Werewolf Academy Year Three - Jayme Morse Page 0,37

than just a best friend, Raven.”

“What was she?” I raised my eyebrows.

“My fiancée.”

“Oh.” I glanced away from him. For some reason, this took me completely by surprise. “I thought you had never been in love before me.”

“That would be correct,” he replied with a nod.

“But you were engaged. That means you were in love with someone before me.”

“No. I loved someone before you, but you are the first and only one who I’ve ever been in love with,” Theo corrected. “Fawn was my best friend. I cared deeply for her. I loved her the way I would love any friend. But I was never actually in love with her.”

I frowned. “I thought an Ancient could only be attracted to another ancient.”

He nodded. “That’s correct.”

“So, you were engaged to her, even though you weren’t attracted to her?” I questioned, trying to understand the situation. I knew I couldn’t be jealous. The girl was dead, after all. But it didn’t really make sense.

“I wouldn’t say she was ugly. She was pretty. But the type of attraction I’ve felt towards non-Ancients has just never compared to how I feel about you,” Theo explained. “Our connection is out of this world. Our bodies are like magnets. I have never felt that with a non-Ancient—or anyone else, ever.”

I believed he was telling the truth. “I just don’t understand. Why would you have been engaged without the sort of connection we have?”

“For starters, my odds of finding this sort of connection seemed unlikely. As far as we knew, there weren’t supposed to be any other Ancient females left.” He paused for a moment. “I also always hoped that I would meet my mate one day, but after a few hundred years, I had given up hope. I was tired of being lonely, and it was more than that. I wanted a wife, a child, a family. So, I was willing to settle and be with Fawn because we had a strong emotional connection, but not much of a physical one.”

I understood what he was saying. I just didn’t like it, and it wasn’t because I was jealous. No, it was just strange to think that there was this whole other side of him, this whole other life he’d lived before me. And even though I had known him for two years now, I was only just learning about this part of his life now. It made me wonder what other things there about Theo that I still didn’t know about.

What other things didn’t I know about not just him but all of my mates?

“Raven, can I ask you a question?” Theo asked.

I had a feeling that I already knew what he was going to ask: who was I choosing? That was the absolute last thing I wanted to talk about right now. Because he was right; the playing field wasn’t even. There was also the fact that I hadn’t even gotten to spend time with my fifth mate yet.

But, against my better judgment, I said, “Yeah, ask away.”

“Have you already made love to Colton and Rhys? Or is it just me and Aiden who have gotten to do that with you?”

“Theo… I really don’t think we should talk about this.” After the night we’d all just had, the last thing I wanted to deal with was his jealousy. And I knew he was still incredibly jealousy about me sleeping with Aiden. He was obviously speaking to me again, but after since that day months ago, there was this weird tension between us. It was the elephant in the room that both of us had been ignoring until right now.

Then again, maybe it was about time we finally got this talk out of the way.

“It’s just a question.” He shrugged, his eyes not moving from mine. “I want… no, I need… to know what I’m up against.”

I turned away from him then. “No, I haven’t slept with either of them… yet. But I plan to, when and if the timing is right.”

“I see.” He nodded. “That seems fair.”

“Does it?” I glanced over at him, unsure if he actually meant it or not.

“Well, before you buy the car, you should probably take it for a spin. And in this case, you’ll be driving the car for an eternity.”

“No pressure,” I muttered under my breath.

“Hey,” he said, pulling me onto his naked lap. “I get it. I actually think you should be with both of them,” he told me. “We all deserve an even playing field. An equal chance