Chapter 310

“Oh, Chloe,” Angela says sadly. “Was that never covered in your previous school?”

“No one really talked about it,” Chloe says. “Survival was more important. Basic life skills. Who has time to worry about something as arbitrary as a mating bond when you can’t afford to eat every day?”

More and more pity floods Angela’s face. Even Debbie looks at me with a new kind of sadness.

“A mating bond is a connection of two werewolves’ souls,” Angela says. “It is a physical and emotional connection that ties a pair together. That pair is each other’s perfect match, heart, body, and soul. When a werewolf reaches a certain age, their wolf will call out to their mate.”

“The two wolves recognize each other at once.” Debbie claps her hands together and sighs. “It’s so romantic.”

“It’s not always romantic,” Angela adds. “If a person’s mate dies, for example, it could lead to a lifetime of misery for the one left behind, as they are incapable of moving on, at least to the same capacity.”

“That’s romantic too,” Debbie says.

“It’s sad,” Angela argues.

Debbie rolls her eyes at Angela and turns her attention to me. “That Beau is already feeling a pull towards you shows that one of the brothers should be bound to you. When your wolf manifests, it will be clearer which one.”

I slink into my chair.

“Why look so down?” Debbie says with bright encouragement. “Soon, you’ll be mated to one of the Hayes brothers. That will basically cement your status –”

“Status isn’t everything,” Angela says. “Let’s not forget who they Hayes brothers are. Are any of them even capable of being faithful to a mate?”

“Neil was faithful to you,” I remind her.

“Do you honestly believe he would take a commoner for a wife, when someone else, someone with status would help advance his political career?” Angela asks. Her blatant honesty hurts like a slap to the face, but honestly, I’m happy to hear it.

These are the kinds of things I need to hear, to not let my heart get carried away.

“Steven will always put research first. Neil, his career. Archer, his warrior status. And Beau? Who knows if he could ever limit himself to one woman?” Angela lists them off on her fingers. “Honestly, you had better hope you bond with someone else.”

“Don’t be so negative,” Debbie says. “The brothers have come a long way since Chloe met them. They might not care so much about those things anymore. Not compared to her.”

Debbie is the optimist. The romantic. That’s why I want her here.

“Maybe,” Angela says, though she clearly isn’t so convinced.

I’m not sure what I believe myself. Debbie’s right, the brothers have come a long way. But Angela’s right too, even in that transition, they’ve still maintained some of the harsh edges of themselves.

I can’t quite imagine any of them settling down. Not even for a mate.

Not even for me.

“Don’t give up on love before it’s even begun, Chloe,” Debbie says.

“I’m not…” I say, though I’m nervous and unsure.

One way or another, a mating bond is a life-altering event for all involved.

I can only hope it doesn’t end in my own heartbreak.

We continue chatting a while, catching up about school and some popular television shows. Everything comes to a screeching halt when my phone begins to ring.

I forgot to silence it so I grab it quickly and check the screen. I pause, when I realize who’s calling.

“It’s the hospital,” I say.

“Tide?” Debbie gasps.

Angela looks at Debbie in confusion.

“Our friend in the coma,” Debbie replies quickly.

Although, I remember a time not all that long ago, when Debbie warned Tide was bad news. Now that he’s in a coma, they’re friends?

Better late than never, I guess.

I answer the phone and bring it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Chloe?”

“That’s me.”

A nurse introduces herself. “I was told you are the point of contact for our patient Tide.”

“Yes. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s wonderful,” the nurse says. “Your friend Tide is awake.”

Debbie and I split up with Angela, who tells us again and again that she understands as we apologize profusely. Then Debbie and I rush to the hospital.

When we arrive, Tide is sitting up in bed, eating some pudding with a spoon.

He smiles at us as we enter. While he’s been in his coma, all of his bruises and cuts have healed. His hair’s longer now than it’s ever been before, but he looks otherwise as he did before he came to the hospital.

“Hi, guys,” he says. “Thanks for coming by.”

Debbie and I crowd around Tides’ bedside. He seems confused by Debbie’s presence at first, but eventually warms up to her.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused,” he says after a while.

“Forget it,” I say. All of that happened so long ago, I could barely remember it now. I don’t want to say that to him, of course. Having just woken up from a coma, it probably doesn’t seem all that long ago to him. “What are friends for?”

He smiles at me, but that smile quickly wobbles and falls.

“You shouldn’t have to do my family’s job,” he says. “I’ve heard that they never visited. They even told the hospital to remove their contact info.” He lowers his spoon into his pudding cup and does not raise it again. “Some family of mine, huh? I’m here because of them, and they disown me while I can’t defend myself.”

I hate seeing him so upset, so I reach out and place my hand on his wrist.

“You’d think that me being awake would change something. I just tried calling them on my phone…” Tears well under Tide’s eyes. He sniffles. “They told me they don’t care. They said not to ever call them again.”

“Hey,” I say, before he can cry in earnest. “Forget them, okay?”

Tide looks up at me. “But they are my family.”

“Some families don’t share blood,” I say. “Your blood relatives are assholes, but there are people who care about you, Tide. Your friends. They call it found family. The family you choose.”

Tide searches my face. Then he does the same to Debbie. “Can I choose you guys?”

Debbie smiles brightly. “Of course!”

Eventually, Tide’s eyes clear and his sniffling ceases.

When his stomach starts to rumble, Debbie and I both offer to go get him a meal.

We wave back at him as we exit his room.

“You are coming back, right?” he calls.

My heart breaks a little, and I have half a mind to track down his parents just to clobber them myself. That’s not the oath of a warrior though, so I hold it back.

“We will,” I say like a promise, because it is.

He nods, seemingly satisfied, but a worried look stays on his face.

“Let’s be quick,” I tell Debbie, and we rush.

Halfway there, Debbie starts to speak. “You’ve really grown, Chloe. When I first met you… I don’t know. You care about us, and about things, but not like this. You always seemed to want to keep people at arms’ length. But now…”

She shakes her head a little. “I never would have thought living with the Hayes brothers would help anyone grow… But, the evidence is clear as day.”

She gives me a small smile, which I return. “I’m proud of you, too, Debbie. Before, you wouldn’t have wanted to go within twenty feet of Tide. Now, you are one of his family.”

Debbie shrugs, even as a tiny blush dusts her cheeks. “You wore off on me a little.”

We walk a minute more in silence.

Then Debbie asks, “If you had to pick one Hayes brother to be mated to, who would it be?”

“That’s the problem,” I tell her. “I don’t want just one.”