Chapter 128 EPILOGUE 2/6 – Mates

Chapter 128 EPILOGUE 2/5 – Mates
BENEDICT

Benedict whipped his head around and stared at Claire with wide eyes. “You… you know? How…? Did Beatrice…?”

“Oh please,” his mate scoffed. “Bea refuses to talk about anything that happened during her month of hell. I figured it out on my own, thanks.”

“…but how…?” Benedict was sure he’d taken every measure to prevent her from figuring it out.

It had taken a toll on him, avoiding her when all he wanted was to be by her side — to hold her, to smell her intoxicating scent, to… Benedict shook his head, stopping his train of thought from going any further. Only regret would follow; the knowledge he’d fucked everything up before even having a chance was a heavy burden he would bear for the rest of his life..

Though Beatrice had been adamant when she’d told him the choice would be Claire’s alone — that she would stay out of it — Benedict wasn’t hopeful. His actions were already known, after all, so there was nothing his mate wouldn’t already know. It was why he prepared himself everyday for the rejection that would inevitably come.

“Because I’m not an idiot,” Claire finally replied. “And you’re so beyond obvious it’s cringy.”

His shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair a second time, mussing it further. Well, that meant today would be the day; the day he’d been bracing himself for ever since learning what Claire was to him. “Right. Well… I guess we can get it over with now…”

His mate looked surprised. “Get what over with?”

“You rejecting me?” He hadn’t meant to make it sound like a question, because the answer was obvious.

“I’m rejecting you?”

Benedict stared at Claire for a long moment, cocking his head to one side. Her words, when alone, made perfect sense; but when strung together into that specific sentence, his brain couldn’t seem to understand what she meant. “You… you’re not rejecting me?”

“I don’t even know you,” she told him. “Why would you think I’d just reject you?”

“…uh… well…,” he stammered. This was not how he expected the conversation to go. Did this mean he actually had… a chance? That she was willing to give him a real chance?

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me? Because you expect me to reject you?”

“Well… yes, that, but… I also… I hoped I could find my place in this pack, and… once things settle down, I’d… be able to tell you and, I don’t know, hope that… that you’d see I’d changed?” It had been a pipe dream, or so he’d thought — a fairytale he refused to entertain. Now, however, it felt like a possibility. A tiny spark of hope in an otherwise lightless abyss. His heart hammered in his chest as he watched his mate roll her eyes.

“Dude. You’re impossible. Of course you’ve changed.”

What did she mean by that? Why was she so adamant that he’d already changed? How could she know? There’s no way anyone had been saying good things about him this whole time — not a chance. So why… how was this happening?

“I… am so confused. Are you accepting me or…?”

“I’m neither accepting nor rejecting you,” she sniffed. “I’m giving us the chance to get to know one another — like normal people. Whether things work out from there… who knows?”

Benedict almost fell to his knees in relief. He could have wept after hearing those words from his mate but managed to hold himself together — barely. Without meaning to, he’d taken a step closer but stopped once he realized what he was doing. “Really? You’re willing to give me a chance?”

“You obviously don’t know me very well,” she informed him with a shake of her head. “I know the gist of what you did to Bea and all that, but I also know you regret it. You feel guilt and remorse and all that and want to make amends. The fact she hasn’t said a single thing for or against you since deciding your punishment means she’s moved on and is letting bygones be bygones.

“Her and I… We don’t meddle each other’s love life. Ever. You think I like the fact she’s with a vampire? Hell no. But he treats her well and makes her happy. He definitely keeps her safe from the scarier things out there, too. Just because I’m a bit of a racist towards vampires doesn’t mean I’m willing to fuck with her happiness; she’s the same way when it comes to me.”

“…so you’re saying…”

”I’d bet good money she’s figured out we’re mates and the fact she hasn’t said anything means she isn’t going to cause a fuss if — and I do mean if — I decide you’re worth the effort. Now, if you do something to hurt me, I can guarantee she will be the first to come after you. Probably followed by the vampire.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you,” he promised without thinking. She was willing to give him a chance and that meant he wouldn’t allow himself to fuck it up. No way, no how.

Claire gave him a pointed look. “Hendricks,” was all she said and he couldn’t help but cringe. His former Alpha had caused plenty of hurt to his fated mate, which meant Benedict’s promise held little to no weight.

Opening his mouth to respond, Benedict paused, closed it and gave himself another few seconds. “I can’t argue with that…” Damn Hendricks’ arrogance and selfishness.

“Look,” Claire began, letting her arms fall to her side. “If you’d rather not be with someone with the blood of who knows how many different species, then I get it.”

“What? No. That’s not a problem.” Why would she think that was a problem? She was his mate; like hell something as insignificant as her blood would be enough to change how he felt.

“Then what is your problem?”

His… problem? At the moment, he had more than he could count. “I, uh… I don’t know how to answer that.”

Annoyed, his mate closed the distance between them and jabbed her finger against his chest. The physical contact, even with his shirt in the way, was electric. His body responded and Benedict had to fight his instinct to wrap his arms around her — to kiss those gorgeous lips as they moved to say, “You need to get your shit together.”

“I will,” he promised, voice husky as he continued to fight his baser instincts. He forced his gaze from those perfect lips to the finger still jabbing his chest. “But, uhm… you might… want to avoid physical contact,” he whispered, swallowing as he stayed perfectly still. It wouldn’t take much to break his control and he was terrified at the prospect of scaring her off so soon after being given hope. “The bond is…”

“I’ve warded myself against being marked,” she informed him with a smirk, causing his breath to catch in his throat. He watched as she removed her finger from his chest and took a step back. “So, how about it?”

Benedict’s eyes widened, nostrils flaring at her words. Her intoxicating scent enveloped him as his mind raced with what her words actually meant. “Are you…?”

They stood facing each other in silence, his unfinished question hanging in the air. Benedict couldn’t figure out what do to with himself. What, exactly, did she mean by ‘so, how about it’? How about what? Obviously she didn’t mean sealing the bond, so that left… what?

Even his wolf was confused by what she’d meant by those words.

The seconds ticked by until Claire finally let out an exasperated sigh. “Are you going to ask me out or not?”

“Ask… you out? Like… on a date?” Benedict wasn’t opposed to the idea, though it wasn’t how wolves did things.

“Yeah. Like on a date,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “I was raised by human standards, for the most part, so I’d appreciate it if you followed their customs or whatever.”

“…so you want me to… date you like a human?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No,” he hastily assured her with a shake of his head. “I just… don’t really know how humans do things.”

“They go on dates,” she told him, this time with a smirk. “They get to know each other, see if they’re compatible, and go from there. It’s really not that complicated.”

Benedict’s wolf pressed him to take action, to ask their mate out on a date before she changed her mind, but his human half was more cautious. Would she have a change of heart if he jumped on it like the lifeline it was? “So… a date?”

“Are you asking or do you need more clarification?”

“Asking. Definitely asking.”

Claire’s eyebrows rose as she continued to stare at him, confusing Benedict. He’d asked, hadn’t he? Wasn’t that what she wanted?

His wolf was annoyed, not understanding why their mate wasn’t giving them any clue on what she was expecting from them.

Benedict decided to give it another try — maybe she was expecting the ‘ask’ to be more obvious? “…so… uh… will you… go on a date? With me?”

“Sure,” she grinned.

Relief hit him like a freight train and it took the former Beta a handful of seconds before he remembered how to speak. “Really?”

His mate rolled her eyes again, though her grin was still present, causing his racing heart to skip a beat. “Yeah, really. Give me your phone; I’ll put my number in it for you.”