"Yeah."
How was this my life?
Two years earlier, I'd been fucking adored by a partner who treated me like I was his entire world. Now I had… this.
"Thank you so much." A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. "It's been a long few months."
No kidding.
I had assumed Jonah and Gwen would realize they weren't compatible anymore shortly after getting back together, because he was my fated mate. I had thought he would step down from his position and restart the Beta Challenges so someone else could take his place.
I thought he'd choose me over her, since our souls were destined and all.
None of those things had happened.
They'd fallen deeply in love, and he genuinely seemed to enjoy being the Beta.
I didn’t fucking know where that left me.
I cleared my throat. "Great chat, Gwen, but I've gotta go." I started to roll the window up, but she lowered her head a little, so we were eye-to-eye.
"Wait. Do you make bargains?" she asked.
"No." I didn't. I never really had. The only mark from deals that I still had was a small swirl on my hip from the one I'd made withCallum, centuries earlier, over a candy bar. Just to make sure we weren't fated.
You technically couldn't identify your fated mate until you made a bargain with them. Finding them through the unique way they experienced your magic was a recent establishment.
I'd released Darius and Merrily from the bargains to determine whether or not we were mates centuries earlier. Callum was the only one who could forgive the bargain he and I shared.
He'd been a little shit about it since we made the deal, refusing to let it go. We both knew he'd never call it in, so I didn't particularly care.
Other than that one, I didn't like having bargain marks on my skin. Ireallydidn't like the sensation of being connected to someone through a bargain.
I definitely wasn't going to risk that with the woman my soulmate loved, no matter what she wanted.
Gwen blinked.
I drove away before I really did kill her.
On the drive,I did the only thing I could think of and called the one person whose issues with Gwen rivaled mine.
"Hello?" Kat sounded way too cheery for my current mood.
"I fucked up. Are you home?"
"No, I'm at the cafe on Lark."
"Way across the city? Screw that."
"Yeah, it's kind of a long drive. What happened?"
I sighed. "You're going to think I'm stupid."
"Everyone does stupid things, Liv. I once bargained my soul to open a cafe."
"I wish that was all I'd done."
She laughed. "What happened?"
