Page 24 of Mated in Flames

Dane’s expression darkens.

“And last night?” he snaps.

“There, too,” I admit; there’s no point in lying now.

Dane scowls and sits up straighter.

“Are you an idiot?” he demands. “You have no idea who this woman is! For all we know, she could be a Hunter herself, who collects rare animals. You haven’t even seen her farm, so you have no idea if those creatures are even still alive.”

“Actually, I saw them today,” I say. “There are quite a lot of them and they seem to adore her.”

Dane huffs.

“Either way, we know nothing about her,” he says stubbornly. “How can you trust her so easily that you would spend the night with her. Were you that desperate for a good fuck?”

My hackles rise instantly.

“No,” I say coldly. “She’s my mate.”

That pulls Dane up short. He sits back, stunned.

“What?” he gasps.

“I realised it yesterday, while we were talking to her about what we are,” I say. “I had that feeling our parents always told us about. She’s my mate, Dane.”

“She can’t be,” Dane splutters. “She’s a human!”

“And?” I ask.

“Warwick, think about it!” Dane exclaims. “Fine, you’re happy now, but you and I both know that we’ll live far longer lives than any human. What are you going to do when she dies of old age? It’s just going to leave you heartbroken! That’s why phoenixes usually mate with other phoenixes!”

“Unless you haven’t noticed, other phoenixes are in fairly short supply right now,” I say.

But my tone isn’t as sharp as I wanted. How can I snap at Dane when he’s just looking out for me?

“It doesn’t matter, anyway, Dane,” I say with a small smile. “I don’t get to choose who my mate is, you know that. She’s been my mate from the moment we were both born. Maybe it is the world’s idea of a joke, but it doesn’t matter right now. I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I pause. “If we come to it. Luciana doesn’t know anything about phoenix mates, okay? I don’t want to scare her off yet.”

“What happens if you’re together for the next couple of months and she still doesn’t accept it?” Dane demands.

“Then, that will be that,” I say with a shrug. “I can live with being rejected, you know. A lot of phoenixes never even find their mates.”

Dane glares down at the table.

“I don’t like it,” he grumbles. “A human should never be in our world. I don’t know what her father was thinking, dragging first himself and then her into all this.”

“Well, what’s done is done,” I say. “Just give her a chance, alright? If nothing else, she’s my mate, which means she’s trustworthy.”

“Maybe,” Dane says stubbornly, and I know that’s the best I’ll get out of him.

“Thanks,” I sigh. “Oh, while we’re on the subject… I’m going to give Luciana the poisoned dagger.”

“What?” Dane exclaims. “Are you out of your mind?”

“She’s a toxicologist, Dane,” I say. “She wants to study the poison and maybe see if she can develop an antidote for it. You can’t say that won’t be useful.”

“Of course it will be,” Dane scowls. “Right until she stabs us in the back with it.”

“You said you would give her a chance,” I remind him.

“Giving her a chance does not mean giving her one of the only weapons in the world that can kill us!”

I sigh and grimace. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me. One way or the other, however, I’ll be getting that dagger to Luciana. The only question left is just how long it will take to convince Dane it’s a good idea.

I glance at my brother. I don’t even have to wonder.

We’re going to be here all night.

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