Page 2 of Miles's Pact
I pursed my lips, thought about it, then shrugged. "I'll know it when I see them."
"Okay. Before we do that, there's someone I'd like you to see," Rebba said. She had a curious look on her face, hopeful and like whatever she was about to show me was important.
"What is it?" I asked, guessing she had a particular animal she was hoping to get adopted.
"Come with me," she said, before leading me into the back. Walking past the cat and dog rooms, she led me straight to the storage room in the back where I knew she kept the pet food, litter, and other supplies.
She opened the door, and for a moment, I remembered another door, and a closet Miles and I were forced into with the others at the end of the day, where we spent the night in the cramped space, sleeping fitfully as one of us kept watch, not that it did us much good.
I shook my head, finding myself in a rearranged storage room. Everything had been pushed to one side, while the other side had a small inflatable pool, food and water bowls, and... a duck.
A duck that wasn't a duck at all. I sucked in a breath, my eyes roaming over the larger-than-normal duck. They had a shiny green head, a yellow beak, and the front of their chest was brown, while the rest was white. They peered at me with beady black eyes before giving a loud squawk and retreating to the other side of the room.
"Oh fuck," I muttered as the realization sank in. I couldn't believe it.
Growing up, it hadn't taken me long to figure out that I wasn't like most people around me. I'd never had a crush, never experienced physical attraction, never wanted to sleep with someone.
Fortunately, Dad was ace, and a few conversations with him had helped me figure out that I was too. I also had no interestin a romantic relationship. Not to say I didn't or couldn't love people. I just didn't want to beinlove with anyone.
Because of that, I'd always assumed Miles would be the first to find his mate. Platonic mates were so much rarer than romantic ones after all.
"He's yours, isn't he?" Rebba murmured, and all I could do was nod.
