“But…” Anahla started, shaking her head.
“He’s twenty-five, Anahla. He’s older than she is. He doesn’t think it’s fair for her to have to choose him now, or even go liveher life thinking she has no choice. And he’s having a hard time staying away from her, so he’s leaving.”
“And then what?” she demanded.
“I don’t even know. I just know that I respect the hell out of him.”
Anahla looked questioningly at him.
“I know that in the culture you grew up in, it was common place for mates to marry early and begin their lives together, but I also know you are aware that most of the time, things don’t happen like that. Kids, or young people if you’d rather, have the opportunity to grow into whoever they want to grow into. They don’t have to accept a mate just because the mate bond had reared its head.”
“I know that! I just, I don’t want her to have to live her life without a mate thinking she doesn’t have one because he walks away.”
“I don’t know if he’s walking away. I don’t think he is, but, maybe he is. It didn’t sound like it though,” Lucas said.
“You still haven’t told me who it is!” Anahla insisted impatiently.
“You can’t go interfering. You can’t go talk to him.”
“How could I if he’s leaving?”
“I know, I just don’t know what to do, or if I should do anything,” Lucas said.
“How did you find all this out?”
“I called it a night and finished the run early. I went to go visit Remi, I like sitting outside with him.”
“I know, he’s a nice… wait! It can’t be Remi! He’s Cristie’s mate!”
“No, no it’s not Remi. But he was talking to Kaiser, and when I heard Keegan’s name I stopped walking toward them and listened. That’s when I heard everything.”
“It’s Kaiser?! Keegan’s mate is Kaiser?” Anahla asked.
Lucas nodded.
Anahla stood there, staring into nothingness as she thought it over. Finally, she smiled at Lucas. “This is good. This is very good.”
“Why do you say that? He’s nine years older than she is.”
“Exactly! If he does what he says and allows her to grow and figure out who she is and what she wants to do before he makes his intentions known — if that’s his plan — he’s older, he’ll be done with all the wildness. He’ll be more patient, he’ll appreciate her more, and the most important part… he’s as strong as she is. She won’t be able to bulldoze him like she does everyone else. She’ll actually respect him. It’s a good match.”
Lucas sat down on the edge of the bathtub and rested his chin on his hands.
“What’s wrong?” Anahla asked.
“She’s sixteen. I’m not supposed to have to think about this yet.”
Anahla smiled at him. “But he’s leaving, so it won’t happen soon.”
“We hope, if he comes back at all. Now you have me worried that he might be preparing to leave for good,” Lucas said. “He was beating himself up over it and feeling pretty bad that she’s so young.”
“We could go talk to him,” Anahla said.
“No! I told you, you can’t go confront him.”
“I’m not planning to. You are. You’re going to talk to him, and let him know that we know and we just want to be sure that he isn’t leaving for good.”
“Do you really think I should?”
