Page 66 of Enchanting Her Monsters
“I can’t just mate him without his permission. He doesn’t want my touch. Any touch! And after the raw, tortured parts of his soul have just been returned, the likelihood he would want me around is less than it was before.”
“I’m not suggesting you take him by force,” Maxum agrees. “We will have to wake him and see how he responds to the fever. I needed you to know all the facts so you can decide about what’s right for you. It wouldn’t be fair to go into this situation blind.”
“If he rejects the bond, could he die?”
“Chances are good that he might, especially if you say yes and he doesn’t.” Maxum then adds, “Only a few species react in such a dramatic way to rejecting a mate bond, so I don’t think you would suffer from that fate. At least he won’t take you with him and harm you and your other mates.”
“What if he says yes, but I reject him?”
“His odds are better in that scenario, but not great.” Maxum studies her face. “If there was no pressure, would you want him?”
Jade bites her lower lip. “I like him quite a lot, even when he was being a bit of a jerk. I haven’t given myself much space to consider it since he can’t handle me touching him, and he didn’t seem very interested in me until just the last few days.”
“My Moonmate,” Arran breaks his silence. “You must think about it now. Just in case he asks that of you.”
She nods, but then looks to Arran and then to me. “What about you guys? How do you feel about it?”
“If I’m being honest,” I admit. “Nervous. Because I feel Arran through our bond. I suspect he feels me too now.”
Arran grunts his affirmation. “When Jade bit me and I calmed down, I sensed your presence.”
“Oh, wow.” Jade looks at me again. “So you don’t want Calder in our mutual bonds?”
“I don’t mean it like that,” I correct her assumption. “But I worry that because he is so broken, his energy will harm you.”
“Aren’t you worried about yourself?” she asks.
Holy stones below, she is so considerate—almost to a fault.
Feeling my face pull into a frown, I say, “I could shoulder it for my brother, but Calder and I have a history and loyalties whereas you do not owe him anything.”
“I may not owe him anything,” Jade says firmly. “And I might not have a history with him. But I want him to have a future with me… us… if he wants it, too.”
Arran nuzzles into her neck and inhales. “You’re too caring, my moon.”
23
CALDER, TAKE ME AWAY
JADE
He’s eerily quiet, but I sense Osen panicking inside my head.
Who am I kidding? I’m panicking too.
The guys laid out the whole Calder might die thing so matter-of-factly, there was no other choice but for me to help him.
I understand they didn’t want to force me into mating with him.
I just hope he accepts me so he’ll live, maybe even one day find happiness with our bond.
Then I think about what Flint said…
What if Calder harms us because of his fractured soul?
I can’t think like that. If Flint and Arran can shoulder his pain, so can I. Calder saved me from Rob and Galiana. I don’t believe it was only for Osen’s sake.
He likes me. He is attracted to me, even though he fights it because of his trauma and aversion to touch.
