“I met my fated mate last night.”
Silence.
Then, Anne squeals so loudly that I wince. “What?! Sienna, that’s amazing! Who is he? Where did you meet him? Why didn’t you tell us immediately?”
“Because he’s an asshole,” I say flatly.
That stops her, mid-squeal.
Violet’s eyebrows rise. “Explain.”
And I do. I tell them about going upstairs to use the bathroom, about bumping into him in the hallway, about the bond slamming into me and leaving no room for doubt. About the way he looked at me in a way that I knew he felt it, too.
And then, about how he pushed me away and disappeared.
By the time I’m done, both women are visibly upset.
“He did what?” Violet growls.
“Shoved me. Literally. Then walked off like I was nothing.” The anger resurfaces, hot and sharp. “I finally meet my mate, and he treats me like that?!”
“Who is he?” Anne asks.
I stab my fork into the cake as if it’s his chest. “I don’t even know. I can’t believe I’ve been hoping to find my fated mate—especially after you two got your happy endings—and I finally do, only for him to be a jerk for no reason!”
Violet and Anne exchange another look, but this time, I see amusement in it.
“What?” I demand.
“Nothing,” Violet says, smiling now. “It’s just…You do remember that neither of us got our happy endings easily, right?”
I pause mid-bite.
Anne laughs. “Violet was struggling with pack politics, and her mate was her stepbrother! I thought Kain was dead for ten years, and when he came back, I wanted to kill him myself!”
I sit back, considering these truths. “Okay, that’s fair. You both had your share of drama.”
“Understatement of the century,” Anne mutters.
“In any case, he doesn’t know how stubborn I am. I won’t let him complicate my love story,” I declare.
“There she is,” Anne says now, grinning. “There’s the Sienna we know and love.”
I lean forward, planting my elbows on my desk. “He doesn’t get to decide this. I don’t care what his problem is or why he thinks he can just walk away from the mate bond. We’re fated. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”
“She really doesn’t,” Violet agrees.
None of my fantasies about what it would be like to meet my fated mate ever came close to what the real thing felt like last night. Knowing so completely that you were made for someone and they for you…I can’t lose that.
“I’m going to find him,” I vow, the plan forming as I speak. “And I’m going to make him explain himself. How dare he ignore me? The audacity!”
Anne raises her champagne glass. “That’s the spirit.”
“I mean it.” I’m on a roll now, righteous anger burning away the exhaustion. “I watched both of you fight for your relationships. If you can get your happy endings, then so can I.”
I notice that Violet is trying very hard not to laugh. “What now?”
“Nothing,” she says innocently. “I fully support this plan. Find him. Demand answers. Get your happy ending.”
