Page 34 of Second Chance Mates

“Julia. Her name was Julia. She was my fated mate before she was taken away from me.”

“How?”

“She was killed.”

Ava frowns. “I’m so sorry.”

My eyes lower to the sofa. “It’s been almost eleven months, but it’s been hard. At first, it felt like half of my soul had been ripped from me. But since you came into my life, I’ve been fighting a thousand different emotions.”

“How long were you together for?”

“Almost two years.”

Ava’s eyes glimmer with sadness. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“It’s okay.”

Silence envelops us again for a long moment before she asks, “And what does that mean for us?” Her brows crease in confusion.

I clear my throat. “I’m as surprised as you are. Second-chance mates are known to be a myth. But something happened, and we’ve both been directed towards each other for a reason.”

She swallows harshly and stares at me for a few seconds. “Everything is hard to grasp when Lucien kept a lot from me.”

“I get that,” I say slowly. “But nothing between us has to be forced or rushed. I’m happy to go at whatever pace. My heart is still grieving Julia, and it’s not fair to put you through that. I want to be honest and transparent with you.”

“She’s not someone you can easily get over.” Her expression softens. “You will probably love her for the rest of your life.”

I slide my hands down my thighs. “Yeah, I probably will.”

“Do we have to be together?”

“No,” I state. “But being without each other will hurt us internally and our wo–” I cut myself off. “My wolf. But I won’t force you into anything. I’m not that kind of man. I want what’s best for you and nothing else.”

Ava buries her head in her hands. “How can I be mated to two wolves but be human?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Human mates are extremely rare, but second-chance mates are unheard of. You must be one powerful anomaly.”

She leans back into the sofa and shakes her head. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I can’t believe any of this is happening to me. It’s messing with my head.”

“I know.” I frown. “And I’m sorry.”

I pray she starts to remember her past so she can have some kind of connection to the human world. I fear she’s losing her sanity, being in our realm and adjusting to our way of life.

“Tell me more about the mate bond,” she says suddenly. Her feet move to the floor, and she angles her body towards mine. “That day you found me in your office, the sound of your voice and the way you cradled my hands had me calm within minutes. H-how?”

I offer her a small smile and lean forward. “Because mate bonds are there to help one another. To ground them and remind them they are loved and cared for.”

Ava blinks once. “It felt so warm like someone had wrapped me up in a blanket and gave me a hug. I-I’ve never felt anything like it in my life.”

“Because it’s unlike anything else in the world. It’s indescribable.”

She nods in agreement. “Panic attacks hurt me, and the pain was masked. It was like you absorbed some of it.”

“The mate bond probably did. I used my power to take away your agony.”

“That’s incredible,” she whispers, unable to take her pretty eyes off me. “I just don’t understand how.”

I stare down at her hands cupped in her lap. “It’s a hard concept to grasp, I know. Over time, it’ll only grow stronger as the connection builds. What you felt the other night is nothing in comparison to what it could be.”

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