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“And now that she’s pregnant, your cat’s hope is gone,” Deke guessed.
Isaiah nodded, his throat bobbing. “He couldn’t accept her now that she’s carrying another man’s child—he feels betrayed. But he’s struggling to emotionally let her go.”
“You think taking a mate would be the answer?” asked Deke without judgement.
“It was my dad who put the idea in my head. My parents entered into an arranged mating, as you know. He said the moment he branded my mother, his cat considered her under his protection and intellectually understood she belonged to him, though the animal didn’t immediately immerse himself in the mating. The rest came with time.”
“Your theory is that if you claim a woman, it’ll make your cat officially let Lucinda go,” Deke realized.
“Dating someone won’t be enough—I’ve tried it, he doesn’t acknowledge them. But if I claimed someone, it would force him to take notice of them, to engage with them, to cease dwelling on what he can’t have. And it would fill the void in him that Lucinda can never fill.”
And also fill that same void in Isaiah. “You don’t worry he’d lose his shit and reject whoever you claim?”
“No. He might not emotionally accept the female as his mate in the beginning but, as my dad’s cat did with my mother, he’d place her under his direct protection and feel territorial on an elemental level—there’ll be no way for him to fight it if she’s branded.” He held Deke’s gaze as he added, “I’ve put a whole lot of thought into this. It isn’t a decision I made lightly or simply because I was hurting. I wouldn’t consider it if I wasn’t sure it would work out.”
Fair enough. “If it’s what you want, we’ll all be behind you. What comes next?”
“I have to finish the process I began a few nights ago. There’s a long-ass questionnaire to fill in. It’s very detailed and covers everything—not merely basic stuff such as your likes and dislikes, but your bedroom habits, how many kids you want, your preferred parenting style—the list goes on and on.” Isaiah rubbed the side of his neck. “It’s not easy to be that open and honest, so it’s not a questionnaire anyone can work through quickly. I’m almost done.”
“And you can guarantee that all your information won’t be shared?” Because if it was leaked to the shifter world, it could be used against him.
“Yes. Not even any potential matches will receive a copy of the completed questionnaire.”
Knowing Isaiah wouldn’t sound so positive unless he’d made certain of it, Deke moved onto his next question. “What will happen once you’ve completed it?”
“I’ll submit it. The site will suggest possible matches for me based on my answers. I’m only allowed to choose one to contact. If after an exchange of messages we’d both like to meet, we’ll do that. If we choose not to, I can reach out to any other possible matches.” Isaiah inhaled deeply. “Hopefully there’ll be at least one. You know as well as I do that not all shifters are fond of pallas cats. That might go against me.”
It might indeed. “If you do find a possible match and the meet goes well, do you have the opportunity to date them for a while?”
“No, the founders of FindYourMatch are very clear that it’s not a dating site, it exists only to help advocate arranged matings. As such, I wouldn’t even meet with a potential match alone—both of us will have one of our Alphas present. I suppose it’s to ensure that shifters aren’t using the site to merely hook up. The female and I would have to decide there and then if we wanted to go forward with the mating.”
In that case, the process was similar to when Alphas got together to make such arrangements for the purpose of securing alliances or other such things. “I must admit, I didn’t expect this. But I can see why you’d choose this option. I hope it works out for you.”
“So do I.” Isaiah paused. “I don’t visualize myself having any problems imprinting on someone. I’ve never been set on finding my true mate. Maybe because my parents are happy without theirs.” He gave Deke a probing look. “What about you? Could you imprint on someone?”
“It isn’t something I hoped to do. I wanted to find my true mate. But …”
“But Bailey is making you reconsider whether that’s so important,” Isaiah finished, the far too insightful asshole.
Yes. Deke couldn’t imagine letting her go. Wasn’t sure if he could. And, in truth, he didn’t want to.
Not that he’d said as much to her. His mamba was skittish and guarded. He wasn’t certain how she’d react.
Plus, there was the little problem that, in order for imprinting to happen, his cat would need to be on the same page as Deke. At the moment, the animal still had issues upon issues.
