Chapter 1 #2
What must it be like to feel that way about someone? To be so concerned about another that you behaved in ways that were completely uncharacteristic? Wolf shifters were notorious for being possessive and feral, but those were behaviours I’d never seen Finlay exhibit.
Until now.
Would that be the case for all of us when we found that special person?
It wasn’t like I’d been in love before, or even had a crush.
I’d hooked up plenty, but had never been tempted to take things further.
Guess I just hadn’t met the right one yet.
Dating was harder when you had the gold standard of love at home.
I wanted a relationship as pure and solid as the one my parents shared. That seemed impossible to find, but it wasn’t like I was on a time crunch.
I was certain I wouldn’t become as irrational as Finn when I did find him though. The man he liked must have a magical dick or something. It was the only explanation.
I tuned back in as Logan sauntered out of the door. Calan rubbed a hand over his short beard as he addressed Finn. “Well, I don’t have an issue with ye doing a protection detail. Not that ye needed our permission for that.”
“True, but I didn’t want you questioning why I suddenly wasn’t around as much.”
I frowned. If Finn wasn’t going to be around, did he need me to do anything? “Do you think it’ll take you long to figure out if he’s safe or not?”
“No.” My eyes widened when I realised Finn’s hands were trembling again. His wolf was trying to force the shift. Every minute that passed emphasised that he didn’t just have a crush on this bloke. Whatever this was went far deeper than that. “But I’m not rushing this.”
I smiled kindly. “Wasn’t suggesting ye should. Just wanted to know if you needed us to pick up any slack in the meantime.”
Relief flashed over his face. “Thanks, Evan, I don’t think there’s anything—” He stopped talking abruptly, his brow furrowing. “Actually, there is. Could ye do some digging for me? There’s a human who works at the florist for Chester. Name’s Reid. He knows what we are.”
A pulse of surprise went through me. “As in?”
“As in he knows we’re shifters,” Finn said. “He’s not mated, and not carrying any other supe scents.”
How on earth would there be an unmated human who knew about shifters? That wasn’t possible.
Something nagged at the back of my mind. A foggy memory that I couldn’t quite bring to the forefront. “How can ye be sure?”
“He told me,” Finn said bluntly. “Said he’d keep it a secret, but…”
I finished the thought off for him, my brain working overtime. “But it’s suspicious, and we don’t know if he can be trusted. I got you. I’ll go see what I can find out.”
I was almost to the door when Finn called out to me, “Evan, behave. No sleeping with the human until we know he’s not a threat.”
Ah, yes. My reputation as a playboy had preceded me into the inner circle. Maybe saying that I hooked up plenty was an understatement…but what could I say? You didn’t meet Mr. Right by being chaste.
That was my excuse and I was sticking to it.
I waggled my brows at Calan. “Excellent. That means he’s hot and not straight. Off I go.”
With a task to do, I strode out of the room. I wouldn’t be going there straight away. It was late, way past when the shop would likely be open. That didn’t mean I didn’t have a long list of other things to occupy my time.
Being part of the inner circle came with a lot of respect…
and a metric fuck-tonne of responsibilities.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t complaining.
I fucking loved it. Taking care of the clan spoke to my wolf.
He was a caretaker and protector at heart.
Being part of the inner circle fulfilled both of us like never before.
Maybe, one day, we’d have our own person to take care of. Just like Finn. Just like my parents.
Until then, this was enough.
After doing a boundary pass, checking in with those on guard duty, and responding to a letter from the Stratton Clan, I was finally done with my list.
Right on cue, my stomach rumbled loudly.
Whistling to myself, I made my way to the cabin I grew up in. The one I still had a room in, even if I technically lived in the main clan house now. I greeted everyone I passed, exchanging nods or clasping hands quickly.
I knocked on the door, bouncing impatiently on the porch. Now that I’d realised I was hungry, I was starving. I could smell Ma’s cooking already—meatballs and spaghetti, if I had to guess.
“Come in, lad.” My father’s voice boomed out. “Don’t stand on ceremony.”
I opened the door and strode in to find my dad on the sofa, frowning at me over his newspaper. “Alright, Pa?”
“Aye.” He shook his head ruefully. “Don’t understand why you’ve started this knocking malarkey. The door’s always open. Ye know that.”
I paused, hands going to my hips. “And I think ye know exactly why I knock now. Do I need to remind ye what I walked in on last month?”
Pa flushed, lifting his newspaper higher. “Don’t know what yer talking about.”
I flicked at the edge of the paper. “You know you can just read the news on yer phone, right?”
He snorted, just as he did every time I brought up something like this. “I’ll stick to what I know, thank ye very much.”
“I forget you were born before the invention of the written word.”
Pa glared at me over the top of his paper. “I’m not that old.”
I grinned. “Could’ve fooled me, Pa.”
“Evan Duncan McCarthy!” Ma appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She was all of five foot, but had a glare that made me feel six years old again. “There’ll be no teasing yer father now. I’ll put you over my knee, so help me.”
I put a hand over my chest. “Would I ever?”
Her lips twitched. “Aye, ye would, ye wee shite.”
“I’m still your favourite son though.”
“Och, do we have another child, Jameson?” She addressed my father, her tone mocking. “Silly me, I must’ve left the wean somewhere.”
Pa muttered under his breath, refusing to be drawn into our antics, but I could see the corners of his mouth twitching.
Crossing the room, I swept Ma off her feet and spun her around. “I’d still be your favourite though.”
“Gerroff.” She whacked me on the shoulder, spluttering with laughter. “Who dragged you up to be such a great oaf?”
I put her down on her feet. With her supe reflexes, she didn’t so much as sway. “You, I believe.”
She grinned, pinching my cheek. “Aye. That I did. Now go wash up for supper.”
I did just that before snagging a handful of custard creams from the biscuit tin. Dinner might have been mere moments away, but I was a growing lad.
A growing lad who fucking loved a custard cream.
While I munched, I watched my parents from the corner of my eye. How my dad snagged my mum by her wrist and yanked her into his lap before kissing her thoroughly.
Given they were both shifters, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were in their mid-thirties, still in the first flush of an early relationship. In reality, they’d been mated for over five hundred years.
I smiled fondly as I dried my hands on a tea towel, listening to their laughter.
That right there was what I was holding out for.
There’d be no settling down for me until I had the person who made me laugh like that.
Someone who was my best friend as well as my mate.
Who I loved more with every day that passed.
I’d been lucky to grow up with the best possible example of love.
I wasn’t settling for anything less.