Page 16 of Omega's Tempting Fate
“Huh?”
“You said he was sexy?”
“Well, yeah. He was fucking hot as hell, and squirming in my chair because of it sure didn’t help matters.”
“Cody ‘all alphas are meh’ Miller, has found an alpha who’s not only attractive, but, as you say, ‘hot as hell’?”
“Don’t you start,” I grumbled. “And don’t you dare say a word to Theo. You know how he is.”
“You can disagree. But I’ve never, and I mean never, heard you refer to an alpha as hot. I think the closest you ever got was ‘decent-looking’ and you dated that guy for three months before deciding that his dick was inadequate. Meanwhile both Theo and I were wondering how you’d gotten such a damn fine specimen into your bed and didn’t appreciate it. The only reason neither of us made a move after you broke up was because we respect the bro code.”
“You thought he was that good?” I asked, unsure if we were talking about the same ex.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Corey replied, putting a hand out for emphasis. “The hotties find you irresistible, and you act as if they’re not worth your time. That’s why Theo’s convinced that you have a fated mate out there. So color me surprised when you take notice of an alpha.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Not possible. Not with such an arrogant ass.”
He sighed. “Argue all you want, but you taking notice means something.”
“You can think that all you want, but you’d be wrong.”
An uncomfortable silence settled between us.
Corey blew out a long breath. “Why are you so against the idea of having a fated mate?”
“Why are you so ok with it?” I countered, remembering conversations during which he’d admitted that he thought he might have a fated mate out there.
“It’s romantic,” he said with a soft smile. “Knowing that there’s a perfect person out there for you, and that fate has made it easy to recognize that they’re the one as soon as you find each other. None of this fussing around. Bam, there’s the person who you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with. What’s wrong with that?”
“Where’s the person’s choice in the matter?” I argued. “You say it’s romantic, but I don’t think that. You’re expecting me to think that just meeting a fated mate will give somebody a long and happy relationship? It completely disregards free will and effectively attempts to force a pairing through an overwhelming urge to fuck. How is that romantic?”
Corey pinched the bridge of his nose. “How can you say that they wouldn’t have picked each other anyway? Maybe fate is just speeding up the process, or making sure they don’t miss each other.”
“Or maybe they would have passed by and found more fulfilling partners, but can’t because once a fated mate is met, that’s the only person their body wants.”
“There’s just as high a chance that they wouldn’t find somebody better, and would have missed out.”
“But we don’t know that, because the choice was taken away!”
“Was it? I’ve never heard about anybody fighting it who didn’t ultimately end up with their fated mate.”
“Was that because it was the right person, or biological urge?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Maybe it’s because they took that time and chose their partner.”
I groaned. “I just don’t see how people can be happy when their decision about who to mate is taken from them.”
I don’t see how they can be happy when their mate is taken from them…A voice inside me corrected.
“I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree over this, because I think it’s romantic, and I hope I really do have a fated mate out there.”
I was silent for a moment, then I sighed. I couldn’t tell him the truth, and it made it hard to argue my point. “If that’s what you want, then I hope you find it.”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for too.”
“Thanks.”
He smiled, scooped up a puppy and plopped it in my lap. “In the meanwhile, these little guys will take as much love as you’re willing to give them.”
I scratched behind the dog’s ears. “Now that’s something I can handle.”
