Page 188 of Toxic

Again, I quickly added, "Finn is my brother's ex. I've known him for years—we're good friends. So it’s practically like family."

"I think I recognize you from somewhere… perhaps when I visited Soren at his college?" Liam murmured suddenly.

I raised my eyebrows. I knew Liam had visited the college where Soren and I were attending, and he’d even met some of Soren's friends, like Sean. But remembering a random professor’s face from the hallway? That seemed a bit strange, if not improbable. Unless… he really was his imprint and left an impression on Liam, even from a distance.

Finn’s face lit up. "Yeah, I teach there as a professor. I’m a geneticist by training."

"Finn’s whole family is in the medical field. His brother is handling Soren’s pregnancy," I pointed out, hoping to make Liam feel even more at ease.

Winter, who had been watching us intently, bit his lip and asked, "So, do you agree to Finn’s offer? The fact that you don’t know each other well might actually be a good thing—no baggage between you. You can talk freely, and Finn can give you an unbiased perspective. That often helps break those… vicious cycles we get trapped in when we’re alone."

Liam blushed and sniffled, seemingly convinced by Winter’s reasoning. I had to admit, he presented it quite persuasively.

Finally, Liam carefully freed himself from Finn’s embrace, though not without some reluctance. Finn still held one of his hands and looked at him with a warm, encouraging smile.

"Alright, thank you. I admit, I don’t want to be alone right now. This day has been such a horror," Liam said, glancing at me. "And… I want to apologize, Skye. I didn’t know about Soren’s pregnancy situation. I would never have endangered it, never wanted to hurt the baby. I was just so desperate; I didn’t know what to do with my emotions. But please know—nothing happened between me and Soren."

"It's okay, all good. Soren and I will work things out. We’re True Mates, after all—that helps a lot," I said with a wink. "And I’m sorry for almost killing you; I…uh… couldn’t control myself. I love him so much."

Liam nodded slowly. "I understand your reaction. And your love." He smiled ruefully.

We stared at each other for a few seconds as a gentle gust blew his shoulder-length, strawberry-blond strands. And in that moment, I noticed something interesting: Liam had a strange resemblance to Winter! The shape of his eyes, his pale brows and lashes, the seriousness in his energy. I cautiously glanced at Finn, who was also staring at Liam.

We then heard a slight cough.

"Let’s get off this damn mountain. Fortunately, the parking lot isn’t far," Winter noted.

We started down in silence. I walked alongside Winter while Finn led the way, still holding Liam’s hand.

"Skye," Winter said quietly, "can you give me a ride home? I came here by Uber, thinking Finn and I would go for a few drinks afterward."

"Sure, I’ll drop you off and then head home. I bet Soren’s not in the best mood."

Winter seemed to perk up at the mention of Soren. "I still can’t believe it. True Mates? Seriously? First, Rain found his True Mate, then Storm and Nathaniel… and now you? What’s going on in our family? It’s unbelievable."

"Dad always said that children of True Mates have a much higher chance of finding their own perfect matches. Maybe there’s something to that. Or maybe it’s something else."

"Like what?"

I hesitated, thinking about something that had been on my mind ever since several of my brothers had found their True Mates. For the first time, I shared this thought with one of them.

"You know, Dad suffered a lot before he met our father. Sometimes I think maybe Fate is trying to make it up to him by giving his children perfect matches. It means so much to him."

Winter looked off to the side, toward the dark edge of the park forest.

"I’d like to believe that’s true because, as a beta, I have fewer chances than you guys," he muttered. "And it would help."

After a brief silence, as we both got lost in thought, I decided to steer the conversation back to Winter’s secret crush.

"So? Did talking to Finn help? Did he give you any good advice about how to deal with the CEO’s son, I mean, your… love interest?" I muttered wryly.

"You could say that," Winter replied. "He said I should give it a shot, no matter how crazy it seems."

"Are you aware that could get you fired?"

Winter smiled subtly, an uncharacteristic expression for him. "We only live once, right?"

***

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