Page 18 of Fritillaria (Fortune Records Omegaverse #5)

Chapter 18

I vy

My satchel strap snags on the door handle to the studio and I nearly fall flat on my face.

I feel like I can’t catch a break at the moment. Ever since I got my nails done, everything has been going wrong for me this past week.

Of course Rachel had been correct, but that didn’t change the fact that I didn’t want a relationship right now, never mind two . I wanted to focus on my album, and making more music.

That’s why I’m at the studio today. I’ve avoided it for a week, and I have been getting no work done at home. So here I am, trying to avoid the main hallways as I make my way to the studio I’ve booked for the day. Trying to avoid running into Matilda or Aspis.

Maybe if I give them enough space, they will forget about me and move on with just each other. Hell, maybe they already have. I wouldn’t know.

A pang of sadness strikes my chest at the direction my thoughts are going in. It’s not jealousy, I’m not sad about them being together. It’s weird, it’s almost like I’m sad that they wouldn’t be with me .

Why do I care so much anyway? I have bigger things to worry about right now. Like the fact that my album is not being written, and that the label will soon start asking questions on timings. But it’s like my creative well has dried up.

Every time I go to put pen to paper or open my mouth to sing something, all that comes out are just sad songs about longing. Fuck that. That is not my usual synth pop meets metal vibe.

So maybe the change of environment will help. My brain associates the studio with writing music, so maybe this will be the key. I’m also trying to forget that I wasn’t able to write anything in here the week before.

Turning the corner, I run smack into another person, their shoulder whacking right into my boob.

“Ouch!” they squeal in a feminine voice.

“You good?” I ask, rubbing my chest as a brunette Human with bright blue eyes looks up at me. I can see the moment recognition lights up their face.

I think I might know them? Honestly, I’m not so sure.

“Oh, you’re Ivy. ” She says, ignoring my question.

“And you are?” I put a hand on my hip, looking her up and down. She’s dressed pretty casual in just a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers. It even looks like she has a coffee stain on her shoes.

“I’m Rosie. I run—”

“The café.” I cut her off. She is my boss’s mate, so I know I should be nicer. But I’m just feeling far too grumpy for this interaction. Besides, I have music to write. I move to the side and start to walk around her, seeing as she’s just standing there.

“Could we talk for a minute?” She surprises me by saying, grabbing on to my arm.

“Why?” I am trying not to let my suspicion show in my voice. Why on earth does she want to talk to me?

“I’ll explain, it’s just… let’s just say I’m glad I ran into you, it’s important.”

Rosie is pretty bossy, I have to give it to her. She guides me to a couple of chairs in a tucked away seating area. I’m too tired to fight it, following her lead and dumping my bag on the ground at my feet.

“I know I’m kind of overstepping, but I do want to help, and I thought that talking to another Human could be helpful.” She says, her warm blue eyes softening in kindness.

I’m not a bad person, and she does seem to mean well, so I just go with it.

“This is about the mate thing.” I can’t help but comment.

“Yes.” She replies. “I was on the way to meet mine, actually. I am sure you know Finnegan, but I don’t know if you are aware that he is besties with Aspis?”

“Not really.” I haven’t really put much thought into it before.

“Well, it means that I’ve ended up becoming quite friendly with Aspis too.” I can’t help but have my interest piqued. I don’t want to know more about him, and yet at the same time I want to know everything. “I’m mostly aware of what’s happened between you, and I just want to say that I totally understand where you are coming from. It’s so totally weird to have someone just tell you they are your fated mate.”

“ Right ?!” I am finally talking to someone with some sense, it seems. “This dude just smells me and I’m supposed to hop into his arms and make his Monster babies?”

“ Oh ,” Rosie giggles. “It’s not about making babies, I don’t think. I’m not even sure that we could if we wanted to… but that’s beside the point. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I too didn’t react very well when Finnegan told me.

“Our circumstances were different. He pursued me and dated me before he ever told me that we were mates. So you can imagine what my hang up was about the whole thing.”

“Yeah, for sure.” I can’t imagine if that is worse or better. I suppose it worked out better for Rosie and Finnegan, because they seem pretty happy in general.

“I also didn’t go into it against being mated. My best friend is the singer, Flora, so I could see how happy she was with Sebastian and I kind of wanted that for myself too, if I’m being honest.

“Anyway, I’m sorry, I’m going in a roundabout way of saying this, but I can imagine that being around Aspis and Matilda is hard, but being away from them might be harder. It’s really difficult to ignore the mating bond, and if you’re at all interested in exploring it with them, you could find yourself so much happier.”

I fight not to roll my eyes. I should have known that her relatability had a catch. So, she is not exactly fighting for the ‘no mates’ team, which I probably should have guessed.

“There’s a dinner.” She continues, pushing forward through my silence. “Sebastian hosts them twice a month. All of the mated people in our friend group meet at their house and catch up. It’s always fun, and I think you should go. It could be nice to see everyone in a relaxed setting, and see how it all works.”

My normal reaction would be to shut her down right away. But maybe she’s right? Rosie has been the first person involved in all this to really understand my perspective here. Maybe she’s onto something.

“Would they be going?” I ask, toying with my shirt.

“I mean, I think it would be good if they did.” Rosie leans forward, taking my hands in hers. “They’ve never been invited before. Honestly, the only people Aspis really hangs out with are me and Fin. I’m not sure about Matilda… but you would all be fresh in the group, it’s not a space they’re super comfortable in. It could be a nice, even playground to get to know them a little within a bigger group setting… there’s like eleven of us.”

“I’ll go.” It’s weird hearing the words leave my mouth. I’m not even sure I consciously said it, but that’s probably a good thing. Maybe I should at least try to trust this. “But if I don’t like it, or I feel uncomfortable, I want everyone to get off my back about this whole mate thing.”