Chapter 61 Who’s Mate?
“You did? When? Who?” Xander couldn’t recall him ever mentioning it before. In fact, he knew he hadn’t.
“A couple years ago.” Dex looked up at Xander. “It is what it is, but she already had someone else. She actually left the dragon kingdom to be with the man she loved.”
“Wait a minute … what? She refused you? Where is she now?” Weston was shocked at this. Who would refuse a dragon king?
“I actually never planned to mention this before.” He looked up at Xander again. “She lives in one of the utopia villages now. I went to check up on her, just to make sure it was what she really wanted.” His gaze never left Xander's eyes. “She lives there now, happy with the man she loves.”
Reiya felt Xander's hand tighten around her, and he nodded his head quietly. “You saw him there,” he whispered. It was so quiet, and he sounded almost sad. Reiya naturally leaned into him and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.
“She was with him. They’re happy together. He seemed like a normal, happy guy,” Dex said quietly.
“Good. I’m glad he’s happy now.” Xander wanted his father to find happiness. He just couldn’t help but feel sad knowing that he couldn’t have that being around his son. No … to his father, he was the creature that killed his mate.
“So, what does that mean for you now, Dex? Are you searching for someone to love, or hoping you have another mate out there somewhere?” Reiya tried to move the conversation along.
She knew that Xander wouldn’t want to talk about his father.
Who would? The man had left to find happiness somewhere away from his son.
“Both, I guess. If I find another mate, that would be amazing. It doesn’t happen often, though.
So, in the meantime, I guess I’m open to see where life leads me.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll meet a fairy of my own.
” He winked at Reiya and chuckled. “Honestly, I’m young.
I’m not worried about finding my mate at this moment.
I’m not in dire need to start a family or anything.
So, for now, I’m just enjoying life.” Dex wasn’t bitter over being rejected.
If anything, it put things into perspective for him …
that he could find love if he really wanted it.
Reiya smiled and nodded. “I think that’s a very healthy way to look at things.
The person you love doesn’t have to be your mate.
They’re the person that calls to your heart.
It doesn’t matter if you have a mate out there, if you’ve found the person your heart connects with.
The mate bond pulls you together, but love is something different and special.
Being able to fall in love with your mate is just icing on the cake.
Even that doesn’t always happen, though.
So, I think if you find love, you should seize it and never let it go. ”
Dex smiled. “You’re a lucky guy, Xander. Sounds like your mate is already proclaiming her love for you.”
Reiya blushed. She had spoken from her heart, and it was obvious she was speaking from experience.
She couldn’t make eye contact with Lee at all.
Instead, she bit her bottom lip and looked at her toes, her cheeks betraying her with their crimson color.
Of course she was talking about Lee when she spoke, thinking about how she loved him even though he wasn’t her mate.
And to her, it didn’t matter. She didn’t know what a mate pull felt like, but she knew how she felt for Lee.
She knew she could never be without him.
She peeked up at Xander, who was smiling down at her. A hollow feeling settled in her stomach. He still hadn't found his mate, yet here he was, being congratulated. Behind that easy smile, was he lonely? The thought of his hidden pain made her chest ache.
Her mother had called him "a lonely boy," and she recognized that mask. It was the same one she'd worn in Elysia, pretending everything was fine. She squeezed his arm impulsively, drawing his curious gaze.
Her chest ached at the thought of Xander suffering alone.
She felt a pull in her fingertips. His essence called to something buried within her, a connection straining to form but meeting resistance.
The light radiating from him made her fingertips tingle.
If she could just connect with his light, maybe she could heal it.
It swirled with loneliness that mimicked her own light.
It was like they needed each other. Her light was calling out to his and his to hers, but hers was stuck.
No matter how much she focused, the bubble inside her wouldn’t break.
She had no idea what the Moon Goddess was up to.
Why was she blocking her wolf? Why was she blocking her light?
She inwardly sighed and pulled out from her search.
She had to wait. She couldn’t unblock her wolf until the Moon Goddess took away the barrier.
As she refocused, she felt a gentle warmth on her back.
Lee had moved closer to her, resting a hand on her.
She looked around. No one else seemed to have noticed, as they were heavily engaged in other conversations.
Xander leaned his head down next to her ear and, in an almost inaudible whisper, he asked, “What was that?”
Reiya’s eyes widened as she met his amber gaze. Did he feel it too? Or was he asking what had happened to her there? She didn’t know how to answer him, though. She just shook her head slightly.
Xander studied her for a moment. “We have a few things we need to attend to, so if you all would excuse us.” He looked out at the others, who nodded in understanding.
He pulled Reiya along in his embrace while Lee slowly trailed after them.
He led her back and through the door to the long stairwell that went back to their rooms. After Lee shut the door behind him, she leaned against the wall.
She clutched her chest and took in gentle breaths. Her insides were burning from tampering with the barrier.
“Reiya what happened?” Lee rested his hands on her shoulders as he gazed into her eyes.
“Yeah, what was that feeling?” Xander looked at his arm inquisitively, then back at Reiya.
So, he did feel it too. Reiya looked at Xander curiously. She didn’t know why their lights were the same. Everyone had their own unique light. Even she and Hunter had different lights, but Xander's was the same as hers. She didn’t know what that meant.
She shook her head. “I don’t know, but your light ... your light was resonating with mine. It’s the same as mine. What does that mean?”
Lee’s eyes widened as he turned to Xander. He pointed at Reiya and growled out, “Is she your mate, too?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, Levi. She’s not my mate.
But … well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't drawn to her. I don’t know why, either.
I don’t understand what she means by the whole light thing.
Only that she is someone important to me.
” Xander didn’t know how to explain it other than that. She was important to him.
“I feel that too, Xander. That you’re someone important to me.” Reiya wouldn’t know any more than that until her wolf was out. Apparently, neither would Xander.
Lee furrowed his brows and looked between them. “That sounds like a mate pull …” he trailed off quietly.
Reiya giggled, reaching her hands up and cupping Lee’s cheek.
She stood on her tiptoes and sweetly pressed her lips into his.
“Xander is not my mate, Lee.” She glanced at Xander, who was also smiling at Lee.
“Xander would know if I was his mate, just like you knew I was your mate. This isn’t like that. It’s different. It feels different.”
Lee leaned his head into Reiya. He didn’t know what he would do if she ended up being Xander's mate. That’s what the initial pull felt like. It felt like being drawn to someone important. He couldn’t help but worry about it.
“And in case you weren’t listening earlier, she did just give a pretty cute declaration of her love for you.” Xander smirked as he watched Reiya’s face heat up. She leaned her head into Lee to hide her embarrassment.
Lee smiled down at her and chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. “That was pretty flattering to hear, but I want to hear more about how you plan to mark me.” Reiya pushed her head deeper in his chest, smothered by her own embarrassment.
“Yeah, maybe leave that talk for the bedroom,” Xander said with a wink.
Reiya cleared her throat. “The point here is that you are my person, Lee. It’s you.
It’s only you. The feeling with Xander …
” She pulled her head away from Lee to look at Xander.
He just felt … safe. She reached her hand up to her chest as she tried to think of the feelings.
“It feels like coming home. It’s a relaxing and familiar feeling.
It’s hard to explain. I guess we’ll just have to wait for this barrier inside me to be broken to find out. ”
“What does it feel like with Levi?” Xander smirked and watched Reiya’s face turn five shades of red. “Come on, Reiya. I think it would be helpful for ‘Leeeee’ to hear the difference.” He poked again, but he was just teasing. He didn’t think she would actually do it.
She rested her forehead on Lee’s chest and looked down at their feet, gnawing on her bottom lip nervously. She knew she didn’t have to, but Xander, in his own sadistic way, had actually made a good point. It would help for Lee to hear the difference in her feelings for the two of them.
“From the start … from the—”
“Shhh, Reiya, you don’t have to,” Lee said gently. She didn’t need to explain it to him. He appreciated what she was about to do, but he knew she loved him.
She gazed up at him and smiled. It might be a bit embarrassing, but she was going to try to convey her feelings for him in words.