Three Hearts One Soul

Chapter 3: Friend

Vincent sighed, tugging on his Walmart employee shirt. He swore that eight o'clock came far too early for his liking...then again, he had gone to bed late. Still, if he got to work early, he might be able to meet his friend and coworker beforehand. There was always that small chance and it likely would be the only time he would see her for the foreseeable future. Not a pleasant thought, really, as he enjoyed their library time together.

Pulling on his shoes, he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out the door. Looking at the clear sky, he decided it was too nice a day to drive to work. Instead, he grabbed his bike and started pedaling. He marveled at the peace and quiet he knew wouldn't last. His home was beautiful and he would do anything to protect it; even if it meant being the Jester for the rest of his life.

About sixteen minutes later he was pulling into the employee racks at the back of the building. Locking his bike up, he headed inside to the lounge. He smiled slightly as he saw the familiar black hair and white face of his old friend. She was, naturally, bent over a book reading with such an intensity that it would be unnerving to those who didn't know her. To the rest of the staff, however, this was completely normal.

“Morning, Bonnie. New book?" Vincent asked, chuckling when he got a grunt in reply. He was far too used to this ritual by now and simply grabbed a cup of coffee. He grimaced at how weak it was but drank it down anyways. He then went over to sit next to her, glancing at her book to note it was about dragons in some shape or form. As usual, she was a fantasy nerd, something he truly loved about her.

That was one thing he absolutely loathed about being a shifter and at times growing up he wished he had been born human. Growing up with Bonnie, he had gotten to know her laugh, her smile, the cute way her teeth showed as she read a passage to him. To say he loved her would be a bit of an exaggeration but he definitely had a crush on her.

He cursed his rotten luck that she wasn't a shifter and his Mate. Instead, fate seemed to want to play a cruel trick on him by making Tallow his. He supposed he should be used to the unfairness of life but this latest injustice stung more than any other. He didn't realize he had been deep in thought, though, until the clock chimed nine, startling him into knocking his empty cup flying and jumping up.

Two things happened when he jumped up: the first was he sent his chair clattering back, causing Bonnie to jump as well. The second thing that happened was that she startled so badly she started falling backwards. Reaching out, Vincent grabbed her bare wrist without thinking of the consequence. His only plan was to keep her from getting hurt. He certainly didn't expect what happened next, nor planned it.

A jolt of magnetic electricity seemed to pass between them, similar to what happened last night only stronger because of the prolonged contact. Vincent stared in wonder and confusion at Bonnie, who was also looking at him confused. She very obviously felt it too and he had no way to explain it to her; how could he tell her the feeling was what happened between mates? Hell, he was surprised that he was getting the same feelings from her as he had Tallow.

As soon as the moment happened it was over, leaving both of them shaken. They passed it off to their co-workers who were asking that it was just the near miss that had left them this way. Both knew, however, that it was more than that. Bonnie was definitely looking at him with her “we are going to talk" look. He sighed mentally, heading for the butcher's area; he seriously didn't need the added complication on top of work today.

He seriously didn't know what he was going to tell her as he was confused himself. As far as he was aware, mates were only between two people, not three. It definitely had never been mentioned in the legends of a human mate of all things. There were so many questions that he had no answers for and he knew he would be unable to avoid talking with her forever. He also wondered, in some small part of his brain, if she was also mates with Tallow.

As the day wore on, Vincent made a plan. He couldn't answer these questions himself but perhaps the pack elders would be able to. He resolved to contact his leader or any of the elders during his next break. For now, he concentrated on chopping up meat, imagining it was his enemies' faces. A bit gruesome, perhaps, but it worked as it always did to calm him down. He would deal with the drama and problems of shifter life later.