“Oh yeah, because we totally have the funds for something like that. I’m not trying to push but come on, Ray. Seeing is believing and all that.”
“I don’t know what I saw,” she says with a huff. “Maybe I’m hallucinating and none of this is real. Maybe I’m incredibly sleep deprived!”
“Ah, so we’re still firmly in denial. You know that’s not just a river in Egypt, right?”
“Give her a break, Zeke,” Page says gently. There’s a fierceness in her eyes that I recognize and suddenly things seem to click into place for me.
“Oh my gods,” I blurt out, my eyes widening. “Holy shit. She’s your true mate, isn’t she?”
Page isn’t capable of blushing anymore unless she’s freshly fed, but somehow I just know that if she could, she would be. She looks embarrassed, her eyes darting over to Ray for a moment before looking back at me.
“What’s a true mate?”
I let out a long sigh. “Oh, so now you’re interested?”
“Shut the fuck up and tell me,” Ray says with a pout.
“It’s believed by most supernatural beings that Lady Fate created us. She’s our Maker. She’s our Mother. And when She was creating Her beloved creations, She didn’t wish for us to be alone so She made soul ties that would allow us to find our soulmates. Later, the term true mate was used. It’s the person your soul craves, someone you can be truly yourself around. It’s the person out there that’ll help you make the most authentic version of yourself.”
Ray closes her eyes, tilting her head towards the ceiling, grumbling to herself. “Great. First there’s supernatural and shifters and vampires and magic. And now there’s also soul mates?”
“I know this is a lot,” Page says gently, taking Ray’s hand into her own, squeezing gently. I turn back to the road, wanting to give them their moment. “But it’s true. After I turned, I was able to smell you. That’s how a lot of us discover our true mates, through scent. You smell like mine, Ray.”
Ray makes an embarrassed noise. “Possessive much?” She’s teasing which is a good sign compared to the rest of the night. Just maybe she’ll be okay. Just maybe she’ll figure out how to embrace this new side of herself.
I hope so. Not only for me and Page, but also for my mate’s sake. The look of unadulterated longing in his eyes when he looked at Ray was almost too much to handle. I wish there was something I could do to help them bond, to help Ray understand.
“Okay,” Ray says softly, her shoulders less hunched, her stare more determined. Okay, that’s gotta be a good sign, right? “If true mates are a thing, do you have one, Zeke?”
My stomach is a mess of butterflies as I think about Casper. “I do indeed.”
“Really? Who?”
“You just met him,” I say with a grin. “Whether you like it or not, Casper is going to be a solid part of our lives. He’s not just your spark, but he’s also my mate.”
Ray lets out a long, dramatic groan. “So I can’t just ignore all of this and pretend it’s not happening? He won’t just go away?”
“Nope. He’s here to stay.”
“I’m surprised you can handle him being in the RV behind us,” Page says, shaking her head at me. “True mate instincts are no joke.” She turns towards Ray. “Remember all the sex we had when I came back from my fake vacation?”
Ray’s eyes widen with understanding. “Jesus, Zeke, how are you keeping it in your pants right now?”
“Some of us have self-control,” I tell them with a warm chuckle, happy with how this conversation has gone. If they can tease me, it means they’re gonna be okay. They’re gonna figure all of this out.
Ray lets out a jaw cracking yawn. “Fuck. Tonight has been a lot. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“Then sleep,” Page says, opening her arms. “Lay on me and sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get home.”
“Okay,” Ray says softly, snuggling up with her girlfriend. I give Page a soft smile before my eyes are back on the road. When I look at them, I can’t help but feel a pang of longing, wishing I could be doing the same with Casper.
Would Casper even want to snuggle? He seemed rather snuggly in his lion form but me, more than others, understand sometimes our other forms have a bit of a mind of their own. His human side might want to take things slow, and that’s okay too. Whatever he wants, I’m happy to follow so long as I get to be with him. That’s all that matters.
The trip back to town is quiet and I have a lot of time to think. A lot of time to overthink. Casper seems lovely. Why would Lady Fate pair him with someone like me? I’m a banshee, someone who has to feed in order to survive. I’m practically a monster. No, I am a monster, full stop.
I pull into my driveway and watch as the RV parks on the street.
“I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Page who gives me a nod. I get out and make my way over to the driver’s side of the RV.
“This is your place?”
“Yeah, I live in the duplex on the right. 4B.” I take my house key off my key ring and hand it over to Bently. “You guys can keep your RV parked here on the road and head inside. Feel free to use the shower and eat whatever you can find. Just try not to be too loud as I have neighbors,” I say with a chuckle. “I’m gonna go drop the girls off and then come right back, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Bently says, taking the key.
Casper leans over so he’s in my line of sight. Just the vision of him brings a warmth to my chest and I can’t help but smile over at him. “Thank you, Zeke.”
“Anything for you,” I say with a wink. I watch as his cheeks pinken and his smile widens. Good lord, I’m already so far gone on this guy. How is that even possible?
I walk back to my car, making quick work of heading down the road and across town to where Ray and Page live. I park in their driveway and wait for them to get out before following them. At this point, it’s about 4am and we’re all a bit delirious, the same way we always are at the end of a hunt like this.
I pull Page into a hug before turning towards Ray, doing the same for her. “One last thing,” I say, smiling when Ray groans. “I know, I know. I’m the worst.”
“You are,” she agrees but she’s smiling when she says it.
“After you get a good amount of sleep and properly wake up, I want you to do some introspection. I know it’s not the most fun thing in the world but I think if you sit down and actually feel what’s going on inside of you, you’ll discover the bonds we’ve been talking about.”
Ray gives me a reluctant nod. “I don’t promise a damn thing,” she says but then her voice softens, “but I’ll give it a try.”
