Edda gave her a sideways look.
“What?” Jaz questioned uneasily.
“Well, the Pack Leader's mate is usually white or cream-coloured.”
Jaz stared at her blankly.
“It warns any other male to keep their paws off,” Edda added with a wry smile.
“Figuratively speaking, of course,” Jaz joked.
Edda smiled crookedly. “So... you could eventually be... well, white-haired.”
Jaz's eyebrows raised sky high, and her eyes widened in astonishment. Edda stared at her carefully, gauging her reaction, when Jaz suddenly knocked her head back and burst into laughter.
Edda was so shocked by her reaction she didn't know if it was real or not.
“You think I'm Nik's mate?” Jaz giggled in a high, disbelieving voice, pressing her hands to her bouncing chest.
Edda frowned. “A possible candidate, yes.”
That just made Jaz laugh even harder. She nearly fell off her barstool.
“Why is that so hard to believe?” Edda questioned.
Jaz looked at her with a serious expression, cutting off her laughter like flicking off a light switch. All humour evaporated from her face. “Well, for one thing, Lora was his mate. And another thing, he doesn't like me, and I don't like him. I mean aren't you supposed to feel all lovey-dovey or something? I know I sure as hell don't.”
Edda arched a sceptical brow. “You sure about that?”
“Yes, I am. And anyway, I thought you only ever had one mate -your 'soulmate' or whatever- and then that was it?”
“Most of the time, right. But that doesn't mean you can never love anyone else or never have more than one mate especially when we're talking about Pack Leaders. So you could be a candidate-”
“Stop saying that, it sounds like I'm in a sex gameshow-”
“And just to be clear,” Edda barked over her. “With someone who isn't a mate, you just don't feel that same connection as you would if they were. For some people, that's just not enough. They want their bonded mate or no one at all. And then there's others who run away from the closeness the bond provides. The intensity frightens them.” She gave Jaz a meaningful look that Jaz pretended to ignore.
“Yes, but like I said, Lora was his mate,” Jaz shot back. “They loved each other. They were happy. How could I then possibly be the Pack Leader's mate and therefore possibly be white-haired, especially after everything I've just told you? I don't feel anything like that for him. I'm not going to drool all over him either just because he's a Pack Leader, even if he has the potential to have more mates than a Sultan's harem.
“If you suspect he has any feelings for me or I for him, which is what you're digging at -and you're wrong- then why couldn't it just be a normal attraction? Why the bond obsession? Why are you so adamant that I might be a potential bonded thingamajig anyway?” Jaz demanded folding her arms.
“Because Lora wasn't his mate.”
Jaz gawked at her. “W-wait. What?” She unfolded her arms and they flopped by her side like two dead fish.
Edda took another sip of her milky tea and placed it down on the worktop.
Jaz watched the motion, her eyes glued to the mug, with the same expression fixed on her face. “That's not true,” Jaz argued, her voice uncertain.
“I'm sorry, but it is.”
“How could you know that?”
Edda looked her squarely in the face. “Because he told me.”
Jaz's brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of her words.
“He doesn't confide in many people about personal things, but he wanted me to take very good care of you and he told me, 'She's special, and even if she hates me for the rest of her life, she will always be mine to protect, and that's enough.' I don't need to be psychic to see the meaning behind that. He meant you're his potential mate.”
Jaz's mouth fell open. She had stopped eating minutes ago and now she knew she couldn't eat another mouthful. “H-he said that, I-I mean, he- the same Nik Driver- said that?”
Edda smirked. “Yes.”
Jaz stared into space. “Just because she wasn't his mate, doesn't mean I am,” she muttered.
“It does when he can tell the difference. He didn't feel the bond, until he met you. His words proved that much.”
Jaz bit her lip. Unable to absorb this new revelation properly, she could only joke about it. “You sure he wasn't high on mushrooms when he said that?” she snorted.
Edda gave her a serious look. “No.”
Jaz regarded her for a moment then stared down at her hands. Knowing humour, sarcasm and outward denial had failed her, she could only stay quiet.
“So I guess that means he doesn't hate you after all?” Edda added, with a smug expression on her face.
Jaz blinked and her wide eyes hovered over Edda's face, trying to find any falsity to what she'd just said. When she found none she looked down and gazed at her half-empty plate. “I'm sorry, I'm not hungry anymore.”
*
An hour later...