I hang up and set my phone down. My finger taps the mouse pad of my sleeping laptop, and the screen lights, distracting me. The selected tab is my email. I refresh the page to see if anything new pops up, and to my surprise, an email responding to my own lines the top of the feed. An email from Jeremy.
My body jolts into position as I quickly open the email, and my brows tense together in absolute concentration. The first thing I notice is that his response isn't too long, but then again, neither was my initial message. I begin reading as my chest thrums.
Brigette,
There is so much I should have told you, yet I cowered out of fear that you would change my mind as you changed your own. If I scared you by my disappearance, then I apologize profusely. While you went to Germany to campaign, I feel as though I went for other reasons. I went because my mate is a part of the Dreier Pack, and before coming to Amin, I gave in to my own tendency to run off. Because you are who you are, I know there's no need to explain why I made that decision a year ago, but there is something I must tell you.
No distance or distraction fills the constant emptiness I feel. We could run to the ends of the world, but nothing will save us from the mate bond. My own bond terrifies me, and for so long I have let that fear control every aspect of my life, but you stayed, and you seem to be happy, so I believed I could have that same happiness.
I came close, Brigette, but I ran again. Maybe one day I will be strong enough to trust and stay. Do not worry about me. I am safe and well as I hope you are also.
Your trusted advisor,
Jeremy
Before I can comprehend it all, I begin typing my response. My fingers move rapidly to keep up with my busy thoughts; the words come to me at once.
All I write is: Give him a chance. He may very well make you as happy as David has made me, but he can't do so unless you try. Open and be vulnerable, and if you don't find your happiness, at least you know you tried. You will always have a friend in me, Jeremy. I hope to hear from you soon.
Your lifelong friend,
Brigette
"Is everything alright?"
I look from the computer screen to the archway on my right where David monitors. "It's Jeremy. He sent me an email."
"Is he alright?"
My eyes revert to the screen. "Physically, he's okay. He's safe. But I don't know how he's really doing. He said his mate is at Dreier, and that he's been staying away, but I don't know where he is now or what he's going to do, so I told him to give him a chance."
David asks, "To give his mate a chance?"
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