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“That draw to her, that feeling when she’s not with you that makes you want to seek her out and find her. Did you not experience that when you had left?”
Branson’s eyes widened and he nodded. “As soon as I left her place, my chest hurt, like a dull ache, and the longer I was gone, the worse it got.”
“Did you feel her fear when she was dealing with the cursed creatures and when her parents took her?”
Immediately, Riddick set a hand on my leg and growled softly.
Branson and Triston nodded.
Triston scowled. “But I’m not able to sense where she is unless she’s really close.”
Branson nodded. “Same.”
“That’s what I mean when I say yours isn’t as strong. It’s not a dig or me saying you’re not as strong of an alpha, though I wonder if that does have something to do with it. It’s just the truth. Riddick and I can sense her even when she’s miles away.”
They could sense me when I was miles away? That was … unbelievable.
“So, why are you so worried about you all marking me then?” I asked, thoroughly confused.
“I’m worried marking you might initiate a mate bond instead of just marking you,” Caleb explained. “That was a big reason why I was so upset that Branson had marked you. I thought he’d … stolen you. Mated you solely to him.”
Now his fury made sense.
Mating couldn’t be undone. Once mated, you were mated for life.
“What are we going to do then?” I asked.
Caleb stood and stretched. “Nothing tonight. I need a good night’s rest to think things over, and tomorrow I’ll meet with my fathers and grandfathers to discuss it more. They have more knowledge on unique bonds than me.” He smirked at his fathers, who were whispering together. “Even if they didn’t mean to initially.”
They turned and scowled at him, which only made him laugh.
Caleb held out his hand. “Will you stay with me tonight?”
Riddick grunted.
Caleb rolled his eyes. “Will you stay with Riddick and I tonight? Being away for so many days was torturous.”
“Okay,” I agreed and stood.
Caleb and Riddick shepherded me out of the room, up the stairs, and to Caleb’s room.
It was my first time inside, so I looked around, inspecting his pictures, most of which were him and his family or him and Riddick since they were children. He had a few random knickknacks that didn’t really make sense to me like a dragon’s scale, a small canine tooth, and a carnival game ticket. My eyes landed on one of the clear stones that had been used by the mage to blow up my house and curse the creatures and I yelped as I jumped away from it.
Caleb set his hands on my shoulders. “It’s inert. Dad, Nico, removed the magic. I told him I wanted to keep it as a souvenir.”
“Why?” I asked as my heart continued to hammer against my chest.
“To remind me of when I found you and nearly lost you … well, the first time.” He chuckled nervously and stepped away.
“Let me grab some pajamas,” I said and turned towards the door, but Caleb held out a large white t-shirt and a pair of boxers. “You can use these.”
They were obviously his, but I still sniffed the shirt, confirming it smelled like him.
“They’re clean,” he added quickly and rubbed the back of his neck as the tips of his ears reddened.
“I’ll be right back,” I said and went into his bathroom, quickly taking off the summer dress, but my eyes caught on the bite mark on my shoulder. It was still fresh, but it definitely looked like it might scar. Was that part of the process? Did it become a permanent scar once you mated?
There was so much I didn’t know about shifters and shifter society. I should have spent more time learning about them while I was in my cabin, but had instead distracted myself with steamy romance novels about men who were ready to watch the world burn for the woman they loved and the women ready to do the very same. One of my favorite slow burn series was Laurel Night’sAlpha Queen Legacy Series. A strong, bad ass woman who others thought was too much, finding her pack and her way in life. I’d reread it several times.
