The Witch and Her Second Chance

17 | Laying it out

The three of them settled around the coffee table on the floor.

When Jo started explaining things to Jackie, Verin thought she was doing so to ease Jackie into accepting both him and Jackie as mates, but as she scrambled, Jo's words started to fill the pit of dread that had settled in his stomach.

Verin had opened a bottle of shifter-strength whisky Celeste had brought. He told them to be careful, but the evening had started off emotionally draining, so the two women wanted to let off steam. They had collectively drunk over a third within a short time. He ordered a champagne for good measure, which they were waiting for.

"You said you had a mate before. That was Oliver?" Jackie asked Jo gently.

She nodded. "Yes. We were from the same coven, so we found each other when he turned eighteen, only two months after I did."

"And have you had a uh...?" Jackie asked Verin.

He shook his head. "No. It seems warlocks aren't often each other's mates. My closest friend Celeste," yeah, he guessed that was what she was, "and I had thought to become each other's chosen when we were young but we were terrible together." He smiled warmly. "She was actually the one who suggested I go on the app."

Jo wondered what a female warlock would be like. She needed to air how much of what she'd heard about his people was true.

Jackie threw back another shot. "And here are us stupid humans just going about with our boring lives."

Jo admonished her. "I love humans."

Verin just chuckled. "I don't know that human lives are all that boring. Since I've been here, I've been learning about this world's history. The speed at which you innovate is amazing. My people are stuck in your middle ages in some regards."

Jackie shrugged, trying not to be too chuffed by his compliment on behalf of the human race.

"Well, shucks," she joked.

"You all also destroy more than I think any other species across our worlds." There was a knock to indicate their room service had arrived. "Even more than the demons," he added, jumping to his feet to get the door.

Jackie sat there stunned. "Demons? Worlds?" She emphasised the plural of the word.

Jo smiled and tugged Jackie's hand. "This is a lot. We can ease up for a bit."

"No, no. Flood my brain with it. I think this is the better way. Like a band-aid, let's rip that sucker off."

Verin returned. He unwrapped the top of the bottle and hovered his hand over the cork. A second later, it popped, nestled in his palm.

Jackie's mouth dropped open, and he winked at her.

"Just f**k. Just f**k all the time," she mumbled.

Jo scrunched her nose, "Show off."

Jackie took the bottle off him and poured them a glass of champagne, "So let's talk about the elephant in the room."

Verin tilted his head. He let his confusion at the phrase show–he felt no need to disguise his lack of knowledge from them now.

"That'd be you, possum," she explained. "What's your endgame here?"

Verin was thoughtful as he answered, "I want Jo as my mate. I understand you are her mate. I don't see why those two things can't coexist."

"We have always kept this part," she waved her hand between the three of them, "separate from us," her hands indicated between Jo and her.

Verin nodded. He knew this.

"So I'm guessing that's impossible with this fated mate stuff?" She looked between the two magical beings.

Jo shook her head, "It is not fair to either of you. Jackie, I don't want you to feel like what you give me is inadequate, and Verin," she looked at him with a pained expression, "I can't expect you to be a weekend lay when you'll want to give me your whole heart."

Verin felt a sinking feeling. There it was, the edge of rejection.

Jackie was looking between the two. "So, what happens then? You just say no thanks, Goddess and they'll find someone else for Verin?"

A tear slipped as Jo shook her head. Jo wiped her cheek hastily, not meeting Verin's eyes, "He may get a second chance like I did, but not everyone finds their mate the first time. Second chances are… even rarer."

Verin looked down. There it was. What he had been trying to avoid thinking about. He miraculously found his mate when most warlocks never did–even in other species, it didn't always happen–and he'd missed it.

He brilliantly masked his feelings–he'd done it his whole life.

"What do you want?" Jackie asked.

Verin looked up, unsure who the question was directed to. He saw she was looking at Jo.

Jo seemed to be finding it hard to answer the question. She would open her mouth only to close it.

She still wouldn't meet his eyes, and he felt a pain ripple across his chest. He had heard that mates who didn't want to be in the bond often felt compelled to stay in it anyway. It was beyond anyone's control, and while he could say his feelings were growing even before feeling the matebond with her, she had not had those same feelings for him.

Verin bit his lip. He got up, both women watching him. He thanked the goddess for trying and, more so, for his last treatment working. He worried what he would have been like if it hadn't. He was distantly concerned about when it would inevitably stop again. "Jo, I need you to tell me your full name and any titles you hold."

Jo's lip trembled, her eyes still down.

"What for?" Jackie asked.

"He's going to reject me." His head jerked at the edge of Jo's voice. She had started to cry softly.

Jackie scooted closer to her, pulling her into her side. "Sweetie." She looked up at Verin for help. "What does that mean?"

"I'm going to say no thank you to the Goddess," he said sadly. "She will sever our bond."

"And we go back to how we were?" Jackie asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure how Jo and I will feel afterwards." He felt stiff as he spoke. Saying the words as though this wasn't happening to him. "It's possible the feelings I already had would still be there, but for Jo, without the matebond, she will likely not want to be near me anymore."

Jo's breath hitched, and he flinched at the sound.

"Is that what you want?" Jackie asked, worry etched across her face, the question directed at Verin.

"Of course not!" Verin didn't realise he yelled until the last syllable left his mouth. He set his jaw. A faraway look came over him as he tried to disassociate. He searched for calm, but all he found were Jo's tiny breaths as she fought her tears.

He glanced down before looking at her. She met his gaze, her lashes heavy with tears, her face wet as she smeared her tears with each drop she lost the battle to.

He flicked his wrist, and the coffee table and the items that were on top teleported to the side, clearing the path to Jo, where she sat leaning against Jackie. Jackie swore as she jumped from the teleporting items.

He sank to his knees in front of them. He tore his eyes from Jo's. He couldn't. He just couldn't see her see him. She saw him, and she didn't want him.

Somehow, the pain from his chest was now also in his fingertips. Boden, please, he thought. Maybe with the rejection, the hurt would be gone.

"A fated mate bond is intoxicating. It is joyous and undeniable." He met Jackie's eyes. The woman's deep, dark eyes were transfixed to his. He continued, speaking to her, "The goddess gives you your perfect person and you to them. And you underestimate what it will feel like from the stories you heard growing up. Because none of the stories compare to what it actually feels like," he spoke imploringly, trying to make her understand what he was feeling. Jackie was the only other person who could. She listened to him wholly.

"And for me… I feel like the goddess must have made a mistake because I don't deserve the gift. But maybe that was the plan, this my punishment–to be fated to someone who doesn't want me." He took a shaky breath and sat back on his heels. "It's not unheard of," he felt himself try to think about what he'd heard about rejected mates, academically, to distract himself, "rejections."

He thought about how he'd like to go to bed now. His outpouring had left him feeling hollow, and he wanted to retreat from the two women and not face this hard reality anymore.

~*~