He lifts our joined hands, leans over, and kisses my knuckles.
“Good.” He drops our hands back to my leg.
The conversation flows quietly around us, and the music makes the atmosphere relaxed. We concentrate on the food, our hands connected the whole time. I ignore the subtle glances from my family and revel in the moment. Sally organized the night, but Ezra made it happen. I know it was his way of giving me an easy night after the hard confessions of the morning. I’ve watched the others in the group find their mate, but I didn’t think it would happen to me.
I eat slowly, splitting my attention between my plate and Ezra. He’s talking quietly with Hunter. My mate's actions since the night we met have earned the family's trust. Anyone can say they will protect me and my heart. Actively showing me andthe world that your word is solid is rare. Humans bounce from relationship to relationship, choosing the person they think suits them. Often, they are wrong. Divorces happen every day in their world. Some people settle for what they think they deserve. Being a shifter guarantees that the universe will send you the one meant for you. I’m sure there have been times when the shifters don’t mesh as well as the ones here. The universe has to get it wrong once in a while.
Luckily, they gave me the perfect mate.
“Rylee.”
I blink and focus on Heath. “Sorry, what?”
“You’re next fight. Do you need to cancel?” he asks.
“No. Why would I?” I frown, and he glances at Ezra.
“I won’t stop her,” Ezra says.
“That’s good.” Heath nods, and my mate passes another test.
I glare at Heath. “We talked about it already.”
“Just checking.” He hides his smirk behind his glass.
“It will be difficult. Seeing someone hit her.” Ezra looks around the table. “I’ll need to be held back.”
“Understandable,” Bane mumbles.
“It will be rough,” Hunter cringes.
“So, you wouldn’t let me fight?” Haven asks.
“Fuck no,” Bane says.
“Sunshine, you don’t like blood,” Lawson mentions.
“I know that,” she grumbles. “But what if I liked it?”
“Baby,” Remy hums, tilting his head. “You know us well. Can you imagine us sitting by while someone is hurting you?” He stares at her, and she crosses her arms.
“Point taken,” she says.
“Remember how you reacted to Rylee’s fight?” Hunter lifts his eyebrows.
Haven saw me fight the day she arrived in town. The guys said they had to hold her back from jumping in the ring when myopponent was on top of me. She didn’t like seeing me bleed, and it was understandable since her father was abusive.
“Yeah,” she sighs.
“Why are we talking about this again?” Bane asks.
“If we were to react that way,” Remy says lightly, motioning toward Ezra. “Do you think he will sit back calmly?”
“We’ll see,” Ezra says, and I frown.
We talked about it briefly, and I didn’t think it through. If someone were beating him up, I would go ballistic. Perhaps I need to think more about my path in fighting.
“Would you let me in the ring?” Juliana asks, turning toward Heath.
