Page 6 of Talk Howly to Me

Beside him, Kozue moved closer to the desk, and Ronan caught the shift in his Beta's breathing and the way his green eyes fixed on the brunette with sudden focus. Something flickered across Kozue's expression—recognition mixed with confusion—but Ronan was too caught up in his own internal battle to analyze it properly.

"We have plenty of space available," Kozue said, his deep voice carrying an unusual note of urgency. "This lovely woman can stay as long as she needs."

The woman reached into a worn duffel bag and produced a manila envelope thick with cash. The amount visible through the opening had to be substantial—ten thousand dollars or more—and Ronan's protective instincts shifted into overdrive. Women carrying that much cash in the middle of the night were either running from something or toward it, and neither option suggested safety.

The cut on her cheek looked fresh, probably within the last few hours, and her knuckles bore the kind of damage that came from connecting with bone and teeth. Whatever situation had brought her here, violence had been involved, and recently.

"Don't worry about paying right now," Ronan said, his Alpha authority making the words sound like an unbreakable decree. "Let's just get you checked in and settled. It looks like you've had a rough night."

Her smile transformed her entire face, softening the guarded wariness into something breathtakingly genuine, and she extended her hand toward him with careful formality.

"Thank you. It's very generous of you to be so accommodating. I'm Sloane Carter."

"Ronan Hale."

The moment their skin made contact, the world exploded.

Lightning shot through every nerve ending in Ronan's body, a jolt of electricity so intense it nearly brought him to his knees, and the mate bond slammed into place with the force of an avalanche. His wolf roared in triumph, finally understanding why this woman had captured his attention so completely.

Mate. Ours. Protect. Claim.

The certainty hit him with devastating clarity. This battered, dangerous, magnificent woman was his fated mate—the other half of his soul he'd never expected to find. Every protective instinct he possessed focused on her with laser intensity, demanding he eliminate whatever threats had put that cut on her face and those bruises on her knuckles.

But even as his mind reeled from the mate bond's impact, he noticed Gerri watching their interaction with bright, knowing eyes that seemed to gleam with satisfaction.

"Oh, how fascinating," she murmured.

Before Ronan could process that cryptic comment, Gerri turned toward Kozue with deliberate purpose. "Why don't you help Sloane to her room?"

Kozue stepped forward to take the duffel bag from Sloane's hand, and the moment his fingers brushed hers, his entire body went rigid. His green eyes dilated with shock and recognition, the same expression of stunned realization that Ronan knew must be written across his own features.

No. Impossible.

But even as denial flooded his thoughts, Ronan recognized the truth. The mate bond he'd felt wasn't exclusive to him—it extended to Kozue as well. Sloane Carter was destined to be mated to both of them, bound in the rare triad mate bond that occurred perhaps once in a generation among shifter kind.

Kozue remained frozen as if he couldn't quite process what had just happened. But Gerri observed both men's reactions with undisguised delight, her smile growing broader with each passing second of shocked silence.

"Oh my, how unusual this situation appears to be," she said with the satisfied tone of someone whose carefully laid plans had come to perfect fruition.

The lobby felt too small suddenly, the walls pressing in as Ronan struggled to maintain his composure. His mate—their mate—stood between them, unaware that fate had just bound three lives together with invisible threads stronger than steel.

"Kozue, please help Sloane to her room now," he managed, his voice steady despite the chaos raging beneath the surface. "Then meet me in my suite later."

Kozue nodded with the mechanical precision of someone operating on autopilot, his usual warmth replaced by shell-shocked bewilderment. "Yes, of course."

As they moved toward the hallway leading to the guest rooms, Ronan turned his attention back to Gerri, whose knowing expression suggested she understood far more about tonight's events than she'd initially let on.

"Did you know Sloane was mine and Kozue's fated mate?" The question emerged with barely controlled intensity. "Is that why you brought her here? And why exactly does she need a safe place?"

Gerri's smile softened into something almost maternal, though her eyes still held that mysterious gleam. "Ronan, dear, just take a deep breath. Everything is going to be fine."

But she didn't answer his questions directly, deflecting with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to keeping secrets.

"I really don't have many details. I didn't want to pry into Sloane's business. The poor girl seemed to have enough on her plate already."

The non-answer frustrated him, but Ronan found himself nodding anyway. "At least you brought her to the right place. We'll do everything we can to keep her safe."

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd see it that way." Gerri reached into her pocket and produced an elegant business card. "And could you maybe give the girl a job here? She's the type who wants to earn her keep—doesn't accept handouts or help too easily."