"I've tried to prevent you from feeling the pain, but I'm sure you've noticed the ache in your arm at some point. If I track you down to the cafe you're in and go through your drive through, it subsides for a few weeks. It's not a big problem, but I obviously couldn't go to prison. It would cause you too much pain."
"That'swhy you can't go to prison?"
He seemed to realize how angry I was getting, his expression growing slightly wary. "Yes."
"God, Callum." I lifted both hands to my head, trying to breathe through confusion and fury and stress. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I deserved to know this. What would happen if I tried to mate with someone else? What if I'd fallen for someone else while you were staying away because my magic was settling? What if Jonah really was my boyfriend? What if?—"
"If you tried to mate with someone else, they would die. If you fell for someone else, they would die. If Jonah was your boyfriend, he would?—"
"I get it," I snapped. "I'm not talking about what you would do. I'm talking about how it would affect the mate bond we apparentlyalready have. I didn't even know this kind of connection was possible."
"Theoretically, if a fated immortal seals a bond with someone else, the fae would have to bond with both members of that couple to be with their mate. The fated connection doesn't change, regardless. Fate brings us to our intended mate before that person has a sealed bond, though."
He added, "Even if you were bound to someone else, someonekinder, they would still fight with everything they had to keep you away from anyone else. There are very few reasons to refusea fated mate bond, and fae only get one chance. If we blow it, that's it. Endless suffering with no way out."
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut as I turned away from him.
"This is too much,"I told Sable."I need you to take over, and get away from him."
"A run in the forest behind our new house sounds lovely."Despite her words, she was quieter than usual.
She might like Callum, and she had already claimed him herself, but she wasn't going to pretend this wasn't a big deal. She was a pain in the ass, but above all else, she and I were on each other's sides.
"I need some space to process this. Sable is going to go for a run," I finally said.
"No."
"That wasn't a request, Callum. If you want me to evenconsiderwalking down the aisle tomorrow, you will give me space."
He clenched his jaw, his entire body tense.
I could relate.
"Fine," he gritted out. "One hour."
I wasn't coming back in an hour, but if it would make him feel better to try to give me that command, he could pretend as much as he wanted.
I strode to the back door, leaving my clothes on the floor as I made my way out.
I was going to need a real plan, now.
twelve
CALLUM
I saton the back porch for one hour.
Two hours.
Three.
Four.
It was nearly midnight when Sable finally came trotting back to the house, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She was absolutely soaked, thanks to the constant drizzle I fucking hated.
Given the mess that occurred the last time Larson tried to alter the wards, I wasn't pushing him about it again.
Yet.
