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Iris chuckled at that. “Why are you worried about me?”
“Because you’ve got Derek in your living room. Who knows if they could come back and finish the job?”
Iris thought about how ferociously Derek had promised to protect her if any of his would-be-killers came back.
“I’m going to be just fine,” Iris said. “Derek’s hurting, but he’s not defenseless.”
“We really need to send somebody by to pick him up just so we’re not endangering you,” Ava said. “Of course, I’ll need to talk to our beta.”
“Ava.” Iris interrupted Ava’s train of thought. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
The faint rumblings of thunder echoed outside, the light dissipating slightly.
“Oh, God. What is it?”
“Yesterday, I was healing Derek, bringing my magic into him, and I felt something.”
Ava became confused. “What? What on Earth could you have felt? You were able to heal him, right?”
“I healed him fine. But I think I maybe sort of, I don’t know, bonded with him.”
At this, Ava laughed. Hard. Iris was becoming a little upset that she wasn’t being taken seriously.
“I’m sorry, girl. You what? Please tell me you’re fucking with me.”
“I was putting my light into him, and I felt this energy, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. And it was suddenly like I’d always known him and like I’d die to protect him.”
Ava grew quiet.
“Well, that’s … something. But it does check out.”
“I don’t really know what to do about it, to be honest.”
“There’s only one thing you can do about it,” Ava said firmly. “When fate comes knocking, you don’t slam the door in her face.”
She listened to Derek through the door. She found herself connecting with the noises in the other room, almost already missing him.
“But I don’t even know the guy,” Iris said. “He just showed up outside my door yesterday.”
“Well, that’s a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” Iris asked, taken aback.
“You saved the man’s life, Iris. It’s not like everyone can make that claim.”
“I guess,” Iris conceded.
“And, if you’re asking me, you could do far, far worse than Derek,” she added. “You say you’ve never met the guy, but you’re forgetting that your bestie knows him.”
Somehow, discussing the entire situation with Ava helped calm Iris. Even as she relived one of the most traumatic moments of her life, talking about it with her closest friend helped her sort through it.
“So you think I should consider this?”
“I think you should stop fighting what the world’s laying out in front of you,” Ava said. “Derek’s a great leader, far more attentive and compassionate than any of the others I’ve lived under.”
Iris sat up in bed, listening to every raindrop on her window.
“Plus,” Ava continued, “there’s not many in this world who find their fated mates. It kind of takes a lot of the stress off, knowing that you don’t have to worry about it.”
