Chapter Three

Iprobably shouldn't have just blurted that out like that. In my defense, how can she not be feeling it? How does someone grow into adulthood without even knowing they're a spark? Sure, Jude's spark didn't realize he was a spark until they met, but I thought that was an outlying case not the usual!

Plus, I can smell that my spark's girlfriend is a vampire and my mate is some sort of supernatural creature.

Oh my gods. I have a mate. I have a true mate. And he's right in front of me! There's so many emotions playing around inside of me I can't even pinpoint one of them. They're all jumbled up inside of me.

I'm happy. I'm excited. I'm filled with wonder. I'm anxious as fuck. I'm confused. I'm shocked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

The vampire winces. I think I heard someone call her Page? "It's true, babe."

"No. No, this is some sort of weird joke."

"It's not. The supernatural is real, Ray," my mate says gently. "Page and I really do hunt ghosts and put them to rest."

"Then why the fuck have I never seen anything? Any time you have me come inside with you, everything is still and quiet."

"There's something about you, Ray, that puts the ghosts at ease. When we have any ghosts who are angry or upset, your presence seems to put them back into limbo without you even trying."

"I might be able to explain that," I say, holding up my hand and waving. "I'm sorry you're getting all of this information dumped on you. I just assumed you knew."

"Knew what?"

"You're a spark," I say gently. "You possess the ability to wield magic."

"What? No, that's not possible. Magic isn't real."

"It's real. Close your eyes and feel what's happening inside of you," I tell her, my voice sounding almost pleading to my own ears. "Feel the connection between you and me. You must be able to sense it, Ray. You're my spark and I'm your familiar."

Ray looks like she's about to be stubborn and tell me to fuck off but Page touches her shoulder, whispering something in her ear. Ray closes her eyes, letting out a long breath through her nose, her brows wrinkling. She must be able to feel something because when she opens her eyes again, she looks far less angry and much more confused.

Confused I can work with.

"Aren't familiars like little animals usually? This still makes no sense."

"Familiars have two forms," I explain gently. "I have my human form obviously but I can also shift into a lion."

"Prove it," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. "If this is real, I need to actually see it."

I look both ways down the road, making sure no one is coming before breathing in deeply, tugging onto my inner lion and letting him take over. Light blue magic swirls around me as I change from this form into my other. One moment I'm standing on two feet and the next I'm on all fours. I let out a huff through my nose, breathing in deeply.

In this form, I can smell my mate that much better. I've been holding myself back, not wanting to rush anything or startle Ray, but in the form, those inhibitions are gone.

Sauntered over to my mate, I shake out my mane before nudging him with my giant nose.

"Holy fucking shit. That's a lion. He's a fucking lion."

"Yes. Yes, he is," Zeke says and I can hear a hint of pride in his voice. His fingers touch my skin between my eyes and I lean my body against his. He almost stumbles and I huff in amusement.

"He's cuddly in this form," Harbor says, grinning over at me. I can tell by that look that he's pieced a few things together. I don't mind, all I care about is being close to my mate and taking in his delicious scent. When his fingers bury themselves into my mane, I think I might literally be in heaven with how good it feels.

"If you have any questions, we're happy to answer them," Bently tells Ray. "The three of us are familiars and we've been on a road trip trying to track down our sparks."

"This is a lot to take in," Ray says softly, looking at all of us with wide eyes. Finally, she looks at her girlfriend. "Did you know about all this?"

Page nods before letting out a long sigh. "I did. Do you remember a couple months ago, when I had to take that extended vacation?"

Ray's eyes widen and she nods her head slowly. "You said there was an issue with your passport and you were stuck at the border until it got figured out."

"That's what I said, yes. That's when I was ushered into the supernatural world. Something happened and I couldn't be around you for a while."

"Fuck," she says and my heart hammers against my ribs, watching as this all hits my spark. I wish there was something I could do to smooth out the wrinkle in her brow, to help her stay calm. This must be so much to learn all at once.

"I think she knows you're real," my mate says softly, tapping me on my giant shoulder. "You can shift back."

I nudge him once more with my head before taking a step back. I look inward, finding my human form once more, sliding from this form to the other with practiced ease. As the blue magic fades away into a mist, I look over at my spark. She's staring at me once more and I can't tell if she's looking in wonder or horror. Maybe a little of both.

Now that I'm back in my human form, I take a step away from Zeke, my cheeks heating with embarrassment with how cuddly I just was. I don't even know this man, I should not be rubbing myself all over him!

"Why don't we go someplace and talk," Page says softly, her hand squeezing Ray's shoulder. "I can explain everything and answer any questions you might have."

"In the car. Now."

I watch as the two of them get into the backseat together before closing the door, giving themselves a little privacy while they talk. I turn to my mate, wincing. "I'm sorry. I guess we could have gone about this a bit better, huh?"

Zeke gives a shrug. "It could have gone a lot worse. I've tried hinting that things were real for a long time but she would never hear any of it. Page has wanted to tell Ray that she was a vampire since the moment it happened but she kept chickening out, saying it wasn't the right moment." He runs his fingers through his short, dark hair, looking almost lost. "This explains a few things though. She's so against the supernatural existing that she literally dispels ghosts with her presence. Ray is putting off magical energies without even realizing it."

"My offer was serious," Bently says, always wanting to help however he can. Even since we were little, he's been our unofficial protector and that extends to a lot of the people we meet. "If any of you have questions or anything, I'm happy to help as much as I can."

"Thank you. It might be better coming from me and Page though."

"So you two are mates?"

I make a surprised noise at Harbor's question. I really should have expected him to realize what was going on and comment on it. All of Harbor's inside thoughts become outside thoughts. He has no filter whatsoever.

I look over at Zeke, watching as his eyes soften. He glances over at me, giving me a tentative smile before turning back to Harbor. "We are, yeah."

Hearing him say it out loud, confirming what I'm feeling leaves me breathless. My stomach is turning itself into knots and my heart is somehow leaping around inside my chest while also melting into a giant sappy puddle. Gods, I've never felt anything like this before.

"If you wanna use the RV to consummate your mating, Bently and I would be happy to go for a little walk."

I cover my face with my hands, hoping it's not actually as red as it feels. "Jesus Christ," I murmur under my breath.

"As wonderful as that sounds," Zeke says slowly. I peek at him through my fingers, watching as he's grinning at my cousins. "I think I'd rather get to know Casper a bit before we jump right into that."

Harbor tilts his head to the side. "If you're sure. I always thought true mates would jump each other's bones the moment they met but that doesn't seem to be the case with Casper and Willow."

Bently shoves his elbow into Harbor's side. "Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of insta-lust like you are," he says gently.

In response, Harbor just shrugs. "Your true mate is literally made for you. Why not fuck on the first date?"

"You can do that when you meet your true mate."

Harbor practically grins from ear to ear. "That's my plan. If my true mate doesn't drop trou the moment we meet I'll be incredibly disappointed."

That makes all of us chuckle and the tension I was feeling a moment ago fades away. As much as I try not to stare, I keep finding my eyes drifting over to my mate. I can't seem to get enough of him. I want to study him until I know every detail of his face, every speck of color in his eyes, every quirk.

Gods, he's so handsome.

I want to run my fingers over his head, feeling his short, dark hair under my fingers. His eyes are a dark brown color that I could absolutely get lost in. His smile is warm but when he's just listening, he's got the case of resting bitch face. I've just met him but I already feel so much fondness just looking at him.

I put my hands into my pockets, keeping myself from reaching over and touching him. I hold myself back because as much as my inner lion would like to crawl into this man's lap and rub myself against him, that's not something my human side is quite on board with. Not yet anyway.

"We live about two hours away from here," Zeke tells us. "The three of you are welcome to follow behind as we drive back."

"That sounds great," I say with a little smile, cursing the nerves nipping at my stomach.

It seems like they have an established thing going on. Would I even fit in with his plans? Ray is obviously freaking out, will she even want me around when things finally settle down? I feel so completely and utterly out of place.

Zeke takes a step towards me, leaning over so he can talk softly, just for my ears to hear. My entire body goes hot all over as I feel his breath against my ear. "I can see that look. You're starting to freak out about everything, aren't you?"

"I might be."

His warm chuckle lights a fire inside of me. I have to bite my bottom lip to keep myself from making an embarrassing noise in front of my cousins. "You don't need to. I haven't said this yet, but I'm really happy we met. I'm really happy we're mates, Casper."

"Oh," I breathe out, my shoulders falling away from my ears. "Okay, good. Me too."

"Would you like to ride back with me to my place?"

"I'd like that a lot."

"Can we use your shower when we get to your place?" Harbor blurts out. "A hot shower sounds divine."

"Yeah, you can use my shower," Zeke says, nodding his head. "As much hot water as you want."

"I already like you," Harbor says with a grin.

"Good. Because it seems we're family now. We'll be in each other's lives for a long time."

I'm so giddy with emotions I could cry. Or hysterically laugh. Or maybe both. Thankfully, I have enough self control to keep it inside in front of everyone. If I'm not careful I'll end up on my belly, kicking my feet and twirling my hair before the night is over.

Page opens the back door and steps outside. She frowns at us, looking a bit haggard.

"Everything alright?"

Page looks over at Zeke. "Yeah. I think it'll just take some time. Right now she's being stubborn," Page explains with a shrug. "She's in denial about everything and claims that she's going to stay firm in her belief that the supernatural is not real."

Zeke raises his brow. "Did you show her your fangs?"

"I did. She even touched them but claims they're obviously prosthetic," Page says, facepalming. "It's fine. She'll come around. At least she didn't break up with me."

My eyes dart over to the car, finding my spark tucked in on herself. My chest aches for her. This is all so much to learn at once. She must feel so confused, possibly betrayed by her friends as well. I wish there was something I could do to help but I'm just a stranger claiming to have a special bond with her. What could I possibly do?

"Everything will work out," Zeke says softly and I can tell he's directing the words at both myself and Page. "Let's head back home. Everything will sound better after we get some sleep."

"Maybe I should ride in the RV," I say, nodding towards Ray. "It seems like maybe Ray could use a little space, while she processes all this?"

Zeke hums in agreement but I can tell he's not happy about it. He seems to want to be glued to my side just as much as I want to be glued to his.

We all get into our respective vehicles and head down the road. Bently carefully follows behind Zeke while I scramble to get all of my shit packed up. I'm not sure what the plan is once we get to Zeke's home but I want to be prepared to stay.