I tried to catch my own breath, looking up at the ceiling and trying to figure out what to say.
“What thefuckwas that?” I finally asked, and then busted out laughing. He started to laugh as well, and pretty soon we were both full-on snort giggling.
Once the reality hit, that we’d just… imprinted … my laughter died in my throat and I propped up on an elbow. “Sawyer, what’s imprinting? What was that light?”
I remembered it from the first time we’d kissed. I thought it had to do with my split shifting and what the book said about being able to feed on my powers … but maybe not.
He rolled over and sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. “Did your parents ever tell you about true mates? Not just the mates we choose and marry, but the ones destined by fate?”
My mouth went dry as I shook my head.
“Demi, from the day I saw you at Delphi, I knew you were my true mate.”
My heart hammered in my throat.
Were true mates like soulmates?
“I felt it too. I mean, I didn’t know what it was but…” I let that sentence linger. “What is imprinting? That white light?”
He looked at me plainly, hard to read. “I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve heard of it as a special bond between … Paladin wolves. It’s a magic thing between true mates.”
Oh fuck.
I wasn’t calm enough to hide my response; my eyes widened and I chewed my lip as I fought for words. But Sawyer just looked … acceptingly … at me. “It’s okay, Demi. I know.”
I frowned. “You … know … what?”
Please don’t say that I’m a Paladin.
“That you’re part Paladin.”
Shit. I sat upright and covered my breasts. “What? I mean. That’s a big problem … right?” He stood at the end of the bed and tossed me a shirt, then walked into the bathroom and emerged a few moments later in basketball shorts.
Sitting next to me, he pulled me onto his lap. “That book page I showed you about what you are … it said the split shifting only happens with Paladins. Then I looked up why your parents were banished and found out what your mom did … I put two and two together,” he confessed. “I’ve known for a while.”
Ahhh, well, that was smart of him, and shitty for me. “You should have told me sooner.” I hugged my arms and he pulled the blanket around us.
“Sorry, I was still trying to figure it all out.” He tucked me tighter into his body, his warmth pressing against me. “Look, it doesn’t matter to me what you are or who you are. I love you, Demi, all of you.”
“So is imprinting in that book you have?” I asked.
He chuckled. “No, that comes from stories my great grandmother told me as a child.” I leaned into him, looking up at him as he smiled down on me. “It can only happen withtrue mates she told me, and it’s a Paladin thing.”
“What does imprinting mean?”
“Imprinted true mates can speak into each other’s minds no matter the distance,” he told me.
I shrugged. “Kinda handy.”
‘Testing, testing.’I tried.
His chin butt puckered as he grinned.
‘One, two, three…’
Whoa, that’s crazy. “What else?” I couldn’t help the smile that lit up my face.
He swallowed hard, reaching out to stroke my cheek. “They can feel each other’s feelings. Sense things.”
