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I hadn’t known my mate was ever without a home. My duties to Wolf-Haven often call me away from her, sometimes months or even years passing before I saw her again. It guts me to know she lived without shelter for a time.
I’m pulled from my thoughts as she continues, “… after a few nights, Pinky came storming out back here to shoo me away, sick of having an interloper on her property, but when she saw me, she invited me to stay with her until I got on my feet. We’ve been friends ever since.”
I feel guilty for growling at Pinky earlier.
I settle onto the ground in the spot she pointed at. If it was good enough for my mate, then it’s good enough for me. “Go inside and get some sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”
She turns to walk away, hesitates, then turns back. “Thank you for jumping in to save me tonight. Even if I didn’t need saving, it was still a really sweet thing to do. Goodnight, Keenan.”
“Night, Vanessa,” I say as she disappears around the corner.
Chapter 5
Clueless
KEENAN
“Take this.” I look up as Thorny tosses my jeans at me. “Your shirt is beyond repair. You’d think after several centuries of shifting you’d learn to plan better. Maybe take your clothes off first.”
I stand and drag the jeans on, buttoning them. “The dragon ripped her clothes, too,” I say defensively.
“You’re lucky this one doesn’t have the temper her brethren are known for.” He sits on the pavement next to the shack and opens his briefcase, taking out a Tupperware container filled with seeds. “In the years you’ve been watching this iteration of your mate, you never noticed the fuchsia dragon?”
I shake my head, still annoyed at myself for not getting close enough to sniff Pinky out. “Vanessa is my mate, not an iteration. Show some respect.”
He clears his throat. “My apologies. She seems like a tolerable young human.”
I drop to the pavement next to him, slinging my arms over my upraised knees, thinking of her words. Of how she slept outside, an uncommon practice for most humans. “All these years, I tried to protect her. But somehow, I’ve failed. My mate has known misery. How is this possible?”
Thorny chews on a handful of seeds, his brows wrinkling with thought. “What did you do to protect her?”
“I answered the call when she was distressed, when I could feel her fear.” I rub my hand over my chest. “But she rarely called. Sometimes I came without the call, to check on her. She seemed happy, so I didn’t concern myself with the particulars of her life.” I couldn’t bring myself to get too attached, knowing how things would end.
“Then you have done an exemplary job of caring for your mate.” Thorny’s matter-of-fact speech takes on what I assume he thinks is a reassuring tone. “You have seen to her needs. Humans are not complex and not often prone to distress. Trust me, I know. I’ve been observing them for years.”
I look at him skeptically, wondering how much time he’s spent with humans. If today has shown me anything, it’s that humans are quite prone to distress, at least the ones at the dinner party, and after, the ones in the police station. They were plenty anxious when I was throwing their tables against the walls.
But maybe not my human. Maybe the owl shifter has a point. Perhaps she’s different from the rest.
I settle against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest and my knees bent as I close my eyes. The long day washes over me and I can’t bring myself to open them again.
I hear the flap of Thorny’s wings as he shifts and leaves to find a perch for the night.
I’m feeling more optimistic. My human seems to be resilient, an excellent survival trait. Perhaps her resilience will… but no, I can’t bring myself to hope. I’ve lost too many mates to the same fate. There’s no point in hoping this mate might be different.
Though I tried to leave her alone, tonight’s events have pushed us together. I’m here now and there’s no going back. We must see the bond through. Now that she’s aware of my existence, she would suffer if we were separate. Her yearning for my presence would grow by the day until my absence became unbearable, driving her insane, eventually killing her.
With her sweet face in my mind and the distant beat of her heart setting the pace for mine, I drift into slumber.
Several hours later, something nudges me and I’m on my feet in an instant, senses alert, ready to shift if there’s a threat. The morning sun is peeking over the horizon and Vanessa is hovering next to me, her eyes wide, a bright orange bundle clutched in her hands. She looks beautiful in a pair of tight jean shorts and a too-small crop top, her long red hair in a tangle down her back.
She thrusts the orange bundle at me. “I grabbed this from the shop for you.”
My lips tug up and I drag what turns out to be a T-shirt over my head, the seams creaking in protest as I force it to accommodate a torso several sizes larger. “Thank you.”
Her eyes light with humor as she looks me over, lingering on the few inches of belly between my jeans and the orange monstrosity. “You look, uh, very LA.”
I’m not sure what that means but decide I’m acceptable.
