Page 27 of Owl’s Cherished Mate

The air charged again, and Gray’s feathers receded. His body grew, becoming human again. He stood on the dock, breathing hard, and completely naked.

“Give me a second,” he said. He walked up the dock toward the road, and when he came back a minute later, he was in jeans and a t-shirt. He must have had some spare clothes in his truck. His amber eyes locked on Darren, who was shifting back as well. It was a slower, uglier process than his had been, though.

“Stay away from my mate,” Gray said, once Darren was fully human again. “And stay away from Lawson.”

Mate.

The word hit me right in the chest, and a warm sensation spread through me. I didn’t know what it meant, but the way he said it—with such fierce, absolute certainty—made something inside me soften.

There was power in that word.

I could feel it.

Darren staggered to his feet, clutching his side. Cade had shifted back too, and there was a huge lump on his forehead. He placed a hand over it while he unsteadily walked to his brother’s side.

Darren’s pale eyes skimmed over me and then shifted to Gray.

“Everyone pairing up with their damn mate is comical at this point,” he said, shaking his head. “Every time I turn around.”

He jerked his head at Cade, and they climbed into the truck. Neither of them looked back.

When the taillights disappeared, the only sounds left were the water lapping against the boats and my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

My gaze fell to the stolen equipment Lawson had dropped. There were a few sections of copper wire, some tools, and another electronic something or other off to the side. The rest of it was in the back of that truck they’d just taken off in.

Wait.

Lawson!

I spotted him still on the ground where he’d fallen, his back against a dock post. His eyes were huge and his face was the color of ash.

“Lawson,” I said, my voice shaking.

He looked at me. Then at Gray, who stood a few feet away in jeans and a t-shirt. Then back at me.

“What,” Lawson whispered. “The. Actual. Fuck.”

I didn’t have an answer.

I crossed the dock to my brother, and when I reached out to pull him up, he didn’t jerk away like I expected. Instead, he hugged me like he used to when he was small and the world felt too big. I wrapped my arms around him and held on right back.

Over his shoulder, I met Gray’s eyes.

Whatever had just happened—whatever he was, whatever that word mate meant to him—he’d put himself between us and danger without thinking twice.

I wasn’t afraid of him.

Not even a little.

12

GRAY

Icalled Sheriff Wick while Bonnie held her brother.

She hadn’t let go of him since Darren and Cade drove off. Lawson had his face pressed against her shoulder, shaking so hard I could see it from where I stood. He looked like what he was—a scared kid whose world had just been turned upside down.

Sheriff Wick picked up on the second ring despite the hour.