Chapter 8 #2
"Of course he has an opinion, he's her friend, and her fated mate." Kat flashed her mate an amused smile. "And not everyone is as unhinged as you guys are."
"He might be my fated mate," I corrected.
"Maybe?" Kat and Callum demanded.
I sighed. "I need more cider."
Merrily brought my glass over and sat down next to me on the floor. I rolled out of my handstand and remained sitting, with my legs stretched out in front of me.
I took a longer drink. It still tasted terrible. I was feeling slightly more relaxed, though.
Merrily took the glass back, and I lowered my head to the floor, stretching. "I'm glad you can sit on the rug in here.”
"Me too."
"Your power sucks, Mer."
"So does yours, Liv."
"Not as much as yours."
She nodded in agreement. "At least neither of us has Dare's power."
"I wish I could get him out of that."
"No kidding."
I tried to come up with a way to escape the conversation.
I couldn't come up with anything, though.
Merrily eventually poked me in the arm with the bottom of one of the wine glasses. "You're supposed to tell us about the fated mate situation."
I sighed. "Niall said my magic feels different all the time, so there's a chance other people feel energized by my power too. But he never felt energized, so..." I shrugged. Or tried to, but it didn't really work in my current position. “He also said I don't like Jonah enough to be fated to him."
"Do you?" Kat asked.
"Do I what?"
"Like Jonah enough to be fated to him."
"I don't think liking someone has to do with being fated," I said.
"Of course it does," she tossed back.
"I don't like Grayson," Merrily pointed out.
"You don't even know him," Kat countered. "You guys could be perfect for each other."
I glanced up at Merrily, and found her rolling her eyes. "Grayson and I have nothing in common. He thrives on chaos and survives on muscle and charm. The man is practically feral."
"You don't have to be similar to fall in love," Kat said.
"Jonah is in love with Gwen, so it doesn't really matter whether or not we're similar." I lowered my face to the rug again, stretching a little more violently.
I was going to have to do another handstand, because my magic was getting pissy again.
"The question was whether you can be fated to someone you don't like. Personally, I met an unhappy fated pair at one point. When I was a kid. Have you?" Callum asked me and Merrily.
"Yup." I popped my lips on the p. "I'd rather struggle with my magic my whole life than deal with that shit."
"I feel the same," Merrily said.
"So Niall's fated mate theory, though interesting, has been proven false.
Not liking him that much doesn't mean you are or aren't fated to Jonah.
The magic argument is far more interesting, considering it's the reason you think you're fated.
In your five years together, Niall never felt you boost his energy? "
I shook my head.
"I've never felt it either," Merrily said.
"Neither have I," Callum agreed.
Kat nodded. "Ditto."
"Ditto?" I snorted into the carpet. "That's such a weird word."
Kat giggled. I'd never heard her make the sound before, so I was sure it was the cider's influence.
We were all going to start getting sleepy pretty quickly here.
"It makes the most sense that me and Jonah are fated," I said glumly. "But he's going to mate with Gwen."
"What happened between Jonah and Gwen, Liv?" Callum asked.
I sighed. "I gave her advice. She took it. He admitted he has feelings for her. They're sort of engaged again."
All three of them were silent.
Dead silent.
"What happens if your fated mate marries someone else again?" Kat whispered.
"You lose your fated mate," Merrily said. "Permanently."
"Oh. Shit."
"I don't want him anyway," I told the floor. "He’s boring. I miss Niall."
"It's the cider talking." Merrily stroked my arm with the base of her glass lightly, as if that was comforting. That was definitely the cider talking. She wouldn't have used her hand if she wasn't drinking, though. Touching was too uncomfortable for her.
"The werewolves are in debt, so Jonah asked me to bargain with him, too," I said.
"How is all of this happening so fast?" Kat wondered. "Jonah, and Gwen, and Niall, and being fated, and now debt?"
"This is how immortality works, Kitten. Nothing happens for ages, followed by everything happening. You get used to it," Callum told her.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"He's sure." Merrily handed me my glass when I reached for it. "But this perfect storm is Callum's fault. He's the one who meddled. I seriously doubt that Larson wanted to jump back into this spell again after the last time."
"Of course I meddled. Someone had to do something."
I swallowed the rest of my cider and gagged at the flavor that remained on my tongue.
Then climbed to my feet, and kicked my legs up in another handstand.
"What are you going to do?" Kat asked me.
"I have no idea."
"You need some kind of plan," Merrily said.
"I hate plans."
"It's the cider talking," Merrily told Kat. Mer had already started swaying a little. She was going to crash soon. Chugging hers had been a terrible call.
"I just want Niall to have chosen me," I said, sighing.
I was still upside down. It sucked, but it was better than curling up in a ball on the floor in ultimate stress.
"Darius said Niall helped you through a panic attack." Callum studied me. "He did the thing?"
"What’s the thing?" Kat checked.
"He figured out how to talk her through the panic when they were together. They call it the thing."
"He’s the Liv whisperer," Merrily said. "We all miss him."
"Is Darius right? He did it?" Kat asked me.
"Darius has a big mouth."
Merrily lowered herself to the floor on her back.
"You should bargain with Jonah about the debt," Kat told me. "If you know for sure one way or the other about whether or not you’re mated, you'll have a better idea about what to do. If he's fated to you and he bonds with Gwen, you might as well be with Niall."
"She doesn't trust Niall, Kitten. It's not that simple," Callum told her.
"But he said he could feel your magic," Kat protested. "And you didn't die, so isn't there a chance he's right?
"Maybe," I admitted. "Maybe I would've made him kill his brother for nothing."
"Maybe you should just let it go," Merrily said with a massive yawn "You miss him. He misses you. The situation was a nightmare for everyone involved. He still says he could feel your magic, and you didn't die. What does it hurt to believe him?"
All three of us stared at her.
"At least he doesn't visit your dreams to fuck you all night every night," she added.
There was a beat of silence before I said, "You need help."
"Desperately," she murmured.
"Merrily's right. You could just believe him," Kat suggested. "If you loved him, and you think he loved you, it wouldn't hurt anything."
But where would it leave me?
"It doesn't matter who's right. The most important thing right now is to bargain with Jonah. You need to know if he's your fated mate or not before you decide what move to make next," Callum said. "If he's not your fated mate, you never need to tell him about any of this.
I might get out of telling him the truth.
That was the best news I'd heard all week, by far.
I yawned widely. "True. Do you think he's telling the truth?"
My best friend hesitated before answering.
"Niall has no reason to lie to you anymore.
I know him fairly well. Maybe he had motivation to lie when it first happened and he thought there was a chance to get back together, but now it would serve him better just to admit that he chose Larson and ask you to forgive him. "
"I guess," I said.
"For now, focus on figuring out whether Jonah is your fated mate. Balancing your magic is more important than possibly reviving an old relationship, regardless of your emotions."
I rolled out of my handstand. "Even if I don't like Jonah?"
"Love can grow."
"He loves Gwen, Callum."
Merrily started snoring softly as she fell asleep on the floor.
"I'm so tired," I admitted. "I want it all to be over."
"I know."
"I just want to be happy again."
"You'll get there."
Exhaustion dragged me under too. I lowered my head to the rug and managed to doze a little.
Kat and Callum murmured for a few minutes before they left. He took the bottle of cider and dumped whatever was left in the sink on his way out.
In and out of the haze of sleep, I almost texted something to Niall. Then tossed my phone aside, so I wouldn’t message him.
My anxiety started to spike thanks to my dramatic magic an hour or two later, and I stumbled to my feet, deciding to jog home since I obviously wasn't anywhere near prepared to drive.