Page 20 of Bite for Sore Eyes

The communicator on his desk crackled to life, Jace's voice cutting through his distracted thoughts.

"The diagnostic shows the same pattern, but I can't isolate the source. At least the firewalls are holding for now. Torren, are you still there?"

Torren blinked, refocusing on the conversation he'd been half-listening to for the past ten minutes. "Yes, sorry. I'm just a bit distracted."

"That's understandable. I heard from several sleuth members today about your fated mate being here. Rosie might have spread the gossip already—something about this human woman being both your fated mate?"

Trust Rosie to have the news circulating through the territory before the suns set. Torren leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his dark hair as he considered how to respond.

"Yes, that's correct. And yes, I know it's rare for us to share a mate, just like it was rare for two Alphas to lead a bear sleuth."

Jace's chuckle carried clearly through the communicator. "Yeah, well, if anyone can pull it off, it's you two. You and Rath are like two parts of the same whole, so it makes sense that you would have the same fated mate."

Two parts of the same whole.

The description struck deeper than Jace probably intended. After fifteen years of shared leadership, shared decisions, shared everything, perhaps it was inevitable that they'd share this too.

"It does make a lot of sense," Torren agreed, though his voice carried an edge of uncertainty. "But in practice, it's proving a bit more challenging."

"I bet. I couldn't share my Lexi with anyone else, so I commend you and Rath for what you're attempting."

The sound of the castle's heavy front doors opening two levels below drifted up through the stone walls, followed by the familiar cadence of footsteps on the grand staircase. Rath and Lana were back from their moonlight hike, and judging by the leisurely pace of their ascent, it had gone well.

Too well? his bear wondered with a flash of something that felt uncomfortably like jealousy.

"I need to go, but I'll check in with you tomorrow morning. Why don't you run another diagnostic and put a patch on that one firewall like you mentioned?"

"Will do."

The line went dead, leaving Torren alone in the vast workspace that had become their command center over the years. The third level of Varkesh Castle stretched around him like a cross between a library and a military operations room—towering bookshelves filled with territorial records and strategic texts, banks of monitors displaying security feeds and communication channels, and the massive oak desks where he and Rath had made countless decisions that shaped the lives of everyone in their territory.

Even now, hours after her brief visit earlier that evening, Lana's scent lingered in the corners of the room. Wildflower and citrus, fresh and vibrant in a way that made his bear want to seek her out and never let her leave their sight again.

He pushed back from his desk and crossed the room with long strides, his boots silent against the polished stone floor. The narrow staircase that connected their private workspace to the rest of the castle felt steeper than usual as he descended, anticipation coiling tight in his chest. When he finally reached the second-floor landing and crossed to the grand staircase, he found Rath and Lana climbing toward him, and the sight stopped him in his tracks.

Rath looked... different. His face was flushed, and his green eyes were bright with something that hadn't been there when they'd left hours ago. His usually controlled posture seemed more relaxed, and he stayed close to Lana's side as they climbed, his hand resting possessively on her lower back in a gesture that spoke of new intimacy.

They kissed, Torren realized with a jolt of certainty.

The jealousy that spiked through him was immediate and unwelcome, his bear snarling at the thought of being left behind while his mate bonded with Rath. But Torren forced himself to remember their agreement, their promise to support each other and share everything—including Lana's affections.

Whatever happened between them was appropriate, he reminded himself firmly. Just like whatever may happen between me and her needs to be something Rath accepts too.

"Oh good, are you available to talk now?" Lana asked, looking up at him with those warm brown eyes that seemed to see straight through his carefully maintained composure.

"Yes. Do you want to talk in your guest room?"

"Sure, that will give me a chance to take off my boots from my perfect hike with Rath."

The word 'perfect' shouldn't have stung, but it did. Torren caught the look Rath sent his way—a subtle tightening around his eyes that conveyed volumes. Something that confirmed Torren's suspicions that there was more to Lana's episode at lunch than simple overwhelm. His bear went on high alert, protective instincts flaring as Rath helped Lana up the final few steps to the second-floor landing. Then Rath walked away from them, leaving Torren alone with their mate, and the weight of whatever conversation was about to happen.

"How was the view?" Torren asked as he guided her down the corridor toward her guest room, keeping his voice light despite the tension coiling in his chest.

"Just as spectacular as Rath promised it would be."

"I'm glad to hear that."

They reached her door, and he opened it for her, holding it wide as she entered the spacious guest room. The sitting area beckoned with its comfortable couch and chairs arranged around a low table, moonlight streaming through the windows to cast everything in silver shadows. Lana settled onto the couch and bent to unlace her hiking boots, her movements efficient and practiced. Torren moved toward the massive fireplace to get a fire going and make the atmosphere more comfortable.