Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

“You and the Vampyre are close, right?” he asks, full of that calm that borders on indifference. Is he making fun of me? “She explained what a mate is?” Slowly, I nod. “What Misery is to Lowe, you are to me.” Oh. Oh? Oh. “Is this a, um…terminal diagnosis?” His lips twitch. “No cure, I’m afraid.” “I see.” I clear my throat. “Well, this relationship sure escalated quickly.”

“Should you be calling me ‘kid,’ given the situation?” “I’m not married to it. What would you prefer?” “Well, there’s always my actual name. But if you insist on a nickname, I’d prefer something with a bit more…” “More?” “More teeth.” His eyebrow rises. “Root canal?” “No. Come on, you know what I mean. Something that inspires fear.” “Real estate market crash.”

“You’re the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen,” he says simply. Like it’s not a big deal. Like he’s complimenting my taste in socks. Like I could resemble the reflection of a wart on a doorknob, and it would change nothing for him.

“You’re my closest friend’s husb—mate’s closest friend. And I’d love to get along with you. So maybe we could be, you know, friends.” “What about polite acquaintances?” he counters. I cannot tell whether he’s serious, so I nod. “Deal. And you may quietly pine after me, if you must.”

“You wouldn’t want me anyway, if it weren’t for the whole biology thing. I’m a mess,” I say, subdued, barely audible. He hears me, though. “Oh, yeah. You are.” “Hey.” My chin juts out. “I can say it. You shouldn’t.” “Serena, you’re a half-Human Were who admits to being a serial liar, doesn’t know how electricity works, and is undoubtedly swimming in complex PTSD. Believe me, a toddler can say it.”

“Koen?” I’m almost fully asleep, my lids too heavy to open. “Yeah?” “I think you owe me an apology.” “For what?” “The way you stared at my tits.” Silence. Then, instead of the I’m sorry or Go to fucking sleep I expect, he says, “I think you owe me an apology.” “For what?” “How spectacular your tits are.”

“If you’re into self-immolation and dying, I can easily arrange it for you. No need to involve other species.” “This is not self-immolation. It’s a strategy—putting oneself in danger in order to gain something. Taking one for the team. Like Misery did when she married Lowe.” Koen’s eyebrows rise. “Those two are sickeningly in love. Whatever she’s taking, it’s not for the team.”

“What?” “Nothing. Just, look at you. Being all sciency.” “I had a mandatory biology class in college.” “And you retained knowledge from that low C?” “Stay out of my transcripts.” “But they’re such a riveting bedtime read.” “And it was a C-plus.” “You woman in STEM.”

“I’ve only ever been in the Southwest. We’re working out of a pool of two.” “At least you like mine better than Lowe’s.” “We’re still talking about the landscapes, right?” “Yeah. Sure.”

He overhears her talking with Pavel. “Hey, is it true that Humans put gnomes in their gardens?” “Oh, yeah. It’s totally a thing.” “Spine-chilling.” Her laughter adjusts the spin of his atoms.

“Since you’re so sure that everyone here despises her, including me, let this be known: fuck with my mate, and I’m going to kill you so slowly, draw it out so long, tectonic plates will move and create whole new mountain ranges. And when the rest of your family comes to avenge you, I’ll do the same to them. And if your friends come, I’m not going to fucking stop. Not even if all that’s left of the pack is me and her. I will paint this entire territory green before I let anyone in the pack spill a single drop of red. Okay?”

Damn daddy

“Lowe had a whole other life planned. He is a trained architect. I only know how to be an Alpha. As demonstrated by the fact that when he brought me to a museum, I sat on a sculpture that cost more than the gross domestic product of most packs.” “Why?” “Because it looked like a fucking chair.”

“If I weren’t Alpha,” he asks, eventually. “And you weren’t sick. What then, Serena?” “What if Earth was modeled after a giant parsley leaf? What if Humans pissed moondust? What if—” His fingers trap my chin. Tilt my head back, hitching my breath. Once again, I have no choice but to meet his eyes. “What then, Serena?”

“Aw. Are you guys sleeping together yet?” “What? No!” “Well, since it’s probably going to happen, would you like a heads-up on the biology?” “The what?” “His dick. It—” “It’s not going to happen, Misery. It’d be against the law. He took an oath of celibacy.” “I mean, sure.” She doesn’t sound sure. “But you should know that because you’re his mate, at the base of—” “Stop.” At the what of what? “I liked you better when you were a virgin.” “Yeah, well, Lowe didn’t. So.”

“I don’t drink black coffee.” “What? Since when?” “Since I started drinking it, during the High Middle Ages.” “But…I’ve been giving you black coffee.” “And I have been hating it.” I frown. “Are you sure you don’t take it black? Like a real man?” His eyebrow lifts. “I wasn’t aware of the proven correlation between virility and coffee intake.” “Oh, there isn’t one. But you’re supposed to be warped by toxic masculinity and not know that. And I’m supposed to be the one who enlightens you.”

“Okay?” he asks, and I shake my head. “I’ll never be okay again.” “Yeah.” He is hoarse. Desperate but amused. “We’re both fucked.”

“I know that you took an oath. And I know that this is doomed. But…Koen. There is very little that I wouldn’t do for you, if you were to ask me.” “Serena.” I hear the blurry edge of his smile. A quiet sigh. “I would throw away my pack, my life, and my entire world for you. Which is the exact reason I cannot have you.”

“Still spectacular?” I joke, fighting the impulse to cover myself. It’s a little uncomfortable, being on display, even after what we just did. “I hope you never find out the things I’ve done while thinking about them.”

I want to explain to him that he’s rebuilding me from the inside out, molding me into a more solid, resilient shape. But I can’t. Not when he looks up with a stupefied expression, like the existence of me, of what we’re doing, is something he hadn’t taken into consideration. Like I make the world a different place.

“You…We talked about this.” I sound shrill. “The pack is too important to you. And you are necessary to the pack.” “Things have changed.” “Things—nothing has changed. You love the Northwest more than anything.” “Not more than anything, Serena.”

“The girl?” “The redhead? The one they put your tracker in? She’s fully recovered. I met her sister, by the way. She has a crush on both you and Koen. It’s kinda cute, honestly.” “She’s sixteen.” “I think it’s a platonic crush. But also, when you were sixteen, you wanted to pork Mr. Lumiere in the mudroom.” “Did I?” I groan. Yeah, I did.

“No, Serena, I’m talking. Remember when you didn’t tell me you were a Were? And we agreed that you should have? Clearly you learned nothing. You acted selfishly again. And you know what? I’m sick of this. I’m sick of you shouldering everything like you’re the fucking guy with the stone.” “Sisyphus?” “No—the other guy.” “King Arthur?” “No, the asshole who carries the planet.” “Atlas!” “Yes!”

He sighs. Tightens his hold on me. “Such a fucking nuisance.” I wonder why it took me until this very moment to realize that it’s been his way of saying I love you all along.