Page 51 of Whispers of Wisteria
“I understand that.” I did. After what she’d been through, no one would blame her.
“But what does that mean for the whole mate thing?” she asked. “It doesn’t matter anyway, I guess,” she continued, not giving me a chance to respond. “Dr. Kohler said I can’t have children—”
“That’s not what she said.” I didn’t like where this was going. “You’re just latching on to that because you don’t want to consider the alternative. Let’s focus on what you can do—like Julian said.”
She blinked at me. “What do you mean?”
“You agreed to see Trinity today,” I pointed out. “That was something you could do. You’re still running away from Do Yun. That’s something else you’re choosing to do.”
Her cheeks turned dark. “I am not—”
“You sit in my lap,” I continued, ignoring her dark glare. “You’ve let me hug you, but are you comfortable with that?”
Bianca peered at me through her lashes, face red. “I keep having this conversation.”
“Not withme,” I emphasized. “The four of us are not interchangeable. You’re mymate, and I don’t care about the others. You’ll have your relationship with them. I want to discuss us.”
She averted her eyes. “Okay…”
I grabbed her hand and laced my fingers through hers. She looked at me, mouth slightly open as her cheeks flushed. “I need to touch you sometimes.” I inclined my head toward our entwined fingers. “Nothing sexual. But I need to be able to feel you, to make sure you’re okay. Is that alright with you?”
She nodded.
“I don’t know what will happen,” I warned her, “since I’ve never had a mate before. We’ll need to see.”
“Okay…” she began, biting her lip. “What do you mean?”
Here we go—the moment I’d been dreading.
“Mates can share a physical and mental connection, or more in some species,” I explained. My leg started to bounce, and I hoped she didn’t notice.
I had to look confident—for her.
“So, like the Soul Bond with Julian and Miles?” she asked.
My vision flared and a bitter taste touched the back of my throat. “Can we not talk about anyone else right now?” I begged, my thoughts clouding.
“Okay,” Bianca said again, her green-flecked eyes moving over my face. “So what—”
“I can hear your thoughts,” I blurted out.
She stopped breathing, and her fingers tightened over mine. A long moment passed before she finally sucked in a long, shaky breath.
“Like, if we officially become mates?” Her voice was tentatively cautious. “You can hear my thoughts then?”
If.
I shook my head, banishing the thought from my mind.
“No.” Despite the growing knot in my stomach, my chest began to feel a little bit lighter. “Now. When I’m shifted.”
She recoiled, but I didn’t let her go, and her brows drew together as a quiet anger stirred in her eyes. “Sincewhen?”
“Only recently.” I should apologize but couldn’t bring myself to say the words. This was a normal part of shifter culture, and I refused to be ashamed of it. “It began when we were searching for Miles. I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”
“Will I be able to hear your thoughts?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “It’s a one-way connection. At least, that I know of. This is new territory.”
