Page 13 of Aries Mated

The doorbell was so loud I actually gasped as I jumped back from TJ. The bubble burst and reality came rushing back in like a whirlwind. It wasn’t just TJ coming tonight. And the last thing it was including kissing. This wasnota date, not about me; we were here for Sol.

“I got it,” Sol called out again, but I rushed out anyway because I wasn’t sure I could stand the tension any longer.

Thank goodness they were all here now. Matt, Kai, and Atlas had arrived together, and all with a jovial air about them. This friendship was nice to see, but a little unexpected. From what I’d seen in Pleasures, there was some tension between the competition contestants, but I couldn’t see any of that here. As the guys came into my home and helped set the table, Matt pouring us all a glass of wine that he had brought with him, I got caught up in how nice they all were to one another. Patting each other on the back, exchanging easy smiles, even completing each other’s sentences.

But even better than all of that was the way they included Sol in everything, especially when it came to the games. He was laughing and really enjoying himself. I’d almost forgotten how sweet my boy’s laughter was.

“Okay,” Kai finally said with a light-hearted chuckle as we sat down to dinner. “So we all know who Sol thinks is going to win the games. He’s team Jason all the way. But what about you, Maeve?”

“Um…” Shit, I really didn’t have an answer for that. I could feel an intense heat burning in my cheeks. “I don’t really know. I haven’t had time to watch the games.”

Sol filled the shocked silence. “Mom is always so busy. Sheneverhas time to do anything fun.”

“But youhaveto come and watch the parkour section of the games,” Matt interjected urgently. “It’s supposed to be great. Whoever wins. I mean, not me, but someone…”

He tried to say that all nonchalantly, but I could hear a heaviness to his tone. There was some kind of sadness there.

“It doesn’t matter who wins,” Atlas said kindly. “At this point, itreallydoesn’t matter.”

“Huh?” I darted my eyes around the table at everyone. “Am I missing something?”

A heavy silence clung to the air for a moment. Clearly what I was missing was huge. Damn, I really had been too busy to know what the hell was going on around me.

“Well, it seems like Jason might have athingwith Princess Azariyah already, so she might not want to marry anyone else.”

“Oh!” That was scandalous. How did I not know that? “But if it’s love…I mean, the Bear King can’t make the princess turn her back on love, can he?” No one answered me, but they all exchanged looks. I caught Sol’s eyes and saw how bewildered he was by all of this. “Well, I mean, would any of you want to marry a woman who’s in love with someone else?”

My heart pounded as I waited for one of them to speak up. Why weren’t any of them giving me anything?

“Well, I suppose this marriage is more about politics than love, isn’t it?” TJ began reservedly. “The Bear King can’t turn his back on a promise because it would cause an uproar. There are still seventeen contestants left in the competition. One of them will be Bear King…”

“Maybe even one of us,” Matt joked, trying to lighten the mood. Not that it worked.

“There is a sacrifice to make,” Kai interjected seriously. “Princess Azariyah understands that, just as we all do.”

Why did that make me feel so shitty? It wasn’t like I stood a chance with any of these guys anyway. Even if TJ and I almost had a moment. Chances were, it was all one sided and I was just nuts.

“Well, I think the games are cool!” Sol finally said. He sensed that the atmosphere needed changing just as much as I did. “And I can’t wait for the parkour event.”

At least that gave everyone something to talk about. But not necessarily think about. That was going to be on my mind a lot, and I didn’t know why.

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