Page 15 of Messy AF
I released a slow breath, the rest of the tension bleeding from my shoulders. I had planned the outing for my mate, but it had turned out to be exactly what I had needed as well.
“Can I ask you something?” Tobi said when we started walking again.
“You can ask me anything, angel.”
He grinned, his cheeks tinging pink, just as they always did when I called him by the endearment. “What’s it like being mated to a shadeling? Is there anything I should know?”
I understood he referred to our relationship specifically, but if speaking in general terms felt safer, I could work with that.
“You want to know about fate bonds.”
“Is that what it’s called?”
I bobbed my head, playing for time while I thought through how to explain it. “You already know how it starts. That instant recognition, the pull.”
“I was drawn to you from that first day, and the more time we spent together, the stronger it became.” He ducked his head, his voice quieting. “When I thought about you leaving, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”
Lifting our joined hands, I brought them to my lips and brushed a kiss against his knuckles. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
He acknowledged me with a gentle smile before asking his next question. “Did it feel that way for you?”
“Yes, but more intense. Almost like an obsession.”
“But you didn’t actually know I was your mate until we kissed?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his accusatory tone. “No, I didn’t know. I wasn’t hiding it from you.”
He thought about that for a moment, then dipped his head in a jerky little nod. “Okay, what else?”
“There are a few extrarules, I guess you could call them, among the races, but a fate bond is largely the same for all shadelings. The main thing you need to know is that you still have a choice. Fate brought us together, but you can decide to walk away.”
“Well, that doesn’t apply,” he blurted, and he sounded almost offended by the mere suggestion. “Next.”
Until that moment, there had still been a thread of doubt, an unspoken fear in the back of my mind that he might not choose me. With his confirmation, however, my pulse settled, and I took a deep breath, feeling the invisible weight lifted from my shoulders.
“I’m glad you feel that way, but you always have that option.” I paused, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. “But a fate bond isn’t like a human marriage. It’s deeper, more intrinsic. It doesn’t fade or lessen over time. If anything, it grows stronger.”
This time, he didn’t respond right away. In fact, he didn’t say anything for a long while, not until we had reached the opposite side of the small lake.
“You said there are rules. What does that mean?”
“When the bond is complete, fates and souls are intertwined. For immortals—”
“Like you.”
“Like me,” I confirmed. “For us, it means sharing that immortality with our mates.”
“Wait. Are you serious?” Stopping in the middle of the path, Tobi jerked around to face me. “Are you saying that I’m going to live forever? Likeforever,forever?”
“Is there any other kind of forever?”
He snorted and shoved my arm playfully, but the joke had thankfully disrupted his panic.
“Okay, I kind of get it. I mean, why would fate bring us together, just to leave you hanging sixty years down the road?”Looping his arm around mine, he tugged gently to start us walking again. “Since immortality has never been an option for me, I guess I just never gave it much thought. It could be cool, though.”
“But?” Because there was definitely a “but” in that statement.
“But what are we going to do when robots take over the world?”
