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I wished I could harvest all those simple moments and save them up for whenever we were apart. That way, whenever I hungered for him, I could fill myself until I could see him again.
“That’s what I wanted to do the entire night,” Kai said as he embraced me tightly.
“I gotta admit, I wanted the same thing.” I allowed myself a tiny laugh and buried my face in his chest, just breathing him in. “But I understood you and Lady Rathson were herded into the same space.” When I’d finally filled my lungs, I tilted my head and gave him a curious look. “How did that go, by the way?”
I tried not to sound particularly jealous, which I was sure I pulled off well enough considering I wasn’t all that envious. There was some there, simmering between the surface, sure, but it wasn’t that strong. Especially considering how little I’d actually seem them together.
I wasn’t quite sure what I expected, but it wasn’t for Kai to outright laugh. “You’re not going to believe this, but she and I are most definitely not a thing.”
“You aren’t?” That was certainly surprising. I had no idea how he’d have managed to pull that off so quickly, considering his uncle had been banging on about it for years.
“Nope, because, and I have no idea what the chances could possibly be, but Miss Felicity Rathson just so happens to be fated mates with none other than our dear, beloved Mad Dog.”
I stared at him like he’d grown two heads, wings, and started speaking backward. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Fated mates. It happened right before my eyes.”
“You’re right, I can’t really believe that. Really? Right in front of you?”
He nodded, grinning so broadly that the corners of his eyes crinkled in that way I loved. “Yeah, it was hilarious to watch, in a touching sort of way. I gave them some privacy to get to know each other.”
“You have to tell me all about it.”
It was crazy to think of rugged, practical Maddox falling in love with a refined lady like Felicity, yet fated mates were fated mates for a reason. Clearly, there was something about the two of them that was intrinsically meant to match. Two halves of a whole, two opposite but equally important sides of the same coin.
“All right, let’s sit for a moment, shall we? Standing for hours in these uncomfortable shoes has gotten to me more than I’d like to admit.”
“That’s because you’re getting old,” I quipped, knowing that, as shifters, our regenerative abilities meant we suffered from things like bad backs and worn knees about forty or so years later than most other cryptids. It was a blessing and a curse. A long life meant plenty of times to experience so many things, but it also meant long relationships with shorter lived cryptids could be just as much about heartbreak as celebration.
The two of us sat down while Kai told me the whole story. He was right, too. It was borderline unbelievable. If it were anyone else telling me the story, I might have accused them of embellishing, but with Kai, I knew I could trust his every word.
“What’s going to happen with them?” I looked at the floor. “I can’t imagine your mother will be all that pleased.”
“Fated mates are fated mates. Unlike us, they don’t have to worry about my father expecting us to usurp him. I’m sure my uncle, mother, and her father will be pissed, but the social reaction would be pretty extreme if they tried to keep the two of them apart.”
I nodded. At least there was some use to their near obsession with public perception.
“So, what about you?”
“What about me?”
“You seemed like you were having a good time, which I’m grateful for.” His grin grew rueful. “I honestly thought every time I’d glance over at you that you’d look miserable.”
“Well, I had friends around me that helped,” I answered. I could tell him about the couple, but I felt like that was a story for another time. “Kept me laughing and kept me from getting in my own head.”
There was that crinkle at the corner of his eyes again. Was it possible to fall in love with a single expression? “I’m glad. Aodin seemed particularly funny.”
“Oh, you saw that?” I chuckled. “He was practicing terrible fae one-liners to see if any of them might make Seraphina laugh once she returned from dancing with you.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I absolutely am not. And…and I may have done something wicked.”
Kai leaned in, his expression keen. “Wicked you say? Do you plan to share with the cast or are you going to keep it to yourself?”
“Well, I may have told him that they were all hilarious and he should use every single one of them.”
“You didn’t.”
