Page 16 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Titus POV

Bryce was standing by the exit. He looked towards the parking lot, reluctance thick in the air, and asked, “What happened? I wasn’t sure if I should go after her or if she’d kill me.”

“She’d kill you.” I cracked my knuckles.

I wanted to kill him.

We knew this would come up eventually, but I hated that Bryce was the one to do it.

“Titus?” Bryce stepped back.

“Go home.” I didn’t have the right to confront her alone—it really should be all of us—but what other choice did I have?

And technically, this was my fault.

‘Isn’t that why everyone decided to ruin my life?’

She’d been angry when she said that, but there was no missing the pain there either.

Or the truth.

Which was also the reason why I had to be the one to go after her.

“Don’t let Damen see you,” I warned as I pushed past him. “He’s going to be less than happy with how this turned out.”

Murderous was more like it.

“But what—” Bryce began.

I left him before he could finish speaking. Bianca was already some distance away when I’d gotten my car, and I took my time riding up behind her.

She knew I was there; I could tell by how she’d looked over her shoulder, but she kept walking anyway. Her stride was beginning to slow, which meant she was either running out of steam or was in too much pain to stomp anymore.

“Hey,” I called out loud enough for her to hear through the open passenger window. “This isn’t the safest place to be wandering around by yourself.”

She froze, skirt swaying around her knees as she glanced at me. Her eyes widened, and her face flushed.

I grinned—she remembered.

What had I said the first time? “Do you need any help?”

But I knew now she’d never ask for it.

She blushed—although that could be from anger.

“Has that ever worked for you before?” she asked. Her too-large sweater covered her fingers, and she tucked her hands under her elbows.

“All the time,” I replied. “Haven’t you heard, I’m on Forbes. They say I’m the most eligible bachelor of the year.”

“You’re something, that’s for sure.” Her lips quirked.

My chest lightened. I’d gotten her to smile again.

“Insanely attractive?” I tilted my head and tucked my hair behind my ear.

She became even pinker. “I wouldn’t say it like that,” she answered, glancing away.

But she wanted to. I could smell it from here. The only difference was that, unlike the first time we’d met, her scent held no fear.

I couldn’t have a more perfect mate.

There was something else, however, thick in her scent.

“Get in,” I told her. “It’s cold, and you’re in pain.”

She squared her shoulders, and her eyes flashed. “I’m fine.”

Normally I’d give her anything she wanted. There was no need to fight.

But there was only one thing I wouldn’t allow.

“I don’t care.” I reached across the seat and pushed open the passenger door. “I said get in.”

Her mouth popped open, and she blinked at me. “Are you bossing me around?”

‘Since when?’

I could almost hear it, but this time, it was written on her face.

“We need to talk,” I said.

Her shoulders tensed, and she looked back. “Why?”

“Get in,” I repeated.

Bianca narrowed her eyes. I thought, for a second, she might argue, but she didn’t.

Instead, she climbed into the car, sat back in the seat, and crossed her arms. “I still don’t see why we need to talk.”

“Because you’re not handling this alone.”

She huffed. “I have been.”

“Yeah,” I said. “And that’s the problem.”

She stayed quiet, but it didn’t matter. I’d already decided this conversation was happening, whether she was ready or not.

The restaurant was almost to capacity, but we were still seated at the private booth permanently reserved for my use only.

I sipped my drink and watched Bianca nervously run her finger around the rim of her glass. She’d hardly spoken the entire drive here, and I hadn’t wanted to push her.

But now I had to get her to open up.

“You did good,” I said.

Her hand jerked. I’d been containing myself around her because, while she was no longer afraid of me, shifters still made her nervous. But after today, she was more sensitive than usual.

Not that I blamed her.

I hated seeing her like this.

Bianca’s lips twitched into a sarcastic smile, and she stared at her water. “How?”

“You talked to Trinity even though you were scared,” I replied.

Her expression closed. “I’m not going to let her examine me.”

I wished she would.

“It’s okay,” I said. For now. “I know that you’ll go when you’re ready.”

“What?” She stopped stirring her finger around the glass and looked at me.

“You’re not stupid.” I shrugged. “You know it’s inevitable.”

She grabbed her straw and stabbed it through the crushed ice. “We’ll see. Why do you care anyway?” she asked. “Why can’t you let me deal with things my way?”

Because it wasn’t healthy. Because she was avoiding rather than recovering. And… “Because you’re hurting yourself.”

I leaned over the table. “And, sorry to remind you—” No, I wasn’t. “—but you’re not the only one affected by this. We need to talk about our relationship.”

She flushed, and her expression gutted me, but I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I needed to mentally prepare myself for what to expect.

“W-what do you want from m-me?” Her question twisted my heart.

But I needed to know. “Expectations.”

“W-what expectations?” Her fear spiked, and her voice squeaked. “Julian said…” her statement trailed off as she stared at me, eyes wide.

“And you told Julian,” I interrupted. “Miles, too, even Damen. But you’ve never told me.”

“But they’ve told you, right?” she whispered.

“Yes,” I began cautiously. “But we still have to talk about it.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Her eyes dropped from mine. “I can’t have sex.”

“I understand that.” I did. After what she’d been through, no one would blame her.

“But what does that mean for the whole mate thing?” she asked. “It doesn’t matter anyway, I guess,” she continued, not giving me a chance to respond. “Dr. Kohler said I can’t have children—”

“That’s not what she said.” I didn’t like where this was going. “You’re just latching on to that because you don’t want to consider the alternative. Let’s focus on what you can do—like Julian said.”

She blinked at me. “What do you mean?”

“You agreed to see Trinity today,” I pointed out. “That was something you could do. You’re still running away from Do Yun. That’s something else you’re choosing to do.”

Her cheeks turned dark. “I am not—”

“You sit in my lap,” I continued, ignoring her dark glare. “You’ve let me hug you, but are you comfortable with that?”

Bianca peered at me through her lashes, face red. “I keep having this conversation.”

“Not with me,” I emphasized. “The four of us are not interchangeable. You’re my mate, and I don’t care about the others. You’ll have your relationship with them. I want to discuss us.”

She averted her eyes. “Okay…”

I grabbed her hand and laced my fingers through hers.

She looked at me, mouth slightly open as her cheeks flushed.

“I need to touch you sometimes.” I inclined my head toward our entwined fingers.

“Nothing sexual. But I need to be able to feel you, to make sure you’re okay. Is that alright with you?”

She nodded.

“I don’t know what will happen,” I warned her, “since I’ve never had a mate before. We’ll need to see.”

“Okay…” she began, biting her lip. “What do you mean?”

Here we go—the moment I’d been dreading.

“Mates can share a physical and mental connection, or more in some species,” I explained. My leg started to bounce, and I hoped she didn’t notice.

I had to look confident—for her.

“So, like the Soul Bond with Julian and Miles?” she asked.

My vision flared and a bitter taste touched the back of my throat. “Can we not talk about anyone else right now?” I begged, my thoughts clouding.

“Okay,” Bianca said again, her green-flecked eyes moving over my face. “So what—”

“I can hear your thoughts,” I blurted out.

She stopped breathing, and her fingers tightened over mine. A long moment passed before she finally sucked in a long, shaky breath.

“Like, if we officially become mates?” Her voice was tentatively cautious. “You can hear my thoughts then?”

If.

I shook my head, banishing the thought from my mind.

“No.” Despite the growing knot in my stomach, my chest began to feel a little bit lighter. “Now. When I’m shifted.”

She recoiled, but I didn’t let her go, and her brows drew together as a quiet anger stirred in her eyes. “Since when?”

“Only recently.” I should apologize but couldn’t bring myself to say the words. This was a normal part of shifter culture, and I refused to be ashamed of it. “It began when we were searching for Miles. I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

“Will I be able to hear your thoughts?” she asked.

“No,” I replied. “It’s a one-way connection. At least, that I know of. This is new territory.”

“Oh.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “Does that mean you heard what I was thinking about your wings?”

White pain laced through my back, and I pulled away, dropping her hands, realizing a second too late how my reaction could be taken.

She blinked rapidly and lowered her gaze to the table. “S-sorry.”

“No.” I shrugged my shoulders, brushing away the memory. It’d lingered still, and I should have been used to it, but the injury would never heal, even after being reborn.

But that was because, as Damen stated, it wasn’t really an injury at all.

It was a curse. A reminder of the time I’d failed to protect the one who mattered most.

Bianca, more than anyone else in the world, had the right to ask about it.

“Don’t be sorry.” I closed my hands over hers. “It’s just not a pleasant memory.”

“Sorry,” she said again. I’d almost rather she be angry at me.

“Stop,” I told her. “It happened a long time ago.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “What else did you hear?” she asked, changing the subject.

“You were thinking hilarious things about Miles,” I began, my spirits lifting at the memory of her inner dialogue. She was way more entertaining than I expected. “And that you liked my plaid.”