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“I can’t speak for him, but knowing him, absolutely. But you owe him one hell of an apology, angel.”
Oliver nodded. “I know I do.”
Adar was silent for a beat, then asked the question that had been on his mind the whole time. “Can you tell me why you feel Delton is our third? Because it feels like it’s more of a convenience thing, like he could be useful to us, but I hate thinking like that, and I doubt that’s what you want either.”
“That’s not why.” Oliver bit his lip, and Adar waited patiently. “I don’t see how he could be wrong about you and him,” Oliver said, his voice soft. “He has the same level of certainty about you that you and I have about each other. Considering his job, he’s so skilled in labeling emotions and interpreting things and putting it all together. I can’t imagine him fooling himself like that.”
Oliver made a good point. “So you figured that if he wasn’t wrong, there had to be another explanation?”
“A triad would be the explanation for why he thinks you’re his mate and we know we’re meant for each other.”
“But if that is the case, why don’t I feel that connection with him? And why don’t you? Because the way you explain it, it’s more of a logical conclusion than a strong feeling you have.”
“That’s the part I don’t have an answer for. Then again, I have no experience with this whole fated-mates thing. Maybe this isn’t all that uncommon? I have no clue.”
Someone cleared their throat, and when Adar looked up, Delton was standing in front of them. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.”
“You’re not interrupting,” Adar said quickly, glad to see the beta. He’d feared Delton would avoid them. “Please join us.”
Delton quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? I only came to talk to Oliver.”
“You still want to talk to me?” Oliver asked, his voice small.
“You messed up, Oliver, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be friends anymore.”
Funny how Delton’s statement so closely echoed Adar’s. “Does that mean you’ve decided to stay?” Adar asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
“You’re leaving?” Oliver sounded panicked. “Because of me?”
“Not so much because of you, but now everyone knows about me, and I don’t think I can deal with everyone’s pity.”
“I’m sorry.” Oliver was crying again. “I fucked it all up, and now you’re leaving.”
Adar didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want Delton to go, but what could he say to keep him in the pack? His earlier thoughts popped back into his head. “What if we did a trial period?” he said. “For the three of us.”
“A trial period?” Delton looked confused. “About what?”
“About us as a triad. I dismissed it out of hand, but I shouldn’t have, not without giving it some real thought. Maybe Oliver is right, and we do belong together.”
Delton was shaking his head before Adar was finished. “No. No way. That’s only gonna set me up for more heartbreak, sorry. I won’t be part of that.”
Adar could hardly blame him after what had happened, so how could he convince him? He refused to bring up the impact play and say he needed Delton. That was manipulating him by using Delton’s sense of duty against him. Adar wanted no part of that. But neither did he want to give up so easily.
“I understand. I really do. But I was thinking that maybe I’ve focused too much on how immediately right it felt with Oliver and expected it to be the same with you. Not every triad experienced being mates that instant and easy, you know?”
Delton scratched his beard. “I know it was much more of a struggle for some, yes.”
“Maybe Oliver and I need more time to realize you do belong with us. You felt it, at least for me, but we didn’t, but that doesn’t mean it can’t come later.”
Delton’s eyes softened. “That’s an awfully big maybe, Adar. You’re asking for a lot.”
He was, and on some level, he felt awful about it, but he couldn’t let go now. Something forced him to keep at it. “How convinced were you that we were mates?” he asked him. “Like on a scale of one to ten?”
“A ten.” Delton’s answer came after a long pause. “Maybe a nine.”
“Don’t you owe it to that feeling to at least try?”
