Chapter 5
FIVE
Knox
Is laughter a good sign? my bear asks.
I mentally shrug at him. We’re in uncharted territory here. But I don’t think she’s laughing at you.
Of course not. I’m magnificent.
I smile at his confidence. I wish I could be as sure as he is. Instead, my head is racing with a thousand thoughts.
Did I explain everything right? What is she thinking? Can she feel this thing between us too?
“Do you have any questions?” I ask Daisy when she finally stops laughing.
“Uh, no, I don’t think so. Or, not right now anyway.”
“Okay, well, if you do, I’m here.”
She smiles and nods.
I relax a little. “Are you hungry? It’s late, close to lunchtime already.”
Her eyes widen, and she scrambles off the bed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah? Is something wrong?”
“I just—I’ve never slept in so late.”
“Well, it was a long night after a long few days.”
She nods, chewing on her bottom lip.
I smile as her stomach growls. “I’ll get started on lunch. Is a sandwich okay?”
“Sounds good. I can help, I just need to—”
“No, take your time. You can shower, change, whatever you want to do. I’ll make us some food.”
“I can help,” she insists.
“Let me take care of you, mate,” I whisper, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
Moving away before I’m tempted to do more than kiss her, I go downstairs to the kitchen. Usually, I hate being in this room. I’m a disaster at cooking, but I don’t mind one bit when I’m doing it for my mate.
My bear is content inside me, his ears perked as we hear the shower turn on above us.
I try not to think about my mate naked and wet.
I focus on making our food instead, layering cheese, meat, lettuce, and tomatoes onto bread.
Finding some chips, I hear the water turn off and Daisy moving around, getting dressed.
A few minutes later, she pads down the stairs. I set her plate on the kitchen counter and pull out a stool for her.
She smiles. “Thanks.”
My hands go to her hips, and I lift her onto the stool. Daisy seems surprised by the action, and I worry I’ve overstepped. Then I see her trying to hide a smile, and I know she liked me manhandling her.
My bear licks his lips. Good to know.
“Do you want anything else?” I ask as I sit beside her.
“No, this is perfect. Thanks.”
Daisy grabs her sandwich and takes a bite. She eats slowly, and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head. Anxiety claws at my bear and me. After a few minutes, I can’t take the silence anymore.
“Please say something.”
She licks her lips, turning to face me. “About what?”
“What are you thinking about? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just—I guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, shifters are real! I didn’t even know that term a few minutes ago, and now I’ve learned that you’re one, and I’m your fated mate—another term I didn’t know half an hour ago.”
“I know it’s a lot,” I say, trying to somehow make all of this better.
“It’s too much,” she whispers.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“God, Knox! Are you sure you want me? I mean, my life is a mess. I’m a fugitive who just so happened to run right to where my fated mate would be? It seems so strange! It seems too easy.”
“It’s not. I’ve looked for you for years.”
Daisy doesn’t seem to hear me. “Nothing in my life has ever been easy. And I guess I don’t trust things when they are.”
“Daisy—”
“But I trust you! I feel good around you. I know I’m safe.
You’ve been nothing but honest and kind and perfect.
I just—I feel like I’ll be a burden to you.
Either we clear my name, or we don’t. Either I go to jail or I’m on the run forever.
I won’t be able to work or travel. I’ll just—I don’t know,” she finishes weakly.
I pull her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist and smoothing a hand over her back. “Take a deep breath. I’ve got you. I told you we’d get everything cleared up, and we will. We’re already making progress, and it’s only been a few hours. We’ll figure it out.”
She nods against my shoulder, and I kiss the top of her head again.
“As for us, nothing has to happen. I’m happy just being around you. I want to take care of you. I want to see you smile, hear you laugh. I want to support you through the hard times. And I want to do all of that without putting more pressure or stress on you. Am I stressing you out?”
“No! No, you’ve been great. It’s me. I don’t want to saddle you with all this drama.”
“I want you to. I want to be there for you, help you solve your problems.
Daisy gives me a watery smile. “That’s crazy.”
“That’s fated mates, baby,” I tease.
She sighs. “I have so much to learn.”
“You’ll get there. One day, this will be a great story to tell our children.”
“Oh, God,” she groans.
I chuckle as I rock her in my arms and feel the tension ease from her body.
“For what it’s worth, I’m so glad that it was me who ran into you. I’m grateful that fate brought us together.”
“Me too,” she whispers. “I just wish that it had happened a year ago. Before all of this mess started with Joe.”
“I should’ve looked for you harder. When I got out of the military, I should’ve searched for you.”
She wraps her arms around me. “You were in the military?”
“Marines. I did four years before I was injured on deployment and medically discharged. That’s when I came back to Night Grove Falls.”
“You grew up here?”
“Born and raised in the pack.”
“Pack?”
“Shifters typically belong to a pack. A few of us prefer to go solo, but we’re stronger together.”
“There are more shifters here?”
“Many. Wolves, bears, cougars, mountain lions, rabbits, elk, you name it.”
“How can you tell who is what?”
I twirl a strand of her hair around my finger. “You can’t. I can smell their animal on them, but you can’t tell from looking.”
I wrap my arms tighter around her. I love having her in my lap, love having her scent all over me.
We’re silent for a while before Daisy clears her throat.
“What happens if I go to jail? What will you do?”
“No one is going to jail. I won’t let anyone take you from me. Not now I’ve finally found you.”
“You might not get to decide,” she points out quietly.
“I will. I promise you, we’ll prove your innocence. Then you can stay with me as a free woman. We’ll be a family.”
She looks a little doubtful, a little nervous, but she doesn’t argue. I hold her tighter and slide her plate closer. She grabs a chip and pops it into her mouth.
I groan when my phone rings in my pocket. “Sorry.” I shift her weight so I can grab it. “I need to take this.”
I hold Daisy in place as she starts to climb off my lap.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Russo asks as I answer his call.
“Just eating. Did you need something?”
“I heard you found someone last night,” Russo says carefully.
I clear my throat. “Yeah.”
“Cooper said you called about a car, needing some information?”
“Yeah, I called him about it. Has the mechanic looked at the car yet?”
“Reyes did. Said a gasket was blown. The parts will cost more than the car is worth.”
“Damn.”
“He can sell it for scrap. Get you the money.”
“Let me talk to my mate about that first.”
“Mate?”
I grin. “Yeah.”
“You can tell me all about her at the Midnight Haven meeting.”
“When’s that?”
“Forty minutes.”
I glance at the clock and groan. “Okay, I’ll see you there.”
Daisy looks at me as I end the call.
“I have to go to work for a meeting,” I say apologetically. “I won’t be gone long. Oh, and they looked at your car. Blown gasket. It’ll cost more to replace it than the car is worth, but it could be sold for scrap.”
“Oh.”
“We can get you a new car, something safer.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“We can.”
“Knox…”
“We’ll argue about it later.”
Daisy shakes her head as I set her back on her stool.
I take our empty plates and load them into the dishwasher.
“I should be back soon,” I say, kissing her forehead.
“I’ll be fine here.” She grins. “I’m going to spy and poke around.”
I chuckle. “Let me know if you find anything interesting.”
Dropping a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, I turn and head out.