“Well, you’re that too. And you’re very cute when you’re flirting with me. Ben, are we really mates?”
Ben shouldn’t have been surprised that Koios didn’t beat around the bush. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I didn’t know. I mean, I think part of me did. I’m not sure how to explain it. But the moment Phoebe said it, I knew. It clicked into place. The way my bear feels when I’m around you. I swear, I might as well be rolling around in a vat of blueberries. And the whole eyes changing color thing. My eyes have never been blue.”
Koios reached for Ben’s hand and squeezed it. “Don’t be mad.”
Ben frowned. “That’s never a good start. How can I say I won’t be mad?”
“Well, because I don’t think the cardiac arrest was what caused the reboot to my system. I also don’t think my heart stopped randomly. It happened when you told me you were attracted to me, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“It was the first time something sparked between us. And that was maybe a poor choice of words considering what happened, but you get my point.”
“I do.” Ben considered the possibilities. He’d never heard of a mate sending their mate into cardiac arrest before, but he’d never heard of a mate being cursed by a valravyn either. “And I think it could be connected.”
“That’s not all,” Koios said. He tugged Ben’s hand up to his heart and covered it with his own. “When I stopped breathing at the clinic, when our eyes did the thing, I think that was because of us, too. I think we healed me. It wasn’t the reboot. It was finding my mate.”
Ben sucked in a shaky breath and pushed up to his knees. He leaned into Koios’s space and put his free hand around Koios’s neck. “We never do things the easy way, do we? So I think it sounds like the most reasonable conclusion.”
“Why didn’t we know before, though? That’s the part I can’t figure out. I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday. Well, not the mate part exactly. It didn’t dawn on me that someone like you could be…mine.”
“Someone like me?”
“You know.”
Ben tilted his head to the side. “No, Koios. I don’t know.”
“Your family is basically royalty, Ben. And I’m…nobody.”
A growl slipped from Ben’s mouth. His bear rumbled and wanted to claim Koios right then and there to erase any doubts, any fears.
“My family isn’t royalty, Koios. And I’m definitely not. Hell, even if I was, do you think that matters? The goddess chose you for me, and even if she hadn’t…Ichose you for me. From the first moment I saw you, the first time you scowled at me, I wanted you.”
“Why? That makes no sense.”
“Since when does love make sense?”
Koios finally looked Ben in the eye. “So we’re in love now?”
“Probably not yet, but damn, I can’t wait until we are. I know how I feel about you now, how much I think about you and care about you. How much I want to be with you and get to know you. Imagine what I’ll feel then? More than this? Holy crap, Koios. I can’t even fathom it.”
Koios leaned forward and tucked his face into Ben’s neck. “Thank you for not saying you love me yet. We talked about boundaries. That’s mine. Not until we both mean it.”
“Deal,” Ben said. He ran his fingers through Koios’s hair as he leaned his cheek against Koios’s. “How does a hot shower followed by a massage sound? Your back is really tense. Let me help.”
Koios breathed into his neck. “You’re helping already. Goddess, why am I so emotional? This isn’t like me at all.”
“Should we start with the near-death experience and end with the long-lost twin? Maybe hit a few traumas from our pasts on the way?”
“Smart ass.”
“I’d rather be a smart ass than a dumb ass.”
Koios snickered and lifted his head. “Who did you steal that line from?”
