Fire & Ice | Soulmate AU 1 |

chapter twenty-one

I wake up bright and early the next morning. Max and I have a three hour trip to make, so it's best to leave early just in case.

Rowan watches with an easy smile as I get dressed, his head propped up by an elbow. I feel lighter than I have in quite possibly years. I never thought finalizing a Bond would have such a big effect on my life, but I can't ignore the facts. The stress over finding my counterpart is gone. The anguish over the situation the pair of us were in has been resolved. We've finally moved out of the gray area our relationship had existed in for so long. Everything with Rowan is working out better than I ever thought it could.

I can't forget the situation with my mother, however. It seems that if anything ever goes well in my life, something else has to go horribly wrong. Right now is no exception.

Rowan accompanies me in the elevator ride down to the parking garage. I take the hand hanging at his side, tugging him down to my height so I can pull him into a long kiss. He lets go of my hand, sliding it down my arm until it comes to rest at my waist. He yanks me in closer. I forget exactly where we are for a moment, which is something that only Rowan has ever been able to cause me to do. We had less time than I thought we did, apparently, because the elevator dings and suddenly the doors are sliding open.

There's some surprised noises, so whoever's down here with us now knows exactly what kind of relationship Rowan and I have. We break apart and step away from each other, daring a glance outside of the elevator to see who it is.

Oh boy. The whole team, literally all of them. Great.

"Okay, I'll bite," Flint says. "Are you guys messing around or what?"

My hand jumps up to grab at the pendant hanging from the strand around my neck automatically. The movement answers the question for me. There's no need to lie about our relationship anymore, though, so I'm way less terrified than I would have been if a situation like this happened earlier on. Rowan and I are Bonded now, too, which is essentially a step below marriage. I don't have nearly as many doubts as I used to.

"Oh wow, okay," Flint says, laughing lightly. "It's way more than that, apparently, jeez." His words break the silence, the entire team bursting into conversation. I look sideways at Rowan and he stares back with a helpless expression that probably mirrors my own.

"I knew it all along," Max shouts, wagging a smug finger in Flint's face.

"I was the one who suggested it to you!" Flint retorts.

"Alright, yeah, yeah, big deal, whatever," I say, breaking into the back and forth. "Can we get this show on the road already?"

"Aw, he's embarrassed," JD coos. "How adorable."

"Shut up," I grumble, but there's no heat behind my words.

"I feel like everyone kinda knew on some level," Nick pipes up. "I was getting serious boyfriend vibes when Lake almost, you know, died in Rowan's arms. Literally." Rowan startles a bit beside me, his hand settling at the small of my back.

"Boyfriend vibes?" Cecelia repeats. "They barely even looked at each when Rowan first got to the tower."

"Okay, alright, can we stop discussing my relationship now? Washington D.C.? The entire League's at risk? Remember?" I say, trying to get past all of this without dying of embarrassment.

Everyone's gaze swings back to Rowan and I. Max clears his throat and grabs a duffel bag that's resting on the floor. It's holding our uniforms and a gun for each of us because traveling in our gear unarmed would be stupidly reckless.