Pull My Heartstrings

Chapter 3

----------------------------------

Rowan

"So," Andrei stirred the stew simmering on the stove. "Kari and I had a great time together today... You know, mate stuff."

"Mhm," I mumbled, stuffing my face with bread and ducking my head to avoid Andrei's stunningly unsubtle attempts to "help" me.

"We have such a good connection because we're mates. It's very emotionally satisfying." I practically felt Andrei's gaze through the curtain of curly brown hair attached to my head. "And the physical connection..."

"Andrei, stop," I growled. "I don't want to hear about it. I'm a loner, and I'll stay that way for the rest of my life."

"Rowan..." he dropped his guise, letting go of the wooden spoon. "Kari and I are worried about you. You're not alone, you have us at the very least."

"No, at the very most," I grumbled, throwing down my bread roll and storming to my room. I threw myself onto the bed and covered my face with my arm. I wanted so, so badly to just give up and be with Finn. But I knew that was just the mate pull.

Over the years, working with shifters desperate to find their mates has given me perspective. Sometimes, they would find their mates and end years of loneliness and longing. But other times... Other times they would walk in and I would see a severed red string drifting from their chest. Their mate was dead, gone. Just like my mother when she lost my father. I'd tell whoever the luckless man or woman was that they didn't have a mate anymore, and I would watch as they collapsed and their mouths opened in a silent scream.

They were destined to be alone. Shifters believe that Fate rules the outcomes our relationships with our mates. If our mates die, it was destined from their birth. I thought that I was one of those people -- the ones destined to be alone -- because I didn't have that cursed red string until Finn showed up and ruined everything. He ruined everything with gorgeous blue eyes and dirty blonde hair.

A knock sounded on my door and I didn't respond. Kari quietly opened the door and stepped in, sitting on the crisp white bedsheets next to me. She stared out my window, looking at the city skyline. "Hey, I know Andrei's an insensitive bastard," she laid a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "But what he said is essentially true."

"I need to get out," I groaned, flipping myself upright. "Let's go to the--"

"The mall?" Kari clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oooo let's have a girl's day out at the mall!"

"I was thinking the gym," I stood up and grabbed a duffel bag from my closet, also stuffing it with my workout clothes. "I'd like to beat up a trainer."

Kari looked disappointed, cocking her hip and putting a hand on it. "No," she tugged the duffel bag away from me and tossed it back into the closet. "We're going to go for some retail therapy. Besides, you can beat up the stupid jerks that walk too slow."

I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow. Kari did the same. We stood in a silent standoff for a few moments before I gave up. If I went to the gym, Kari would trail along like a lost puppy, whining the whole way, until I gave up and took her to the mall.

"Fine," I dropped the duffel bag and pulled my hair into a low bun. "But I get to drive. And I decide when we leave."

"Deal! But we don't leave a store until I'm satisfied," Kari skipped out of the room. Seemed fair enough to me. I walked out the door as Kari kissed Andrei goodbye, not needing any further reminder that I could have that too. Nevertheless, I snuck one peak through the doorway, seeing my roommates in a lingering hug. I sighed. That was never meant for me, no matter how much I craved it.