Page 38 of Mated in the Stars

“How are you dealing with everything?” I tried again.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, sitting up. “I really don’t. I keep thinking about going to stay with Sunny and Laken for a while but part of me feels like that’s just running away.”

“Do you need to run away?” I asked him.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I thought I had it all worked out. Then I’m calling some strange dude ‘mum.’ It was all instinct. I have nothing against Nelum. How could I?” It was a rhetorical question but I wished I had something to say to him but nothing came to mind that might actually give him some comfort. “I don’t think it’s fair that he has to deal with my baggage from back then.”

“Your mum left videos and letters for him to have. I think she wanted things to pick up and carry on where we left off.”

“But he doesn’t.”

“He wants to be part of the family. He can’t be her, kiddo, but he wants to be part of the family,” I said.

“I wish I could be like Daliah and Duke. Seq won’t talk about Nelum at all but Daliah and Duke are so bloody relieved that Nelum’s here because it means ‘mum’ is okay.”

“It does mean that but you can feel that way and still miss your mum. You can feel that way and not know how to handle everything. Though, you’re handling it well. You kept Nelum here and safe. I thank you for that.”

“He’s mum. What else could I do? I figured even if he never remembered being her that he’d want to meet his true-mates. Most people do.”

“Look, if going to Sunny’s for however long makes you feel better I think you should go.”

“Not until you guys are ready,” Teddy shook his head. “Minter should be with family. I know Marsin could watch him but last time Minter got on his working computer and nearly launched one of Marsin’s drones straight at Hush’s house.”

“That would’ve been funny,” I laughed, and he laughed too.

“My brother, the rebel,” Teddy said. “Look, I’ll go to whatever family reunion. I miss them too and we have to figure out what’s going on with Seq. I know he’s never been one for big family things, but he and Dal were practically sewn together. I don’t want him off alone and pissed at the world. That’s not a great place for dragons to be.”

“Yet almost all of us end up there at one time or another,” I frowned.

“Are you happy?” Teddy asked, taking me off guard with the question. “I mean, now that he’s back.”

“Yeah. It’s a mindfuck, kiddo. I miss your mum but she’s right there. I love Nelum but he’s not Lotus while being her. It’s crazy. Sometimes it makes me feel crazy.”

“Let’s not make him feel crazy, though,” Teddy said carefully. “Make sure he doesn’t find her hair or anything like that. I doubt he’ll plunder around my house, but he might around yours.”

“It’s his home now too,” I said.

“Exactly,” Teddy nodded. “Sounds like neither of us know what we’re going to do.”

“I know what I’m going to do,” I sat back in the chair and stretched out my legs. “I’m gonna live, kiddo. I’m gonna take life by the horns and do my best with it every day. It’s all I’ve ever done and all any of us can do. Eventually we all get gored but what a f-ing journey it is.”

“F PIG!” Minter bellowed. “F PIG!”

Teddy cracked up and I did too. I couldn’t help it. He’d never known a hostile police force in his life but it was in his blood to shout that.

Chapter Twenty

Nelum

I woke up to find that Elio was still out cold, and that Fred had gone over to visit the kids. I peeked in on the egg and grabbed a shower and a meal before stepping into my boots and grabbing my bow. As my heat receded, new thoughts and memories flooded my brain. I needed to hunt and clear my head. Sure, I could’ve shifted into my dragon to hunt but there was something magical about having the bow and arrows in my hands. Something soothing and challenging at the same time.

A few hours later, I brought down the purple antlered buck I’d followed for miles. To be on the safe side, I did call Laken to double check that they were still in season. Hunting laws and customs varied from world to world, and I didn’t want to get Fred and Elio into trouble. By the time I shouldered the buck, I had more questions than answers. I needed to talk to the guys but that would have to wait since I was miles from home and didn’t feel like flying with a dead buck. I didn’t want blood or anything in my fur. Then I’d need to skin this big boy up and dig a roasting pit after he was ready. I sighed, wishing I thought ahead to ask one of them to meet me halfway. Only, I wasn’t sure I’d catch anything when I left the house. It wasn’t the heavy lifting or the hard work. I was used to that. I missed them. I missed them both and I missed someone I used to be because she made a lot of people happy. Before meeting Fred and Elio, I thought I wouldn’t pursue anything about her outside of what I found online. Now, I knew I had to watch or read whatever she left for me. I had to know what I wanted myself to know. I wasn’t her anymore. I couldn’t go back to being who I was back then. Iwas me now and I knew exactly who I was. Now, I was just more than I was before.

Fred was coming out of Teddy’s house when I arrived home. Like the big brutish gentleman he was, he rushed over to take the deer from me and managed to steal a kiss while doing it. I laughed because that was so Freddie.

“Want me to take care of it while you clean up?”

“I don’t mind doing it,” I said. “Wanted to talk to you anyway. It’s a touchy subject. I’m not sure if I should talk to you or Elio. Half of me feels like I need to march over to Teddy’s house and ask his permission.”

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