Page 108 of Red River

"They tested Igor’s hormone levels, and everything checked out. But I have no doubt they’ll be keeping an eye on us from a distance," I muttered.

"The situation’s been handled," Archer assured them. "But that’s not why we called you in here. We have something important to share."

Once Aiden and Igor had settled onto the beanbags around us, Archer took my hand and announced, "We have some bignews—something that could change everything for our family and our lives."

"You’re pregnant?" Aiden blurted out.

I burst out laughing. "What is it with you guys and pregnancy?" I muttered. "I haven’t even been in heat."

Archer sighed. "It’s something else. The news is… your dad and I are True Mates."

Lake snapped his head up to peer at Aiden’s face.

Dead silence.

The rest also stared at us, wide-eyed, like their brains refused to process what we’d just said.

Igor’s expression was probably the most shocked, but in a strange, guilty way.

"Wait… for real?" Van’s eyes bulged. "Or are you messing with us?"

Their faces were so over-the-top confused that it was almost funny.

Then, Igor scoffed knowingly.

"You guys fucked, and that’s how you know."

"Igor, for God’s sake," I hissed, my face burning.

"What does 'fucked' mean?" Lake asked, blinking at us with his big, innocent green eyes.

"It’s a bad word for something nice," I added quickly. "We’ll talk about it another time." I shot Igor a glare, but he only shrugged.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat, "it’s official—Archer and I are True Mates. It’s… a miracle. Everything that happened in the past finally makes sense. Why I always liked Archer. Why I felt so strongly about coming here—"

"Dad, does that mean you’ll be the same age as Archer now?" Aiden asked, scratching his chin.

"Yeah," I nodded. "True Mate pairs both reset to around twenty-five if they’re older, or if one of them is younger, they meet at the younger one’s age."

"Oh wow, does that mean you’ll live longer?"

"Yep. Thanks to Archer, I just got an extra fifty years tacked onto my lifespan. I won’t even look forty until I’m about eighty."

"Oh my God, I wanna find my True Mate too," Aiden said, looking almost starry-eyed.

I pressed my lips together, thinking about someone who could actually help them with that someday—their own uncle, my brother, Storm. But I stopped myself from commenting.

"But that also means that if one of you dies, the other dies too," Van pointed out, his voice more serious now. "That’s the price for this kind of magic, right?"

"Which is why you all need to take good care of Archer," I insisted, glancing at him with an all-knowing smile.

Igor looked like he was processing something deeper. And then, for just a second, I saw a flicker of sorrow on his face.

Finally, he blurted out, "Well… I feel like an even bigger idiot now." He rubbed his forehead. "I was such an ass. You guys were True Mates this whole time, and I was out here fighting against your relationship?"

I squeezed his hand lightly.

"Igor, we didn’t know either," I admitted. "I never would’ve guessed True Mates could be separated for years without realizing it. True Mates are so rare, there isn’t much widespread knowledge about it."

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