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“I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Then just try,” she suggested, her curiosity right at the forefront. This was getting more and more intriguing by the moment.
“What do you know about shifter mating?”
Aledwen racked her brains. That hadn’t been anything like what she expected, and it took her a little aback.
“Not a lot. Shifters mate for life. I guess that’s about it, really.” She shrugged, not quite seeing why it was important.
“I suppose that’s the jist of it, but it’s a bit more complicated,” Drey said, finally sitting down on the sofa next to her. There was probably about half a person’s space between them, and Aledwen had to ignore the urge to move into that space so they were touching. It might even be a good idea if it offered him some level of comfort.
“It always is, fae mating is the same.”
“Can fae mate with the wrong person?” he looked at her, an eager look that she didn’t want to analyse, on his face.
“No. They can only mate with their fated one.”
“Or ones?”
“Well, yes. But it’s rare,” she responded, though as she was saying it, she realised it might just be rare because most fae didn’t get a chance to meet one mate, never mind more.
“And those mates aren’t just fae, right?”
“Most of them aren’t. There are no male fae after all. The male children are either half-fae or less.
“Ah. It’s different for dragons. There hasn’t been a dragon that didn’t mate with another dragon for centuries, maybe even longer.”
“Okay...”
There was something lurking in her mind that suggested there was something in what he was saying. But she wasn’t too sure what. Or she was, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and completely miss what he was trying to say. That was how things ended up awkward.
“I’m getting signals from you like you’re my mate,” he blurted out, and the lurking idea in her head nodded along. That was pretty much what she’d thought he was going to say.
“Alright...” She didn’t want to say anymore, she wanted to see where his head was at first. Pressuring someone into saying something they weren’t ready for yet never ended well.
“But it makes no sense.”
“Because I’m fae?” she asked, thinking back to his earlier question.
“No. Because I was getting the same mating vibe from your interactions with the Reed twins.” He sighed, and rested his head in his hands.
“You think the Reed twins are your mates too?” That wasn’t something she’d picked up on. In fact, she’d mostly picked up on amusement from Brandon’s part, and jealousy from Drey’s. Oh...jealousy...
“No...”
“You think they’re mine too. And that’s a problem?” She let the idea settle in her mind, surprised by how little it freaked her out. She probably should be considering he was telling her she’d gained not one, but three, mates in the past evening.
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t think you were mine until...”
“The moment I saw you standing with the Reed twins.”
“Oh.”
“It might be something to do with you meeting them. I know that’s how mating one on one works, so maybe it’s the same if there’s more than one mate involved. But that’s not the real issue.”
“What is then?” she asked, taking a chance and placing her hand softly on his leg. If he was her mate, then maybe she could actually offer him some comfort. She liked that idea. And she really didn’t like seeing him quite so worked up about things. It was disturbing to the core.
