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THORIN

T his is the absolute worst . I just got out of a shitty relationship with a crow . I can’t imagine being fated to a raven is going to be any better. They’re only about the shiny things. Only about the money.

After Poe and I took a nap together, I managed—awkwardly—to get us to his shower. It’s a good thing, too. When I pulled away from his body, it was like unleashing a dam. I didn’t realize I could produce so much cum.

Not going to lie, a sort of possessiveness came over me as I watched my seed leak out of his puffy, abused hole. I distinctly remember grabbing an ass cheek while sinking my teeth into his shoulder on a growl.

Not my finest moment.

Thankfully, we had enough orgasms to satisfy us for a while, so I went home after telling him I had to pick up a few things. That wasn’t the entire truth—I went home to see if I could get this whole fucked-up mess fixed somehow.

Jolly, a lynx shifter and my best friend, works in the pharmaceutical industry like I do, plus he’s a renowned genetics and fated mates expert. Surely, he’ll know what to do. I hit his number and put the phone to my ear, rubbing my sac to relieve the pressure.

“Jolly here.”

“Jolly, buddy. It’s Thorin.”

“Thorin! How are you settling in? Sorry I’ve been on the road and couldn’t be there to make you feel welcome.”

“No worries, buddy. Uh, when do you think you’ll be back home?”

“Tomorrow, I hope.”

“Cool, cool.” I palm my nuts again, and it’s no good. They’re heavy in my underwear and my cock aches—from overuse or desire, I can’t tell. “So… I’ve got a bit of a situation, and I’m really hoping you might be able to help me out.”

“Anything for you, my dude. What’s going on?”

Jolly’s interest in pharmaceuticals used to include a serious addiction to pain medications, along with a few things he would inject between his toes. Seeing my college buddy in distress was too much for me, and I paid for his rehab. He’s almost four years sober and has turned his experience with addiction into a job as a shifter consultant for companies like mine.

His interest in fated mates is connected to his recovery, as he found his mate right out of rehab. They’ve been ecstatically happy together, which is sort of why I’ve been staying away. Still, he must know what to do if a mating is unwanted.

“What do you know about reversing a fated pairing?”

The hesitation on the line isn’t encouraging.

“Did something happen? Did you mate with somebody you hate?”

“No. I mean, yes, I mated with a raven shifter. I don’t hate him, but I don’t know the dude.”

“If you don’t hate him, why would you want out of it? I promise, as you get to know each other, you’ll see. It’s the most awesome feeling, ever. Can’t you feel the bond growing between the two of you?”

I rubbed my chest. “All I feel is annoyed.”

“Dude—”

“Does every fated mate pairing fall in love with each other?” I ask, cutting him off. Dammit, I should’ve paid closer attention in biology class. “This feels like a conspiracy.”

“I mean, yeah. Pretty much.” He chuckles. “By the way, a group of ravens is called a conspiracy.”

I huff out an annoyed bark and Jolly goes quiet.

“Sorry, Jol. I’m just…”

“It’s okay, friend.” He hesitates. “To your original question, there are extremely rare cases of incompatibility, but that usually has to do with an underlying shifter health issue. Once any issues are resolved, the mating usually continues without a hitch.”

I resume my pacing. “Damn. I was hoping you’d have something for me. ”

“Sorry, man. But hey, the universe, Goddess, Fate, or whatever works on the attraction that’s already there. Falling in love happens naturally as a byproduct of the hormone overload.”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to fall in love with this guy.”

“What’s the deal? Are you not attracted to him physically?”

“It’s not that. He’s gorgeous and has the kind of shiny black hair that all raven shifters have. His eyes are a crazy clear turquoise, he’s got an interesting nose, and his lips are kinda pretty, I guess. He’s also sort of short and skinny, and you know how I like that.”

There’s another pause on the line, this one even more uncomfortable than the first two.

“Jolly?”

“Did you hear yourself at all, buddy? You practically wrote a sonnet about his features.”

I let out a frustrated grunt. “Shut up.”

“ Oh. ”

When he doesn’t elaborate, I curl my upper lip. “Oh, what , Jolly?”

After another judgmental pause, he says, “Are you seriously telling me all this angst is because you can’t get that fucking crow out of your mind? Are you still in love with her?”

Talk about going in for the kill.

I stare at my phone, mouth agape. “Oh my Goddess, Jol. No . For fuck’s sake, I moved from Seattle to get away from her bullshit. ”

“Are you sure you didn’t move away because you still had feelings for her?”

“Absolutely not. I moved because she wasn’t taking the hint and I was losing too much property, not to mention sanity.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I stare at my phone as though it’ll tell me why he’s being deliberately obtuse about this. “I only got here, Jolly, like, thirty seconds ago. Why would I want to get immediately trapped into some fated mate situation?”

Jolly’s thoughtful purr filters across the lines. “Sorry, bud. The universe disagrees with you.”

“Well, the universe is fucking wrong,” I say, unzipping my jeans to give my nuts some room.

“So, when did this happen?”

“This morning,” I grouse.

“Wait—this morning? How are you even talking to me right now? When I met Kate, we didn’t leave her house for seventy-two hours because we legitimately couldn’t stay away from one another. I had to work from home the first month because fucking her on my desk at the office would’ve been frowned upon.”

“God dammit .” I growl, becoming more uncomfortable by the second. “We fucked all morning and then took a nap. That made it bearable enough for me to get away so I could see if you’d help me out.”

“Dude, I don’t have anything for you. I’ve never run across anyone who didn’t want to be fated to their mate. I mean, sure, there are some folks who sometimes want to murder their mate, but they still love them. ”

“This doesn’t make any damned sense. How the hell am I supposed to fall in love with a stranger?”

“Like anyone else. You spend time with him, growing your bond.”

“So, you’re telling me there’s no fucking way for me to get out of this?”

“Thorin, buddy, I’ll look into it, but… damn. I hate to say it, but I think you’re stuck.”

Just like we were this morning.

Oh, shut up, you horny bastard.

My thoughts, which have begun to spiral, are interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

“What’s that?” Jolly asks.

“Thorin, let me in!”

“That would be the love of my life,” I retort, rolling my eyes.

I rub my chest and realize that the feeling from before was Poe’s annoyance, which has grown in to anger.

“Man,” Jolly says as I gingerly walk toward the door, “if you’ve got a nice, attractive guy, I think you’re gonna need to get over your whole corvid thing.”

I curse under my breath. “You’ve been no help at all. I’ll call you later.”

Jolly wishes me good luck as I open the door. Fuck. I’m going to need it.

“How do you know where I live?”

Poe, wearing baggy pajama bottoms and an enormous shirt, makes a low croaking sound in the back of his throat as he pushes his way inside. “Apparently, being mated gives you some sort of internal GPS. Or maybe it’s a raven thing, I don’t know.”

He rubs his chest, taking in my living room, no doubt trying to figure out how much the place is worth. And if he can replace the overhead fixture with a disco light.

“Are you fucking taking inventory?” I spit out, the words nasty. “Can’t wait to make this place yours, can you?”

Poe rolls his eyes. “That is not what I’m doing.” Rounding up on me, he points both hands at his crotch. “I don't give a damn about your boring beige aesthetic because I’m in agony, and it’s your fault . You’re not supposed to leave your fated mate during the first several days. You’ve been gone two hours .”

“You can’t even go two hours without me?” I ask, pacing my living room again.

“Don’t do that. Don’t act like this is all about me.” Poe gestures to the unzipped situation in my pants. “You can’t go without me, either. There’s no way you’re not suffering right now.”

“Yes, of course I’m suffering. But I was trying to figure out a way to get us out of this. A friend of mine, Jolly, is an expert on fated mates.”

Poe deflates as my words land. His shoulders droop, as does his entire body. “You were trying to dissolve our bond?” he asks, unable to hide the sadness from our connection.

“Yeah,” I admit, wishing I could do this without hurting him. I know he doesn’t deserve it. “But Jolly doesn’t seem to think it’s possible. ”

He shakes his head. “I don’t even know anyone who’s ever wanted to dissolve their bond. And if you’re talking about Jolly Fortunes, he knows better than almost anybody.”

I nod along. “He’s my best friend.”

Poe’s posture sinks down even further. “Oh.”

Feeling guilty, I walk up to him and grab his shoulders, then immediately expel a relieved breath. Fucking hell. This simple contact takes down some of my internal agitation, and I hate it.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. This isn’t about you. I have a fucked-up history with avian shifters. Crows, specifically. And ravens and crows are…” I let out a disgruntled sound.

“Related, but not the same.” He raises his brows at me. “Also? One shifter being an asshole does not mean every single shifter in that particular species is an asshole.”

“I know. I know . But—” I grip my head, pacing. “I literally just got out of a shitty relationship. She was a grifter who stole thousands of dollars from me. And now that I moved halfway across the country to get away from that fucking crow, I run face-first into this ,” I say, gesturing the length of him.

Hurt crosses his face and… dammit. I am such an asshole.

“I’m sorry, Poe. That came out wrong.” I sighed, raking my fingers through my hair. “I came here because I needed some fucking peace. She ripped through my life in Seattle, making my favorite city in the world an awful place. I’d visited Jolly out here a bunch of times, and he convinced me to make the move.”

Snapping his mouth shut, Poe makes a sort of sad trill with his nose. “Sorry to have fucked up your big plans.”