Page 40 of Twisted Mates

“But I don’t regret it.”

Her gaze locks onto mine, all attempts to save face melting from her features.

It would be wise to lie to her, tell her I hadn’t thought about it again. I should let her off the hook. Her life is tied to Kai’s, but I can’t lie to her. And goddess help me, I want to reel her in and keep her for myself.

“You don’t?”

“No, Alexia, I don’t. Not a fucking second. The only part I regret is not saying something before now.”

She chews on the inside of her cheek. “Why didn’t you?”

“I may not regret what we did, but it doesn’t mean I don’t think about my brother. I know he’s the one that left, but still. He hasn’t officially rejected you, and I...”

“Feel like you took something that wasn’t yours,” she finishes.

I nod. How can I not feel like that? It doesn’t matter that all I think about is her. She was made for another. I don’t want to step between the possibility of them having the life that our kind holds sacred. She deserves that if Kai gets his head out of his ass.

“Well, you know what? I'mnothis. I’m my own person. And I gave you what I wanted to give you. Also, in case you missed it, he doesn’t want me. And to be honest, Xander? I didn’t want him either. Did I feel led to him that night? Yeah. But it felt weird. It still feels weird. I—” She pauses and leans her head back againstthe headrest before looking over at me. “I feelnothingat his absence. I mean, besides the normal worry over a friend.”

My heart pounds in my chest at her words. “Are you questioning the legitimacy of the bond?”

“No. Yes.” She shrugs. “I know it’s not official yet, but I always heard rejection was painful, like knock you off your feet and steal your breath painful. I don’t even feel atingeof that pain, knowing that it’s a probability. I mostly just feel embarrassed.”

I shake my head. “I’ve never heard of someone completing the cleansing and picking the wrong person.”

It’s impossible. The cleansing is a sure-fire way to find a mate if they’re in the room. A shifter’s senses are heightened after so long without contact from someone outside of their family. Unless the process was compromised, but Alexia’s family would not go through with the ceremony if they thought for a second she could be drawn to the wrong person. If there is one thing I know about the Rushes: They love their children and would never set them up for failure.

“I don’t know. I’ve only ever heard of a bond breaking if one shifter dies. Even rejects don’t lose that ache.”

“Yeah.” I grip the steering wheel as my mind replays something Clayton said the night we fought in front of everyone. He was clear that there was only one way that my brother was getting out of this. It was extreme and I didn’t take it seriously at the time but now... “You don’t think it’s Kai following you, do you?”

Her head snaps in my direction and her jaw is hanging open. “What? No! Why would you think that?”

“Remember that night Clayton and I fought in the living room?”

“Yeah?”

“He said the only way that either one of you was getting out of this bond was if one of you was dead. What if Kai has gone off the deep end?”

Her face drains of color, and she shakes her head. “No. Kai wouldn’t do that to me. Would he?”

“I don’t know. It’s that type of thing where hindsight is 20/20. I see it now. He was struggling through all this, acting like he was trapped.” I turn the truck onto the main road, eager to leave this conversation behind, the idea of Kai hurting Alexia sitting in my stomach like a boulder. He’s Clayton’s kid, but he is also my mom’s. She would never stand for him harming someone without true cause.

My head hurts and I can’t handle trying to piece this puzzle together anymore. This mess will remain if we try to forget it for a little while.

“Let me treat you to dinner. I know a place,” I offer, hoping to calm any worry I may have stirred.

Half an hour later, we’re parked at an overlook with an incredible view of the mountains. I dig through the brown paper bag from my favorite hole-in-the-wall hamburger place and hand Alexia her order. The crinkle of paper fills the cab of the truck as we watch the twinkling lights below.

We eat in silence for a moment before she says, “Do you have a blanket in here?”

I look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Why?”

She tilts her head to the side and rolls her eyes. “So we can sit in the back of the truck and look at the stars. It’s almost the full moon, you know. The sky is really pretty tonight.”

I hum, setting my burger on the dashboard and turning around to look behind my seat. Sure enough, my emergency kit is back there, complete with a blanket. “It’s your lucky night, Alexia. I have a blanket right here.”

“Can we finish eating out there? It’s so warm out tonight. We really shouldn’t waste the opportunity,” she says, bouncing slightly in her seat, and I try to ignore how cute she is.

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