Page 120 of Hidden

I’d been in love with Mu for countless lifetimes, but we were never mates. If he was hurt, or wronged, it had been easy to detach in order to focus on my duties.

It was different now.

Bianca’s essence was the same—she was, after all, Mu reborn. But something about her had fundamentally changed, and it wasn’t only her gender. She was different in a way I couldn’t explain, and it seemed as though I was the only one to notice.

Perhaps this change was what triggered the mate bond?

It didn’t matter. I couldn’t walk away from her while she was like this—not even to get angry on her behalf or to defend her. The thought of it was physically painful.

This could, potentially, become an issue in my work. It would be dangerous if certain groups were to discover this weakness.

But she was shaking, watching me with watery eyes. And I no longer cared about any of that.

“Why are you upset?” I asked, pulling her to me.

“Are you angry?” she asked instead of answering, burying her face in my chest.

My arms tightened over her shoulders. “Why would I be angry?”

“Because everyone says you’re really smart.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “And you’ve lectured me about school before. I know you have all these degrees, and you’re really ambitious, and—”

“You do what you want,” I interrupted, forcing my heart to stop racing. “I go to school because Ienjoyit. I’ve pressured you to go to classes because—while you’re working a program you enjoy—I want to help you succeed. If you need to take a semester off, then do it. You’re not going to do your best work struggling through something if you’re not confident about it.”

“Oh…” Her voice sounded so small.

But I wondered, “Why do you want to take a break? Did something happen?”

“Not really,” she answered. “I’m just unsure of my major, and there’s a lot going on.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. That made sense. A break might be good. But if she was anything like her old self, it would be better for her to have something to focus on. “What are you going to do with your break?”

“I don’t know…”

This wasn’t good. She already sounded lost. Mu always turned sullen and angry when he had nothing to do. I had to think of something.

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Do you want me to teach you how to drive?”

Her sniffling subsided, and she pushed back from me, meeting my eyes. “What?” Her eyes flickered toward the motorcycles again. “But—”

Whywas this my life?

“Do you want me to teach you how to drive a motorcycle?” The words were almost painful.

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to drive it. When did I say that?”

I paused, going over our conversation. No, she hadn’t said that.

But then, “Then what—”

“Sidecar racing.” She raised her finger. “I’ve seen videos on the internet. It looks exciting.”

“You don’t want to drive.” Please let this be a nightmare. “Does that mean you want—”

“I want to be the passenger!” She sounded happier now, and her eyes twinkled with excitement. And despite my initial reaction, her mood was contagious. “I’ve watchedsomany videos on cornering, I’m practically a master already!”

My mood dipped slightly. “Well…” One did not become a master of something by watching videos.

“And it’ll be safe becauseyou’llbe the driver.” She beamed as she grasped my hands. “It could beour thing.”