Shifting Boundaries

Original Chapter 3

Everett

The next time the door opened, a man carrying a tray entered, followed by Meleri balancing two trays. She lit up when she saw me. "Everett! I have to admit, I thought you might bolt."

She passed me a tray of food and pulled another chair over to Felix's bedside, then set her tray down next to his feet. Meanwhile, the man who had preceeded her into the room did the same on the other side of the bed.

"I'm Magnus," he said, nodding at me with a friendly smile. "Felix and Meleri's brother."

"He's the youngest," Meleri said around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"And how is that relevant, Mel?" Magnus demanded.

She shot him a glare and said, "Everett is Felix's mate. He should start learning about the family."

I balanced my tray on my knees and stared at Meleri. She couldn't be serious. I didn't need to know about their family. I was here to do a job, that's all. "Magnus, it's nice to meet you," I said. "Has Meleri mentioned the deal she and I made?"

Magnus' friendly smile disappeared and he suddenly looked very sad. "Yeah, she mentioned it."

"I need you to agree, too. You can't tell anyone anything about me or where to find me."

Magnus ran a hand through his hair and looked between me and Felix. "You're set on leaving him, then?"

My stomach twisted and I found myself squeezing tighter at Felix's hand. I looked over at him and tried to imagine leaving. It was impossible to picture, but not any more impossible than when I tried to imagine staying. "I don't know," I admitted. "This is... well, it's a lot. I know he's my mate, but I'm straight. I don't know if I can do this."

I glanced back at Magnus, who looked sympathetic. "I understand that, I really do. But you two are meant to be together. You'll never find a better match for yourself than my brother, and..." Magnus inhaled and exhaled deeply before continuing. "Look, Felix has been dreaming about finding his mate since we were kids. He was always so excited about it, and he still lights up when the topic comes up. I really want him to find with you the kind of happiness he's always dreamed of."

That made me feel sick, since I had always dreamed of my mate, too. I didn't think a single day had passed since I learned about mates where I didn't take some time to wonder what my mate was doing, when we would meet, how things would be between us. Even with Felix unconscious for our entire acquaintance, he had already made me feel more in one afternoon than anyone else had, ever. I didn't want to live a mateless existence.

But... how could I be with him?

I forced myself to focus on Magnus. I liked him already, which made it easier to ask something I had been wondering about all afternoon. "Don't you think he might be a little put off by the idea of a male mate?" I asked.

Magnus snorted. "No, he always knew he would end up with a man."

Meleri giggled and added, "Seriously, Felix is as sausage-loving as it gets." Her eyes widened and she threw her hands up in a panic. "Not that he's been promiscuous. You don't have to worry about that."

Magnus shook his head at her. "This is why you should let me do the talking, Mel."

I looked back to Felix. I had no idea what I expected a gay man to look like, but it wasn't like this. Maybe the beard was throwing me off? It looked unkempt and I suspected he usually kept himself clean-shaven when he wasn't in an indefinite sleep.

Magnus cleared his throat. "Everett, I understand what you're going through right now and I really appreciate that you're staying to help my brother. I swear to you, I won't do or say anything that will lead him to you after all this is over. Just... please, consider staying. You wouldn't be mates if you couldn't make each other really happy."