“So you ascribe to the soul-mate theory.” Even to my own ears, I sounded flat.

“I don’t believe souls are split down the middle before they’re stuffed into our bodies, or that it’s our life’s goal to hunt down the missing half of ourselves, if that’s what you mean.” He tapped his tongs against the fryer. “I do believe that sometimes—whether it’s fate or accidental—we cross paths with someone who shatters us on a fundamental level and remakes us into a better version of ourselves.”

I ate another potato. “That sounds painful.”

“Love is a series of small hurts,” he agreed. “Even when everything goes right, your heart gets bruised.” Carrying a plate of bacon draining on a paper towel, he set it out of my reach. “Some people are worth it, some people are not, and I doubt any of that has anything to do with fate or divine intervention.”

“Dell said something similar to me once.” I darted out my hand and snagged a strip of perfectly cooked bacon before he could catch my wrist. “She doesn’t believe in fated mates either.”

“Dell is a progressive woman.” He rubbed his jaw. “It’s just as likely fated mates are a product of the very prejudices you and I are facing now. Most warg females have fertility issues when it comes to interbreeding. The result is few pureblood children being born, and those pure bloodlines being prized.”

“Ah.” I crunched thoughtfully. “You think fated mates are cautionary tales.” I could see that. “So if a male is in a relationship with a female who isn’t getting pregnant, he can ditch her in favor of another one and blame it on fate. Or vice versa, I suppose.”

“I’ve seen happy couples who’ve been together for years busted up by a male scenting a female in true heat and being unable to control himself. Same for females going through their cycle multiple times and failing to get pregnant. Males who already have a child—or multiple children—are a temptation some can’t resist. Those are rare scenarios.” He pointed his finger at me and pulled the trigger. “But fated mates are supposed to be rare, right?”

I leaned forward, fully engaged. “What about half-bloods?”

“It’s much easier for wargs to breed with humans. Those children have a fifty-fifty shot at being able to shift at puberty. You get a few cases of latent wolves several generations removed, but those are almost myth they’re so rare. Usually a child with less than half warg blood has no chance of shifting.” He shook his head. “It’s a hard choice, but with our species shrinking with each generation, it’s one being made more and more often. Half a chance is still half a chance more than what they had.”

“What about you?” I couldn’t resist asking. “Do you want kids?”