Broken Mate, Fixed By Fate

02 ~ You belong to me

“What date?” I ask, dread filling my heart. “I’m his mate, and I just arrived a few minutes ago—” I take out my phone and try to dial Jack’s number but it goes straight to voicemail.

“Oh, uh… y-you’re Maeve! He, uh…Jack did say he was going out on a date with you—you know, uh…and we thought you were already with him.”

Even I can tell he’s lying.

Jayden touches my arm and pulls me to the side. “Hey, Maeve, how about you stay here and rest while I look for him, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding…you know how guys play pranks on each other all the time.” He glares at the two men who look away.

I nod, grateful for his words even though I’m feeling terribly anxious now as I clutch my bags.

“Here, Maeve…if you want you can wait in his room.”

I nod, eager to be alone.

Jack’s room is tidy and very masculine, his scent soothing me as soon as I walk inside. I sit on the bed before letting my eyes sweep the place for anything that should not be there.

I wonder how he can afford this place. Maybe he’s sharing the expenses with the two guys outside…but still, it seems like a waste when there’s a perfectly good place to stay for free inside the training camp. Especially since we are scraping by and we should be doing our best to save up for our future.

Feeling restless, I stand up again and walk around, carefully inspecting the place. I open the closet and find his clothes, well-ironed and carefully folded. I frown. He’s always been a bit messy around the house. Maybe the training camp actually cured him of that.

My eyes drop to the shoes lined neatly beside the closet and my jaw drops as I stare in dismay at the pair of military boots identical to the ones I just purchased yesterday as a gift to him.

He bought them!? Where did he even get the money? According to my calculations, he was supposed to have just enough to last him until the end of this month, before I would need to send him money again.

What is happening here!?

I look around some more. There are shirts and pants I don’t remember seeing him wear, but they carry his scent so I’m sure I’m in the right room.

My frown deepens.

Actually, if it wasn't for his scent, I would not have said these are his things or even his room.

Where are the things I sent him? The picture of us together in a picture frame I made myself…

Before I can nose around further, the door opens and Jack strides in.

“Hello Maeve, what a lovely surprise.” He throws his key in the bowl on the nightstand before closing the door and leaning against it. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

The question almost sounds accusatory to me but he has that familiar mischievous grin playing on his lips and I can feel a little bit of the ice-cold dread around my heart melting. I've always had a soft spot for that devilish smile.

“I…I wanted it to be a surprise…” I whisper, and I swallow to push down my anxiety.

He starts to loosen his tie, slowly removing it before undoing the buttons on his shirt.

“Well, that’s too bad, I would have been here waiting for you… naked… under the sheets, of course.” He says in a low and teasing voice.

I almost smile. Almost.

I stare at him, searching for clues about his previous whereabouts. He’s wearing a formal light blue long-sleeved shirt, black pants, and shiny leather shoes. He doesn’t look like he was training to be a warrior.

He looks like he was on a date and was rudely interrupted.

He even smells of alcohol and…some other people, although there were several other scents so I can’t really tell if he was really on a date with someone.

“Where were you, Jack?” I ask flatly.

He blinks and sighs. “I was with some friends, celebrating. One of them got promoted in rank, so I had to be there.” He shrugs out of his shirt, revealing tattooed muscles that have always made me swoon.

Not today.

He puts on a simple white shirt and I look away when he takes off his belt and pants.

We haven’t actually mated and marked yet since we only found out about our fated bond last year. And we have dreams, ambitions… plans that will be put on hold or even set aside if we decide to put up a family right away. Especially for me.

“Connections are very important, you know. For our future. Especially this one because his parents are retired elite warriors who now have successful businesses around the world.” He continues and when I look at him again, he looks like the Jack I’ve always known again.

“Maybe they can even help us when it’s time for you to build your own designer’s line of clothing…we never know.” He sits on the bed and taps the space beside him, inviting me to sit as well.

I still feel a bit miffed but he’s starting to make sense. However, something still doesn’t sit well with me.

“Why do you live here instead of at the training camp? How can you even afford this place…and…and all these new clothes…”

He looks like he’s living a very luxurious life, getting all this new stuff and even going to parties, while I’ve been skipping lunch and eating once a day to save up money to send for his allowance.

He frowns. “What’s with the inquisition?” He asks, sounding annoyed. “Don’t you trust me?”

I sigh. “I just don’t understand how you’re doing this…I barely eat and I work my ass off day and night to be able to send you as much money as I can…and even that’s just enough. How do you afford all this extra stuff?”

“I found a part-time job. You don’t have to worry…I was going to tell you not to send anything anymore for a bit. I made friends with the right people, you know…it takes time but…it’s slowly paying off now, little by little.” He smiles and taps the spot next to him again.

I reluctantly sit and he leans over to touch my chin with his finger, slowly pulling me towards him for a kiss. But before his lips touch mine he grins and asks:

“Are we good now?”

Not really, but I really want the kiss and the connection that comes with it so I just nod and he finally claims my lips. His mouth is warm and soft and soon I forget what I have been upset about.

“You’re staying for the night, right?” he asks after a few minutes.

I shake my head. “No…your brother has school tomorrow so—”

He grins. “Oh, don’t worry about him. I sent him home already. You can stay with me tonight, I’ll take you out to dinner and tomorrow I’ll accompany you to the train station.”

“Oh, but…my sister will be worried—”

“It’s just one night, relax.” He kisses me again, effectively shushing me. “It’s not like you’d be staying with a random stranger, we’re fated mates...you belong to me.”