Ridge's Reluctant Mate

Chapter One

Ridge knocked on the office door, still confused as to why he was here. Gregory wasn’t his handler. Normally, he wouldn’t be talking to Ridge about anything, let alone a mission, yet here he was.

Although he had to admit that he was here mostly because, one, he was curious, and two, he was doing one of his friends a favor.

Tex had asked him to hear Gregory out, and Ridge was happy to do so.

He’d do so much more for his friends if he had to.

Talking to someone wouldn’t be a hardship, especially since he wanted to know what was going on, too.

“Come in,” Gregory called out from inside.

Ridge turned to smile at the secretary, who was sitting at the desk by the other door, then opened the office door and peeked in.

Gregory was behind his desk, frowning at something on his computer.

Ridge didn’t know him well, but he’d seen him around.

Gregory was a handsome man. Ridge had no idea how old he was, but he looked to be in his mid-forties, although for a shifter, that didn’t mean much.

He could be forty just as easily as he could be a hundred and ten.

“Gregory,” he said with a smile.

Gregory looked up and grinned. “The famous Ridge.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m famous, but yes, I’m Ridge.”

Gregory waved at the two empty chairs in front of his desk. “Sit down. Tex is coming, too. He just went to get some coffee.” Gregory wrinkled his nose. “I would’ve gone myself or sent Annabelle, but apparently, Tex has a very specific coffee order.”

Ridge snorted. “I’m aware.”

“Good. You won’t be offended if he’s late, then.”

“I won’t be, no. I believe I’m a little early, anyway.”

Gregory nodded. “You are. I have to say, I appreciate that. I’m one of those people who’s always early. For me, if you’re right on time, you’re late.”

Ridge wouldn’t say the same went for him, but being punctual was important in his line of work. Not being so might get him killed.

He settled into one of the chairs, still watching Gregory. He had questions, but he suspected that Gregory would answer them in his own time. That was just as well.

Ridge looked around the office. It was just like every other office in the building—hell, in the entire facility.

He hadn’t seen much of the place beyond the training areas where he and the others had learned to be professional assassins for the council, but he’d seen enough.

Even his handler’s office looked like this.

There were no personal touches, which was just as well.

Ridge wasn’t surprised that Gregory didn’t want most people to know him personally.

The door opened, and Tex strode in. He grinned at Ridge when he saw him, put down the coffees he was carrying, and pointed at one of them. “That’s yours,” he told Ridge.

Ridge picked it up and inhaled the scent of coffee. “Black just like my heart?”

Tex snorted as he flopped down into the other chair. “You don’t have a black heart. Hell, you’re a softie, although you hide it well.”

“Not too soft,” Ridge murmured.

“No, that would be me,” Tex said. “I’m the one who refused to become an assassin.”

Ridge shrugged. “It’s not for everyone.”

“Which is why you’re here,” Gregory declared.

Ridge sat up. He was happy to find out what was going on finally. “Why am I here? Do I have to kill someone?”

Gregory chuckled. “I realize, usually, the answer to that question would be yes, but not in this case. You were with Tex when that mess happened in Starhaven, right?”

Ridge had no idea where Gregory was going, but he nodded.

“I was.” As if he could ever forget what happened in Starhaven.

He’d met his mate there. He still hadn’t told Kael about it, and since Kael was a demon, he might not know, but Ridge suspected that he’d at least sensed something was there.

That would explain why he fled the other way any time Ridge was anywhere near him.

“This is a continuation of that mission, if you will,” Gregory explained.

“I’ve been talking to many people since that happened, and we all agreed that if the demons were a little more open to the outside world, it probably wouldn’t have happened the way things did.

People died, and we stopped it, but we could’ve stopped it much sooner if we had access to the demons and their villages. ”

“I agree, but I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

“I’ve been talking to several demons, including Nymon.

The council is planning on sending someone out as an outreach.

They want to try to convince demons to be a little more open.

To do that, the demons have to trust us, which we realize isn’t going to be easy, hence sending a demon.

Hopefully, whoever accepts the job will be able to show the demons hiding in their towns that opening up to the outside world isn’t a bad thing.

After all, Nymon found love with a shifter.

Demons might not have mates, but that doesn’t mean they’re not someone’s mate.

They could have love, build families, and have opportunities they’ll never have if they stay so close to home. ”

Ridge wasn’t an idiot, or at least, he liked to think that he wasn’t.

No matter how Gregory put it, he and the council weren’t doing it because they wanted demons to be happy.

No, they were doing it because they needed something, and Gregory had already explained what that something was.

They wanted easy access to the demons and their towns so that if they ever had to deal with demons killing humans again, it would be easier for them to do what they had to do.

Ridge couldn’t say he disagreed, but he was pretty sure that most demons would.

“That sounds like a good idea,” he said slowly. “But I’m still not sure what it has to do with me.”

“We’re not sending this demon back alone. We can’t risk it. Even though I don’t want to believe that the demons would attack them, I won’t put anyone in danger, especially not someone who’s volunteered to help us. Who better to protect this person than a man trained to kill?”

That wasn’t a bad idea either, although Ridge didn’t understand why Gregory was asking him above other people. “You have plenty of other assassins,” he said, pointing out the obvious.

“But you’ve already been in a demon town. You’re not an expert, but you probably know what to expect now. At the very least, you know what to watch out for.”

Ridge hadn’t been in Starhaven long, but it had been long enough to experience demon magic. He didn’t know what to expect exactly. He wasn’t sure how to fight it, but he’d find a way.

He always did.

“You don’t have to say yes, of course,” Gregory added. “But Tex suggested you, and I think it’s a good idea.”

Gregory was training Tex to one day take his place as a handler.

Ridge knew this was important for his friend, and he didn’t want to mess things up.

At the same time, he was actually eager to leave town.

He felt like everywhere he looked, Kael was there, and it was impossible to deal with.

The few times Ridge had tried talking to him, Kael had fled like Ridge had the plague.

It hurt, even though Kael didn’t know for sure that they were mates.

Maybe putting some distance between the two of them would be good.

Maybe it would give Kael more time and space and help him open up to the idea of at least giving Ridge a chance.

It wasn’t like things could go worse than they already were, anyway.

As it was, Ridge didn’t have a chance with his mate, which was heartbreaking.

It would also be a change from the jobs he was usually assigned.

He’d known what he was getting into when he’d signed the contract that made him a council assassin, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t intrigued by playing security and working a diplomatic mission rather than a killing one.

It wouldn’t be what he was used to, but it didn’t have to be.

He leaned forward. “Tell me more about this mission. You said that you’re sending a demon and that you’re still talking with them. What do you expect from them? What do you think will happen, and where are you sending them? I want to hear all the details.”

Gregory’s eyes sparkled. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

“It means I’m saying yes to hearing what you have to say about it,” Ridge said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m listening.”

* * * *

KAEL STARED AT HIS phone. He was still confused by Nymon’s text, although he wasn’t worried.

Nymon had promised he and his mate would be there during the meeting, and he knew they would be.

He was just confused because he had no idea why someone who worked at the council facility needed to talk to him.

He tapped his fingertips on the table and took a sip of his coffee. He was glad that Tex’s boss had agreed to meet him in a public place. He didn’t think that Gregory would do anything strange, but he didn’t know the man. He felt more comfortable surrounded by people, and he was.

Although being surrounded by people also meant that people were all around him, staring at him.

He couldn’t exactly blend in, not with his tail and his hair.

His tail was currently wrapped around his waist, so the humans surrounding him couldn’t see it, but they could see he was different.

Luckily, most of them wouldn’t dare come anywhere near him to ask what was wrong with him, but that didn’t mean he liked the staring.

“Hey,” someone said, causing Kael to look up. He smiled as Nymon slid into one of the empty chairs at the table, quickly followed by Tex, who pushed over a coffee. Nymon picked it up and took a sip after smiling at his mate.