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I swallowed hard, suddenly scared at what I might read.
Hi, Jillian,
I’ve been wanting to talk to you for the longest time. Dean is my very good friend, and I’m sure we will be friends, too. He’s doing okay, spending time with my mates and Wendy’s and I think learning to be a shifter, if that makes sense? It’s hard to imagine, not knowing that part of yourself all your life. Hard for me anyway. I understand you do not speak aloud, something I probably do too much of, so I’d be very happy to become your texting friend. Until we can meet in person at least.
I won’t lie to Dean, but unless he asks me, and why would he, I’m not going to tell him right away we’re talking. I’m afraid it might shut him down. He misses you desperately but is so confused. I’ll put my number at the end here, and let’s open a conversation. My mates and I are very happy, but everyone’s life had bumps. Learning he was a shifter so suddenly and then that he might not be living what he thinks of as a normal relationship? It’s a lot. But I wouldn’t trade my relationship with my guys for a billion dollars.
So glad you chatted me up!
Christie
I passed the phone back, tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Do you want me to read it?” Shane met my gaze.
I nodded, and waited while he read.
“Okay, let’s go to town and get you that phone and the solar panel.” Shane smiled wide. “And maybe have dinner. You up for that?”
I was so up for that! I felt like I’d scaled the wall between us and Dean, even if I wasn’t ready to climb down the other side. One step at a time, but we’d taken the first one. I liked Christie already.
Chapter Four
Shane
My mate had a twinkle in her eye that told me yes as I woke her up with my mouth along the side of her neck. It was in the tiny crinkles outside her eyes and the way they lit up. She saidyesandI love youin so many ways that had nothing to do with talking.
People made a big deal about hearing the words from their mate from the first time, but feeling it bloom in your chest like a dull fire when she did things to make her love evident…yeah, I would take that any day over hearing the words.
“See something you like?” I asked as I fished around in the dresser for something to wear. It was still early in the morning, and I woke my mate up the way she loved to be woken, with my mouth on her skin. She blushed and smiled, throwing her head back against her flat pillow. “I know you were ogling me. It’s okay. You want me to do a turn, show you everything?”
She slapped her hands over her face and shook her head.
“Well, how about some breakfast, then?”
Jillian peeked out between two fingers and nodded. I felt her hunger through my bond and my wolf reared up, needing to make sure his mate was fed.
“Cool. Wait, you have a message.”
Jillian pushed back the covers in a flurry of cotton and flailing before throwing on a dress. She was unable to talk on the phone like others, so texting had become her new thing, along with Facetiming, where she would hold up her beloved whiteboard or type in responses or questions. The bass bell that rang this morning was that of the video chat. Christie and Wendi had become her lifeline to the outside world of harems and kind of her best friends.
But I could see the despair in her features every time she ended the call. I thought she got her hopes up that Dean would show up in the background or something, but he never did.
I hoped he would, for her. From my limited knowledge about harems, I knew a female would never feel solid until all of her mates were around her and her mating was secure.
She deserved all the security and love in the world.
And now she had another mate. He and I had come from the same fucked-up pack. He kept to himself a lot, worked hard. He was a good match for her, as far as I knew. He hadn’t come around since she told me she met him in the woods, but he would.
If he was anything like me, he wouldn’t be able to stand being away from her long.
Dean, on the other hand, he seemed to be immune. Maybe it was because he was a new shifter. Or maybe because he had his head up his ass.
A harem of men required setting your ego aside for the good of your mate. There was no room for selfishness with a mate around. Some were as close as brothers, others more like friends or teammates, but jealousy had no place here, or resentment. It was hard enough for a woman to give of herself to several mates without that.
“Good morning!” Christie called out. I recognized her voice now. I padded around the makeshift kitchen in my jeans and no shirt, trying to find something suitable to flavor her oatmeal. I found myself doing that over food lately. I couldn’t cook much, but oatmeal was a sure thing. The squeak of Jillian’s dry-erase marker filled my ear while I soundlessly celebrated finding some dried blueberries and raspberries in a container.
I didn’t have to turn around or snoop to know what Jillian had written.
