Poppy’s heart raced.
Could I be Max’s mate?
The thought was ludicrous, but yet it all seemed to make sense. And she didn’tthinkit was just the potential concussion talking… though, she supposed, a concussionwouldmake her think that all of this was rational.
Poppy took deep breaths against the butterflies in her stomach.
There wasnoneed to let her imagination run away with her. Sure, the way Margot described the…The mate bond? Is that how she put it?...sounded appealing. But it didn’t exist.
And yet…
She’d never felt like this with anyone else. From the moment they had touched – when he’d caught her – she’d feltalive.
“So… if you were a shifter and someonewasyour mate, how would you know?” she asked. Purely to keep them talking, of course.
“You know when they touch you,” Levi said, and Poppy’s heart skipped a beat. “There’s a feeling that shoots right through you.”
“Like an electric shock,” Margot added. “But a good one, not a bad one.”
Poppy stilled.
“What was that last part?” she asked, her voice shockingly steady.
“You get these nice little zaps when you touch,” Margot said. “You know the ones.”
The room grew very, very quiet.
“No,” she said eventually. “No, I don’t.”
Chapter 13
The ticking of the clock in the corner of the room was suddenly unbearably loud.
He’s not my mate after all.
A small, acidic voice in her head responded.Of course not. Because mates don’t exist. And nor do shifters. These people have been taking you for a ride.
Poppy wasn’t completely sold on the idea that Levi and Margot had been deliberately trying to mislead her – Margot in particular looked devastated, her hand raised to her mouth, and Levi looked even grimmer than usual. Maybe they truly believed what they’d told her… or they were just really good actors. Either way, what they’d told her had clearly been garbage.
It’s not like it even matters,she told herself fiercely, struggling to keep her expression steady.An hour ago, you had never even heard of any of this nonsense, and you were head over heels for Max. This changes nothing. Your relationship is exactly the same as it was before.
Although eventhatwasn’t entirely true. She couldn’t believe that Max had just left her here in the company of strangers, without something having happened to make him do it. Maybe they’d only known each other for a couple of days, but he’dalready put himself on the line for her – he’d dug her out from under an avalanche with his bare hands, for crying out loud!
Not to mention the fact he’dobviously– well, she’dthought, anyway – been extremely keen to see her again every time they’d met up. He hadn’t exactly made a secret of that.
But there was clearly something going on with him, and suddenly she was desperate to get to the bottom of it – whether he was her mate or not.
Poppy had no desire to hear Margot and Levi’s stories about magic avalanches, or flying lions, or whatever else it was they had come up with – and quite frankly, she couldn’t believe that she’d bought into any of it. People that could turn into mysterious beasts? Fated lovers? Small towns full of strange, magical people who were apparently just leading regular human lives with their human partners?
What next – is a unicorn going to prance through the door?!
Poppy laughed quietly, not unaware of the bitter edge to it. She’d let herself get played. True, she felt like she had at least some sort of excuse for it, given that she’d been buried under an enormous pile of snow, but now her mind was excruciatingly clear.
She was going to find Max and find out why he’d left her here with these two very odd strangers, and they were going to talk things out, and she was going to put all this magical bullshit out of her mind and concentrate on the magic that she and Max already shared.
Seized by a desperate need toget out, she shoved the thin blanket back, swung her legs around, and stood up. The sudden movement had her feeling a little wobbly, but then it cleared up, determination making her strong.
Levi and Margot stood up and moved back a little, looking worried.
