He stood. "We should get some rest."
"I need to get caught up on work before the thing tomorrow."
"The mating ceremony." He held my gaze, not struggling at all to say it. Unlike me.
"Right."
"You got everything set up with Elle. She'll manage it. We're getting married tomorrow, Kitten. You aren't working. Come to bed with me."
I sighed.
"I love it when he's bossy,"my wolf murmured.
So did I.
I knew it was ridiculous, though. Unlike her.
Callum took care of the trash leftover from our takeout food, and I reluctantly rose to my feet too.
"How will I know when you're using the bargain against me? Yours looks lighter than your other markings, but it looks the same on my arm," I said.
"You'll know."
"It's going to force me to make the vows, right?"
"Something like that." He walked past me while I stopped abruptly.
I grabbed his arm, touching his skin with my palm. "I'm not making the vows if you don't force me to with the bargain, Callum. You know that, right? I'm not going to be manipulated into sealing the bond if you'll still be able to control me with the bargain afterward. Giving you my future is at least as big of a favor as making my cafe succeed."
"I'm aware you feel that way, yes."
My nostrils flared. My anger did, too. "That's not good enough."
He met my gaze. "A fae can't bargain with or use a favor against their mate in any capacity, so as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't particularly matter. Whether or not I've influenced you, when you make the vows, everything between us will be equal."
"I don't believe you."
Callum pulled his phone out of his pocket. My forehead creased as he tapped on the screen a few times, but he put it on speaker a moment later, and I heard it ring.
"Hello?" Merrily answered. She sounded tired.
"Is Dare with you?" Callum asked.
"Of course. You know his magic eases my pain after a day like today. What do you need?"
"Kat would like to know if a fae can use a bargain against their mate," he said. "She's on speaker."
"Hi, Kat." Merrily didn't sound surprised. "No, we can't make deals with our mates. Our magic can't take a piece of a soul that's already connected to ours."
"I can confirm," Darius called out in the background.
"So even if Callum doesn't use our bargain to force me to make the vows, I won't owe him anything after we're mated?"
"Correct," Merrily said.
"But since I don't trust you guys completely, I can just make him use it at the ceremony tomorrow to be safe," I said.
The pause before they answered was slightly too long.
