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I glance over to find Rez propped up on her elbow, smiling at me.
“Yeah,” I admit, embarrassed. “That easy to tell?”
“Kinda. You always have this far off look, and you send this annoyed feeling down the link.”
“Sorry about that.” I wave off her concern. “Baron and Dusky think there’s a way to strengthen our bond, if you’re up for it.”
‘Strengthen our mate bond? Hell yes!’ I hear Rez, but wait to see if she says anything else.
“I would love to strengthen our bond. Do you think we’ll gain anything special with a stronger bond?”
“I don’t know, but I assume so since Dusky clammed up when he hinted he was going to get something out of the deeper connection.”
“Oh, this is exciting. How do we do it?” She claps and sits up. I’m not ashamed to say that my eyes drift down to her breasts. “Knox?”
“Huh?” I say, still staring at my wonderful delicious pillows I want to bury my face in.
“How about we clean up and get some clothes on so I can have a normal conversation with you?”
“Uh huh!” I say as I watch her throw the covers off and climb out of bed.
“Hey, where are you going?” I ask in a daze.
* * *
I take some time to check over Rez’s new spine tattoo while we shower. It brings on a whole new meaning to me as I wash her back, knowing the symbols of the Horsemen are meant to be my brothers and me. Hell, I even figure the other symbols out after looking at the Angel's wings and the water and fire symbol. That weird yet hypnotic storm cloud has to be Lynx. The only one I’m not sure about is the one at the base of her skull, the one with all the stars.
Dressed and cuddled up on the bed, I’m slightly hesitant about how to begin this conversation.
“So how do we do this?” she asks as she flings her wet braid off her shoulder. I internally snort, thinking I shouldn’t have been worried. Knowing Rez, she just jumps in with both feet.
“Dusky mentioned trying to connect to me like you did in Familiars class while I think of a memory. I just don’t know what type of memory to pull.”
“Well, obviously you don’t want a bad one, right? What about a happy one with your father? Or one with Zeke, or your other brothers?” she offers, but I draw a blank. She bites the bottom of her lip. “I’m not even sure it’s going to work because when I connected to Lynx, that was different. He obviously wasn’t my Familiar, but my best friend.”
“True,” I say. “But you were still able to connect with him,” I remind her.
She lets out a sigh as unease flitters through our link. “That’s because he’s also my mate.”
I freeze as her words penetrate through my thick skull. Mate? Isn’t he a Shifter? The skinny, short-haired blond Thor wannabe is her—No. Normally Shifters don’t share the same mate? How does that affect us?
“Knox?”
I immediately think back to my conversation with my father about mates, and I feel a pinch in my brain as the scene plays out before me.
Zeke leaned against my bed, looking at a dirty magazine as I heard footsteps that could only be Dad’s.
“Incoming,” I warned Zeke as Dad walked down the hall toward my bedroom.
Zeke quickly shoved the mag underneath my bed and grabbed the book beside him, looking up as Dad stepped into my room. He’d always been an imposing figure, standing at six feet and as broad-chested as a bear, but seeing him from the floor up was something altogether different. He ran his hand over his shaved head before glancing around my room.
“Boys, I’m going to have to head out tonight for a mission. I ordered food, and it should be here in about thirty minutes.” Dad stepped in and reached for Zeke’s book, turning it right side up. “This might be more convincing if you had it the right way. So what were you really looking at?” he said, not really asking.
Zeke reluctantly pulled out the magazine from under my bed and handed it to my father.
He chuckled as he peeked inside it, but handed it back to Zeke. “I was wondering when you guys would get interested in girls.” He grabbed my desk chair and turned it to straddle the back of it.
“I’m not going to sit here and give you guys the talk. I don’t have the time for it, unfortunately, but I will tell you this,” he said as he ran his hand down his beard. “Our world is brutal. It’s not like the human world, where you hear about people falling in love in this magical whirlwind romance, where they get married, have babies, and live happily ever after. We don’t get that chance, as a Shifter and for those who are unique.” He glanced at Zeke and then back to me. “We have to take what’s given to us and make the best of it. Sometimes, though, you have to watch out because not everyone is honest. Some will stake a claim on your mate, but always trust your animals, Knox. That’s where you might have to challenge someone for your right to claim your mate.”
