Page 2

TWO

Blaze squinted against the sunset light, trying to work out if he had enough to cover this last garden bed. He'd be spreading the mulch pretty thin, but the shrubs and trees had been here longer than he'd been alive, so their roots already ran deep. Unlike the roses, which always seemed to need more mulch than any other plant in the garden. The sun was sinking, but he thought he might just have enough time to finish the job before...

"Darling, I do hope you're coming in for dinner!"

"Yes, Mum!" Blaze called back over his shoulder as he pushed the wheelbarrow along the path. "I'm almost done here, so I'll have time for a shower before dinner."

"Good boy."

Blaze suppressed a snort. Mum might have gone back inside, but her hearing was as sharp as his. He was willing to bet she'd still be calling him a boy on his thirtieth, fortieth or even fiftieth birthday. Probably even after he'd had kids of his own, if that ever happened.

He grabbed a shovel and began to fill the wheelbarrow. Neither he nor Diana had ever really expected to find their mystical fated mate, but for Diana to find hers while he was still single...ha, fate must really have it in for him.

Of course, Diana's message hadn't said she'd found her fated mate, but Blaze was her brother. Of course he'd been able to read between the lines of her carefully crafted message. Didn't want ordinary humans seeing anything strange that they could use as evidence that the supernatural world did exist.

How had she put it, exactly?

Blaze pulled out his phone. Yep, there it was, the picture of her and the pixie-like girl with the short hair, silver beside night-dark, and Diana's hastily typed:

You won't believe it. I finally found the perfect partner – someone willing to spend the rest of her life saving animals at the sanctuary with me. Can't wait for you to meet her.

Diana's fated mate – for she had to be her mate, as Diana wouldn't settle for anything less than the full fairytale – was gorgeous. In fact, she looked like exactly his type. Idly, he wondered what would have happened if he'd met the girl before Diana – would she have agreed to become his mate instead? Probably not, if she was only into girls. Damn, but his sister had good taste. He only hoped he'd be half as lucky – if there even was a fated mate out there for him.

Unless Diana's mate had a sister, maybe...

Blaze shook his head. No, fated mates were a fairytale, not something for him. He was too down to earth to believe in fairytales. His future and any legacy he might leave were in the gardens he planted and helped grow. Very few people throughout history had created gardens that survived for centuries, but that was what he intended to do at the Hea Sanctuary, when it was ready for him to start planning. He had so many plans...

He dumped the final load of mulch into the garden bed and raked it flat. There. Done. Now he could go inside and shower, once he'd put his tools away. The last time he'd forgotten to clean up after himself, the (now retired) head gardener had given him an absolute earful about the importance of keeping your tools sharp, shiny and tidy. Blaze thought he might have been six or seven at the time, and by the time the gardener was finished with him, he'd reduced him to a snivelling mess, swearing six ways to Sunday that he'd always take care of his tools.

As Blaze hung up the shovel on its hook, he wondered which of the gardeners he'd put in charge when he inevitably left for Hea Sanctuary. Whoever it was would probably still defer to him on the big decisions, but someone would have to manage his parents' estate on a day to day basis.

Something to worry about tomorrow, or at least after dinner, he decided as he dusted off his hands. Shower. Then fresh clothes and down to the dining room. Because he'd never hear the end of it from his mother if he was late for dinner.