Saffy stared at his mouth, rapt.
“She was killed on impact, and my granduncle was rushed into hospital with internal bleeding. Of course, being a shifter, he was able to heal quite quickly from his injuries.”
“Oh, my,” Saffy said, her hand covering her mouth.
Ramon nodded. “When my granduncle got out of the hospital, he ended his own life. He wrote in the suicide note that he wasn’t able to live without his mate.”
Saffy gasped. “They were mates?”
“Yes. Then, of course, your family blamed mine for the death of your grandfather’s sister, and my family blamed yours for my great uncle’s death. And so, the feud was born.”
A tear escaped Saffy’s eye and slowly slid down her cheek. “That’s tragic.”
“Yeah.”
“The deaths should have made them come together, not driven an even bigger wedge between the two families.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But grief can make people act irrationally.”
“And it was all because they were too stupid and prejudiced against a species different to their own.” She couldn’t keep the trace of bitterness from her voice. What did it matter what animal someone turned into? How could that be more important than finding your soul mate? If only their families could have been happy for them, their story could have ended so differently. Not in tragedy, but in love.
“I see a lot of prejudice and hate crimes in my line of work,” Ramon said, and she caught her own hopelessness reflected in his tone as he stared over her shoulder. “It makes me think that as a society, we’re not getting any better. If anything, we’re regressing.”
“You’d think shifters would know better. I mean, we’re already hiding who we are from humans for fear of causing widespread panic, and now we’re fighting amongst ourselves, too.”
“It’s pathetic, it really is,” Ramon agreed.
Saffy put her hands on his shoulders. “Promise me you won’t let our families come between us?”
“Never,” Ramon said with conviction and the truth of that shone in his eyes, calming her and her cat who had become agitated after hearing the story of their relatives. “You’re my mate. I’d never let anything get in the way of that.”
Relief washed over Saffy like a balm to the anxiety that had her as on edge as her lion. She felt the conviction of their mate bond, and of course she’d hoped he would feel the way, but hearing him say it out loud relieved the pressure mounting inside her.
Ramon leaned closer, setting her heart racing for a different reason. “Mates are for life and I can’t wait to spend mine with you.”
She couldn’t help herself, she leaned in and kissed him for all she was worth. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be mated to someone who accepted her for who she was, even though they were a different species, and their families were mortal enemies. None of that mattered to Ramon, just as it didn’t matter to her.
The sound of the elevator coming to life made them jump apart. Ramon muttered a few words in Spanish and then scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble with Mason,” he said. “He’s pretty angry and I’d hate for him to take that anger out on you.”
“I can take care of myself. But thanks for thinking of me.”
Yes, she was incredibly lucky. What if her mate had turned out to be someone as prejudiced as her brother? She didn’t think she would have been able to stand being with a man like that, mates or not. Fortunately, it wasn’t something she needed to worry about.
“Can you meet me tomorrow night?” Ramon asked quickly.
“Yes, of course.”
“Do you know Puccini’s restaurant?”
“I do.” It was in a neutral part of the city that neither her family nor the Miguels could count as part of their territory.
“Great. Meet me outside at seven.”
Saffy had just enough time to nod her agreement before the elevator doors dinged open and Mason stepped out, looking angrier than she had ever seen him.
“What the hell are you doing with my sister?” Mason all but growled.
