Page 4 of The Fated Mate Bandit

“You said it would still work. That I could override a fated bond if I wanted to,” I say more to myself than to her.

“I also said that you shouldn’t do it. Raccoon shifters are lucky. We can choose to be with whoever we want. Shifters with a fated mate can only bond to that one person. It isn’t kind to rip away someone’s only chance at love like that. It’s gotten raccoon shifters into a lot of trouble in the past.”

I know all of that. It’s why I didn’t put my paws on Lucas back when we were eighteen, even though I really wanted to.

“What if someone’s been with their fated mate for several years, though? Would it still work?” I ask.

Mom sighs. “What’s going on over there?”

“Nothing. This is a purely hypothetical question,” I lie.

“A purely hypothetical question at three in the morning?”

I pause. “Fine. It’s not hypothetical.”

“How long has this guy been with his mate?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Okay. Is his name Lucas?”

Of course she figured it out. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets from her.

“I can’t tell you the specifics of what’s happening right now. I just need to know if putting my paws on him will work if he’s been with his mate for five years.”

There’s a long pause on the other end. I can feel her exasperation, even a hundred miles away.

“The bond fated mates share is very special—” She begins.

“Yes, I know that.”

“It’s difficult for someone to go from an intense relationship like that to another deep bond so quickly. People need time to heal and figure out who they are on their own.”

“But what if he’s in trouble? Getting a bond removed requires a warlock, and that’s expensive. Wasn’t Nikki’s bond removal over $100,000?”

Nikki is Aunt Emerald’s friend. She’s a gray wolf shifter too.

“Sweetie, you only get to put your paws on one person your whole life,” she says.

“But—”

“You called me in the middle of the night to ask me this question, so let me answer. The magic in your paws is not there to save someone money or rescue them. It exists solely to bind you to the person you love. Now, if Lucas is that man, and he loves you as much as you love him, then the two of you need to have a conversation about that.”

I take in a deep breath. “I understand, but will my paws be able to override a bond that’s lasted for five years?”

“Yes,” she says softly. “If he loves you, and you love him.”

“I’ve loved him since we were kids?—”

“You loved the eighteen-year-old version of him. A lot can change in five years.”

She’s right. I’ve changed a lot in the last five years, too. I graduated from college, joined the Air Force, and travelled the world. I’m very different from the small-town alpha Lucas dated in high school.

“Look, if you put your paws on Lucas, you know I’ll support you. You’re a good man, and I have no doubt that you’ll do the right thing, whatever that may be.”

“What if I don’t know what the right thing is?” I ask.

Confessing my feelings might make things more complicated for Lucas. Will he feel like he can still stay with me if I tell him I love him? He said he didn’t have anywhere else to go. The last thing I want to do is make him uncomfortable in the one place where he feels safe.

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