Chapter 7 Be Careful What You Wish for
Josh
Bane Blackwood is my soulmate. I Recognized him. How can this be real? Was it all a dream? What’s the return policy like for fated mates?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The shrill ring of my alarm clock goes off. Definitely not a dream.
It’s been two days since the potion breaking and our confrontation with Dante. Two days since I saw a softer side of Bane when he comforted his cousin. I wake up the same way each morning, thinking it was all some bizarre dream.
But it’s real.
As I get up to start my day, I remind myself that this is what I dreamed about for so long. Finding my true mate.
Somehow, it’s the last man I ever expected.
I think I’d be less surprised if my true mate had been a woman, and I’m 1,000 percent gay.
“Be careful what you wish for,” I mutter.
Bane and I exchanged numbers when we were forced to work together. I text him, inviting him to meet me for lunch.
Bane: Sure, whatever.
Oh. Good. I expected him to fight me on it more.
The logical next step involves telling Bane about our connection. It’s also terrifying.
Maybe I should get to know him first? Good idea.
Then I find myself sitting alone in a cozy little cafe, sipping my third iced tea and waiting on a tardy Bane Blackwood. I start questioning all the decisions that led me here. I glance at the door for the hundredth time.
Bane is late. Every minute that passes makes me question my sanity. What if he doesn’t show? What if he does?
The door swings open, and there he is. Bane Blackwood strides in like he owns the place, sauntering over and looking somewhat annoyed to be here at all.
“Nice of you to finally show up,” I snap out.
He raises an eyebrow, clearly debating whether to turn right back around and leave. “We’re just having lunch, Fielding. It’s not a big deal.”
“Do you really think I don’t have better things to do than sit around and wait for you?” When he smirks and opens his mouth, I realize I just gave him the perfect opening. I point a finger at him. “Don’t answer that.”
“Look, we could have done this over the phone,” he says, sliding into the seat opposite me. “Everything’s cool. Dante bailed and left town. Wynn’s getting over it. My dad is happy, or as close to it as he gets. It’s all fine.”
“Oh. Cool. That’s good.” Lying bloodsuckers totally slipped my mind. But I have a feeling this is the only reason he agreed to meet, to settle this.
He glances down at the menu, then pushes it away. “So, are we done?”
“No,” I say, pushing the menu right back to him. “We’re here, so we might as well have lunch.”
“Why?” He’s not even being a jerk. It’s a serious question. “We don’t get along. We have nothing to talk about.”
“Sure we do.”
He’s wrong. The mates bombshell gives us plenty to talk about, but he’s right about us not getting along. And then there’s what happened to my bike when we were teenagers. It’s hard to share the mates news.
The shifter across from me just raises an eyebrow, a silent prompt for me to take the lead and dive into all the topics we could discuss. We sit in awkward silence for a moment.
“Have you, uh, tried the pasta here?” I venture, desperate for some kind of conversation.
“Can’t say I have,” Bane replies. “Why? Is it any good?”
“I don’t know… Just making small talk.”
“Right.” He smirks, his gaze flicking up to meet mine. “Small talk. How’s the weather?”
“Really?” I roll my eyes. “That’s the best you’ve got?”
“Hey, you started it with the pasta.”
Oh my god. This is a terrible idea. Maybe I should just drop the mate bomb on him. That would wipe the smug grin off his face.
The waitress comes to take our order, which gives us a temporary reprieve from the awkward silence.
“You sure know how to show a guy a good time, Josh,” he tells me sarcastically with a wink as she leaves.
Ugh. Bane and I are failing epically at having lunch together.
I didn’t even know it was possible to fail at having lunch until this moment.
Confessing the truth… it’s not an option.
What if he brushes me off or doesn’t believe me?
What if Elias worries I’m another unscrupulous lowlife after the deep pockets of the Blackwood family?
The only surefire way to convince Bane we’re destined is for him to see the truth with his own eyes. If we spend time together and get to know each other, he’ll Recognize me too. We need to connect. Clearly it’s possible or we wouldn’t be intended mates.
Unless fate was drunk when it matched us up.
Is that possible? Can fate get drunk?
A hand waving in my face gets my attention. “Hey, puppy.”
Startled out of my thoughts, I glare at him. “You’re the puppy.”
“Whatever, pup.” He nods to the bottle on my side of the table. “Will you pass the ketchup already?”
Oh. Our food has arrived, and I’ve completely zoned out. I hand him the bottle, steeling my nerves. If I can’t tell him the truth yet, I need another reason to see him. A reason to spend more time together.
I have an idea… but it’s not exactly pleasant. I have a feeling Bane will be insufferable about it.
“Look, there’s something else I want to talk about,” I venture, trying not to squirm in my seat. “I need your help. This probably won’t surprise you, but I’m not the largest wolf or the most skilled in a fight.”
“No shit. Even the pups in my pack could kick your ass.”
“Like I said, it won’t surprise you, but here’s the thing...” I take a deep breath. “I saw you in action when we fought over that potion. You’re good, really good. And I... I was hoping you might teach me. Teach me to be stronger.”
His expression shifts from smug to surprised. For a moment, he’s silent, dropping the fry he was holding and leaving a glob of ketchup on the table.
This time, the silence is almost nice while it lasts.
Then Bane bursts out laughing.
“Are you serious?” he manages between laughs. “You want me to teach you? Oh, puppy. You’d be better off running away from fights.”
“I’m serious, Bane. Fighting doesn’t come naturally to me, but I can learn. And who better to learn from than someone like you?”
“You’re right,” he says proudly. “If there’s anyone who can teach a lost cause like you, it’s me. I get why you’d ask.”
See, I knew it. Insufferable.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to agree,” he finishes as he scoops up a new fry and points it at me. “With all the training and effort you’d require, you don’t have enough money to make it worth my while.”
I point out, “I wasn’t actually offering to pay you.”
“Then it’s an even harder pass.”
“Come on, let’s start with one lesson,” I suggest. “Maybe I’m better than you think.”
“I saw you in action too. You aren’t.”
“Well, if the bar is so low, I must be able to meet it.”
“No, my bet is you’ll trip over the bar and fall flat on your face.”
“Are you done yet?” I grit out, gripping my fork tightly.
He shakes his head and gives me a mean smile. “I’ve got more.”
This was such a mistake. I get out some money to cover my side of lunch and toss it onto the table. The sandwich on his plate looks much better than the pasta on mine anyway. I only ordered the pasta because I’m the one who brought it up.
When up and heading for the exit, he throws an arm out to block me, just shy of touching me. There’s an unreadable expression on his face.
“No wonder you can’t fight,” he says. “You always give up that easily?”
“What’s the point of staying here and being insulted when you’re still going to refuse at the end? You may not think much of me, but I have some dignity.”
A flicker of something—perhaps regret for needling me so hard—passes over his face. “Look, helping a wolf from the enemy pack become stronger isn’t appropriate.”
“Enemy?” I ask with a laugh.
He shrugs. “Well, we aren’t friends, so what else? Isn’t that how you see us?”
“You’re just the wolves who live on the other side of Concordia. Our packs are the only ones. Does that make us enemies?”
“Uh, it feels like I should say no?”
“Okay, whatever. I get it. You aren’t interested.”
“Actually, I am,” he says, and I’m so shocked I place a hand on the table to hold myself up. “I figured you were a coward when you went into Restless Spirits and all you wanted to do was talk—”
“My strategy is the one that worked,” I object as I sit back down.
“—But clearly, you’ve got some balls. It really isn’t right for me to train you but screw it. I’m curious. Maybe I can make a half-decent wolf out of you after all.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome.” He waves away the praise he assumes is incoming as he slides out of his seat. “Whatever, don’t make a big deal out of it. And you’re paying for lunch.”
There isn’t much choice in the matter. Bane turns his sandwich into a to-go order, snatching it up and exiting, leaving me with the check.
Okay. This is good. Technically. Spending more time together will help us get to know each other. He’ll see me in a new light and realize our connection. Hopefully.
Right now, though, it’s hard to picture us ever truly getting along.