Page 36 of Seeded By Two

He slowly sat up but did not move closer to me.

He was still unsure about how I might react.

“You should have told me this before,” I said in a hollow voice.

“I didn’t know before,” he said, mimicking my own voice.

“What does it feel like to find your fated mate?” I asked him.

Even with my wealth and power, it was not something I was likely to ever experience myself.

Feon looked over at me and smiled, although it was distracted and restrained, no doubt from the fact he’d had to steal my Steyatt mate in order to achieve it. “It feels… good.”

“Good?” I said flatly. “Taking a long piss after a long journey feels good. Eating food after you’ve been starving for the past few hours feels good. The coolness of bedsheets on your scales after a hard day fighting in battle feels good. I would wager mating with your fated mate feels a whole lot better than good.”

He knew I had heard the stories and witnessed real-life fated mates in the past and the way their skin and scales seemed to shimmer with some unknown internal light.

I supposed it was the knowledge they were totally at ease in each other’s presence, that they were always going to be there for each other.

Forever.

And I was certain it felt a whole lot better than “good.”

“Come on,” I said. “Don’t hold back. How does it feel?”

He looked over at me and grinned that same cheeky smile I had growing up with — identical to mine and yet different at the same time.

We were perhaps the only two in the galaxy that could tell each other apart.

“It’s… incredible,” he said. “Imagine mating with someone and then having them connect with you on the deepest level possible. A level you never knew existed before. The level of something that makes you realize there really is something deeper and more mystical in this universe. And that you have a small piece of it, a shard of it, that fits you perfectly, like a piece in a puzzle clicking into place. It’s… difficult to describe.”

I smiled over at him. “I think you did a very admirable job of describing it.”

I got to my feet, dusted off my clothes, approached him, and extended him a hand.

He took it but before I helped him up I waved a finger under his nose. “Just don’t get used to taking my things.”

Feon snorted and joined me on his feet.

He dusted off his own clothes. “So… does that mean you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I told him. “Fated mates are one of the ancient wonders of the universe. I would not come between you. So, where is she? Was the story about her going to get food true or just a ruse so you could confront me?”

“If I had wanted to do that,” Feon said, rubbing his chin where I had choked him. “I would have her here so you wouldn’t fly off the handle and attack me.”

I chuckled. “You never did learn to escape my death hold.”

“I guess I’ll just have to try a little harder next time.”

I fixed him with a look. “Next time?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m glad you understand.” He was silent a moment before adding: “I never planned on betraying your trust. After visiting my family on the way here, I realized just how important the bond between us is.”

I reached forward and embraced him, knowing he would never instigate the hug otherwise.

He came from the rare stoic stock of his home planet and, despite all the years of training, never managed to be as open as I was.

“So, when am I going to meet her?” I asked.

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