Mateo glances between both of us. “What is going on?” He asks, it is clear he is finding this situation awkward as well.
However, Ezra ignores his question, instead focusing on me. “Tell me you don’t love him then,” Ezra challenges, and Mateo’s head jerks to turn and stare at me.
Kora whines in my head, but I ignore her. “That’s not fair, Ezra, we have argued over this before, you are looking for a reason to start a fight!” I snap.
“Answer the question, Kat.”
“You already know I do, but I don’t know what you are trying to prove by doing this,” I growl at him, turning around and heading for the house.
“I’m not trying to prove anything, Kat. I am telling you that you can mark him if he wants you to, and if you want to, of course,” Ezra confesses. I stop, turn and look at him. This is like the invasion of the body snatchers, there is no way Ezra is sitting here and saying these words to me. There’s just no way. Mateo also turns, staring at him like he just grew three heads and a pair of bat wings.
“You could have asked first instead of doing this,” I tell him before walking off. He sighs, and I feel terrible walking away, hoping Mateo doesn’t think I am rejecting him. I just can’t deal with how this situation has been handled. Ezra could have asked or just said something to us instead of randomly throwing it out there like it is some big test we are taking.
I head inside and run up the stairs toward the bedroom. “Kat, Calm down, Maddox is fine with it,” Kora explains.
“He didn’t even ask Kora. He just put me on the spot, what if I wanted to say no or Mateo did? Do you have any idea how awkward things would be?” Now I understand his strange behavior all day. Yet I am not foolish enough to believe he means what he said. How can he be alright with it? Was he just playing with my guilt after my heat?
“He could have handled it better, I admit,” Kora observes, and I walk into the bathroom, turning the shower on before remembering the door and quickly locking it.
“Kat?” Mateo mindlinks.
“Yes, Mateo?” I reply, stepping into the shower.
“I swear, I didn’t know he was going to do that. I never asked him to.”
“I know that-” Guilt nags at me and I turn away. “Mateo… I.” He cuts the link abruptly, my head becoming my own, and I am smashed with emotions I can’t understand.
Ezra
S
he ran away, leaving us both standing there. I know she loves Mateo, but now I am second-guessing my decision, or did I read it completely wrong? Mateo stares after her, and I feel terrible that I have now caused a rift between them.
M
ateo sighs, drawing my attention back to him. “It will never work, you know.”
“Y
ou don’t know that, it can work. Maddox accepts it. You’re my best friend.”
“A
nd that is exactly why it won’t work. You’re straight, Ezra, and you’re willing to share your mate? Relationships only work when they aren’t divided. Whatever you are trying to do won’t work because you are straight. You will get sick of sharing. I know you, Ezra. I know Maddox, and what happens if she shows more attention to one of us? How will Maddox handle that?”
I
stare at him.
“S
o you expect her to mark me, and everything will be fine afterward when we are not bonded? Jealousy kills, you should know that by now, look at her mother,” Mateo scolds, before turning on his heel and walking inside.
“M
ateo!” I call after him. He shakes his head and continues walking.
“T
old you, and now Kat is pissed off with us,” Maddox huffs.
“S
he will get over it.”
“Y
ou embarrassed her, put her on the spot, Ezra. It might take her a while to get over it.”
G
oing inside, I search for her, heading for the bedroom. Pushing the door open, I can hear the shower running and grip the door handle to find it locked.
“Y
ep, she’s pissed off, she never locks the door,” Maddox growls.
H
eavy footsteps stop at my door and I look up to see Mateo sticking his head into the bedroom door with a pair of black knit shorts on.
“W
here are you going?” I ask, hoping he isn’t going to get wasted again.
“P
atrol duty, they are short. Steven’s mate just went into labor,” Mateo replies, and I nod.
“O
kay, I will catch you later.”
H
e nods, walking off and heading down the stairs.
T
he shower cuts off and I tense. “Kat, can we talk, please?” I call through the door.
“L
ater, I am getting ready to go see Jasmine and Angie,” she replies, before opening the door, she steps out in just a towel, pushing past me, and walks into the walk-in closet.
“W
here are you going? I don’t like you going off by yourself without Mateo or me.”
S
he peeks her head out of the closet to give me a deadpan stare. “Well, you kind of ruined it with Mateo, didn’t you? I know you don’t want to hang out with a bunch of girls, so I am going on my own. Angie is picking me up in twenty minutes.”
I
press my lips into a line. Maddox growls, on edge at the thought of her going off on her own. “We can always follow and keep our distance,” Maddox suggests.
“B
ut she would know we were close by. I will ask one of the guards to keep an eye on them.” I point out, and he nods.
S
he gets dressed in jeans and a blue shirt before she perches on the end of the bed, putting her shoes on.
“S
o, where are you going exactly?” I casually ask her, and her eyes flick to me briefly before going back to her hands where she is tying her laces.
“C
afé in town, then Angie wants to go watch movies at Jasmine’s,” she tells me with a shrug, and I nod. Well, at least Mathias would be home or his mate.