Nolen didn’t say anything else, just held my hand tighter in his, as we drove to the portal.
Chapter Eight
Nolen
My mate was hurting, which I knew from the first moment I’d laid eyes on him. But him casually mentioning how his own mother didn’t love him? The hurt was much deeper than I’d expected. And somehow, I feared, andknew, it would only get worse. I was glad he was mine. I could deal with it as it came and be the rock he needed to support him. To love him. Fate wouldn’t have given him to me if I couldn’t help him heal. It would be my life’s mission to be everything he needed. I felt honored to be given such a task. Derek deserved all the love and happiness he could get.
We’d parked my car at a parking spot near the forest, making it available to us when we returned,someday. I hadn’t felt the hard to breathe feeling when I’d dropped the others off at the portal, so I figured it was close enough to Derek for it not to bother me, or it could be that the portal leading home was close by and that eased the tension in my chest. Honestly, I still hadn’t figured out what triggered the feeling, but since both Mintand I felt it at the same spot, simultaneously, it would have to be a sort of city line that was crossed for it to happen.
Mint would need to order a car ride to the forest when his mate and him had to travel through the portal, and to be honest, I couldn’t really care that I’d taken the car, I was the only one who could drive it anyway.
I held Derek’s hand in mine as we neared the portal. It was so dark out that we had to use the moonlight to guide us through. I did have my magic if we needed it, and my slate could light our way too, but there was something romantic about walking in the glow of the moon.
“Are we close?” he asked, a bit of fear in his tone. Maybe it was only me who found this romantic. I tapped my slate and lit up the area around us. Derek’s hand in mine loosened a bit, telling me all I needed to know. Darkness equals bad.
“Twenty minutes or so left,” I replied, changing my grip on his suitcase. The decision of buying a duffel bag had been the best one ever, because if I had to deal with two suitcases in this forest, I’d have gone mad. With my duffel bag secure on my back, I only had to deal with one, and it was annoying enough. Not that I would ever admit that to Derek, who’d asked several times if he shouldn’t carry it himself. My mate’s beautiful hands were way too precious to carry his suitcase around. I saw it as an honor to carry it, even if it was annoying.
“Tell me about your family.” His request came as a surprise, so it took me a minute before answering.
“Um, I have a little sister, which is unusual lately. With our magic dying out, fewer children are born each year. My mom and dad are both wonderful. They weren’t too happy with me choosing to leave our home world to explore, but I felt the need to leave. You are the reason for that; I know that now.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Fate wanted us together, so I felt the need to be closer to you. Leaving my world was inevitable.”
“That’s still so hard to process.”
“What is?”
“Mates. How you speak of fate as a certainty. Like we were always meant to meet. We don’t have that here. Hell, I didn’t even want to date anyone. Not like the other people around me did. Not until you.”
“That’s because we’re mates,” I informed him. “We don’t find other people attractive. Only our mates.”
His head turned to the side to eye me with open curiosity. “Seriously? You’ve never found anyone other than me attractive?”
“No. Only you. Just like you’ve only found me attractive. It’s how being mates work. Why would we find other people attractive when they aren’t meant for us?”
“I can’t believe you’re making sense, but you are.” He was smiling as he looked up at the moon, the glow still visible, even with my slate guiding our way. He looked so mesmerizing, like the moon herself was caressing his skin, unable to stop touching something as perfect as him. I couldn’t faulther for that; I had a hard time myself, if I didn’t have his hand in mine, I would need to touch other parts of him, and soon this wouldn’t be enough to sate me either.
“Everything else will make sense soon enough,” I promised. “And I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
He gave me a soft smile, his eyes gleaming with contentment as we continued walking, hand in hand, under the moonlight.
The glow that emitted from the portal was all the light we could see as we approached it. I’d turned off my slate since it was no use to us anymore. My gaze landed on Derek, whose eyes were big and filled with wonder as he took in the portal in front of us.
“I can see it,” he whispered, as if scared saying it out loud would make it disappear.
“Of course. It’s a way for you to return home.”
“Home?” he questioned, his tone filled with longing.
“Yes, darling. Home.”
“Why am I not afraid? I should be afraid, right? That would be the normal response to entering a magical portal. Fear. Not this eagerness to pass through.”
I grinned at him as excitement rushed through me. “Your soul longs to come home. My home is your home. Remember that. And once we’re there, you’ll finally understand that.”
“I feel like maybeyou’remy home.” He still whispered, but he might as well have shouted the words. They found my heart and buried themselves deep within my soul. I would be his home.Forever. He would never have to search for a place to belong. I was that place now, and forever.
