Page 91 of Immortal Bastard

Self-conscious and unsure what sort of first impression her unguarded thoughts gave, Delilah shrank a little in her seat. “I didn’t realize I was blasting my thoughts.”

“In time, you’ll learn better self-control,” Destiny said. “We’ve all gone through it.”

“And I’ve suffered each and every one of your filthy minds, thank you very much,” Gracie added with a touch of sarcasm and a dash of horror. “It’s nice to meet a female who isn’t picturing one of my brothers naked all hours of the day.”

Delilah hadn’t realized she’d pictured Christian naked at all, but apparently, she wasn’t fully aware of her deepest thoughts. “Are you married?”

“I’m still waiting for my calling. I won’t marry unless he’s my true mate.”

“They aren’t the same? Mating and marriage are two different things?” She didn’t mean to sound stupid, but she’d assumed they were synonymous by the way so many of them interchanged the two.

“Mates are chosen by God. It is our greatest sacrament,” Larissa explained.

Destiny rolled her eyes. “Not all mates find a perfect love though. Marriage is a choice. Cain and I are married.”

“Not all marriages are by choice,” Larissa argued.

Annalise sighed as if to cut the tension. “There are good marriages and bad marriages, just like there are all over the world. And some partners are just assholes, whether they’re called by God or driven by some other force. It’s possible to have a mate and not love him the way one might love a husband, but there is always a holy link that cannot be broken.”

“I thought mates had to protect each other.”

“They should,” Anna said. “But different mates share different connections. And because the privacy of mates is so protected here, there’s still a lot we don’t understand.”

Destiny leaned forward, cupping her hand over the side of her mouth as she whispered, “And some of the elders have been around since God was a boy. So, if you think it’s hard to pass laws with the crypt keepers in congress, prepare yourself for a new level of old-school.”

“Careful, Destiny,” Larissa warned. “Christian’s on The Elder’s Council.”

“Don’t worry if your guy’s older than dirt,” Destiny joked. “The males here put Charlie Chaplin to shame. I’m sure he’s already proven his virility a hundred times over.”

The girls giggled all except for Gracie.

A hundred times? Delilah thought, a pinch of inadequacy coming out of nowhere. More like twice with a chaser of panic and regret.

“The bonding is sacred,” Gracie said, her voice taking on a reverent tone. “The connection to a called mate is formed at creation and fortified during the blood exchange. Most mates cannot live a full life without their other half.”

Destiny stopped laughing. “But neither is better than the other. It’s not a competition.”

Gracie pursed her lips as if she disagreed, but before she could comment, a masculine voice called from inside the house.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

A man appeared in the shadow of the back door and Gracie scowled. Delilah instantly recognized him as Christian’s half-brother, Dane, but she didn’t recognize the man holding a small child beside him.

“Momma!” the little girl squealed and the man lowered her to the ground. She looked like a doll in her little bonnet and black Amish gown as she ran to Larissa.

“Moriah, How did you end up with your uncle?” Larissa frowned at the man who had been carrying her daughter. “Cain, did Eleazar—”

He held up his hands. “I volunteered to take her. The bishop had to deal with an issue in the cells.”

Gracie’s eyes lit with concern. “Cybil?”

A strange look passed between the siblings and Cain nodded.

“Has there been any news regarding Juniper,” Annalise asked.

He gave her a stern look. “Didn’t ask. Don’t care.”

Destiny cleared her throat. “Cain, this is Delilah, Christian’s new mate.”

---