Page 22 of Fated

Mom nods and dad answers, “we’ve been there before. Hopefully he recognizes us.”

We all get to our feet and gather outside the house. Once again, we let my mom do the transporting, since she knows where we’re going.

The mansion we land in front of is huge. It’s insanely decorated with gold and marble. It doesn’t even look real.

Kiran whistles from behind me. “Damn.”

“Damn is right,” Jay adds.

“Okay, this is up to you now. If you need backup, throw this and it’ll make a sound loud enough for us to hear. We will join you,” Nic says passing a small ball to my mom.

She pockets it before squeezing my shoulder and making her way towards the mansion. Dad gives me a small smile before joining her.

I hope this works.

Nine

Kiran

I’m really nervous while we sit here waiting for Aly’s parents to come through. This is monumental in her relationship with them and I only want her to be happy. I keep checking in with Nic, we all do, to make sure nothing has changed.

It feels like it’s been hours but when I check my phone for the time, it’s only been forty-five minutes. How long should this take? How long until I can stop feeling pain and guilt from Aly down the mate bond? I hope we can help Anna.

A part of me feels guilty but I try not to show anyone. This isn’t about me. If we hadn’t come into her life, Aly would never have triggered her hunter gene and Ryan wouldn’t have changed Anna. But there’s no part of me that would give up my mate, so I feel like a terrible person.

“Any changes Nic?” Jax asks aloud, needing verbal confirmation.

“No, their intentions are still the same. Hopefully they’re just making small talk and trying to convince him to let them have it.”

“They haven’t set off the signal, so we can’t assume anything is wrong,” Jay says, staring right at Aly.

She looks worried and I realize it’s not only for Anna. She’s worried about her parents in there. They’re redeeming themselves by helping us, and she wants a relationship with them. They are her parents after all. I’m not sure how I would handle my own betraying me.

“They should be out soon,” I reassure Aly, grabbing her hand.

“I have something we could talk about to distract us,” Jax offers.

I think we will all could use a distraction and I know Jax wouldn’t bring up anything stressful.

“Yes, please!” Aly doesn’t take her eyes away from the house.

“I read something earlier today and I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. I know how hunters form their mate bonds, what happened with Aly and Nic.” Jax sounds excited.

Nic raises his eyebrows. “How?”

“Hunters ingest their mate’s blood. Usually, it’s done in a ceremony with wine or something but not always. Aly must have gotten some of Nic’s blood while they were…” Jax clears his throat and blushes.

It’s crazy, I’ve seen Jax with Aly and I know how confident he is. But outside of those moments, he’s still the same old twin I know.

Aly and Nic are clearly thinking back to their time together. I wonder how that happened?

“I bit your lip hard enough to draw blood. I remember feeling bad. That must be it,” Aly says.

Nic’s smile is filthy as he thinks back on it. Damn, I’m jealous.

I hear a soft pop.

“We need to go,” Aly’s mom says urgently after appearing out of nowhere.

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