Page 41 of Forbidden Devotion
“Yeah, so are you?”
“No!”
“Then what’s your deal?” Nathan pushed.
Mitchel wasn’t sure of that himself. How could he explain it to Nathan? “I don’t know yet. I like him. It’s new. I mean, there are challenges for a relationship with a vampire to work, but…”
“Relationship? Geez, that sounds serious. Are you dating him?”
“You were okay with boning, but not dating?” Mitchel asked, amused, but he didn’t want to know the answer. “I don’t know yet. We haven’t exactly talked about it. I don’t want to speak for him.”
Nathan narrowed his eyes. “You’re really into him.”
Mitchel nodded. “It snuck up on me.”
“All right. We’ll just have to win the little sucker over for you, then, won’t we?” Nathan winked.
Mitchel chuckled. “I dare you to call him ‘little sucker’ to his face. You’re courting bodily harm.”
“He’s not that scary.”
“Whatever you say,” Mitchel said. Thank god they were back to joking.
Nathan shifted in his seat, leaning forward, elbows on the table. “Do you ever worry about the gay thing?”
“What do you mean?” Mitchel knew Nathan was gay too, so this question might be sensitive for him.
“Aren’t you supposed to carry on the bloodline or something?”
“Or something. Part of me feels the weight of my lineage, but who am I to say? Things either happen for a reason, or they don’t. Plenty of werewolf families are having babies. It’s not like the species is at risk if Mitchel Edgehill has no heirs.” It wasn’t something he spent much time thinking about anymore. The older he got, the more comfortable he was with his sexuality, but Nathan was younger.
“You make it sound simple.”
“For me, it is, and one day, I hope it will be simple for you as well.” Mitchel made a mental note to check in with Nathan more often. As far as he knew, the kid wasn’t seeing anybody. Mitchel knew well how limited the dating pool was for a gay wolf. There weren’t that many to go around. “Nathan, is being gay something you worry about?”
Nathan’s expression turned thoughtful. “I think about it. Sometimes I worry.”
“Tell me what you worry about.”
“I’m afraid I’ll never find somebody. What if I never get a mate?”
“Nathan, how old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“You have so much time.”
“I know that. Intellectually, I get it. I had this idea I’d find someone in college, though, with so many wolves my age in the same place. But now that I’m done with undergrad and nearly done with my masters and it hasn’t happened, I’m getting worried.”
“Don’t be in a rush to grow up. The right man will come along when he comes along.”
Nathan smiled, but there was no real mirth in it. “It’s not just the timing that concerns me. The statistics are against us, Mitchel. It’s rare for a werewolf to be born homosexual. What if I never find my mate?”
“You will.”
“You didn’t,” Nathan pointed out. “You met a vampire. I’m pretty sure they’re all gay.”
Mitchel laughed. “It’s more common in their society, yes, but I have no idea if anything will come of me and Sinclair. He’s only here for a few years, but this is my home. My pack.”
