Page 48 of Real

“He wants a dog, a cat, and a fish,” I say instead.

Einar’s attention is already fractured when he nods. He’s needed elsewhere.

“He loves ice cream and baking shows. He may act scared of physical affection, but he craves it. He needs someone who is gentle. Please be gentle with him, Einar.”

I don’t stay to hear Einar’s response. It’s too painful. I rush down the stairs like hell is on my heels.

I knew getting involved with Buddy was wrong. I was supposed to be his caretaker, not his lover. And I knew the chances of things working out between us were slim. I knew all that with my mind, but my heart doesn’t care. My heart wants to stomp back up the stairs and agree to Einar’s offer.

But Felicity was wrong about me. I’m not too soft, I’m just the right amount to take care of my patients. And this time taking care of my patient means I have to walk away.

21

Buddy

“I’m sorry,” Skatt says. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. If you want, we can call him back. Being human doesn’t have to be more important than being with H. You can still be a skatt in your plastic form.”

Skatt doesn’t know anything about Candlewick or court.

“Dorian is trying to get me back. I have to prove to the cops that I’m human. If I can’t become flesh and blood, my friend who helped me escape will end up in jail for a long time.”

I can’t abandon Candlewick because I want to be with Timothy.

Skatt returns to his desk chair and types something into his computer. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday.”

Skatt types for a while then drags his hand through his hair. “Is this friend named Candlewick?”

“Yes! Did he contact you?”

Skatt winces. “A year ago. I’m sorry. He claimed to be your friend, but we had no way of verifying who he was or who he was working for. I worried he was actually Dorian.”

In the end, it doesn’t really matter. Would things have gone down any differently? I need to take an Illusor mate regardless. And I have to do it quickly.

“Would it be possible to bond to someone tonight?” I ask. The idea makes me feel hollow inside. For a moment, I had a taste of what a real connection with an alpha felt like. None of the men out there will ever compare to Timothy. Not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because there’s no way I’ll fit with them the way I did with him.

“Yes. But are you sure you don’t want more time? I thought you’d have a quick chat with all the guys who came tonight, to get a feel for who you jive with best. Or if you don’t like any of them, we could find others.”

There was that guy named Einar. He seemed nice. But there was also a man who was bigger like Timothy. Maybe that would help me adjust. I love Timothy’s size.

Still, I can’t choose my mate based on his body shape.

How should I choose? It’s strange to think I have a choice at all. I never thought anyone would want me, and now there are eight guys out there vying for the chance to be my mate. Or at least that was my understanding.

“Do all of the alphas out there actually want to bond to me?” I ask.

Skatt sits back in his chair. “You are their future skatt. Of course they want to bond to you.”

Something about that rubs me wrong. Maybe because I wasn’t a title to Timothy. When he kissed me, he wasn’t kissing a gift from his god, he was just kissing an omega he liked. That was really nice.

“I’ll talk to all of them like you said. We’ll need to bond tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning—”

“It will have to be tonight. It will take a full night with your mate for the bond to form,” Skatt says. “Why don’t I go get the first guy? I think we should put you in one of the rooms upstairs, just in case you, well, want to take things further than a conversation.”

I nod, even though that’s unlikely. I only want that with Timothy right now.

“Could I talk to Einar first? Then the bigger guy. The one who smiles a lot.” That’s a good sign, right? Maybe I could find a way to be happy with him. “And the guy on the end with the nice suit.” I like clothes. That could be something to talk about.

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