Page 68 of Wolves Always Bite

“Mykind don’t usually talk about it.”Teaguebit his lip.Hisface paled as he clenched his hands in his lap.

“Teague, that’s fine.You’vealready helped me so much.”LikeAsh,Iwas curious, butIwouldn’t prodTeaguefor more when he was clearly so uncomfortable.Isuspected there was a story… and probably more to his magic.Hadsomeone abused it?Madehim do things he didn’t want to?Wasthis what had led him toGage?HadGageavenged him like he had me and the men who’d contributed to my parents’ deaths?

“Whatexactly do you want to know?”Teagueasked tentatively.

“Whathappens when fated mates bond?”

Teague’sforehead creased with confusion as he studiedAshandDillon, as if he didn’t understand whyAshwould ask that. “Youunderstand that you have already bonded, don’t you?That’swhat those matching marks on your skin mean.”

“Thefact that you can see this…It’samazing.But, yes, we knew we bonded,”Ashsaid, swallowing hard. “Unfortunately, neither of us know anything about bonds like that.Imean, there are myths and what not, but there aren’t many fated mate bonds in the world for us to know for sure.ParticularlysinceI’ma mage and he’s a hellhound.Weasked almost everyone inWillowLakewhat they thought but no one knew if it would be different because we were different types of supes.”

“Isee,”Teaguesaid with a nod, as if finally understandingAsh’sinitial concerns. “It’strue, there are fewer and fewer fated mate unions than ever before.Butthe bonds are the same regardless of the supes involved.Ina mate bond, the individual or individuals in the bond with the shortest life span have their life extended to match the individual with the longest.Barringany accidents or things like that, you will both live to the same point in the future.”

Ashjumped up from where he was sitting and threw himself intoDillon’sarms.Bigsmiles lit up their faces when they finally turned back toTeagueagain. “I…Wow…I’mat a loss for words, andDilloncan tell you that never happens.I’musually babbling.But…Justwow…”Helooked atDillon.Theirjoy was obvious. “Iwill live as long as you.AndJeremywill live as long asAdrian.Thisis amazing.Isaid that already, didn’tI?”

Ibrushed my fingers throughJeremy’shair asItried to accept whatIwas hearing.WasAshright?ImeanTeaguehad hinted my relationship withJeremymight be like that, but…

“Ican assure you the bond you share is strong,”Teaguesaid to the fire mage and the hellhound, then looked at me. “It’sthe same between you andJeremy.Youhaven’t finished your bonding process yet, but the connection is building and soon theEternalMagicwill help you bind your lives together if that’s what you both want.”

“SoIwon’t have to watchJeremygrow old and die?We’llshare the rest of our time on this earth…Together?”He’dalready said as much, butIneeded him to spell it out for me.Myheart hammered in my chest asIwaited to hear what he’d say next.

Teaguenodded. “Itwon’t make you invincible, nor will you both die if an accident claims one of the mates prematurely.But, yes, if you both live long enough to die natural deaths, that is what’ll happen.Please, don’t tell anyone about whatIcan see.Peoplecan become—” he paused as if searching for the right word, “—obnoxious if they think you have answers to things they can’t see for themselves.Idon’t want to have an endless parade of people coming to me to check out if they are bonding or could bond.Itisn’t necessary.IftheEternalMagicwants you to bond, she’ll give you signs.Ireally shouldn’t have said anything.Idon’t know whyIdid.”Teaguerubbed the back of his neck.

Igot the sense there was more he wasn’t saying, but he’d obviously already shared more than he normally would.

“Youfelt safe,”Isaid softly, reaching over to touchTeague’sarm. “Youknew we were already bonding, so it was safe to tell us.Iam humbled that you trusted us.Believeme whenIsay none of us will betray you.”

“Wewon’t tell anyone,”Dillonagreed.

“Yoursecret is safe with us,”Ashsaid.

“SincemeetingJeremy,I’vebegun to wonder if it’s unhealthy for us to keep so many secrets.Maybeyou sense that too.Itsets us apart, keeps us separate.Thatcan be difficult.”Iremembered the cathartic feeling that’d come over me afterIshared my past withJeremy.Perhapsthis moment withTeaguewas the first step in creating stronger and closer friendships with each of my teammates.

“Gageknows, but...”Teaguepaused as if to gather his thoughts. “LikeIsaid, death mages don’t share that information with many people.”

“Doesbeing my fated mate helpJeremy?”

“Ican see the connection between you, andIcan feel how his life extends well beyond this point.”Teaguegestured to whereBabettehad gouged his sides when she’d been on his back. “Look.He’salready healing, just like any other supe.”

Itugged up hisT-shirt and exposedJeremy’sskin, which was covered in dried blood, but underneath that…Isucked in a sharp breath…Underneaththat, the wounds were closed.Mybreath rushed from me as tension unwound inside me.ItrustedTeague.Hewouldn’t lie to me, not about something like this.Jeremywould be okay.He’dsurvive this, whateverthiswas.Themagical light streaming fromJeremy’schest hadn’t changed in the time we’d been talking withTeague, but it wasn’t as frightening as it had been a minute ago.ThiswasJeremy’smagic.Andlike him, it was beautiful—all bright and warm and loving.

“He’sgoing to be okay,”Ashmurmured.Tearsglistened in his eyes as he eyedTeague. “Yourmagic is amazing.Ican’t believe you can see things like that…Iimagine such a gift can be a burden at times, butI’mhappy you shared a little of what you know with us.”

Dillonrested his hand onAsh’sshoulder. “IfJeremyis going to be okay, we should go and help the others.”

Teagueglanced up sharply. “Why?Whatelse has happened?”

“Babettewas holding people prisoner,”Ashsaid, wiping the tears from his face and straightening his shoulders. “Weneed to get them out of those cages.”

“Andwe need to deal withBabette,”Dillonsaid resolutely.

Inancient times, hellhounds were used by angels and demons as executioners, butIdoubted the old traditions would be carried out today, even if we did have a demon and a hellhound with us.Timeshad changed a lot since then.Ididn’t have a lot of fond memories of the early part of my life.Livingconditions had been harsh, prejudices were even more rampant than they were today, and the smells…Igagged thinking about the smells.

Therewas a reason society progressed and changed.Asmuch as some idiot people complained and tried to cling to old, outdated beliefs, we were so much better now than we had ever been before andIhad to have faith that things would continue to improve, no matter the obstacles or setbacks.But, today, for the first time in my life,Ialmost wished we could bypass theSupernaturalCouncil’scourt system and use the old ways to mete out justice.

ChapterTwenty-One

ADRIAN