eyes, looking me up and down like he’s truly seeing me for the first time. I wait for him to explain himself, but after a few moments, he smiles at me like nothing happened. “Well?”
My cheeks flush, slightly from embarrassment, and also from the dismissal of his reaction to touching me. But I technically made a deal, and talking to this witch is still better than going back inside to face Bryson or getting wrapped up in the intensity of Lord Rian again.
“I’m here with my best friend tonight because he wanted to make his ex jealous,” I start, and then I bite my lip and sigh as I roll my eyes. “But my ex-boyfriend is here tonight too, and I didn’t realize how painful it would be to run into him, and to see him with his mate.”
“Ah, I see.”
There’s a surprising amount of sympathy in his voice, and his eyes soften as he blinks down at me. I exhale, and before I’ve really thought it through, I begin ranting and unleashing all the things I’ve kept bottled up in regards to Bryson and our relationship.
“He’s such a fucking douche, it makes me want to scream. I can’t believe I wasted so much time on him, you know? We dated for over a year, and I did everything for him. Everything he asked, and everything I could think to make him happy. And I never asked for a damn thing in return. After all that time together, he chose someone else to be his mate. He broke up with me by saying he was ready to settle down and choose a life partner, and god, I thought he was proposing! When I said that, he actually fucking laughed. He said he couldn’t believe I ever thought he’d settle down with a human.”
Tears form in the corners of my eyes. I look up and quickly try to blink them away, but a few still manage to leak out. The witch steps closer and brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping the tears away. I’m totally mortified when I meet his eyes, but he simply opens his arms and offers me a hug without saying a word.
I feel awkward about it at first, but I still step forward into his embrace. He wraps his arms around me tightly, and I suddenly feel so warm and cared for. I know that’s probably because he’s using some kind of witchy magic on me, but I’m past the point of caring right now.
“Your ex is a shifter, I take it?” he asks. When I nod, he scoffs. “Shifters are even worse than fae. Trust me, you dodged a bullet with that one.”
An unladylike snort escapes my throat, and I tilt my head up to smile at him in surprise. “You’re probably right.”
“I usually am.” He smirks, swaying us back and forth gently. “I’m Matthieu.”
“Isla,” I say. We stand together like that in a comfortable silence until I remember our deal. I clear my throat and say, “Your turn. What are you doing at an Unseelie party, and why are you hiding?”
Matthieu doesn’t answer right away. He continues to stare down at me like he’s trying to work out a puzzle. I’m starting to feel kind of self-conscious about our entire interaction when he finally smirks. “Lord Rian and I are very old friends, and he asked me to be here tonight.”
I pull back a little, but he keeps his arms around me. I look him over again, smiling at his odd appearance. “I can see that, actually. Both of you are a bit strange.”
His eyes crinkle and he barks out a loud, boisterous laugh. “I’m almost afraid to ask what’s given you that impression.”
I giggle, but I don’t bother explaining myself. I’m not sure I’d even be able to put it into words, anyway. It’s just that I have such a weird feeling around Matthieu and Rian, and both of them seem surprisingly genuine. That’s not something I ever experience with supernaturals, aside from Alistair.
“If you’re such good friends with Lord Rian, why aren’t you inside causing mischief with him right now?” I ask teasingly.
Matthieu’s expression sobers, and he bows his head and smiles shyly. He still hasn’t let go of me. “Did you know that fae and witches have mates too? It’s different for us than it is for shifters. Instead of choosing our mate, our mate is chosen for us. It can take centuries to find that person, and many of us