“Trust me, I won’t.” She types furiously with her thumbs for a long minute, and then my phone vibrates in my pocket. “There. Sent.”
I have her number! Feels like I caught the big fish.
It really is time to tell her.
“Thanks, I’ll look at the list later,” I say stupidly.Just tell her now.I slug down the rest of my iced coffee to bolster my courage and give myself a cold snout. The lancing pain makes me want to howl.
“Brain freeze?” Julia asks sympathetically as I wince and vigorously rub the spot between my eyes. “Ouch. You know, my husband doesn’t get them. I’ve always been jealous of him.”
I cough so hard, the latte almost comes up again. “Husband?” I croak.
She nods. Doesn’t say anything more. But a glance at her left hand confirms it. She has a wedding band on.
Fuck. She’s fucking married. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“How long have you been together?” I finally get it together enough to ask. My mind is reeling.
“Twenty-five years, give or take. Gosh, that makes me sound old, doesn’t it?”
It makes her soundtaken. It makes her soundout of reach. But how was I supposed to find her earlier if she’s been with this guy since I wasten years old?
She pushes her chair back a few inches even though she hasn’t even finished her drink. “Listen, Ian. This has been lovely, but I should get going.”
“No, wait.” Without thinking, I reach across the table and put my hand atop hers. The feeling of her skin against mine is electric. It zaps my brain and my balls and my heart all at the same time. She must feel it, too, because she yanks her hand back, her eyes widening. “Please, I need to tell you something. It’s weird and awkward and I’m sorry, but if you’ll just listen for a minute, I’ll explain everything.”
She swings her purse around to her front as if she’s going to leave, but then she sits back in her seat, wary gaze fixed on me. She wraps her arms around her bag like it’s a security blanket. “All right. You have one minute.”
Okay. One minute. I can do this.The words tumble out of me. “Um, the short version is that wulvers have fated mates, and I’m pretty sure you’re mine.”
“I’m…what?”
I’m all in now. There’s no going back. “My fated mate. My soulmate. Whatever you want to call it. You’re the one who’s meant for me.”
Chapter 3
Julia
What’shappening? Is he being serious? Did I totally misread Ian as harmless and accidentally get mixed up with a weird creep?
He looks so earnest, though, his wolfy brow furrowed as he grips his empty latte mug. Maybe it’s true. I’ve read that a lot of monsters have mate bonds, either fated or biological. Whether it’s true or not that I’m Ian’s mate, it’s oddly flattering that I might be…wanted. Chosen. I haven’t felt that way in along time.
“I—I don’t know what to say,” I tell him. I flash my hand with my wedding set. “I’m sorry. I’m married. I…have children.”
His breath whooshes out as his shoulders sag. “Yeah, I know. I saw. I just had to tell you. I had to shoot my shot.”
A strange worm of guilt squirms in my stomach. “You’ll find someone else,” I assure him. “Someone you can love and have a family of your own with.”
His eyes, the syrupy, cinnamon-honey color ofyakgwa, meet mine. “No, I won’t. That’s how it works. You’re the only one. I can’t love anyone else. I can’t mate with anyone else.”
“Really?! No sex?!” I squeak, horrified. Not that I’m having any. Richard hasn’t touched me in years. But a young guy like Ian should have more to look forward to.
His head tilts back and his eyes close as his chest gives a little hiccup of laughter. “I can have sex. I just can’t have pups with anyone else. You’re my only chance to be a father.”
“Oh.”Oh. This poor guy. Fate really dealt him a terrible hand. Not only did he get a chubby married human as his fated mate, he got anajummawho’s more than halfway to menopause. “Even if I weren’t married, I doubt I can have more children, anyway. I’m…a lot older than you.”
His lids crack open, golden slits across the table. His voice comes out a rolling growl. “Trust me, you can. With me, you can.”
I can’t breathe. My heart squeezes so hard that ithurts.
