Page 34 of Tempting Fate

“For me, yes. Sure.” Drew’s expression doesn’t change and Dax glares at me from the other side of the sofa. I get it. Drew is a sweetheart; they all want to protect him.

He’s also helping Dax out with his mate right now, which does one-up me on the best friends scale.

“It’s not—I don’t—” I don’t know why I’m so opposed to the idea. Except, I never felt the exact same thing from Jamie as I have from Em, did I? Occasionally, I felt something, but nothing lasting, nothing so deep, and it’s just because he’s the one Em moved in with. He’s my connection to my mate, but he’s not him.

It has to be that. It has to be.

“Why not?” Drew asks.

“I don’t have two mates. I can’t. I didn’t feel the same with Jamie. I mean, I like him. He’s hot and funny and if he were—” My throat tightens, but I push on, not sure why I feel the need to be so honest. “If he were my mate, I’d be happy with that. But he isn’t. He isn’t.”

I don’t know how I expect Drew to react. He stares at me for a second or two longer, then shrugs, pushing off from the counter. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Your wolf knows,” he says. “Mine didn’t. Couldn’t. Got both my mates anyway.”

I stare at his back as he returns to washing up. Dax sighs and reaches over to pat me on the knee. “Maybe you need to talk to Jamie yourself,” he says. “You’ve been wound up ever since he spoke to you the other night.”

When he propositioned me. When I said no, which was a stupid fucking thing to do.

“Yeah,” I say faintly. Two mates? I’ve seen Drew with Adam and Sam. I know they all love each other and that it works and that they’re mates.

It’s not for me. It’s not done, outside of the three of them. And who’s to say—Sam’s a mage. They’re rare. Who’s to say that’s not the reason why?

Me and two humans? I fight the urge to scoff.

I sensed it on Em as soon as I laid eyes on him. If we were meant to be with Jamie too, surely, I’d have felt the same then?

“Stay for a bit,” Dax says. “Feel like I never get to spend time with you nowadays.”

Drew starts wiping down the countertops. His gaze doesn’t stray to us, and I know I need to apologise, to talk to him properly.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll stay until Vince gets back.”