“Yes!” I throw my arms in the air.
He hums, then looks toward the hospital. “Alright. I’ll speak with Kendrick and Lily later. For now… Mona, you said she’s the same woman from your dreams? How do you know?”
The words spill out of my mouth. I tell them about my dream last night, watching the woman sleep, with the other men behind her. Then I reiterate what Lily said. Andrea listens intently, her shoulders seem to grow larger, fists clenching at her sides.
And when her anger seems to build, so thick it could burst, she directs it at me. “How could you not tell me about her!” she shouts.
“I didn’t know she was your mate!”
“You told me about the dreams with Lily and Silas, you could have told me about this woman. I could have been moreprepared. We could have tried to find her. Are you still so angry with me you would deny me this? Hurt an innocent woman?”
Her words cut deep, even though I know she’s just angry. Ghost moves closer, doing something he’s rarely done—he reaches out and touches me. His fingers brush my arm, featherlight at first, then with more certainty as they settle against the small of my back. It almost happens in slow motion. I sink toward him without meaning to, like he’s the sun. The warmth of his palm spreads through me, his touch both foreign and familiar. The feeling of his hand on me, grounding me, it’s like he’s an anchor.
“What the fuck is this?” Andrea shrieks, pointing at the two of us.
“He’s… Ghost is my mate,” I admit softly. I feel guilty, too, because Andrea just found out she has a mate, and she could be in trouble, and we have no idea who she is or where she is, and here I am with afourthmate.
But that’s not what makes Andrea mad.
“He’s your mate? Why aren’t you bonded? You’ve bonded the rest of them,” she points accusingly.
“Umm,” I start, looking down shamefully. Ghost’s alpha, unbound from his magic, pulses in the air. His pheromones blend with his oceanic scent, and his hand curls in at my lower back.
But then he releases me. He steps away.
And my heart breaks.
For a second there, I thought he was going to claim me. So stupid.
My omega whimpers.
“Yourejecther?” Andrea rasps. “Yourejecther?”
“What happens between me and my mate is none of your—”
“You are an insult to shifters,” she spits. “An insult to the Moon Goddess herself. You reject Mona? I do not care why. Youare lucky you have a fucking mate. That you have someone, the other piece of you, whose magic fits your own so perfectly. How dare you deny the bond? I would give anything to have it!”
For the first time since I met her, Andrea’s eyes water. She sniffs. “I would give anything to have her.”
My heart breaks again. For Andrea, this time.
We will find her mate. Wewillfind her. We have to.
Andrea makes a sound of disgust. The look on her face, directed toward Ghost… Though he is a taciturn man, I can feel discomfort radiating off him. His breathing changes, a barely perceptible hitch. It lasts only a second before she storms off.
Silas watches her leave. I don’t know how long he stood there listening in. His expression dims when he looks at Ghost. Something passes between them. They stare at each other for a long time.
Silas’s eyes meet mine. He dips his chin, offering me a sad smile. Then he turns to leave. I know he wouldn’t leave me alone without my bodyguard or one of my mates.
Which means he assumes Ghost will stick around.
I’m almost shocked when I turn and find he hasn’t abandoned me yet, and that his ocean scent is still there, spilling out of him in waves, reaching for me.
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Chapter 23: Mona
The walk back to the cabin feels like I’m caught in quicksand. The moments with Ghost are so few, I can feel him slipping away, even as he ambles beside me. Andrea’s words keep replaying in my mind while Ghost’s silence stretches between us. I keep stealing glances at him. I can’t read him.
