Page 15 of Can't Be Love

“Try me,” he said. “You might be surprised.”

I snorted. “Like you’ve ever dealt with a true mate before.”

Cole pulled over on the side of the road and stopped the car. He turned in his seat and looked at me. “Yeah, I have, actually.”

“Wh-what? You don’t have a mate.”

“I did once,” he said, and I could see the pain in his eyes. “It’s not something I talk about, Lily. Only two other people in this world even know about it.”

“You ran from your one true mate?” I asked in astonishment.

“No, I didn’t. She ran from me.”

I felt his pain, and Thomas immediately flashed in my mind.

“When?” I asked.

“It was a long time ago.”

“Does the pain get any easier?”

“You really want me to answer that honestly? ‘Cause, no, I’ve never fully gotten over it.”

“But you’ve never bonded either. Maybe it would help?” I offered.

“The thing is Lily, once you find your one true mate all others pale in comparison. Look at me. It’s no secret you’ve always had a thing for me. I’ve never acted on it because I always knew you’d find your true mate someday and I didn’t want to get in the way of that. You’ve always looked at me with stars in your eyes, gorgeous. Right now, there’s nothing but sadness there.”

“I don’t want him, Cole. Anyone but him. Why did it have to be him?” All the confusion, pain, and heartbreak hit me full force, and I sat there and cried. Cole pulled me into his arms and I couldn’t stop the growl that escaped. He laughed it off and continued to hold me as I cried.

“He’s your true mate, Lily and you know what your mom says, God doesn’t make mistakes choosing mates.”

“But he did this time,” I cried.

He let me have my cry and didn’t speak again until I pulled away and wiped my face. I knew I must look awful, probably with black mascara running down my face, but I didn’t care. I needed to cry, to mourn my idea of what my true mate should have been.

“Better?” he asked. I nodded. “Look, I don’t want to upset you any further, but can I ask you something?” I nodded again. “Did you break the bond before you ran?”

“No. I didn’t want to face him. He already found a compatible mate, Cole. He’ll be fine.” I knew I needed to truly believe that.

“He won’t, Lil. You don’t have to tell me who he is, but no one deserves to be left in limbo like that. I need you to understand that I’ve never been able to fully move on, because she never broke the bond. She chose someone else and denied our bond, but it was never broken, and I have to live with that. I don’t care how disappointed you are in your mate, no one deserves that. It’s no way to live.”

“What? How do you break a bond? He may be a douche, but I don’t hate him enough to make him suffer like that,” I admitted, and realized I truly did mean it.

Cole was in the process of pulling out onto the road when he stilled and put it back in park, turning to look at me.

“Douche? Lily there’s only one person in this world I’ve ever heard you call that. Are you telling me . . .?”

I cut him off. “Don’t say it!”

“Thomas Collier is your true mate?”

“Ahh, don’t say it! Somehow hearing it aloud just makes it more real. I don’t want it to be real,” I whined.

Cole stared at me and then burst out laughing. “I’m sorry. That’s just priceless. As much time as you’ve spent at Collier all these years, how are you just finding this out?”

“He’s always been away. I would visit for Maddie’s vigil every summer, and he’d always make some excuse not to be there. Before yesterday I hadn’t seen him since before she disappeared. We were just kids.” I buried my face in my hands, knowing it was turning all shades of red.

“Wow. How’d he take the news?”

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