The minute they were out of earshot as they made their way through the hospital’s corridors, Mira immediately spun around on her heel, and narrowed her eyes at him.
“What was that about?”
Adrian let out a stressed sigh. If he knew about this whole soul mate thing then he wouldn’t be as much of a mess as he was now. How can he even begin to explain to Mira what he felt when there was a hiccup in the equation?
After he noticed her impatient foot tapping, he decided to take the plunge and explain it the best he could.
“It was the pull,” he said and judging by Mira’s expression, he knew that she immediately understood what he meant.
“The pull . . .” she repeated.
Adrian nodded.
“It happened so fast. You saw. We were just talking and then-then I felt . . . no, I sensed someone, and I just . . . everything just . . .” He couldn’t even finish it. How could he even try to put all of these feelings into words with the sheer amount of emotions flooding through his system right now?
As he glanced back to Mira, he noticed her stunned expression which strangely enough, gave him some sense of comfort throughout this situation. At least he wasn’t the only one entirely alone and confused. Besides, they didn’t get to pick who their soul mates were. Those things were complicated, where not even the oldest of community members could explain it in depth on how it really works.
It was just in their nature, and now, Adrian was able to find his soul mate who just happened to be her best friend. The list of complications began to grow, and although he was certainly happy with finding Aria, there were still a ton of repercussions that could happen if he screwed up.
“You know she’s human right?” Mira finally spoke; her voice soft, not with understanding or empathy, but with hints of hostility.
His eyes widened.
Human?
Seriously?
One look at Mira’s face and he knew that this wasn’t some sort of sick joke.
Aria was a normal person. She was a regular human girl which meant that she had no idea what he was or how important she is to him. She won’t ever feel the same pull that he does.
It all made sense now.
“Yeah,” she said before she followed up with a question. “So what are you doing to do?”
Adrian didn’t reply. He honestly had no idea.
Mira frowned and narrowed her eyes once more. “Because I’m not just going to let you take her.”
He couldn’t help but feel deeply insulted that she even thought that, much less imply it.
“I’m not going to force her to be with me if that’s what you’re saying,” he said firmly.
“Well, you better not. For the sake of your pack’s future.” He didn’t miss the threat as she continued, “Carmen may be the next alpha, but I’m in that lineup too.”
The weight of her words hung high in the air, and he narrowed his eyes as he stood his ground.
“I’m not a dick.”
“Then what are you going to do?” she asked again.
“I don’t know,” he replied. Even though it wasn’t the best answer, it was an honest one.
“What do you mean?”
“Look.” He let out an agitated sigh. He didn’t have the mental strength to keep this up. “Did you really think that I would’ve known that my soul mate wouldn’t be like us?”
Mira seemed to contemplate on this as she went quiet.
“I didn’t think . . . I never expected . . . the odds are just . . .” He was finding it harder and harder to gather his thoughts by the second. “I don’t know, but I’m not going to force her into anything.”
“But you’ll never be happy without her,” Mira stated the obvious.
He scoffed. He already knew that.
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“I just don’t want her to deal with things she shouldn’t have to,” Mira said, her voice gentle this time. The expression behind her eyes was torn, and Adrian immediately knew that Mira never told her best friend what she was. What her true nature was. Now that he was drawn to Aria, it was inevitable that she will eventually know.
Could he feel any worse?
“She’d feel responsible for you if she knew,” Mira finally said.
“I’m not going to guilt her into—”
“I know. I know,” she interrupted before she continued, “I just . . .”
It was her turn to sound just as stressed as he did.
“Why did it have to be her of all people?”
***
The two of them eventually returned to the room where Aria was still waiting in bed. His mind was filled with thoughts on his earlier conversation with Mira. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do next.
Adrian wished he understood the whole soul mate thing and how it really worked. He only understood the basics, like how soul mates didn’t have one type of relationship. He also knew that when it came to the whole ordeal, genders were nominal, ages vary, and all that jazz, but to have a soul mate who wasn’t even the same species as him?
What was up with that?
Sure, he heard of cases like this one, but those were rare, and he never really knew anyone else who had inter-species relationships. So the fact that his soul mate was someone who wasn’t even aware of his existence? It frustrated him to no end.
As he brought himself back to the present, he immediately realized that Aria had been looking at him.
His posture immediately stiffened.
“So . . . you’re Adrian?”
It took him a moment to register that she
