"I’m well aware of what he believes. I'm equally aware that I felt my magic drain completely."
"You two need to talk about it. Niall hasn’t been the same since that night."
"Sacrificing the woman you love for a slim chance to save your twin brother would change anyone." I handed the magic back. "And I found my fated mate, so it doesn’t really matter."
"I don't see a bargain mark."
Of course he’d checked me out, looking for one. He'd probably done it for his brother’s sake, even though I could never let myself be with Niall again. Whether I'd found my soulmate or not.
"It's on my ass," I lied.
Larson snorted. "It's not on your ass."
"Fine, we haven’t made a bargain yet. It’s… a work in progress."
A really fucking shitty one.
"Then how do you know you’re fated?"
"When Callum mated with Kat, we realized our magic affects our mate differently than it affects other people. And I’m not talking about mate bonds with you or Niall. I shouldn’t have told him about it at all. Clearly. Let’s get this over with."
Larson sighed dramatically, but agreed.
I stalked out of the room, and heard him follow.
"Your feet are bleeding," he called from behind me.
"That’s not new," I called back.
He caught up to me easily with his insanely long legs. "They didn’t bleed the last time I saw you."
"So?"
"You’re still testy. I thought a friendly conversation would ease the tension."
"I'm testier than before, actually."
This whole situation was going to blow up in my face. I just knew it.
Callum probably did too.
This had to be a plan to force me to tell Jonah the truth. My best friend's meddling was obnoxious, but I wasn't surprised in the slightest that he was doing it. I was just going to have to hold out until the twins exited my life again so I could figure out what to do about Jonah.
We saton the couch and braced ourselves when Larson enacted the magic.
The start of the unraveling was a fierce drain on our power that went on for about ten minutes. By the time it eased, me and Larson were both laying on our backs, panting, while we struggled to catch our breath.
As his spell worked, more of my energy returned.
I hated it. The energy. It was endless and bottomless, despite the severe pain in my feet and the exhaustion that weighed me down.
"Can we agree never to do that again?" I mumbled. My magic was already vibrating more violently in my middle than it usually did, despite me exhausting it that morning.
"I wish," he croaked.
"I already need to go running again."
"Your feet are still bleeding."
