“That’s Remi,” I replied as they gasped in mortification.
“What did you do to your mate, son?” My dad asked with caution.
“He had a meltdown in the school bathroom because of all his feelings. They’re not used to this here, it scared him. And I couldn’t comfort him without telling him the truth and seeing as he was already losing it, I couldn’t tell him I was from another world, could I?” I snapped the last part, angry at the world and letting it out on them.
“Son,” my dad warned and I instantly calmed down, blushing from embarrassment. I couldn’t talk like that to our rulers. “Bring him here,” my dad ordered.
“What?!” Both Nix and I said simultaneously.
“He needs to see our world to believe it,” Dad answered calmly.
“I’m not kidnapping him through a portal so he’ll believe I’m from another world!” I snapped again, only this time not sorry about it. “He’s my mate, Dad! I won’t treat him like that.”
Henriette came closer and narrowed her eyes at me. “Remi is your mate and he’s hurting. If you can’t figure out how to help him through this you need to come home. This isn’t about you, Juno, and how you see yourself as a mate, this is about Remi and his needs.”
Chapter Nine
Remi
How long would it take for them to realize I was awake? Listening to Juno talk to his father and someone else was actually comforting. He cared for me. Called me his mate. I was for sure either in a coma or dreaming, but it was nice. He refused to kidnap me. Green flag right there. Maybe this dream would end with a kiss or something?
“Doesn’t he feel the pull?” his father asked. He was the only one I knew who was since he kept calling Juno “son”.
“It seems like it,” Juno replied. “He found me attractive and told me his feelings were heightened.”
“That’s normal behavior for new mates,” one of the women spoke. “He just needs your touch and for you to mate. No reason to worry about that.”
“That’s not reassuring at all,” Juno said with a forced calmness. “They don’t have mates here. How can I convince him to mate with me when we’ve only just met? How do you think he’ll react to me telling him his feelings will sort themselves out after we mate?”
“Yeah, the kidnapping sounds better than that option,” the other guy in the room muttered.
“Don’t encourage their kidnapping idea!” Juno snapped at the guy.
“Don’t be mad at me! I’m on your side!”
“We’re all on Juno’s side,” his dad assured them. “Have you kissed him?”
“Not yet,” Juno sounded more like a pouting child now, it almost caused me to smile, but I hid it, not ready for them to see I was awake yet.
“It could help,” his dad spoke again.
“Okay,” Juno replied.
After a few seconds of silence his dad became impatient. “Well?”
“I’m not kissing him now!” Juno exclaimed.
“Why not?” one of the women spoke.
“Firstly, he’s asleep! Secondly, my dad is watching!”
“He’s your mate!” one of the women snapped, like that made consent not matter. I honestly liked Juno more and more. I liked him so much I hoped this was real and not a coma slash dream thing. I could totally see this being real, it felt real. The sheets under me. The scents. The voices. My normal dreams weren’t this realistic, so either real or a coma.
“Kiss him when he wakes up,” his dad ordered. “If he’s not willing to kiss you, which he will be, then come back here with him.”
“Fine,” Juno replied. “But not until I’ve tried everything.”
“We understand that,” another man spoke this time. “Just remember the longer you wait to mate, the more anguish you’ll both feel. It’s not normal to wait with mating, and your bodies will punish you for it.”
