“Yeah, well, her vision was very specific.”

Trick pursed his lips. “Okay, let’s say the Seer’s right. Let’s say Roni’s not your mate. Let’s say this other female the Seer described is the one for you, and she’s out there somewhere. That would mean Roni has a mate out there somewhere too, waiting to claim her.”

A growl of objection rumbled out of Marcus before he could stop it—it was a growl that came from both him and his wolf.

Trick grinned. “That’s what I thought.”

“Just because I don’t want to give her up yet doesn’t make her my mate.”

“All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind about it. Look at Dante and Trey—it took them both months to figure out they had their own mate right under their noses, and that’s just plain pathetic. They should have listened to their wolves, but they didn’t, because they were too wrapped up in their human issues.”

“Sometimes our animals have strong reactions to certain females and it doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, but sometimes it does. You can at least admit it’s a possibility that she’s your mate.”

Marcus opened his mouth, but no words came out. Was it a possibility? He did feel incredibly possessive of Roni, so much so that he would happily slash the throat of any male who tried to take her from him. And he did like her, like her. She made him laugh, and she fascinated him with her complex character. She was also so damn tough it was admirable. Any dominant male would be proud to have a mate as strong as Roni. But to admit that it was a possibility would be to hope that just maybe he wasn’t destined to have the miserable fate he’d been warned of, and hope could massively backfire on him.

Trick sighed. “If you don’t want to admit it, fine, but don’t shove what I’m saying to the back of your mind so that you don’t have to process it. Don’t rule it out as a possibility simply because some Seer described a totally different female to you. Okay?”

“Okay,” replied Marcus, but he said it more to placate Trick than anything else. And his friend’s agitated expression said he knew it.

“Don’t be an ass, Marcus. Look outside the box, and you’ll see that you’ve been subconsciously building something with her.”

“What are you talking about?”

Trick rolled his eyes. “You’re not the type of guy who feels the need to run to ground any female who doesn’t respond to him. It’s never bothered you before, but it bothered you this time. You didn’t come on strong, though. You stood back, observed her closely, looked for weaknesses in her defenses—circled her like a predator circles prey. You took it slow, got to know her better, did what you could to make her feel comfortable around you, and tried to seduce her on every level. You don’t do that with someone unless you’re trying to lay a foundation for something more.

“You’ve never in your life pursued a female before, Marcus; you see women as threats.” When he went to speak, Trick quickly continued. “Don’t try and bullshit me; I know you. Women eventually want more than sex from you, and that scares you. For you, love is all mingled up with pain and rejection and anger, thanks to your upbringing. But you pursued Roni because she doesn’t make you feel threatened.”

“Threatened? I don’t even understand what that means.”

“You knew she wouldn’t get attached to you, wouldn’t demand anything from you that you couldn’t give, and wouldn’t push herself on you or make you feel pressured. It left you in control of where this is going and allowed you to move at a pace you felt comfortable with. And look what you did with that power—you subconsciously laid the foundation for something more.”

Was Trick right? Was that what he’d done? Sure, Marcus had circled her and searched for weaknesses in her shields in an effort to seduce her mentally. But that was only so that he might have a shot at seducing her sexually. Wasn’t it? And, yes, he had felt comfortable pursuing Roni. The more he’d pursued her, the more he’d come to like her and the more possessive he’d become.

“I know you’re scared of finding the mate the Seer told you about; you don’t want history to repeat itself, and no one who knows about your upbringing could blame you for that. But considering you don’t want that female, is there really any harm in seeing where this could go with Roni, of being open to imprinting? For the record, I honestly believe she could be your true mate.”

“The Seer’s visions are usually accurate.”

“Yeah, usually,” scoffed Trick. “Not always. Think about that before you walk away from something that could be really yours to keep.”

Then he strolled off, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts. Although many of the things his friend had said made sense, Marcus wasn’t sure about the theory that Roni was his mate—not given how specific the Seer’s vision had been. But he knew that he wanted a place in Roni’s life; he wanted to see where this thing between them could go.

It probably made him a cruel bastard to even consider it. Sure, lots of shifters got into deep relationships with people who weren’t their true mates, since they were fully aware that there was a possibility they would never find them anyway. Gabe and Hope were an example of that. But Marcus knew from the Seer that he would in fact find his mate, and that made this situation very different.

If he were honest, though, he didn’t believe he could make his mate happy. He wouldn’t have children with her, because he refused to let them see the same things he had, day after day, growing up. Considering how miserable they were bound to make each other, he doubted the mating bond would ever fully click into place. That would have eaten at what they’d had and caused resentment to build. No, neither one of them could truly make the other happy.

Roni, on the other hand . . . she made him happy—quirks, lollipops, and all. Everything in him, everything he was, told him not to walk away from her; that if he did, it would be a mistake he would forever regret. His wolf didn’t object to Marcus’s decision, which was pretty shocking, given that this would take him closer to Roni and further away from his true mate. His wolf, with his elemental nature, wouldn’t have Marcus’s human concerns about the mate the Seer had described. Yet, he had his wolf’s support to remain with Roni, because she made his wolf happy too.