I spend the morning following Luciana around the farm, watching as she interacted with the animals. I finally got to prove that, yes, I could milk a cow, but Luciana just teased me about getting Dane to teach me, much to my exasperation. It didn’t help when I stood up and almost knocked over the bucket of milk again.
Still, I enjoy myself. I can see how at peace Luciana is here, and the animals seem to have taken to her, understanding that she’s no threat to them at all.
Around lunch, I find myself sitting with her in the shade of a large tree, watching as some of the animals roam around the field.
“You know, when I first came here, I did consider selling it all,” Luciana says suddenly.
I pause in the act of biting into my sandwich.
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says. “It just seemed like way too much, you know? Especially when I discovered all these mythical creatures here. I was definitely in over my head. I even started looking up how much this place would sell for, and I was this close to calling a real estate agent.”
“What stopped you?” I ask.
“Well, I was actually sitting here on the second night,” she says, laughing. “I was feeling sorry for myself, and I was really angry at you.”
I cough, embarrassed. She grins at me.
“And while I’m sitting there, Jump comes up and just crawls into my lap,” she continues.
I follow her gaze. In the grass not too far away, I can see a tiny, white fox, a rare albino, napping in the sun. She’s a beautiful creature who loves all sorts of affection, and readily gives it out too.
“She just sat there and demanded me to pet her,” Luciana says fondly. “And that’s the first time it occurred to me that maybe I’m needed here. So, I decided to give it a shot. I was surprised to find how nice it was here.”
I glance at her. She’s staring out at the farm, a small smile on her face. This is the woman that I could fall in love with if I let it happen.
And I want to.
The thought doesn’t scare me at all. I always knew I’d find my mate in the world one day. But I also know that it’s far too soon to be talking about all that. Luciana is willing, it seems, but I’m not about to scare her off with talk of forever commitments when we haven’t known each other for very long.
I just need to wait and see where this goes.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.
She turns to smile at me.
“So am I,” she says.
Despite knowing how mad Dane is going to be at me, it’s evening before I enter my own home again. I’ve kept Dane updated via text all day, not wanting him to worry that I was dying somewhere, but I know my brother is going to be furious anyway.
I sniff appreciatively at the air. Though, it seems he cooked dinner, so he couldn’t be too upset.
Maybe I’ll just wait to tell him that Luciana is my mate until after dinner.
Dane is standing at the counter, stirring something in a pot, and I can see the tense line of his shoulders as he glares down at it. I clear my throat and he looks up, transferring the glare to me.
“Warwick,” he says stiffly. “You’re home in time for dinner.”
“Thanks for cooking,” I try.
It doesn’t appease him. Slowly, I sit at the table as he dishes up the food, a spicy curry that we both love with rice. He carries them to the table and sets my plate down slightly harder than normal.
“Thanks,” I say.
It takes Dane four bites before he cracks.
“Where have you been all day?” he asks.
“At Luciana’s,” I say.
Dane’s expression darkens.
“And last night?” he snaps.
“There, too,” I admit; there’s no point in lying now.
Dane scowls and sits up straighter.
“Are you an idiot?” he demands. “You have no idea who this woman is! For all we know, she could be a Hunter herself, who collects rare animals. You haven’t even seen her farm, so you have no idea if those creatures are even still alive.”
“Actually, I saw them today,” I say. “There are quite a lot of them and they seem to adore her.”
Dane huffs.
“Either way, we know nothing about her,” he says stubbornly. “How can you trust her so easily that you would spend the night with her. Were you that desperate for a good fuck?”
My hackles rise instantly.
“No,” I say coldly. “She’s my mate.”
That pulls Dane up short. He sits back, stunned.
“What?” he gasps.
“I realised it yesterday, while we were talking to her about what we are,” I say. “I had that feeling our parents always told us about. She’s my mate, Dane.”
“She can’t be,” Dane splutters. “She’s a human!”
“And?” I ask.
“Warwick, think about it!” Dane exclaims. “Fine, you’re happy now, but you and I both know that we’ll live far longer lives than any human. What are you going to do when she dies of old age? It’s just going to leave you heartbroken! That’s why phoenixes usually mate with other phoenixes!”
“Unless you haven’t noticed, other phoenixes are in fairly short supply right now,” I say.
But my tone isn’t as sharp as I wanted. How can I snap at Dane when he’s just looking out for me?
“It doesn’t matter, anyway, Dane,” I say with a small smile. “I don’t get to choose who my mate is, you know that. She’s been my mate from the moment we were both born. Maybe it is the world’s idea of a joke, but it doesn’t matter right now. I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” I pause. “If we come to it. Luciana doesn’t know anything about phoenix mates, okay? I don’t want to scare her off yet.”
“What happens if you’re together for the next couple of months and she still doesn’t accept it?” Dane demands.
“Then, that will be that,” I say with a shrug. “I can live with being rejected, you know. A lot of phoenixes never even find their mates.”
Dane glares down at the table.
“I don’t like it,” he grumbles. “A human should never be in our world. I don’t know what her father was thinking, dragging first himself and then her into all this.”
“Well, what’s done is done,” I say. “Just give her a chance, alright? If nothing else, she’s my mate, which means she’s trustworthy.”
“Maybe,” Dane says stubbornly, and I know that’s the best I’ll get out of him.
“Thanks,” I sigh. “Oh, while we’re on the subject… I’m going to give Luciana the poisoned dagger.”
“What?” Dane exclaims. “Are you out of your mind?”
“She’s a toxicologist, Dane,” I say. “She wants to study the poison and maybe see if she can develop an antidote for it. You can’t say that won’t be useful.”
“Of course it will be,” Dane scowls. “Right until she stabs us in the back with it.”
“You said you would give her a chance,” I remind him.
“Giving her a chance does not mean giving her one of the only weapons in the world that can kill us!”