Page 45 of The Stone Initiation
“So, you think a sigmaneedsa halfblood mate?” Ginia looked perplexed. “He’d break her with his huge—”
“Ginia!” Palia looked shocked.
“It’s true,” Touron said sagely. “Gargoyle males have mammoth di—”
“Touron!” Palia turned pale, like she was about to pass out.
Ginia sighed and put an arm around her sister. “Palia has an aversion to crude language. It’s her personal defect.”
Palia shot her a glare. “There isnothingwrong with a little decorum.”
“You so should have been an omega.”
“The guardian world could use a little class.” Palia raised her chin. “Who said that gargoyle females have to be all grrr, argh and crush?” She made a crushing motion with her hands.
“The guardian world said so,” Sharniza said dully. “But we’re veering off the point. Cameron is Serath’s mate.”
Panic wrapped its hands around my throat. “We don’t know that for sure.” Mates meant an unwanted commitment. It meant being bound to this world. Mates meant mystical shackles. It meant giving up Levi. “It doesn’t mean anything.” My tone was weak and unsure, and I wanted a redo. “It can’t mean anything. I have someone. I love him.”
“You can’t,” Palia said softly. “Fated mates are…they’re sacred. They’re twin souls.”
“No, they’re pheromones and primal lust. What Levi and I have is…It’s more than that. We have an emotional connection.”
“Levi is your human boyfriend?” Ginia asked.
Levi had shared his halfblood status with me, but it wasn’t fair of me to share it with anyone else so I simply nodded in response.
“Yeah, that connection won’t hold a candle to a fated mate bond.”
“Once the bond has hold, no other male will matter.” Palia looked apologetic.
I scanned the others faces, and they all gave me variations of the same look.
I dropped my face into my hands. This was bad. This was the last thing I needed. Entanglements with a male gargoyle, expectation and…wait…Maybe this could work in my favor. If Iwashis mate, then it would mean getting close. It could lead to disclosure and…sex. No. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t. No matter how much the bond made me want to. If I caved it would cement our bond. So…no sex, but I could get close to him and get the information I needed then leave. Get far away from him and this world and—
“...no sense why he hasn’t approached you yet?” Palia said. “Alphasalwaysapproach their mate once they find her. Sigmas would be the same. It’s such a big deal. There is no choice when it comes to a fated mating, you just belong together, end of. It’s not like the omega moon.”
The damned omega moon again. “What happens at this omega moon?”
“It’s like a mating run,” Palia explained. “The omegas run through Greenwood forest and get chased by eligible males, and if they’re caught, they can choose to engage in coitus and in some cases mark the male as theirs. The forest is warded that night and only omegas and the invited males can get in.”
“But if you’re fated there are no runs,” Sharniza said. “Just one mate for life.” She gave me a stern look. “You need to speak to him.”
I balked. “How? He’s an elite. Not exactly accessible, is he? Besides, if what you say is true. If he is my…my fated mate then he’ll find me, right? He’ll come to see me.”
They all exchanged glances.
“She has a point,’ Touron said. “But it was strong…The pheromones…So strong.” His gaze snagged on mine for a moment, and I caught the dark longing in them before he dragged it away. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked sheepish. “I think I’m going to go for a run. Burn off some tension.”
He left the room quickly.
Shit. “I think he’s uncomfortable around me now.”
“He’ll be fine,” Palia said. “You must have been emitting some strong pheromones. He just needs to clear his head.”
“He’ll experience worse on an omega moon,” Sharniza pointed out. “The air will be soaked with pheromones.”
“Okay, can we stop talking about pheromones?” My stomach growled. “I need food.” I headed for the door. “I’m thinking steak and potatoes. We’ll save some for Touron.” Anything to take the focus of me and mypheromones.
