Chapter Twenty-Eight #3
“No, I agree with him,” Sage pushed himself up, sitting between us on the exam bed. “My omega thinks he’s right, too. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you had to be a part of it, magically if not biologically.”
“So, you’re saying that fate plays a higher role in our compatibility with our mates than biology?
” Eric asked, inching closer on his rolling chair.
His eyes were glinting with interest. “Because some of our more recent research has shown that most of the un-bonded alphas can fertilize eggs from more than one omega or beta of their own breed of shifter, just like we theorized. But in your case, because you’re not the same breed… ”
“The Magic intervenes,” I finished for him, my own excitement building.
“And it is possible that the matches you’re beginning to find in your tests are also driven by fate.
Not to suggest that all potential matches are destined for polyamory, but…
what if The Magic —fate— itself is returning its powers to the way things used to be?
Before the alphas began to disappear. Before Dragons and Unicorns became endangered breeds…
but it’s selecting when and how and why. Furthering its own agenda.”
That had been my theory from the start, and I had never kept those thoughts a secret. But to see it all unfolding before me, to be living in the eye of the new burst of magic and hope for our species, was equal parts mind-blowing and humbling.
“But doesn’t that mean it will be harder for people to find their fated mates?
The people that are most compatible for them?
” Eric drummed his fingers on the edge of the plastic mattress which Sage was still sitting on.
“Look at the three of you, or at Bran and Micah, or any of the others. That draw to each other that you’ve all talked about…
why would The Magic give that to some, but not others?
And can people who aren’t magically drawn to each other through fate still bond and experience the magical connection like you do, or is that only accessible to people who are genuinely fated to be together? ”
“Well, that’s it,” Sage sighed, glancing at me while he waved his hand in his younger brother’s direction, “look at what you’ve done now.”
“But who is to say what constitutes being fated to be together?” Dexter offered ponderously. “If The Magic is evolving, perhaps compatibility itself is, too.”
Eric’s eyes widened and he blinked slowly back at my mate. “So, all our research…you’re saying it’s…what, exactly? Potluck?”
“Not at all,” Dexter remained calm in the face of Eric’s mounting panic.
“Just that there is more than one issue to deconstruct now. There are the situations like ours” —he waved his hand over Sage, himself and me— “and then more traditional alpha/omega matings likely to occur now that alphas are being unleashed on the populace again. Clearly, Serge’s theory about The Magic choosing to bless communities willing to prioritize equality over power dynamics has merit, but the rest of it is all up in the air, so to speak.
That is where your research should be focusing now that you have managed to unlock peoples’ hidden alpha sides: whether there’s any rhyme or reason to how fate decides its beneficiaries, and if there is any sense trying to determine fated pairings without setting off a heat and rut cycle—What? ”
“I’ve definitely underestimated you,” Eric shook his head. “I’m sorry, Dex. We didn’t think you were taking things seriously, and we used you as little more than a glorified errand boy.”
The apology was one Dexter had needed to hear, even if he wouldn’t ever admit it. Through the bond, I felt something in him settle and thaw, and by the way Sage nuzzled against him, he had likely felt the same. But when he spoke, our mate just brushed Eric’s words off.
“I understand why,” he replied in a tone that was a touch too casual. “I wasn’t exactly on my best behavior when I first arrived. I had some personal issues I wasn’t handling particularly well and you —and the town in general— bore the brunt of that. I’m sorry for that, in hindsight.”
Sage gave our bondmate a gentle nudge with his shoulder.
“I think you should tell Eric and Bran about all of that. I mean, without sounding stuck-up, I feel like it was related to our connection and that might be something worth having on their records or in their research notes.” He bit his lip.
“Obviously, only if you’re comfortable telling them. ”
Eric started to protest, obviously intrigued. “If you think it’s relevant—”
Sage silenced him with a glare and repeated, “Only if you’re comfortable, Dex.”
Dexter’s expression gave away his mixed emotions, but he pressed a kiss to Sage’s forehead before sighing and confessing, “I spent a hundred years without access to my dragon.”
Pride welled inside me at his bravery for confessing this outside our bond, and the feeling echoed through the bond, emanating from Sage.
Meanwhile, Eric gaped. “You what?!”