Page 19 of Ridge

KAEL HAD BEEN THINKING about Ridge and their bond since Ridge had confirmed it was there. Ridge hadn’t said much after telling Kael that he was willing to give him as much time and space as he needed, and Kael felt a little lost. He understood that Ridge didn’t want to push him, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure he could make his decision on his own.

He’d never had to decide anything like this. His life had been peaceful and quiet. He’d moved out of his parents’ house into one that the Starhaven leader had chosen for him. They’d known he wanted to be near Nymon, and they’d agreed. The two of them were similar demons, anyway, so it had made sense.

They both dealt with plants, so that was what they’d done most of their lives. It was how Starhaven and most of the demon world worked. Every demon was expected to use their power as it had been assigned to them when they were born, based on the color they were.

But since he’d entered the human world, Kael had had to make many decisions. He couldn’t live so close to Nymon anymore. Nymon lived with his mate. Kael had to make his own decisions, be it what he wanted to eat for dinner, where he wanted to live, or what he might want to do for work. Luckily for him, he hadn’t had to worry about that yet. Gregory had confirmed that the council would be paying Kael well for what he was doing, and Kael had been relieved. It felt like an easy job and easy money, and maybe it was. It didn’t feel like a job, and he got to spend time in demon towns with other demons that he’d missed.

But he still had to choose his own apartment, his food, and whether or not he wanted a mate.

He didn’t know. He’d watched Nymon and Tex together, and they were clearly happy. He wanted that for Nymon, but was it what he wanted for himself? There had to be a reason he was Ridge’s mate, right? Why would fate have chosen him for Ridge? Nymon was perfect for Tex, but Kael couldn’t see how he would be perfect for Ridge, although of course, they barely knew each other.

Kael had made sure of that. He’d stayed away from Ridge as much as he could because he’d known there was something there and hadn’t been ready to face it. He didn’t think he was ready even now, but he didn’t have a choice. Part of him wanted to be angry because of that, but another part of him realized that Ridge had already given him a lot of grace. Many shifters would’ve been blunt and told him that he was their mate and demanded to know what he wanted, even though he had no idea.

Ridge had given him space. He hadn’t even tried talking to him or telling him he was his mate until now. Even after Kael knew, he wasn’t pushing or demanding a decision. He was aware that Kael wanted to focus on the job, and Kael was glad for it, but he wasn’t sure he could focus even if he tried.

He had a mate. An unexpectedly handsome mate that he’d never expected. A mate who could turn into a cat that was beautiful and lethal at the same time.

He wanted to know more about Ridge. Was it because of the bond? Or was it because Ridge seemed genuinely interesting?

“You haven’t eaten much,” Ridge said, startling Kael out of his thoughts.

He blinked back to the present. He sat at the kitchen table with Ridge and Poppy. The two of them had been talking, but while Kael probably should’ve been participating in the conversation, he hadn’t been able to.

He realized he’d been staring at Ridge’s hands and felt his cheeks heat. He looked away, and Poppy caught his eye. She looked worried, and he didn’t want her to be. She didn’t have a reason to be. “I’m fine,” he reassured her.

“You sure? Maybe you don’t like what I cooked tonight? Because I can get something else.”

“There’s no need for that. The food is perfect. I was just distracted, thinking about this afternoon.”

She blinked. “What about this afternoon?”

Well, shit. Kael wasn’t about to tell her about Ridge and their bond when she thought they were already together. They should’ve come clean about that in the beginning, but it was too late now. Mentioning it would make them look like they couldn’t be trusted, which was the opposite of what they wanted.

“Kael was confronted by three demons,” Ridge said.

Kael glared at him. He didn’t want to scare Poppy, either.

“Oh,” she said. “What happened? Do you know who they were?”

“I have no idea,” Kael told her. “I don’t want you to worry. It wasn’t pleasant, but they didn’t hurt me. I think they were just trying to take their frustration out on someone, and I’m not one of you. It’s easier to take it out on me than on someone they know.” Especially someone like the town leaders. Those demons had a lot of power, but Kael didn’t—not here, not in Starhaven, and not in the town he now called home.

“They were yellow, or at least the one I heard talking to Kael was,” Ridge interjected.

Kael glared at him again. “Like I said, I’m fine, and I don’t need you or anyone to worry about me,” he reassured Poppy. “They didn’t touch me, and I don’t think they were even trying to scare me. They just wanted me to listen to them.”

“But not everyone agrees with what’s happening. Some think that humans will invade our towns and push us out.”

“I have no doubt that some humans might want that,” Kael confirmed. “But most of them don’t, and that’s not what we’re trying to do anyway. We don’t need demons to open up their towns completely. We just need them to be receptive to small changes and better communication.”

Poppy still looked a little wary, but Kael quickly changed the topic of conversation after he shot one last glare at Ridge.

He understood where Ridge was coming from. He wanted to protect Kael, and while Kael didn’t think those three demons had been dangerous, it couldn’t have been easy for Ridge to intervene the way he had. He was being paid to protect Kael, and he’d almost failed because he’d let Kael wander away from him.

That would sit even worse with Ridge’s shifter side, though. Kael remembered the cat, and he would never forget the anger on the cat’s face. The cat didn’t look like Ridge when he was in his human form, but that didn’t make him unrecognizable.

Of course, that might be the bond between them, but Kael didn’t think so. He also didn’t think that Ridge would have hurt those three demons unless they’d hurt Kael first, and they hadn’t.

He stayed quiet until they reached their bedroom after they retired for the night. He wanted to bring up what had happened at dinner as soon as they were in the room, but he paused when he saw Ridge pick up one of the pillows from the bed and the extra blanket. When Ridge dropped the pillow on the floor, all thoughts of the conversation with Poppy fled his mind.