I wondered how much she would hate me. How much Blaise would hate me. I wondered if I could tell her she was beautiful. Tell her I loved the unkempt billows of chestnut hair framing her freckled face, and the spark of mischief in her hazel eyes that reminded me so painfully of Blaise.
Tell her that I knew, deep in my bones, that I could grow to love her too.
And admit to her that my love was not hers alone.
I might be her mate, but the space in my heart that had been carved out for my best friend would always belong to him—even if he didn’t want it. And with the little strength I had left, I needed to find a way to tell her. To tell Blaise—
My spiraling thoughts were cut off by the sharp thud of Blaise’s open palms on the table.
“Right,” he said, brisk and unapologetic. “Not to hurry you, Ambrose, but you’re likely to expire any minute, and we really need to wrap up the warnings and introductions portion of the evening.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Caitlyn bring a hand to her mouth, clearly fighting a giggle.
Gods. These two were almosttooalike.
Blaise wagged a finger between the three of us. “Caitlyn and me: mates. Caitlyn and you: mates. Me and you:mates.”
My mouth fell open, but no words came.
Blaisecouldn’tbe my mate. I would have known...
Caitlyn snapped her fingers, delighted at the news. “Knew it!”
I turned to her, my mouth still hanging open. If I could have formed words, they would have been something along the lines of“How is this monumental new development something you both seem to know and I don’t?”
Caitlyn offered me a casualIsn’t it obvious?shrug. “Oh, come on. You’ve lived with him your entire life. You really can't see the big googly eyes he’s making at you?”
My gaze drifted to Blaise.
His eyes weren’t googly, but they were soft. Heady, almost. The same look he gave Caitlyn.
I turned back to her, my mouth still open, a silent“And how does that make you feel?”stuck somewhere in my throat.
Thankfully, Caitlyn seemed to read it anyway.
“Which I am completely fine with, by the way,” she said quickly. “Honestly, I was a little heartbroken when Blaise firsttold me—not heartbroken that he was still in love with someone else, but heartbroken that I couldn’t do anything to help him heal.” She flushed, casting Blaise a look. “And I kind of didn’t want to say it out loud at the time, but... I guess now that we know we both had another mate, it makes sense?” She continued, clearly past the point of stopping herself now, “But back then when we...you know”—her cheeks went even redder—“I just felt like something was missing. And then when you said you usually fed with Ambrose...” She made a small, helpless gesture, as if the words had escaped her against her will. “I kept picturing what it would be like to have three of us there.”
A wicked grin tugged at Blaise’s mouth. “I could tell.”
Caitlyn smacked his arm. “That’s not helping.”
She turned back to me, expression softening. “What I mean is... I’m happy that it’s shared. Between all of us. And I know I’ve only just met you, Ambrose, but if I could love you even half as much as Blaise does—”
“Youloveme?” I finally blurted out, my gaze snapping to Blaise.
His cheeks flushed.
“I... um... that night—”
I opened my mouth to apologize—an automatic reflex—but Blaise waved me off.
“I think it’s always been there,” he said, his voice unsteady. “I mean... I think I’ve always loved you as more than just a friend. I just didn’t realize it. That night was when it clicked. I tried to explain it to you, Ambrose, but I couldn’t find the words...”
His voice dropped, and if I’d had the strength, I would have leaped across the table and pulled him into my arms.
“You just seemed soangry,” he finished quietly. “At the situation. Atme.”
I managed to grasp his hand in mine, my fingers quaking with the effort.
