Pride
Some supernaturals are known to use pheromone-like biochemicals to lure potential victims. Bonded mates, however, express a natural desire for their loved one.
And it often appeared before the individual knew they were in love.
We do not believe these bonds to be “fated”, but simply a natural, primal connection.
Ialmost sprint to Marla’s when I get out of sight of the Cradle. It takes everything in me to not just teleport into their house, but scaring the daylights out of the women is the last thing I need.
And the exertion of the jog feels exceptional after the tense meeting.
The door swings open nearly immediately to reveal Marla, looking exhausted. She brightens when she sees me and pulls me into a crushing hug.
“You scared us,” she lets out in a rushed breath.
“I’m sorry,” I say, waddling us both back into the house.
Trish sees us from the kitchen and quickly makes her way to us. She pries Marla off me and inspects me head to toe.
“What happened?” Trish asks, eyes finally landing on mine after apparently deeming me to be in one piece.
I relay the battle to them with as few gory details as I can. Though, as I explain what happened, both women look as though they might be sick.
Whether from the violence or the peril is uncertain.
“And then that’s when Bloody Mary showed up.”
Both go nearly stock still, and I let out a huffed laugh.
If Cass expects me to keep this from the only two friends I have down here, then she clearly doesn’t know me very well.
“So, after I fell to my knees and started screaming at her to get her act together, she—”
I glance around to make sure neither Rey nor Ty are nearby.
“She kissed me. Right on the goddamned, blood-soaked battlefield.”
“Kissed you?” Marla asks, somewhat breathless. “Are you sure it wasn’t like, I don’t know, one of her powers?”
“I thought so, too, but then she—”
I feel a flush to my cheeks. Not even at the savage kissing or the way she touched me, but at the desire that had been evident in her eyes.
Desire that has never been directed at me.
Neither Marla nor Trish speak.
“She pretty much told me her cold behavior was because she worried someone might use me to get to her.”
“Get to her?” Trish asks but then gasps. “Wait, you mean—”
“I mean she cares about me,” I say, running a nervous hand down my braid.
“A lot. And I suppose it’s so new to me that I never connected the dots.
Everything she’s done since we met—officially met—was to save me or help me.
But it wasn’t just that. Every time it happened, she would get this look in her eye, or this tone in her voice that nearly took my breath away. And I didn’t even know who she was.”
Trish’s face splits into a wide grin. “You’re into her.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Of course, I am. She’s fucking hot. And she’s interesting. She has this, I don’t know, feel to her. There’s this desire to be in her orbit. Like I want to attach myself to her hip and watch the world through her eyes.”
“But?” Marla asks, and I flinch at the way she sees through me. Somewhat terrifying seeing as though we met so recently.
“But I don’t know if I can trust it. If I’m not just—”
“Horny,” Trish nods, knowingly.
“Yes,” I groan, rolling my eyes. “And then just now the archons elected two new people. A git named Gareth and some pale guy named Varun.”
“I don’t know Varun, but Gareth is an issue,” Trish says, chewing on her lip. She shoots a glance at Marla, who also nods.
“I didn’t like it either, and it only reinforces what you two said,” I say, my hands running down the tail of my braid. “The archons and Council might want what’s best for Tempest, but they don’t represent you.”
I swallow thickly, not letting my eyes trace the home that’s become so familiar to me.
“So, what’re you going to do?” Marla asks, and I shrug.
“I want to trust that Mary means well,” I say, and snort. “God, I really want her to be telling the truth. I really like her. That’s why it hurt so fucking badly when she treated me like dirt. And, hell, I even liked that, too.”
I chew on my lip, glancing up at the two women, their warm eyes expectant but patient in letting me work this out.
“When Darkrend nearly killed me, Percy had shown up. I think maybe I plucked her as comfort, or maybe she knew I needed her. Percy saw her panicking and said that Mary would bring down the world for me. That she could see it in the way she looked at me.”
“You don’t believe her?” Trish asks softly.
“The problem is that I do. I do believe her. I just don’t know that I can get my heart broken again.” I huff out a laugh. “It’s so stupid because we’re probably about to be at war and I’m worried about heartbreak.”
Marla’s warm hand grips mine, and I look up at her.
“You deserve to be loved. No matter the situation. No matter if it’s right before a war or at the end of the world. You’ve spent so many long years caring so little for yourself. Be selfish this time.”
“So, what do I do?” I ask, rubbing at the corner of my eye.
“Let myself fall for this woman? Because I feel like I could. When no one else is around, she looks at me like I’m the center of her world.
And I wonder if she’s been alone so long that she sees something in me. Something that she’s never had.”
“An equal,” Trish says, like it’s obvious. “She sees you as an equal. And she sees you. As much as you’ve gone through, she’s been there for nearly every moment and still wants you.”
“So, go for it?”
“I don’t know that there’s anything to go for,” Marla says, laughing. “It sounds like she’s already head over heels. It’s just going to take you accepting you’re worthy of being loved.”
“I don’t know that she loves me,” I snort.
“But?” Marla prompts.
“Woman, are you a fucking mind reader?” I ask, groaning. “How do you keep doing that?”
“You’ve got an expressive face and I’m good at reading people. Habit of being a bartender.”
I roll my eyes but oblige her. “I don’t believe in love at first sight, but it’s really hard to deny that there’s something pulling me to her. The moment she sort of broke down in the colosseum, I felt this release in my chest. Like my heart had known it long, long before I did.”
“So, what are you doing here?” Trish asks, and I snort again and stand.
“I’ll go and figure it out, but I wanted you both to know I’ll probably be busy in the next few days.”
“Saving the world, yeah, we know,” Marla says, grin widening. “Make us proud, kid.”