Page 15 of Accept Me (Fate’s Choice #4)

Did people really still believe they’d find someone here this late into the fair? I figured all the best contracts had already been picked clean. Whoever was left probably had some kind of… problem.

I’d heard that if you wanted a real chance, you had to show up early on the first morning. After that, it was slim pickings.

But Storm’s words echoed in my head. My ‘potential’ fated mate was supposedly waiting for me here. Sounded downright crazy. If that guy was still around, it could only mean one thing. He came with serious baggage.

A broken previous contract? A missing limb? A terminal illness? Five teenage kids ready to wage war on me? Maybe an absurdly expensive contract? I had money, sure, but not an endless supply.

I parked near the entrance. The line had mostly cleared, but I sent Storm a quick text. He’d promised to meet me before I entered the omega section, brief me, and only then show me the guy I was supposed to pick. Well. Time to see what he’d cooked up.

He replied right away:

"Uffff, I was already convinced you weren’t coming. Glad you’re here at last! We’re closing in an hour!"

I wrote back:

"I said I’d come. Is he still around?"

I wasn’t even sure why I asked. I didn’t really care. I still couldn’t believe in that so-called Storm’s miracle discovery of my perfect mate.

"Yeah, he’s still here. Are you at the parking lot already?"

"Yep. I’m waiting by the main gate."

I climbed out of the car and walked up to the entrance, studying the people still in line. To my surprise, almost half of them were omegas… mostly older, around forty.

And the alphas hanging around didn’t exactly look sharp anymore, to be honest. Showing up to something like this at 4 pm usually meant you were hoping for a miracle, like a last-minute price drop.

I’d heard some contractees did that, slashing their rates in the final hour, sometimes drastically.

Maybe that’s what they were counting on?

Storm emerged from behind the turnstiles, looking way too pleased with himself. His energy practically radiated like a giant burgundy sun… burgundy like his unique hair color. But then again, he was a purple alpha. Those were rarely like the rest of us.

"Hey, Hunter! Welcome!" he said, spreading his arms and pulling me into a hug.

He was practically bubbling with joy and excitement.

"Incredible luck, no one’s bought his contract yet!"

"Errr…" I opened my mouth to respond, but he didn’t even notice.

"Come with me, I’ll explain everything. Let’s not stand around here," he added impatiently, herding me toward the entrance with big, sweeping gestures like I was some unruly sheep. I grimaced and followed.

This was all starting to feel off.

We stepped into his office, a tiny, cramped room.

Nothing interesting about it. I looked around and felt a flicker of pity for the guy.

Maybe the job gave him some kind of satisfaction, but it had to come with a lot of stress…

unless those rumors about his supposed talents were true.

If they were, that might actually be a game-changer.

"Have a seat, have a seat," Storm said, still buzzing with enthusiasm. That’s when I noticed someone else in the room.

To my surprise, a short, slightly chubby omega was sitting in the corner, with a big heart-shaped birthmark on his cheek and purplish hair, the kind of guy I never would’ve noticed unless someone pointed him out. But Storm walked up to him, took his hand, and led him over to me.

"First, meet my True Mate. This is Damien!" he announced, practically glowing with pride.

Oh, crap. I hadn’t seen that coming. Why did Storm drag his fated here? To prove a point? With hesitant politeness, I reached out and shook the omega’s soft hand.

The guy looked just as happy as Storm, maybe even more. He radiated pure joy. Together, they looked like a binary star system, orbiting tightly around each other.

"Ummm," I said. "Nice to meet you. That’s… all wonderful." I forced the words out, trying to sound friendly, but I knew my face didn’t match.

In the last few months, I’d forgotten how to show any kind of normal human expression. Everything in me had shut down. The will to live, to interact with people in any civilized way, was just… gone.

But I pushed out, "Congratulations to both of you."

It sounded stiff and formal, but it was all I could do.

Storm didn’t seem to notice or care. He pulled his omega close, and they looked at each other with everything I’d lost . Desire, emotion, excitement, bliss. And something deep inside me twisted with painful jealousy and longing.

I’d had that once too. Olaf had been my High Mate, just a tiny step below a True Mate on the compatibility scale. We’d been unbelievably happy. We understood each other, wanted the same things, saw the world the same way. And I’d lost all of it.

A chance that I could get it back felt like a distant, foggy dream. A mirage.

"We found each other just a week ago… well, two weeks exactly," Storm said with pride. "I sensed he was my True Mate!"

There was something loaded in his voice. He clearly wanted me to ask. I didn’t.

After a short pause, while my face probably looked like an iron mask, Storm gave up.

"Listen. I may have bent the truth a bit during our phone call. I’ll admit it, I just wanted to get you here."

I stood up and turned toward the door, but Storm was surprisingly quick for his size and stopped me in my tracks.

"Just hear me out, Hunter!" His eyes pleaded. "I discovered something recently. A gift. I can identify people’s fated mates."

I shut my eyes, feeling a surge of impatience.

"Storm, come on. If you’re trying to sell me a story about how you can magically sense perfect pairings, just stop. That’s a fantasy, and you’re wasting my time!"

Storm huffed in annoyance.

"Let me finish. So far, I’m practically certain I’ve found True Mates for three other clients. This is the last one. And I swear on a million dollars, which, for the record, I don’t have, that you’re the True Mate of this person."

I wanted to laugh. Or swear. Or grimace. But my facial muscles were too stiff for any of it.

"You dragged me here based on a hunch? What about the lab tests? That whole story about a military experiment?"

"Umm… that was just bait to get you here."

Yeah, I can’t say I didn’t kind of suspect it, but the confirmation made it so much worse.

But then that small, cheerful omega stepped toward me.

"Please trust Storm," he pleaded softly. "He really does have a gift. I promise you, it’s worth it. We have an energy coil now. He’s even more precise with his readings."

And he lifted his hand up…

At the tips of his fingers, I saw a chain of electrical discharges that arose and expanded, filling the room with neon blue lights that crackled and sparkled.

I stared at this, almost hypnotized. I knew purple alphas could only pair with rose omegas, a special subspecies, and I was aware they supposedly had ‘powers’. For some reason, staring at the mesmerizing spectacle made my doubts retreat to the back part of my brain.

The tiny dots of light flickered in the air, like particles of an electric current, and I just could not tear my eyes away from them as the silence settled in the room.

Storm and Damien observed me with subtle smirks.

And… something inside me just gave way. I let out a long breath and slumped back on the couch, closing my eyes.

Why was I getting so worked up over this anyway?

I could just meet the guy, see for myself, and if it was a mismatch then I’d laugh at Storm.

I massaged my temples for a few seconds, composing myself.

My cousin's turquoise eyes scanned my face attentively. I tried hard to keep my expression blank, but maybe he sensed the shift in my energy, because he finally spoke.

"Listen, there’s something you need to know about Star…"

I sighed, already bracing for it. "There’s probably a lot, since no one’s bought his contract yet. There has to be a catch, right?"

Storm gave a slow nod. He leaned against the edge of the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.

"There is a catch. A big one. But I want to believe you’re the kind of progressive person who’s open-minded enough to hear it out, not someone who’d judge him for it."

My jaw tightened so hard it sent a sharp jolt through my teeth.

"Just say it already. Let’s get it over with."

"Star spent ten months working as an escort and fourteen months as a stripper."

The words hit, and I closed my eyes. Inside, I felt nothing. I couldn’t even tell what kind of reaction it stirred, because I wasn’t able to read myself yet.

Storm took a breath. "I have his full story here. He submitted it when he applied to Fate’s Choice."

He grabbed a printout from the nearby printer, clearly having prepared in advance.

"According to what he wrote, his first boyfriend pressured him into escorting and took half the money. It was low-intensity work, just a couple of clients per week. Some of my college friends hooked up weekly with more people, so it’s nothing overwhelming.

But that’s how Star paid for college tuition in the beginning.

He was an orphan and completely broke. After ten months, he ran away from the guy, and later started stripping.

But the pressure to perform backstage favors for clients was growing, so eventually, he walked away from that too because he didn’t want to have sex for money. "

I stayed silent, just listening, still feeling hollow inside.

I had no idea how to react or even what I was supposed to say.

This wasn’t what I’d expected at all. I hadn’t prepared myself for a scenario like this.

Honestly, I’d assumed I’d be meeting someone completely different, maybe a widower with kids or someone living with a disability.

Then Storm opened a second folder and handed me a large, colorful photo of Star.

Wow, I thought, blinking as I took it into my hands.