"A wolf being paired with a witch is..."
"New and unheard of? I know. Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are. I didn't even want to believe it for a while, but... it’s no mistake. The more I tried to stay away from her, the more I felt like I needed her. Moreover, that's not all. It seems like... Mara feels it too."
"...What do you mean?"
I sigh, shaking my head. I can't blame him, I doubted it too...
"The fated bond, Nate. She seems to feel it as well. As if she were a werewolf, she described it to me and everything. That's... why we keep finding each other. She somehow found me again when I left her to go to the border too."
He remains silent for a while, frowning. I think he trusts my word, but not Mara. I wish he'd just lower his guard already, but my brother just seems even more confused.
"Daddy, I'm done!"
"We'll get going soon, baby star. Go wash your hands."
"Yes!"
While Estelle runs off to the bathroom, Nate checks his watch and turns to me.
"I'm not... going to doubt you about the fated mate thing. We both know that's something that can't be faked or mistaken, at least I hope. However, that witch–"
"Mara. Please call her by her name. She isn't the first witch we’ve met."
He makes a sour expression, but reluctantly nods.
"Mara. There are still a lot of things we don't know about her, so be careful, Liam."
"You don't trust me?"
"I trust you, not her. Sylviana hid a lot of things from you too, and we both know the result. She was a good witch, but it still left you in a bad state. It's not about their nature, it's about their intentions. Witches are self-centered, Liam, and nothing tells us Mara will always care about your bond as much as you do… I don't want to patronize you, but I certainly don't want you to go through that kind of shit again."
"I know."
It took me a while to get over her death. Even now, I feel sick whenever I see that tree. I don't know how many times I went through the whole scenario, over and over again, asking myself why. Why didn't she trust me more? Why couldn't I have stopped it? Even now, I wish I had the answers. I resent her for dying. She left me no choice, I had to witness it. It's just not fair.
"...What did she say about your fated bond? Does she… want it?"
"I think so. Actually, it hit me hard when I realized she might be able to reject me... I hadn't thought of that. I just kept running away from her. Maybe because I knew, or I thought, that she'd never really be apart from me. But now that I know that she can, it's..."
"It hurts, right?"
I glance at my older brother. He's the one who went through the pain of being rejected once by his fated mate, a real rejection. He was so devastated after that, it was painful just to watch him. He wouldn't even let us see it because Damian was missing his own mate at the time, but I still cannot forget how dead his eyes looked at the time. His first woman was the most cruel bitch to him. He never really explained what had happened or why. We just had that silent agreement to never mention her again.
Selena made him go through hell too, but they both had their wrongs and eventually sorted it out. They are the mismatched couple that still made it work, unlike a perfect pair like Nora and Damian. I wonder what kind of couple Mara and I would be.
I can just imagine us as a free-spirited pair, like two wolves that only need each other. Moon Goddess, I miss her badly.
"I guess you'll go see her whether I stop you or not," he says, standing up. "However, Liam, remember that I warned you about her. Don't get yourself involved too deeply before we know exactly who she is."
I nod, but it's still a bit sour. Mara cannot trust the werewolves, and they can't trust her either. When will those walls break? Is it because we don't know the truth about her identity?
I accompany my brother and Estelle downstairs. I'm happy to have seen them both for a short while, but inside, my wolf is just going crazy. I wave goodbye and act like a good uncle until the car leaves, but then I immediately run back inside to the parking lot, grabbing my bike.
I don't even have to think. I know where Mara is.
That feeling is absolutely incredible, it's like a force constantly pulling me in the right direction. The closer I get, the more this warm feeling spreads throughout my body. Moon Goddess, I want my mate. I can feel her, and I know she went to the docks. How did she get there so fast on foot? Did she find someone to take her there? My wolf growls, unhappy at the idea of another male with her. No, no, she's ours. She's our mate.
I finally park my bike in a familiar spot near Nina's diner, but Mara is nowhere to be seen. Did she find the building already? I almost run there, my heart thumping loudly. My wolf is excited at the thought of seeing his mate again. It's crazy, we've been apart for what, less than an hour? I try to tame myself, and go past the fencing panels.
