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“That’s something, I guess.” Ella shrugged, hearing about him with other females. She’d lived a whole lifetime pretending she didn’t care.

She had.

She’d cared every single time.

“So.” Bri tipped her head. “He’s your mate, right? I have a nose for these things.”

“Craig calls hernosy, but same-same.” A gorgeous female flopped down in the spare chair.

She wore a form fitting Moretti uniform and had a weapon on her side.

Wow, a female warrior.

“Ella, this is Cassy. Cassy, this is Mack’s girl.”

“Mate or girl?” Cassy asked, and Ella felt her skin prickle with irritation.

“Don’t worry, she’s mated to Oliver. One of the Assassins.” Bri shook her head.

“He’smated to me.” Cassy winked and Ella grinned, loving her attitude.

She considered the question and how to answer it. Mack might have said the three little words and invited her to stay in his room, but that didn’t mean they were bonded. After their history, she wasn’t leaping ahead.

He could do a one-eighty on her.

“I don’t know.” Ella sighed and dropped her fork. “He told me he loved me, then took off.”

All three of the women stared at her, mirroring back her doubts.

“Hmm.” Madison toyed with her salad.

“Commitment issues?” Bri tapped the table with her long nails.

“Nope. He’s a warrior. He’s protecting her,” Cassy said, and cracked open her soda.

“Do you think? You’re a soldier, right?”

“Yup. That’s why I get it.” Cassy shrugged. “If something happens—I mean, I don’t know where they are—but Mack will want to know your lives aren’t linked. If... yeah, you know what I mean. Shit happens.”

If he died.

That made sense. He could’ve told her, but that wasn’t his way. Mack was a protector, whether he admitted it or not.

While Ella didn’t completely understand how it must feel to head into dangerous situations, she knew how protective and caring he’d been of her all their lives. Even if he had made her feel like an annoyance most of it.

It was his way of keeping her at a distance, likely.

It was all starting to make sense.

“If I’m his mate, would he have always known?” she asked, biting her lip.

They all shared a glance.

“Maybe. Possibly,” Brianna said, then held up her fork. “Before you kick his ass, why don’t we share the story of how we got together with our mates? Trust me, these males are incredibly stupid and stubborn.”

Then, one by one, Cassy, Madison, and Brianna shared the frustrating and hilarious tales of how they got together with Oliver, Kurt, and Craig.

It not only gave her hope and made her feel a lot lighter, but Ella felt excited about the possibility that she and Mack would one day bond and be together.