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"Me? He's supposed to be with me?" I clarify, wanting to make sure I'm not making a fool of myself here.

Asper's lips twitch with a ghost of a smile. "To some extent, yes."

"What exactly do the dreams mean? Why have I been having them for over a week now?"

Asper finishes his coffee and gestures at my almost-empty mug. "I think that might be a conversation over another kind of drink, it's a much heavier one. Can I take you out for dinner tonight? I promise to explain the dreams then."

"Okay, I think I can wait till then."

He smiles widely and it makes my heart stutter and its beat. I'm a little confused as to why he has openly admitted that Altus is, in some way, fated to be with me, yet I feel such a strong attraction to Asper. Even dressed so casually, he is painfully handsome.

Asper and I get up to leave the café. He places his hand on my lower back to guide me to the door. Goosebumps raise on my arms at the feeling of his warmth emanating across my back. Being this close to him is a heady experience in itself.

We step onto the street and head towards his car. I almost trip when I notice the car parked behind it. The cherry-red electric car that belongs to Altus. The man himself is leaning against the driver's door on his phone. A couple of locs have fallen down over his forehead. He looks gorgeous, even from the side.

It's like he senses our presence because his head suddenly snaps up. He looks over at us and his eyes narrow in on Asper's hand, which is still on my lower back. He glares at Asper, making his dislike of him perfectly clear.

Asper and I stop by his car but neither of us make a move to get in. It's like the three of us are locked in a staring competition. No one wants to be the first to look away.

I try to tear my eyes away, I really do, but it's like Altus is drawing me in and I can feel the tension radiating off Asper's body next to me. There is so much of it in the air, you could cut it with a knife.

Someone else ends it for us. The blonde woman comes out of a shop and struts right up to Altus. Confused by his staring, she looks in the direction and finds Asper and me. Her body tenses up, too. Her green eyes meet mine and I don't know how to react, I keep my face impassive, as does she.

"Altus," she says his name and he snaps out of it.

He looks away from us and both Asper and I take in a deep breath. "Let's get out of here," Asper says quickly.

We both get in the car, and I resist the urge to look over my shoulder or in my mirror at the couple. No matter how much I hate them being together -I don't know why, I don't even know either of them- I have too much pride to let them know how I feel.

"I assume the woman he was with is the one he is going to take as his mate?" I ask Asper when he turns off the main street.

His hands tighten on the wheel, making his knuckles turn white and the leather lets out a squeak in protest to the friction.

"Yes, her name is Mare."

I don't want to ask, but I can't help myself. "What's she like?"

He breathes in deeply through his nose. "I never was close to her growing up, but she seemed nice enough. I don't know what her motives are for being with Altus. She knows they're not mates, yet she's with him anyway. She doesn't seem that interested in the alpha position, either."

Although the concept of mates is relatively new to me, I can't imagine why you would be with someone you know is fated to someone else. Even knowing that Altus and I are supposed to be together is making me feel weird about the thought of dating someone else.

Asper pulls up in front of my aunt's house. He cuts the engine and turns to face me in his seat.

"Take some time to absorb all of this. I'll pick you up at half six and take you dinner. We can talk about the dreams and...get to know each other."

The thought of becoming better acquainted with this handsome man is very appealing to me. "Okay, thank you."

I can feel his eyes on me as I walk up to the front door. He waits until I've unlocked the door and entered the house before driving away. The gesture of waiting until I'm safely inside is a sweet one.

I walk over to the big sofa and collapse on it. I throw my arm over my eyes and let out a loud groan.

I wish I could go back to this morning and never get out of that bed. I never would have found out about shifters if I hadn't read my mother's diaries.

But do I really want to go back to being clueless to this whole other species? Being oblivious to my heritage and who my mother was?

I replay my dreams in my mind. Asper confirmed that Altus is my mate. He didn't explain why he was in the dream, though. If Satura wants me to 'fix' their falling out and both of them have been in my dreams, it makes sense that they could both be my mates. But that's crazy.

You can't have two soulmates, right?

But why would I feel so attracted to both of them? I can't deny how drawn I am to Asper, just as much as I am to Altus. This is so confusing. Am I only supposed to fix their friendship? Or is there something more between them?

It's all too much for me, I decide to have a nap.

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I wake up slowly and check my phone. It's five thirty and I have about an hour before Asper comes to pick me up for dinner. I make my way upstairs and wash my face. I pick out an outfit; a simple one consisting of a top and skirt.

I decide to apply some make-up because I look as tired as I feel. I put some cream in my hair and then style my curls in a messy bun on my head.

When I'm ready, I have about quarter of an hour left, so I start reading more of my mother's diaries.

I jump when someone knocks on the door. I'd been so engrossed in reading that I hadn't realised the time. I close the diary and answer the door.

Asper has changed into a grey shirt. The first two buttons are open, revealing a tempting flash of tanned skin and a silver chain. He is wearing black jeans and loafers. He looks rather suave and very handsome.

"You look really good," I tell him.

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I start to feel embarrassed until a grin breaks out on his face and then I like that I have made him happy.

"Thank you. You look beautiful."

My cheeks go hot, and I move to shut and lock the door so that he can't see how shy he's suddenly made me. I follow him to his car, ready for him to get the door for me this time.

"I'm taking you to one of my favourite places; it's a French brasserie that does really good Crozet casserole."

"I've only had Crozet once, but I really liked it."

Silence settles between us, but it is a comfortable one like before. I feel very much like we're on a date, especially when gets the door for me again when he's parked up.

He puts his hand on my lower back and guides me into the restaurant and I find that I am already used to having him in such close proximity. It's almost humorous how nervous I was around him this morning, I feel completely safe in his company now.

We're shown to our table and given the menus. The first part of the evening is so normal, ordering our drinks and food. It all changes when he leans across and steeples his fingers on the table.

"So, about those dreams..."

I lean forwards too, eager to have some more answers. I've recovered from the earlier bamboozling of information and I'm ready for more.

"Occasionally, shifters can have more than one mate."

And there it is, the answer to the question that I have been asking myself. So simply put, he confirms my suspicions. I had been so focussed on whether I was right or wrong, I haven't thought about what I would actually do or how I would feel about it if my suspicion was correct.

"More than one?"

Asper smiles softly, his eyebrows turning down at the ends in a sympathetic way.

"I'm your mate, too. You, me, and Altus, we're all mates, the three of us."

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