Page 64 of The Heart of Winter

"I don’t have time for arguments, Sariel. I’ve got a lot on my plate."

"You always have a lot on your plate, especially since you went to that damn fair where the criminal in question had invited you!"

"The guy saved my life, Sariel! And Damien asked me for discretion. He knew damn well how our family would judge Storm. And look, he was right!"

Silence. I didn’t bother to comment on it.

"I heard you got a new bodyguard," I said, abruptly changing the topic. Though, for some reason, it didn’t feel like I had changed it at all. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

"I did. And I think he’s trustworthy."

"You sound incredibly naïve, not like the usual you."

"Sariel, what the hell is up with you lately? You’re acting all irritated, what’s your problem?"

To be fair, Blue had a point.

My mind had been a mess recently. Maybe I should’ve said something about it. So I blurted out,

"Do you think certain families are naturally more compatible with each other than others?"

"I don’t get what you mean."

"For example, if one person from a family finds their True Mate in another family, does that make it more likely that other members of those two families will have higher compatibility?"

Blue sighed.

"Yeah, that’s actually a pretty common phenomenon. If one brother marries into another family, and both of them have siblings, then those siblings usually have at least Low or Half Mate compatibility. Often higher. It’s a natural occurrence. It can even extend to cousins sometimes." He coughed lightly.

I went quiet, mulling that over in my mind. "That’s… interesting."

"You got a theory or something?"

"Nah, I was just thinking," I muttered.

A long pause. Then—"Is this about Winter?"

"It’s about nothing. I have to go."

"Sariel, wait!"

There was something in Blue’s voice, maybe guilt? Was he blaming himself for the distance that had formed between us over the past month?

"What?"

"Listen, I’m flying out to Japan right after the holidays. You should come stay with me for a few days—like, around New Year’s. I’ve got a lot going on right now, but I should be able to dig myself out of it by then. Things should be clearer."

"Yeah, okay." I softened. "Sorry if I’ve been in a shitty mood lately, but, well… you know. Life."

"Yeah. Life. Same here."

***

The next week brought colder December weather, wind, rain. Even living in a southern state, I still felt the drop in temperature as an annoying inconvenience. I was definitely a warm-weather person.

On Monday, Manager Lorens and I were summoned to Winter’s office.

We walked in, and, as usual, Winter didn’t even look at me.

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