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He blew out a long breath. “I’m fighting myself here. I have so many questions, but at the same time, my instincts don’t give a shit. My gargoyle wants her. He wants Malinda as his mate. No. She is our mate.”
I nodded. “Let’s go through the concerns, then. One by one.”
We talked a bit, but we had to finish our work. So, on the ride back to our stone home, we had a discussion that might have been the most important one of our lives.
“Name the biggest concern,” I said.
He snorted. “Are we not worried about how all of this came about? She was drunk after a party when she signed up for the mating. We have waited all our lives for the perfect mate, and she signed up in some intoxicated stupor.”
“Fate has a way of making good things come out of strange situations, I guess. You’re concerned about the drinking?”
Oz shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m only telling you things that popped up in my head. Malinda doesn’t seem like the type to have a drinking problem. In fact, she looks like she works hard and makes a decent living. Affording a two-bedroom apartment on a single income is a feat these days.”
“You’re right about that. I was thinking that now she’s sobered up and thought about it, she might not want us anymore. I mean, females are not exactly knocking down the doors to mate with two gargoyles.”
My best friend nodded. “I think that thought is going to plague us until we know her better. At least, I will. She was sober enough to work and have conversations with us. I mean, if she regretted her decision, taking it back would be as easy as getting rid of the app, right?”
I sighed and shrugged. “I suppose so. Or she could reject the match. Delete her profile. There are ways of getting out of this. She didn’t have to talk to us or video chat.”
Oz laughed. “Are we now talking ourselves out of a mating, my friend? Doesn’t she seem too good to be true? Perhaps that’s our issue.”
He wasn’t wrong. We got home and headed to our bathrooms to shower then met down in the kitchen not only to prepare dinner but to talk more about all of this. After all, mating wasn’t something we took lightly. Finding our mate was sacred and, once we met her, we would be sure one way or another. One touch would be all for us to know. Although…I was pretty sure now.
“She’s human,” I brought up while chopping some vegetables for a chicken stew.
Oz stopped chopping and put his hands up. “Whoa! Are you kidding me? She’s human? Deal-breaker!” He bent over, laughing.
“That’s so funny.” And here I thought we were having a serious discussion. “She knows very little about shifters and even less about our kind, Oz.”
He shrugged. “So? We’ll teach her. And the right way. Not the kids’ movie version or the horror movie version. We’ll tell her the stories and teach her the lore. That way, she can tell the stories to our young.”
“Young? We didn’t even talk to her about that.”
He shook his head. Clearly, I had more reservations than my friend. I put all the veggies into the large pan and let them sauté while I put the rice on to boil.
“Let’s meet the woman and take her out to dinner before we ask the state of her womb. Don’t you feel it already, Koruk? Don’t you feel something inside when you look at her? She’s our mate.”
I stood, bracing myself on the counter. “She is. Isn’t she?”
“She is. So, here’s what I’m going to suggest. I searched a few things about the site and how people meet on there.”
I nodded. “And the next step is to ask if she wants to come here and stay with us for a while. A trial run, if you will.”
Gods, I wanted her in our home. It was only a house without a female presence and, while there had never been one here, I knew it would be great. I imagined Malinda walking down the stairs in the morning, that adorable bed head in full effect. I bet she had sleepy eyes in the morning and a sweet smile.
“What about her job? We can’t just ask for her to pick up and come here, Koruk.”
He took the garlic bread from the oven and sprinkled freshly grated parmesan on top. “She told us herself. As long as she has her computer, she can work. Doesn’t matter the location.”
That was true. Over text, she’d sent us some finished projects and they were amazing.
“Should we wait until tomorrow to ask her? I want to ask her to come here.”
He smiled. “Why wait? If she wants to think about her answer or take a couple of days to respond, that’s her choice and one I would respect, but waiting to act on getting our mate is not something I want to postpone.” He put his hand on my arm. “We’ve been waiting for so long, Koruk. I don’t want to waste another second living without her.”
I didn’t either.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Dinner, and then let’s call our mate. In the meantime, we need to get the guest room ready. I don’t want to pressure her. We can go buy some new things for tomorrow. Make everything perfect. Let’s take some time off as well. If she’s going to be here for a short time, I don’t want to spend ten hours a day away from her.”
