she could. Normally, an immortal as young as Leonora wouldn’t be able to read him because he was so much older than her, but immortals who had just found their life mates were supposed to be easy to read for the first year after finding them and he was curious to see if that was the case. It would be more proof that Allie was indeed his—
“Oh. I see.”
Magnus blinked his thoughts away at those barely breathed words, and smiled at Leonora again. She could read him.
“Take your time,” he said lightly as he eased past her to slip out of the room.
“Well, he couldn’t seem to get out of here quick enough,” Allie said with disgruntlement as soon as the door closed behind Magnus.
“Men do dislike anything to do with doctors and such,” Leonora said with amusement as she crossed to her side with the clipboard and blood pressure cuff in hand. She set both down on the coffee table in front of the couch, and then produced the thermometer from her pocket.
“I had just asked him about life mates before you came in,” Allie admitted. “I’ve heard the word used a couple of times and wondered if it just means ‘mate’ to immortals, or is something special.”
“Oh, life mates are definitely something special,” Leonora assured her.
“Why?” Allie asked at once.
“Because immortals mate for life,” Leonora said simply, and then popped the thermometer in Allie’s mouth. “That isn’t to say that if their life mate dies they won’t ever find another one. But while the first life mate lives, they will be devoted to her or him and never stray. For immortals, having a life mate really means until death parts them.”
Allie’s eyebrows rose at this news as Leonora took her wrist in hand. In this day and age when half the marriages failed, and the young weren’t even bothering to marry much anymore, mating for life seemed a rare and unusual thing. She wanted to ask why that was the case, but couldn’t with the thermometer in her mouth, so thought the question in her head, actually hoping, for a change, that Leonora would read her mind.
Apparently, she was too busy taking her pulse, however, because she didn’t suddenly spit out the answer.
Sighing inwardly, Allie resigned herself to waiting until the thermometer was out of her mouth to ask her questions.
“You’re trying to think of a way to avoid explaining life mates to Allie and admitting she’s yours until you can woo her a bit.”
Magnus glanced up and around from the cup he was rinsing and stared at Stephanie. He wasn’t surprised to find her staring back, her eyes glowing and then fading and then glowing again as she peered at him.
“It won’t work,” Stephanie said when he remained silent and simply waited. “She is already attracted to you and feels unaccountably safe with you, but she won’t trust that or allow it to develop into love. She’s afraid of love after what it did to her sister and mother.”
Magnus was startled at the mention of a sister, but held his tongue again. He knew it was better not to interrupt.
“Stephen’s abandoning Stella and making her flee on her own has not helped either. Allie will not be wooed. She is afraid of what love can do to her, so is afraid to love.”
Setting down the cup he’d been rinsing, Magnus turned off the tap and dried his hands on the dish towel as he turned to face the young woman.
“Except the boy. She has given up everything for him,” Stephanie said slowly. “She does love Liam . . . and would do anything for him.” She paused briefly, and then nodded. “She’ll come to trust and love you in time if you can keep her close, but you’ll have to use the boy to do that.”
Movement to the side drew his gaze to the table. Elvi, Victor, DJ, Mabel, and Alessandro all still sat there and every one of them was watching Stephanie with concern. But the movement he’d noted was the arrival of another couple, who now hesitated in the archway between the dining room and the entry, their attention locked on Stephanie with equal concern. Drina and Harpernus Stoyan. Magnus had met Drina on several occasions, and had known Harper for centuries. He knew they had taken Stephanie into their hearts and home as a teenager, sharing her care with Elvi and Victor while Dani and Decker had hunted for Leonius Livius, the monster who