“I have doubts that you are.”
Kat wiggled in place. Xavier could imagine his cat tail whipping back and forth. “I’m so happy to meet you. I was convinced I didn’t have a mate.” He fidgeted with a leaf, avoiding eye contact.
Xavier tried not to be distracted by the fact that Kat could find an unburned leaf in a charred forest. “Why didn’t you think you had one?” He placed a hand on Kat’s arm, stilling his motions. “I thought all shifters had mates.” He’d learned that while writing one of the many research papers Melcori had insisted on as part of his training.
Granted, his research into shifters hadn’t been extensive, but Melcori made him study most magical beings for the ways to use their blood.
Kat adorably wrinkled his nose. “No one else in my family has ever found their mates.”
Xavier frowned. Sometimes, mates weren’t matched, but it was rare for an entire family not to find one. “I’m not an expert, but I find that surprising.”
“Was your family cursed?” Anthony asked.
Maybe it wasn’t only Xavier who found Kat’s statement strange.
“Why would you think that?” Kat tilted his head.
“Because if no one has ever found their mate in your family, that feels more like outside interference than a natural occurrence. If they were less likely to find them than not, I would say it was just luck, but your statement implies otherwise.”
“It’s that unusual?” Xavier didn’t know much about shifter mates, but he wouldn't fight it if Kat were the one for him. This was like having a supernatural matchmaker without all the awkward first-date bullshit. Sign him up. He’d check with Zabria later. She mentioned that he would have a lot happening soon.
Silver frowned. “It’s hard to judge average statistics next to our pack. We have a higher-than-normal success rate in finding mates. I don’t know for certain the success rate of others.”
“Four percent,” Anthony piped up.
“Really? That low?” Katlego asked.
“I researched it when it seemed like the pack kept getting bigger. The average mate percentage is two to four percent. I was rounding up.”
“Can we focus on my missing mother?” the teenager snapped.
Xavier blinked at the irritated teen as he reached down to help Kat to his feet. “Who are you?” Xavier had a sinking feeling before the kid opened his mouth.
“Rance. My mother is one of the dryads missing from the part of the Grove you didn’t burn down.”
“I didn’t burn any of it down.” He understood the teen was concerned for his mother, but he didn’t deserve the attitude despite his connection to the pyro who did all this damage.
“He didn’t,” Silver spoke up. “There were no lies in his voice.”
“But you know who did this, don’t you?” Anthony scowled at him, and the scent of ozone overwhelmed the smell of ash.
“There are traces of wizard magic here.” Oliver pointed to a shattered stone that must have held the safety runes before it was overpowered.
“It’s not mine.” Xavier winced. Why did he announce that like a newbie? He’d make a terrible criminal.
Oliver’s smirk told him he wasn’t the only one who thought so. “It’s not mine either, but it is blood magic, and since you say it isn’t yours, you should be able to tell us who.”
“You make it sound like I know all the Blood Mages.” Xavier carefully eyed the exuberant shifter who claimed to be his mate. There were only so many times he could be slammed to the ground without multiple bruises.
Oliver scoffed. “There aren’t many Blood Mages strong enough to overpower ancient runes, and you’re a small community. Your Master is Blood Master Melcori, isn’t he, Xavier?” Oliver’s eyes were colder than icicles in February.
“You know he is.” Xavier winced.
“Is there any reason he would want to destroy a Grove?”
He almost turned and left, but his newly found mate had wrapped his arms around the traumatized dryad teen. He knew this was the youth he was looking for, just as he instinctively knew that if he grabbed him and took him to Melcori, it would destroy his newly found mateship. He could support his Master, who was going around the bend, or protect a vulnerable youth. Self-preservation told him to grab the kid and go, but Katlego’s eyes were so pretty.
“Ugh. Yes, okay, Melcori did it!” he snapped.
