Ethan’s Embrace (Shifter Ranch Mates #2)

Chapter 1

ONE

Ethan

I checked my phone under the table again as my older brother, Declan, updated us on the progress being made on the guest cabins for the dude ranch, frowning when my inbox showed no new emails.

“Someone’s not listening,” Austin, another brother, said in a sing-song voice as he threw a wad of paper at my head. My bear shifter reflexes had me catching it and throwing it back, hitting him in the face.

Gabriel snorted but crossed his arms and hid his smile when Declan leveled us all with an annoyed stare.

Declan was the most responsible of us six, and the only biological child of our deceased parents.

He was the glue that held us together when we lost them, and he’d continued to hold us together as the ranch struggled financially.

“The new employee that Mae and Chloe hired will be here later today,” he said.

“She’ll stay in the finished cabin and work with Mae on the cooking and cleaning. ”

“Her background check okay?” Gabriel asked Mason.

“All clear.”

We didn’t like to hire outside help, especially knowing the person responsible for sabotaging our ranch a few months back was still out there, but we couldn’t do everything on our own.

Mason had been doing thorough background checks on everyone we hired, from the contractor and his workers building the new cabins to this new employee.

I checked my inbox again. Nothing.

It had been several weeks since I’d heard from my contact.

After Declan found his fated mate, Chloe, I’d stepped in to help more in the office, to give him time with her.

Days into my new role, I received an email sent to the ranch from someone claiming to be a reporter who was investigating the sabotage.

We’d been in contact ever since, trading information as we tried to uncover who’d hired the saboteurs.

Last I’d heard, they were onto something big, but there’d been nothing from them since.

I tuned back into the meeting in time to hear more about the newest addition to the ranch.

“Hannah is friends with Chloe.” Declan rested his elbows on his knees. “She’s had a rough time lately, so I’d appreciate it if you all would be on your best behavior.”

“When are we not?” Austin responded with mock outrage, shooting a sideways grin at me.

Declan’s voice was dry, and his gaze stern. “I seem to recall my mate being greeted with a water fight.”

“Ethan started that.” Austin laughed. “And Chloe didn’t mind. She got some great photos before she joined us.”

“We’ll be good.” I nudged Austin and shook my head at him. Declan had become more easy-going since he met Chloe, but he still had his limits, and Austin was pushing them. “We have a lot of work today, anyway. No time for games.”

Declan’s gaze on me was suspicious, and I couldn’t blame him.

I was usually the first to start trouble.

But lately, thoughts of my investigation had occupied my mind, leaving little room for anything else.

There had been no further issues since Chloe’s kidnapping, but I couldn’t help thinking it was only a matter of time.

We still didn’t know who was ultimately responsible, and until we discovered the truth, I would stay on guard.

After the meeting, I headed to the barn with Gabriel and saddled my gray horse, Storm.

I’d trained him myself, and despite his sometimes mischievous behavior, he was rock steady.

He needed to be, as horses were prey animals and easily spooked by our shifter halves.

But I could shift into my bear in front of Storm and he’d hold firm.

Gabriel swung into the saddle of his mount.

Boone was an oversized chestnut horse. The size was necessary, as Gabriel was the largest of us brothers: a quiet, sensitive soul, who often went off by himself.

He wasn’t as uptight as Declan, though, and would sometimes join in on the games that were instigated by me or Austin.

He was also the brother who first made me feel welcome when I arrived at the ranch.

Declan was born on the ranch, but the rest of us joined the family at various ages.

I remembered the confusion when I came. I was nine.

Old enough to remember my first family. Declan and Mason were teenagers, and they spent more time helping Dad on the ranch, while Luke wasn’t yet adopted.

That left Austin, Gabriel, and me. Austin was a joker even then and tended to skip out on chores.

So it was Gabriel who taught me to muck out stalls and showed me the best places to hide when I needed time alone.

We rode our horses to the nearest edge of our land.

Since discovering the ranch was being sabotaged, we’d made a point of riding the fence line as often as possible.

The easiest way to mess with us was to cut the fence wire and encourage our cattle to wander onto a neighboring ranch.

We’d decided it was better to be proactive than to have to regularly round up our cattle.

It resulted in longer days, as the regular work still needed finishing, but the peace of mind was worth it.

Gabriel stayed quiet for the first hour of our ride, though I could sense his gaze returning to me often. Finally, his deep voice cut through the silence. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t pull that with me. Normally you’d be talking my ear off, cracking jokes and making plans for some prank you want to play.”

I shifted in the saddle, Storm picking up on my unease and sidestepping. I reined him in and shook out my muscles, relaxing the tension in my body. “Just not in the mood today. Like I said earlier, we have lots to do.”

His eyes stayed trained on me. His intense stare felt like he could see things others missed. He always could. “Is it the mate thing?”

“Huh?”

“After Declan found Chloe, you were eager to find yours.”

“Still am. But not much I can do about it right now.”

Shifters had fated mates. Someone who would fit with us in ways no one else ever would. Watching Declan and Chloe reminded me constantly how great finding my own would be, but we had few chances to meet potential mates on the ranch. I hoped that would change once the dude ranch opened.

“If it’s not about your mate, then what’s on your mind?”

I debated telling Gabriel about the reporter I was working with.

I didn’t know why I hadn’t told my brothers.

Maybe I was worried they would tell me to stop.

I was the youngest at twenty-three, and I liked to have a good time, which meant they didn’t always take me seriously.

I wanted to show them I was more than just the mischief and jokes they expected from me.

Gabriel would keep my secret if I asked him to. But I needed to do this on my own. Prove to everyone, including me, that I could. So instead of answering him, I pointed at a section of fence. “Look okay to you?”

He raised a brow after he surveyed the perfect stretch of wire but stopped pushing me for answers, and we fell back into silence as we continued inspecting the fence line.

But my mind never settled. Gabriel’s questions had stirred up thoughts of my mate, which mixed in with my worries about my contact. Two people I needed to find. And I had no idea where to start.

Hannah

I taped up the final box and surveyed the living room of the little house I’d called home for six years. Anything unnecessary was being donated; I needed room for Cassie’s possessions. Jonah had been through too much in the last few weeks, and I wouldn’t get rid of his mother’s things.

Jonah, my ten-year-old nephew, was sulking in his bedroom.

He didn’t want to leave. I couldn’t blame him.

This was the only home he knew. I’d moved in with my sister after our mom passed away when I was sixteen.

Our dad wasn’t in the picture, and neither was Jonah’s.

Apparently, lousy taste in men ran in the family.

I’d avoided it, but that was probably more because I turned down anyone who invited me out.

A glint of something under the sofa caught my eye. I bent down and picked up a silver earring, recognizing it as one Cassie had been looking for in the days before her fatal car accident. Tears rose, and I wiped them away. I couldn’t break down now. Jonah needed me to be strong.

I grabbed the box and hauled it to my SUV.

Wedging it into the almost full trunk took some work, but with a few adjustments, I got the door closed.

My suitcase could go in the front, and Jonah’s would fit next to him in the backseat.

I checked my watch, relieved to see I was still on time.

My friend Chloe was expecting us to arrive at the ranch before supper.

I met Chloe when she arrived in town several months ago to take photographs at a local ranch run by shifters.

She ended up staying for the eldest brother, Declan.

Apparently, they were mates. She’d tried to explain about shifters and their fated mates, but the concept was strange to me.

A nice one, but hard to believe. I wasn’t used to men sticking around.

Chloe’s offer of a job at the ranch had come at the perfect time.

Cassie and I had juggled Jonah’s care between us and our jobs, but after her accident, I’d had to do it all myself.

I thought my boss at the diner would be more understanding, but the jerk had found it easier to hire a new waitress than to accommodate my circumstances.

I knocked on Jonah’s door. “It’s time to go.”

I heard shuffling from his room, but the door stayed closed. I knocked again. “Jonah, I’m coming in.”

I pushed open the door and peeked inside, but except for the bed and desk, it was empty.

I crossed the bedroom and opened the closet door.

Huddled in the corner was my nephew, eyes red and puffy.

I joined him on the floor and wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

“I don’t want to leave either. I’m sorry, Jonah. ”