“He’s a mage?”
Thorrin rumbled and went to her, yanking her away from the wolf. He pouted before trying to steal her back, but the bear roared.
“Put some fucking pants on, Rex. We have a guest!”
The wolf rolled his eyes. “Such a fucking prude.” Then he winked at me and sauntered over to the basket and pulled out some pink sweatpants with a sparkly logo on the butt.
Juicy.
I almost choked.
“The mage is my cousin’s bond-mate, my little flower. He won’t hurt you.” The bear threw me a toothy smile that was way more teeth than grin. “If he tries, I’ll gut him.”
“Fucking try it,” I huffed, fed up with people trying to kill me.
Skyla shoved the bear away and narrowed her eyes at him. “You can’t threaten guests, Thor. It’s rude.”
“He’s always an asshole,” Rex scoffed loudly. “You love it when he gets all growly and territorial.” He opened his arms for Skyla and she went to him with a giggle. I had to avert my eyes when the asshole started stroking her fluttery wings and she bit back a moan.
“Rex! Quit that shit right now!”
“Yes, Daddy Bear.” The wolf winked at me before dragging the female away.
“Fucking wolf,” Thorrin muttered under his breath before sighing loudly. “Hungry?”
I’d eaten a bowl of stew the innkeeper grudgingly produced earlier, but it had barely touched the sides. My last decent meal was pizza, but I couldn’t afford to think about that night with the witch. The memory of what happened after was much too painful.
Seeing the witch bleeding out on the snow made my magic flare. Outside, thunder rumbled and a sudden gust of wind shook the cabin, sending more sparks racing up the chimney.
“Take a seat, mage. I’ll fetch you some food and then we can talk.” I swallowed my pain and nodded.
A hot meal and some decent conversation would help distract me from the torment of knowing I couldn’t be with the woman I wanted more than life itself.
“Demons?”
I nodded. Thorrin’s brow furrowed with concern. He glanced over his shoulder to where his mate sat on the wolf’s lap.
“Rex, go fetch some more logs. There’s a storm brewing.”
“Can’t you do it? I’m kind of busy here.” Skyla giggled and fluttered her wings as the wolf whispered something in her ear I couldn’t quite catch.
The bear did, however. “Rex! Unless you want to sleep in the woodshed, do as I say.”
“Grumpy bear,” the wolf grumbled before gently lifting Skyla and setting her down on the sofa. The wolf stretched and then disappeared through the kitchen. A sharp gust of cold air blasted through the open door, reminding me my witch was out in this awful weather.
Not my witch.
Was she warm and safe?
I don’t care.
Those fuckers better not let anything happen to her.
Not my problem.
“Skyla, honey, go run a bath. I’ll send Rex up once he’s done fetching logs.”
The little female scampered over and smiled sweetly before she kissed her mate’s hairy cheek. The size difference between them was almost comical, but the way the bear’s gruff demeanor softened when he gazed at his mate made me wish I could have what they had.
