And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

Chapter 146: Mistakes with a Mate Cassie.

Staring at my brother, I was completely pissed by the way he had approached me in the hallway, as if

he was my keeper and had a say in everything I did. One, he didn’t have a single clue what had

happened that night with Silas or Lucas, and two, I was an adult. If I wanted to fuck three men in a

night-which I didn’t-that wasn’t his place for him to say I couldn’t.

The last thing I had expected as I stood there trying to decide how badly I was going to beat my brother

for talking to me the way he was in front of all these people was for Trixie-sweet, kind Trixie-to jump in

and defend me.

She stood fiercely in front of me, looking down at Pollux, who lay on the ground, staring up at her in

shock, just as the rest of us were.

Had anyone else done this, he would have shifted and caused all kinds of torment, but with her, he

didn’t. It took me a minute to process what was going on, but as I

watched him staring at her in utter disbelief with his eyes wide and his mouth parted, it suddenly

dawned on me the reason why he hadn’t jumped up.

Trixie was mated to my brother, and she had no idea.

Part of me had suspected something was up after the dinner we had with Odin where he quickly

backed down once his eyes landed upon Trixie, but I had just cut it to him. not wanting to start shit in

Odin’s dining hall.

Laughter filled me as Trixie turned, glancing over her shoulder in my direction. “What are you talking

about?

What is karma?”

Quickly knocked from the trance he was in, Pollux jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. “Keep

your fucking hands off me.”

His comment was directed towards Trixie, and with wide eyes, I scoffed, shaking my head. “Seriously,

brother? Are you not going to tell her?”

Trixie looked between Pollux and me, and he shook his head once more, not saying anything. I couldn’t

help but laugh. My brother, the man who had been all about mates his entire life, was finally paired with

his, and he wasn’t going to take the initiative.

“Wow. Are you fucking kidding me? This is what you’ve waited for forever, and you’re not going to say

anything?” I was in shock and complete, utter disbelief at how my brother was acting. It honestly didn’t

make any sense.

Unless it was because she wasn’t a shifter.

Considering this thought, I narrowed my gaze at him and was absolutely pissed that he would reject

her because she wasn’t a shifter. “If you’re not accepting because-”

“Go fuck yourself, Cassie,” he snapped, cutting me off, “keep your fucking mouth closed.”

He stormed off, and I watched him disappear from sight. I wanted to chase after him and beat him for

how he was acting, for how he was treating Trixie, a girl who was nothing but kind to me-who was

nothing but kind to everyone.

“That fucking asshole.” The muttered response from my lips caused confusion to pass over both Sansa

and Trixie, who cleared her throat with her arms crossed her chest, waiting for a response.

“What just happened?”

Here I was with my own issues, and now I had to deal with my brothers. It was absolutely bullshit how

he acted, and he knew it. With a groan, I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to

figure out the best way to address this current situation. “Why is it always me?”

“Why is what always you?” Sansa asked. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

I hated being looked at to provide answers to something that wasn’t really my place, but neither of

these girls was going to let this go. Both of them are going to want to know what I knew and why my

brother was being an asshole.

“Okay, I’ll explain,” I sighed, glancing around at all the listening bodies that stood nearby. “But not

here.”

Trixie and Sansa both looked at each other before Trixie smiled. “Coffee shop?”

“There’s a coffee shop?” I was stunned once again this place had something as simple as a coffee

shop just like they had back home.

“Yeah, I already told you before that this place isn’t much different from the human realm.” Trixie

laughed as she looped her arm through mine. “I can’t wait to hear what is going on because, honestly, I

could use some good gossip.”

Trixie had no idea what she was asking for because this wasn’t the kind of gossip she wanted. It was

far more -complicated, and as much as I wanted to tell her, I was conflicted about how she would take

the news.

Part of me thought she would take it well, but then… the other part worried she would be heartbroken. I

wasn’t sure how pixies picked their mates, but I hoped she wouldn’t take this the wrong way when I told

her the truth.

When I said I wanted to go to a coffee shop, I honestly didn’t know what I was expecting. Perhaps it

was something similar to the coffee shops I had remembered going to back home. Coffee shops that

had coffee machines, countertops filled with delicious foods, and a variety of different music with high-

top tables for you to gather at.

However, a coffee shop in this place was more like walking into an old bookstore that happened to

serve coffee and tea cakes. The building had rustic decor and antique pieces lined with cobwebs high

up on shelves. The walls were burgundy with white accent trim, and a lady with fiery red hair and

golden eyes served steamy cups of addicting coffee at the counter with a smile.

I was intrigued by how people moved in and out of this place. The leather seating seemed to line the

walls, and were filled with other students mingling. But as the girls and I collected our drinks and sat

down, I couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps I should put off telling them what I was going to tell them at

all.

Sipping on my coffee, I tried to look anywhere but at Sansa and Trixie. After a moment, though, Sansa

cleared her throat, and my eyes gazed up to meet both of theirs.

“Are you going to explain, or are you going to sit there and keep avoiding the situation?”

Sighing, I nodded. “Sorry, I just didn’t think I’d be having to do this shit.”

Trixie gave me a soft gaze of understanding as she nodded her head. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk

about it, Cassie.”

“It isn’t that, Trixie,” I said with a smile. “It’s just that my brother should be here explaining this, and with

everything going on with Lucas right now, I just didn’t expect I’d be the one telling you.”

Opening and closing her mouth, Trixie frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Glancing quickly at Sansa, her eyes widened as she gasped in shock. “Oh my god. OH MY GOD, are

you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

“Nope,” I replied, popping the ‘p’. “It would seem that fate has deemed it so.”

Again, Trixie didn’t seem to understand what Sansa and I were talking about, and rolling her eyes, she

sighed in a very dramatic fashion that caught both Sansa’s and my attention. “I have no clue what

you’re talking about.”

“Trixie, how does the mate thing work with your kind? Do you guys have mate bonds, or do you like

pick who you want to be with?”

It was probably better to understand more about her people before just spilling the tea, so to speak. I

mean, there was nothing like confusing the girl by blurting out that my asshole brother was her mate

without her first understanding what the hell that actually meant.

Puzzled by my question, she laughed, shaking her head. “What the heck does that have to do with

anything?”

“Just humor me,” I pleaded, rolling my eyes. “Please?”

She pondered over what I said and nodded. “Well, we don’t have mates like you guys do. We do bond

ourselves with who we choose, but there is usually a long courtship, and we choose to tie ourselves to

our mate, as you call it.”

I had kind of suspected what she said, just simply through stories my mother had told me as a child. Of

course, I thought they were just fairytales, but I soon learned that all stories came from the truth at one

point in time.

“Okay, so you don’t feel any kind of way or anything before you mate with these people?” I questioned,

hoping to lead her in a direction she might understand.

Laughter escaped her as she shook her head. “No, that’s silly-oh, I mean…” She seemed embarrassed

by what she said, realizing it was how we detected our mates.

I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at her comment, though. I could see why some people might find it

odd or out of sorts to detect the person you’re supposed to love like that, but we all had our own way,

and it was refreshing to learn a bit about ours.

“Well, when Pollux and I turned eighteen, I quickly found out Lucas was my mate. I honestly never

wanted one-that was more my brother’s desire. However, when I found my mate, and he didn’t find his,

he became so angry at me.”

Trixie gasped softly with sorrow-filled eyes. “How could he be angry? That isn’t your fault or his.

Doesn’t he know fate makes things happen for a reason?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I thought of Lucas, and how I had treated him. “I guess in the end, we both

didn’t. The problem was that when we got to this place, he gave up hope of finding her. He used to

proclaim she would be the perfect shifter mate.”

The three of us giggled over the notion of him saying that, and as I thought more about it, I couldn’t get

Lucas out of my mind. It actually upset me. I hadn’t seen him all day when I had started growing used

to seeing him every day.

“You and Lucas will fix things, Cassie,” Sansa said softly as she placed her hand upon mine.

“Everything will work out. You just have to give it time.”

With a soft scoff, I shook my head, trying to push past the idea of Lucas and I ever being normal.

“That’s wishful thinking, but back to my brother-”

“Oh yes, please continue. I do love stories,” Trixie replied cheerfully as she sipped on her drink. “This is

getting so good.”

“It sure it is,” I muttered with a grin. “As I was saying, Pollux did find his mate when he got here. I

wasn’t sure the first night I saw the look he gave her, but after today…”

Trixie hesitated, staring in confusion before looking at Sansa. “How was I standing there and

completely missed seeing him looking at his mate?”

As Sansa’s eyes met mine, she laughed, shaking her head. “Girl, if you don’t tell her already, I’m going

to because this is just too good.”

She was right. I couldn’t just keep dragging this out. It was better to rip the bandaid off and get over

with it because, honestly, the longer I held off, the worse I felt about the situation.

“Trixie, you’re my brother’s mate.” I watched as shock registered on her face.

“What the fuck?!”