Page 17 of Fated Mates and How to Seduce Them (Fated Mates #4)

Ian went through a mental checklist as he walked out of his last class for the day.

As the holiday season approached, it was clear they were sliding into winter.

The weather had gotten colder this week, and while there wasn’t snow on the horizon, they were definitely heading in that direction.

It was a crisp day, although thankfully it wasn’t windy because any wind chill would bite right through his jacket.

He needed to return two books to the library, find an early dinner somewhere, and then he could go back to his dorm and play with Casper for a while before he had to focus back in on his paper. He didn’t work tonight—the bar was closed on Wednesdays—so he finally had time to dig into it.

He was one of those people who hated having tasks hanging over his head.

And with Thanksgiving next week, he wanted everything done before break hit, as he’d need to be at Second Sun the entire week between his bartending shifts to help prepare for the holiday.

Ian would rather put the extra effort in to get the paper done early and out of the way.

It was the grade for his psychology class this semester, and supposedly you were to take all semester to write the answer, but…

well, the professor hadn’t been contributing much in lectures.

Ian could do outside research and finish it up ahead of time and be ready to turn it in.

He’d just moved onto the main walkway when he heard “Bitch, Benedict staged an entire event to confess to me, and that doesn’t tell you something?”

The familiarity of the name caught Ian’s ear. André had mentioned his older brother, Benedict, several times, and it wasn’t exactly a common name. Ian turned automatically to see the speaker, alert and curious.

Oh, it was Felix Evans.

Ian had never met him face-to-face, but anyone on campus would recognize him. Like André, he had quite the reputation, and the video of how he and Benedict became a couple had spread like wildfire last year.

Felix stood his ground against three girls, with two of them practically flanking him on either side.

The air over there crackled with so much tension, Ian could almost see visible sparks.

If Felix noticed the danger, he didn’t give sign of it.

Ian recognized one of the girls as someone he avoided at all costs in his department—she was the type to delight in drama and trouble.

Aw shit. This didn’t look good.

Ian moved without thinking it through. He had no obligation to help—Felix wasn’t a friend of his—but he felt sure that if André saw this going on, he would have stepped in. It was enough justification for Ian.

He skirted Kristy and her friends, coming around to stand right behind Felix.

“Take a step back, please,” Ian requested. Might as well start out polite.

Kristy’s eyes snapped to his, her dark brown eyes lethal enough to stick a dagger in his heart. “Who the hell are you? This isn’t your business.”

“Ian,” Felix answered with a sneer. “André’s boyfriend and my friend.”

There were several problems with this, but Ian kept the denial off his face. Felix might be exaggerating just to scare the girls off. If so, he wouldn’t argue the point here.

Kristy looked Ian over with doubt—which, ouch, was just hurtful. Kristy possessed a striking beauty about her, with lush blonde hair and a high brow, and clearly Ian didn’t meet her standards. “ You’re dating André?”

Ian ignored her. “Felix, what’s this about?”

“She wants me to break up with Benedict so she can have him.” Felix rolled his big blue eyes. “She honestly thinks I seduced him for kicks. Like, hello, he’s my childhood friend. Why the hell would I do something so stupid? She can have Benedict over my cold, rotting corpse.”

From Kristy’s nasty expression, Felix’s corpse could be arranged.

Ian got the gist of the situation. The Castor brothers sure were popular.

Feeling a surge of protectiveness for the smaller male, he blurted out, “First of all, Kristy, you had your chance of winning Benedict over before he and Felix got together. It’s no skin off Felix’s nose that you failed.

Secondly, antagonizing Felix like this is a poor move.

Benedict will not take this kindly. You have shot yourself in the foot even trying it.

Unless you want to become that person, I’d suggest retreat. ”

Her brunette friend on the right—her name escaped Ian at the moment—was visibly confused. “Shut up! And how did some nobody like you get André’s attention?”

“Walked into the room and breathed,” Felix answered with a shrug.

He seemed highly amused by her question.

“Ian is one of the most trustworthy people we know. André gravitated right toward him. Ladies, if you want a Castor’s attention, prove you’re trustworthy.

In other words, don’t ambush people behind their backs and stir up trouble.

Oh, and maybe don’t insult the men they’re already with.

Neither Benedict nor André has any chill about that kind of thing. ”

Kristy didn’t look like she was interested in backing off. She took a step farther into Felix’s personal space, her ridiculous heels letting her tower over the shorter man.

“How about you don’t preach at me, slut?”

That tore it. Ian took out his phone and hit Record on the camera. “Do keep going. I’m happy to send a video of you harassing Felix to Benedict later. I’m sure it will get you in his good graces.”

Kristy snapped back, staring at his phone with horror. “You wouldn’t!”

“Already recording.” Ian arched an eyebrow at her. “What will it be, Kristy? Advance or retreat?”

She snarled something Ian, personally, wouldn’t have said in front of a camera, then whirled around. Snagging both her friends’ arms, she stomped off, heels clacking against the pavement. Drama over, Ian stopped the recording and put his phone away.

Felix sagged next to him for a second, blowing out a loud breath, hand sweeping blond hair from his forehead. “Ian, you’re a lifesaver. Short of a catfight, I wasn’t sure how to handle her. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, but I couldn’t use Mesmerize on her simply because she annoyed me.”

Ian’s brain screeched to a halt.

“Wait. You’re a vampire?”

Felix blinked doe eyes at him. “Yea?”

“Oh, uh, sorry for intruding then. I thought you needed help, but I guess you could’ve handled yourself, or made them go away. Um, my bad.”

Felix shot him a playful smile, dimples and all. “Like I said, rules against it. Although, why did you intervene?”

Seemed Felix wasn’t mad with the assist, so Ian blew out a breath.

“It looked like a catfight that hadn’t started yet.

Three against one were not good odds—though now I know you could’ve zipped away if you wanted to.

” He eyed Felix in amusement. “By the way, I’m André’s boyfriend and your friend, eh? ”

“Friend by association,” Felix returned with a shrug. “If you’re dating André, you’re friends with me by default.”

“André and I aren’t dating, though.”

Felix stared up at him like a man waiting for a punch line. “André has been chasing you for over a month.”

“Yes, I know.”

“And he still hasn’t caught you? Damn.” Felix opened his mouth, closed it, then repeated, “Damn. I can’t even tease him about you now. It’s too sad. No, wait, you two have been spending a lot of time together, though. You’re really not dating?”

Ian sighed, rubbing a hand along his jaw. “We’re not. I don’t…honestly, I don’t know how to respond to André most of the time. He confuses the hell out of me.”

Felix clapped his hands together. “You know what? I think this calls for a sit-down discussion. Do you have time to get coffee with me?”

The offer was rather out of the blue, but Ian didn’t see the harm in it. “Sure, I’m done with classes for today.”

“Good. Let’s hit the coffee shop across the street. I want out of the cold quickly.”

Ian followed, having to shorten his stride, as Felix was very much on the short side. His force of personality made up for the lack of inches, no question, but something about him still made him seem vulnerable. Like he needed to be taken care of. Why did Ian have that impression?

“Do you get hassled often by girls like them?”

“Eh, not too often. Benedict made a video of him confessing to me for a reason. He wanted to make it explicitly clear I was taken. Most people respect that. Kristy is just one of the two pains in my ass. Both of them want Benedict, and they’re not shy about using dirty methods to get him.

” Felix rolled his eyes. “Why they think it will work is beyond me. Benedict is a straight shooter. He has no tolerance for that kind of shit. They don’t understand him at all if they think underhanded tactics will work. ”

“I would think upsetting you alone would sink their chances.”

Felix wriggled his fingers on one hand in a playful manner. “And that. Both Benedict and André are highly protective of the people they care about. As you know.”

Yeah, Ian couldn’t refute him.

The conversation paused as they entered the coffee shop on campus, placed their orders at the counter, and then found a table near the window to sit. Ian slung his messenger bag down to the floor, getting comfortable, as this conversation would not be quick.

“I’m going to be direct. What’s the holdup?” Felix folded both arms on the table, leaning forward a little. “Do you not like him?”

“I…” What a loaded question. Ian normally wouldn’t open up about something like this with a person he barely knew, but somehow Felix disarmed him.

He wanted to talk this through with someone who would understand.

“It’s not that. I mean, anyone would be charmed by him.

But you saw the reaction from the girls back there.

They had a hard time believing André would choose me.

I’m just as confused. I am not his type. ”

Felix put up a staying hand. “Whoa, hold on. First of all, André doesn’t have a type.”