Page 90 of Legends and Longing

Because he’d been searching for his mate.

“I can’t believe I missed you.” It was probably best that I had since my mood was not always pleasant. “How often were your meetings?”

Had I missed seeing him every week somehow?

“Once a year.” His casual shrug left me shocked but I kept that feeling tight inside me. “The forest near your home is beautiful.”

Fates above.

“I can’t wait to show you more of it.” On foot and in the air. “And I can’t wait to figure out how much trouble you’re going to be when you move in.”

That got the silly laugh I was hoping for and he lifted his head to give me a sweet kiss I hadn’t expected. It seemed like our night had taken an unexpectedly pleasant turn and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Having mates was much more interesting than I’d ever imagined.

Chapter 27

Shiloh

“Why are you blushing?” Wren giggled as he leaned in closer to pretend to study my face. “Yep, you’re blushing, that’s not an allergy.”

Groaning, I hid my face against my knees and blushed even more as everyone else laughed too. “Mate stuff. I’m gonna be a local, though, and say we don’t talk about that kind of thing.”

That got more laughter from the other littles and curious locals Wren had collected for chicken nugget experiments, and a snort from Toman who was pretending to hide in their bedroom.

“Luckily for everyone else, I’m a naughty Earthling.” Even the handful of wide-eyed locals who I was pretty sure hadn’t said their names giggled at Wren’s declaration. “Blushing means Earth nonsense.”

It was my own fault but I couldn’t help lifting up my shirt and hiding behind it. “I opened our bonds a bit too much.”

I was probably purple by the time everyone stopped laughing, but eventually they were down to just random giggles as I sighed. “They’re kissing. I didn’t expect it.”

I wasn’t sure if I should’ve talked about that or not, but I didn’t think Master or Daddy would have a problem with it. No one else seemed to have an issue either judging by the giggles and the fact that Toman hadn’t told us to behave.

“What’s it like having two mates?” Wren reached over and pulled my shirt down just enough to see my eyes. “You can tell me not to be nosy if you want to…I also work with safewords.”

That statement didn’t get nearly as many questions from the locals as it should have. It was obvious they weren’t there just visiting for the nuggets.

“I don’t need to do that but…” Goodness sakes. “Um, me lifting up one finger is green, two is yellow, three is red. I don’t always do well with words.”

Might as well get that out just in case Wren got too enthusiastic.

“Oh, that’s a great idea.” Sitting back on the floor, he grinned. “That’s smart. Okay go back to hiding if you need to.”

I couldn’t decide if him being accepting and open was frustrating or not, but it had the effect of letting me sit up easier. “I think I’m fine.”

For now.

The smirk he shifted into said he knew what I was thinking too.

“Um, having even one mate would’ve been weird but I don’t think two makes it any stranger?” I shrugged as it felt like everyone wiggled closer even though that had to be my imagination. “I grew up in the middle of nowhere around mostly humans, so I never knew anyone that found their mates.”

Someone needed to figure out why opening the portal changed the number of people finding their mates, but it wasn’t my job, so I wasn’t going to worry about it. I wasn’t sure how that kind of magic worked and I had other things to focus on.

“I’m not going to ask if it’s fun because that’s not my business.” The way he glanced toward the bedroom and raised his voice at the end made it clear who that was for. “But I’m not easily shocked, so you don’t have to worry about oversharing.”

No, but he’d give me a lot of other things to worry about.

“Thank you for…for being understanding.” I thought that was a pretty good response but it got more giggles as Wren pouted. “I’m…I’m enjoying it and I’ll just say that mates are always compatible.”