Page 29 of Tasteful Anarchy and Tangled Auras
“Mate,” I respond softly.
Chapter 12
Osmund
As the seamstress gently turns me to measure some other random bit of my anatomy, I huff in frustration. This was not what I had intended. Yes, of course, all males who take their trek are hoping to find their mates. But few actually do. And it’s not thegoalof the trip.
But here I am, in FEC2, in Maine, for Goddess’s sake, now tied to some foreign Court because....of her. Adelaide. Mymate. I feel our bond thrum as I think of her. I’d sent a message home, detailing simply that I’d found my mate and that I was bound to her home for a season, to honor her wishes, though she actually had not said anything of the sort. I sigh. I’m starting to think I am going to be trapped here forever. But then again, is being stuck somewhere, as long as I have my mate, such a terrible thing?
The bell on the door rings as it opens, and my glum expression dissolves. My mate. Goddess, she is perfect. And mine, all mine. I feel her pull upon my soul. Any intense emotions are translated across our bond. I smile at her, allowing that outward affection to show because I’d gathered the seamstress is a friend.
Adi, carrying a few packages, grins back at me. I have to struggle to not cross the room and sweep her into my arms andthen to the nearest bed. We hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other the past forty-eight hours. The longest stretch had been to get dressed to declare ourselves before her queen grandmother, who quickly, dourly, held a consort ceremony, whatever that was.
“Got what you need, Bronwen?” Adi asks politely.
The seamstress snorts. “I’ll need to order some ogre bolts to sew anything in his size.”
“Perfect. Send us the bill,” my adorable mate trills as she grabs my arm and aims us for the door.
We head right to the castle and our rooms. She drops the packages, her face serious. I’ve already gathered that she is a mercurial little thing, even for a nymph, so I turn, take her hands, and lead her to the armchair. Then I sit, still holding her hands as she stands in front of me, and I wait for her to speak.
Adelaide
MY HEART CLENCHES.How am I going to tell my mate, whom I barely know but who seems a kind, honest sort of male, that I have another consort? Fuck, who I...really like? Goddess save me. I take a deep breath and look down at him. He stares expectantly at me, expression open, his hands gently holding my own. “Osmund...I have another consort. His name is Bryn.”
He chuckles gently. “I must be confused. I thought you just said you have another lover.”
“I do. I mean—”
He cuts me off. “Trust me, mate, I’ll be keeping you too busy, and satisfied, for any dalliances.”
“He’s a consort. It means something more here. And I don’t, um, actually have sex with him. He doesn’t want me, but I...well...it’s complicated.”
Ossy blinks in his unshakeable way. “Anyone who turns you down is an utter fool.”
Tears spring to my eyes unbidden, the old hurt still there.
Osmund stands abruptly. “Adi....” His voice is shocked, scared even. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I said to offend you.”
This guy is a big cream puff. I smile.
