"Who would want to eat a cookie with Freddie Mercury's face on it?" Lucas deadpanned as he held up the cookie cutter shaped as the lead singer of Queen.
"That's actually a best seller at these charity events," Theo stated.
"What's the occasion? Aids?"
"Yes."
Sucking in his lips, Lucas began to roll the leftover dough out to cut more cookies. Dripping Drizzles never let dough go to waste. Not until there was such little left that they had to eat it or toss it. "How are you not fat if all you do is eat sweets all day?"
"Because I'm a werewolf who goes running every night for at least an hour, and I also eat right the rest of the day." He smirked at Lucas. "What's your excuse?"
Dramatically gasping, Lucas placed a hand over his chest as he said, "Are you calling me fat?"
"Even if I were, how is that an insult?"
Shrugging, Lucas mumbled, "Fair point," as he stuffed the small ball of dough in his mouth. "And these are going to be good by the end of the week?"
"No, these are going out to the event planners tomorrow to enjoy while they set everything up. They've always been a huge fan of my sugar cookies, and they always want some of their own before the benefit. We're going to need to make more the night before."
"Friday."
"Yes, Friday."
"And you're going to need my help on Saturday?"
"I mean, if you don't mind helping. I can always ask Ryan or Ross-"
"Oh, is it because you gave him more thought on being his companion?" Lucas said, trying to be nonchalant.
Theo sighed. "It's been six hours. I don't want to be thinking about it anymore today. Especially not from you."
"Is there a problem with me getting real with you?"
"No, the problem is that you're engaged. You found someone to love you back. My mate doesn't love me. He loves someone else. I don't have the ability to sit around and wait for someone else to fall in love with. I had one shot at being in love with someone, and that chance is now gone. There's nothing more for you to say or do about it."
"Well, I don't like the idea of you being his companion."
Theo placed a bowl in the sink, unable to look at him. "Oh?"
"I know it sounds weird, but there's this feeling in my chest that makes the idea of you settling for a companion...unsettling to me."
"So you, the man who's getting married, doesn't like the idea of seeing me with someone else?" He smirked as he leaned his back against the sink, his hands firmly placed on either side of him. "I know why."
"Why?" he quickly asked.
"It's so obvious."
"Tell me!"
"You're in love with me."
Lucas stuttered, and Theo caught it. He hesitated before saying, "I'm in love with Melissa. She's my soulmate."
"Is she?"
Lucas smirked and crossed his arms. "Yes. I love her with all my heart."
"Yet you're in love with me," Theo teased as he grabbed Lucas's hands. "Leave her and run away with me." Leaning his forehead against Lucas's, both their breaths halted for a beat. He murmured, "Be mine."
Pulling away with a soft chuckle, Lucas said, "I know you're just playing around, but if you keep those moves up, I just might fall in love with you."
"Then I should keep them up."
"Oh, I get it," he dramatically announced. "You are actually in love with me."
"I love my mate," Theo stated. "I'll only ever love my mate. There's no one for me but him."
"Except Ross."
Theo groaned. "What is your deal with Ross?"
"He's not your mate."
"You're right. My mate is in love with someone else, so unless he suddenly falls in love with me, I will be alone. Forever. Werewolves do this all the time when they're either rejected or lose their mate. Sometimes they'll be with other werewolves if they were close enough, but there is no werewolf I want to be with. I just want my mate. I can't have him, so maybe in a few years, if I'm still lonely and want a companion, then yes, I might be with Ross. But I don't plan to be with him anytime soon." He sighed. "Not unless something gives me a reason to."
The idea of Theo being with someone else pissed Lucas off. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because he knew that if Melissa suddenly had doubts, he would fight to be with her. He'd show her why he was the one for her. And Theo had to give up. He was forced to settle for someone else, and Lucas wanted him to fight harder. He wanted him to go out and tell his mate who he was and that he loved him. He wanted Theo to be happy.
But more than that, there was an internal debate. Though miniscule, it was still there. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that Theo shouldn't be with Ross, only his mate. And though he didn't know who Theo's mate was, it made him less jealous to think of Theo with his mate than settling for Ross. He was jealous, and Lucas hated the feeling. He had no reason to be jealous. He was in love with Melissa. He wanted to marry her. Yet he couldn't let go of the feeling of Theo settling with someone else.
^^^
"I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with hiding who you are, but I do feel that if there is something massive about yourself that you are hiding, you should tell the person you are going to date what it is so it doesn't come out as some big surprise later," Melissa stated. "I know the book is supposed to be about fear and how it can control you, but I know that if I were an ordinary human and I wound up dating a mythical, I'd want him to tell me before we got serious. I'd want to know what I signed up for."
"Did Lucas hide that from you when you first met him?" Ryan questioned as he pulled into the driveway of his house.
"No, but I do wish he would have told me sooner. He knew I was a mythical before I knew he was. He was there with me as I did my training," she said, "and one day I wound up blowing him off the side of a building. I was freaking out until his wings sprouted and he flew back up next to me. I thought I killed him for a moment." Her heart always raced whenever she thought about that day. The idea of killing her fiancé scared her tremendously. She placed her hand over her heart and sighed. "It was not the way I wanted to be told that he was a Moth Man."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Ryan frowned, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You should have been told properly."
"I guess he was just ashamed of himself. He thought I'd look at him differently for being part insect."
"I don't see a difference."
"I didn't either. At least not until one of the clowns played with my daggers and stabbed his arm. His blood is green and kind of chunky," she grimaced, and Ryan shuddered.
"How would he have a blood transfusion?"
"Moth people have the same blood as pixies and fairies, thankfully. It honestly explains a lot about the women's bathroom in high school," she laughed as she climbed out of the car.
Following after her, Ryan locked the doors and began to step towards the front door. Glancing over his shoulder at her, he noticed she stared at him, torn between the thoughts in her head. He knew she wanted to ask about mates again, and he didn't mind answering her questions since it was her. He'd answer any question she had no matter how much it broke his heart.
"You can say it," he softly encouraged. "I don't mind telling you."
"Did your mate know who you were?"
"I didn't want to tell her until she fell in love with me."
"Why?"
He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I didn't want her to feel like she had to fall in love with me just because of who I was. I wanted her to fall in love with me for me, and then I'd tell her who I was so she'd never have to worry about me leaving her. She'd never have any doubts in her heart about how devoted I am to her. I just wanted the natural love first."
"Do you regret not telling her?"
Shaking his head, he smiled and said, "Not in the slightest. She's happy with her boyfriend. After everything she went through in life, I have wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. And if this is the way she can be, then so be it. I'm happy she's happy."
"Well, aren't you a modern day Romeo," she teased as she bumped his shoulder with hers, passing him to walk to the front door.
"I'd honestly think of myself as more of a Mr. Darcy."
"Nah. I've never seen you shy away from anything no matter how nervous you are."
"While that may be true, I've still hidden my true feelings for the woman I love. And I know that if I were to tell her who I am, she would tell me to piss off, because I've ruined her chance of happiness. It wouldn't matter how much I love her, because she'd never believe I was a good man."
"That's not true," she whispered, her voice inflicted in pain.
"It is. It's better for me to lie about who I am to her. That way she'll never be hurt by my actions. It's too late for me to tell her who I am. If I do, she won't believe me."
"I know that if I were your mate, I'd believe you."
"You're in love with your fiancé," he said, smiling dejectedly. "Wouldn't you rather be happy with the man you know you love instead of analyze over some complicated feelings?"
Folding her hands, she stared down at her feet. If Ryan were her mate, she'd want to know. She knew that his mate would want to know, too. At least then she'd be able to choose if she wanted to be with her actual soulmate or just a man who she thought she loved. Though she knew Lucas was her own soulmate, if there was someone out there who was her actual mate, she'd want to know right away.
When Melissa didn't continue to argue, Ryan knew where he currently stood. He nodded his head and walked into the house, leaving the door open for her for when she was ready to step inside.
He was such a kind man. A man who deserved to be loved back by his mate. If only Melissa knew who his mate was, she would tell her the truth so she could be happy with a man who would love and devote himself to her. Melissa found his reasoning for hiding to be sweet, but she also found it to be masochistic. He was hurting himself by hiding the truth. She wanted him to come out with the truth. She needed him to be honest with his mate, despite how it had nothing to do with her.
Walking into the house, she locked the door behind her before running up the stairs to the bedroom. Closing the door behind her, Melissa was surprised to see Lucas was still up. He sat against the headboard and read one of the books for her thesis. The moment he stared up at her, his heart didn't flutter like it used to. There was joy in seeing her, but the fluttering was gone. Replaced with the jealousy of Theo, Ross, and his mate.
And Melissa's heart did not flutter either. All she could think about was Ryan and how she wished with all her heart that he would one day be with his mate. She knew he deserved someone special after all the wonderful things he did. Though there was a chance his mate would be targeted by the hunters, she knew without a shred of doubt that he would protect her at all costs. She wished his mate could see that.
"Hey," Lucas murmured as he shut the book and placed it on the side table. "How was the library?"
"Good."
"And dinner?"
"Also good. How was baking?"
"Good."
"That's good."
She faced the closet and stripped out of her skirt, tights, and bra, leaving her in just her shirt and underwear. She climbed in the bed, and Lucas snuggled under the covers after turning off the lamp by the bed. The two faced one another in the dark, both happy the other couldn't see their face as they rolled to face away from the other.
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