I know it’s not all of them, but maybe this will help.” Malek sighed.
They both sighed. Malachi realised that his mate would probably feel the same way when he learned of what would be, and like Malek, he would be just as powerless to solve the situation for him.
Malek’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Trust me to make finding your mate all about me,” Malek teased in a self-deprecating tone. “Forget all that, Chi, and enjoy the time with your mate. Trust me when I say nothing will ever feel the same again.”
