AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why were you going to go through the mating ceremony with him?”
“I was told to. I had been chosen, for whatever reason. I don’t think that he made the choice or that he even knew who I was. I guess it was the elders who chose me. I don’t know why. My family isn’t any more important that the average family,” Olivia said. “Once I was chosen, that was it. All my thoughts about my future were over. I couldn’t dishonor my family by saying no.”
“That sucks,” he said.
Olivia laughed and said, “I guess you’re trying to figure out whether I’m dedicated to my family or just stupid for going along with it.”
“No, honestly, I was thinking that it must be awful to feel trapped that way.”
“I never thought I was brave enough to buck the system – at least until my life was in danger. Then, I found all kinds of courage,” Olivia said. “On second thought, maybe staying to fight would have been more courageous. The outcome would have been bad, but at least I would have stood my ground.”
“You did the right thing,” Zac said. “I’m pretty tough, but I couldn’t survive an attack if my entire pack decided to come after me. Sometimes, retreat is the better part of valor.”
“I suppose so,” Olivia said, doubtfully.
They walked for a while in a comfortable silence and then decided to head back to the house.
“Have you heard of fated mates?” Zac asked.
“Of course. I’m a woman and a fan of romance novels.” She laughed.
“Do you think that they are real?”
Olivia was quiet for a minute and then said, “I guess so. It’s the same thing as a soul mate. I’ve seen couples who knew as soon as they met that they were meant for each other. They got married and stayed married for decades, every bit as much in love in their seventies and eighties as they were when they first got married. They might actually have been more in love because they’ve grown and matured.”
“Do you ever think about finding your fated mate or soul mate?”
“Maybe, when I was younger, before the whole Declan thing, although there was no one in my pack that caught my interest. I guess, I had that whole fantasy, like a lot of other girls, of that handsome guy riding in on a horse, taking me to his magical kingdom, and living happily ever after,” Olivia said. “What about you?”
“I’ve been so busy my whole life preparing to be the alpha, that I hadn’t thought much about it. I’ve dated, but no one captured my heart. My father tries to pressure me into taking a mate, but I tell him that I’ll do that when I’m ready and not before. He tries to argue with me, but I pull the ‘I’m the alpha’ card, and he leaves me alone.”
Laughing, Olivia replied, “I guess there are a lot of benefits to being the alpha.”
“A few,” he said.
“What made you think about fated mates?” she asked. “Are you reading steamy romance novels, too?”
“I might have to buy one and see if I like them. But, actually, a friend of mine brought it up,” he said.
“Men talk about those things?” she asked, incredulously.
“Only if they are trying to figure things out,” he replied. “Otherwise, we just grunt over sports and beat our chests.”
Olivia laughed so hard, she snorted, which made her laugh even harder. Zac decided that he really liked the way she laughed.
They walked back to the house and played a game of chess. She won the first game and Zac won the second. Then, she announced that she needed to get back and get some sleep.
“I do have a spare bedroom,” he reminded her. “Or a large bed of my own.”
She touched him on the cheek and said, “You’re sweet, but my things are at the hotel.”
After she left, Zac sat on the couch in his sun porch and stared up at the sky.
“I wonder what she would have said if I told her that I thought she was my fated mate,” he said.
He still wasn’t in love with her, but he did think that it was an interesting coincidence that of all the places in the world she could have ended up, it was Angel’s Creek.
“We’ll see where it goes,” he muttered to himself.
