“Youlovehim?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.” Despite the unpleasant feeling inside of him, Titan’s smile grew. “And he is with egg.”
“What?” Al gaped at him. “But you’re not… you’re not bonded. How is that possible?”
Titan shrugged. “I don’t know. The only thing I can think is that he must be my True Mate, just the same as Human Jude is yours.”
“Brother, I truly don’t mean to offend you, but the odds of that being the case are… I mean, for us both to have found our True Mates not only on the same planet, but at the same location on that planet? It’s nearly impossible.”
“I know that,” Titan said, a little defensive. “But nearly impossible still means possible, right?”
“I… I guess. What did you feel the first time the two of you touched?”
Titan’s smile dissolved. “That’s where things get complicated. The first time we touched, I felt his baseline emotions the same way I would with anybody. I didn’t try to read him in depth—that would have been a violation of privacy—but I knew that he felt desire for me. That he wanted to be my mate.”
Al’s face screwed up in thought. He tapped his finger on the table, then shook his head. “That’s not what I felt with Jude at all,” he said, and Titan’s heart sank. “I knew from the second that I touched him that there was something different about my connection with him. If you were genuinely True Mates, there wouldn’t be any doubt. And you’d have a link, weaker than a bond, but still present. Do you feel that with him?”
Titan desperately wanted to say yes, but that would have been a lie.
“No,” he said quietly. “I don’t.”
Al twisted his mouth, sitting back in his chair and surveying his brother for a long increment. Finally, he said, “Thank you. For what you said, I mean. About being sorry for how you treated me. We’re not… I can’t forgive you that easily. I need time. But maybe, if you’re serious about being a better being… maybe I can forgive you sooner rather than later.”
Despite his conflicted thoughts about Ezra and himself, Titan smiled. Al, although tentative, smiled back.
“I don’t know how I feel about you and Ezra,” he went on to say, “but I do know what it’s like to be in love. If you’re telling the truth, and you really do love him—and especially if you’re going to be parents—well, I won’t stand in your way. Just forgive me if I need some time on that front, too.”
“I understand. Take all the time you need.” He clicked his tongue a couple times before adding, “Can you help me out, though?”
“With what?”
“Understanding what my relationship with him means. It doesn’t make sense. I spoke to Kr’?∂’txx to see if he had any ideas about why my experience with Ezra isn’t typical of True Mates, but he didn’t have any answers. If we’re not True Mates, then what could this be? How else could he be carrying my clutch?”
Al pondered it.
“I don’t know,” he said after a while. “But yes, I will help you.”
He lifted his hand, hesitated, then placed it on top of Titan’s, which was resting on the table. Through the touch, Titan felt his brother’s apprehension as well ashis sincere gratitude, which made it all the more rewarding when Al concluded, “You are my brother, after all.”
21
Titan
“What you need,” said Al in Darvrokian a short while later, having just returned from the kitchen, where he had helped Human Jude resolve a quibble between their offspring, “is to speak with someone who has a deep understanding of how True Mate bonds function. You mentioned that you spoke with Kr’?∂’txx already, but as smart as he is, that’s not quite his specialty. He may not have heard of anyone else experiencing a True Mates bond in the way you’re claiming, but that doesn’t mean it’s never happened before. There could be rare cases that present atypically—or perhaps your particular situation has something to do with having a human mate.”
“Perhaps,” Titan conceded, “but why, then, would you experience a typical True Mates bond with Human Jude? It doesn’t make sense.”
Al shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. I may have found my True Mate, but I’m no expert on the subject. I really think your best bet is going to be tracking down an expert; with your government connections, I’m sure you have the resources to find them and get in touch. If word of my mating hasspread on Darvrok 6, I imagine some of them might be on the way here—or may even be here already—to speak with me and Jude in an attempt to further their research, so it might be easier than you think.”
As he spoke, Secretary of Defense Buttons leapt onto the table and butted her head in greeting against Titan’s arm. Titan, not wanting to be rude, lowered his head and butted her back.
“Have you considered not worrying about it?” she asked, tail twitching at the very tip. “Most species on Earth don’t experience True Mate bonds, with the exception of the planet’s worst asshole: the swan.”
A lead!
Titan nearly sprang out of his seat in excitement. “Where may I find one such swan?”
“Oh, don’t bother.” Secretary of Defense Buttons licked her paw several times, then ran it over the top of her head and between her ears. “They won’t tell you anything. All they’ll do is gloat and make fun of your insecurities. I’m pretty sure the only reason they bond like they do is because if they didn’t have a force larger than themselves tying them together, they’d be so unbearably cruel to each other that no one would be getting any, and they’d go extinct. Nasty things. Tasty, though.”
