Valentin’s eyes were still dark when I arrived at his office. His jaw was clenched as he pushed the rotary phone on his desk towards me. He said nothing as I picked it up and held the receiver to my ear. I ducked my eyes down, away from his white-hot gaze.
“Hello?” I mumbled.
“Well?!” Victoria said. “I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to call you post Mateball. Part of me was hoping you’d be enjoying mated bliss.”
“Oh,” I rubbed my eyes. “No, sorry.”
Victoria sighed. “What happened?”
“Well,” I huffed. No doubt she was going to be disappointed. “I felt the pull of a fated mate,” I said. “But then, when I found him, he – uh – rejected me.”
“Rejected?!” Victoria squeaked. “Oh, Gods above, I am so sorry, my love.”
“Yeah,” I dropped my hand in my lap to fiddle with the hem of my shi
