Page 73 of Earth-Bound

Stopping where I was, I faced Joe.

Keeping this from him seemed like a deception. It was so natural for me to think of us as being mates and appreciating that we’d be together for the rest of our lives, but Joe had no reason to think that. I knew he felt the strong bond of being my fated mate but that didn’t give him the certainty I had.

I needed to tell him.

Chapter 30: Joe

Terrund nearly made my heart stop beating when he said, out of nowhere, “Joe, there’s something I need to tell you.”

I’d never had a proper long-term boyfriend before so I’d actually never been dumped. For a second, I thought I was about to get my first experience of that. It was something bad, I knew that from the expression on Terrund’s face. But it wasn’t likely he was dumping me. My body rebelled against even the possibility, refusing to believe it.

I couldn’t trust my voice not to squeak so I just raised my eyebrows.

“Magical beings, such as myself – and the dryad and the witches – are all aware of something that humans aren’t. Most humans don’t believe in them, you see.”

“What?”

I have to say, Terrund wasn’t doing a great job at explaining whatever it was. I was more and more convinced that this was something else, not a dumping, because he was going about it in a very round-about way. A little shoot of hope burst up inside me and I cradled it, willing it to survive.

“Mates.”

“What are they?”

“Fated mates. People who are meant to be together.”

“Like soulmates?”

“Yes.”

I tentatively asked, not sure whether my emotions were swinging between wild hope that Terrund thought I was his soulmate or whether he was trying to tell me that he was waiting for his soulmate to arrive. “And magical beings believe in that, do they?”

“Yes. It’s not a question of belief, it’s a question ofknowing. For us, there is enough physical evidence that it would be foolish to deny it. The shifters can smell and taste their mate, the dryad flower where their mate touches them in dryad form, and we all gain strength and comfort from being in the presence of our mate.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I said nothing. Terrund pressed on.

“I want you to know: mates are the greatest gift a person can get. They are sent to bring joy and prosperity to the people who have them and all those surrounding them.”

“And you reckon that lot are soulmates, do you?”

“Yes. All three of those dragons have found their fated mates. You could see it in the way they looked at each other. Marcia and Laura are fated mates, too. I believe Randall and Broadmire are fated mates, only trolls are so unmagical that he cannot gain any power from being with his mate, and Randall gave up his magic when he went into the Unworld.”

I saw Terrund shudder slightly at the mention of the Unworld and reached out automatically. I hadn’t even intended to, my arms just reached out to comfort Terrund all by themselves.

Terrund’s face split into a wide smile and he slid into my embrace and buried his face against my neck.

“I’m so glad you believe me,” he said.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I hadn’t meant to give that impression. It wasn’t that Ididn’tbelieve him, since I’d just met an actual dragon and all, I supposed fated mates could be real, too. I had just wanted to hold Terrund, that was all.

“You know, I can wait as long as you like. You don’t need to decide now.”

“Decide what now?”

“Whether you want to mate me.”

I pulled back just enough to look Terrund in the eye. My arms didn’t want to unwind from around him.

“I didn’t think you got a choice in your soulmate.”

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