Page 6 of His Bullied Fated Mate

I leaned back in my chair. “So, I’m just supposed to believe you have found my mate without you telling me how you did it?”

Jasmine raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you doubting us?”

I sighed, no longer interested in the meeting. I just wanted this to be over. I would meet whoever they wanted and let them know they were wrong. I waved a hand. “Fine, who exactly have you found as the solution?”

“A human girl. We think that humans are the solution to the problem since they don't possess magic or feel the bonds as we do.”

I almost laughed if I wasn’t insulted by their words. They found that a human would be able to help with a shifter issue? For heaven's sake, just who the hell was working for them? Did they hire idiots?

“Are you kidding me right now?” I asked, grinding my teeth together.

They all shook their heads. “You know her. Her name is Janella Mendez.”

Every muscle in my body froze as I listened to her name. I hadn’t heard it in a while, but my body reacted. There was no possible way that she was my fated mate. I would have known. I spent years around her, and I didn’t feel anything towards her.

I ground my teeth together, unable to deny the fluster that formed in my belly. A part of me was suddenly interested. I hadn’t seen her in a long time. Troy didn’t talk about his sister. It would be interesting to know what happened with her.

I arrived at Troy's parents' house for dinner. I rang the doorbell, and it was thrown open. Lily, Troy's mother, opened it and looked shocked. “Riley? What are you doing here?”

“Troy invited me to join you guys. Did he not tell you?”

I could see Troy was sitting behind her on the couch. He looked surprised when he saw me. Lily turned and crossed her arms at him. “Troy?”

“In my defense, I didn't think he would come.”

Charlie, Troy's father, who was sitting on the recliner, chuckled.

Lily shook her head. “Well, come in.”

I stepped inside, and Lily shut the door behind me. “It's been a while since we last saw you, Riley. How have you been?”

“I've been good. Busy. How have you guys been?”

“Wonderful.”

I slipped my shoes off and moved over to join Troy on the couch. They were watching a baseball game, and I could smell chicken from the kitchen. My stomach growled, and I realized that I hadn't eaten since breakfast.

“Dinner is actually done if we want to move over to the kitchen.” We all moved to the kitchen, where Lily grabbed another plate and set it out for me.

I sat across from Troy. “This looks lovely, Lily.”

“I'm glad you could join us. It's been a while since we've had a fourth person eating with us.”

I felt the space grow tense suddenly, and Troy froze as he reached for a chicken. He looked at me for a split second before grabbing a chicken breast and moving it to his plate. “It's not been that long, Mom.”

Lily scuffed. “It has. Honey, has she called? She told me she was going to call tonight.”

Charlie shook his head. “No, she hasn't. I'm sure she will. It's still early.”

I knew they were talking about Janella. I grabbed a chicken and pulled it onto my plate. “Has she been home since she moved away? I haven't seen her around at all.”

Lily shook her head. “She's busy. Very busy girl. We're so proud of how well she's done for herself.”

“What is she doing?”

“She's an assistant to a CEO.” Lily's eyes sparkled as she spoke. “She's doing well for herself.”

A part of me suddenly ached because I didn't like what I was going to have to do. I swallowed. “Where did she end up going to anyway?”