Chapter 11
BEXLEY
Rowan lay sprawled across my chest, warm and soft. Even better, she had my mating mark on her shoulder and carried my scent. Any shifter she met would instantly know she was mine.
The bond thrummed between us, claiming her in the same steady rhythm as her heartbeat. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep again, but having my mate tucked against me like this made it almost impossible to stay awake.
She stretched lazily, the sheet slipping lower on her hips, and I swear my lungs forgot how to function. Her blond hair fell in wild waves across the pillow, and her lips were still swollen from my kisses. She looked like she was exactly where she belonged in this bed. With me.
She blinked up at me with a sleepy smile. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself, my little mate.”
Her smile widened, and my polar gave a satisfied chuff in my head.
“I hate to do it after he came out here so soon after a snowstorm and almost got mauled by you, but I should probably fire Forest.”
A low laugh rumbled out of me before I dipped my head and brushed a kiss over her temple. The wolf had learned his lesson about coming too close to my mate before I marked her.
“I guess I should call him today. Let him know I’m not selling the house after all.” Rowan traced circles on my chest, her eyes softening as she added, “Now that we’re fully mated. And since I love you.”
The bond carried the truth of Rowan’s feelings, but nothing could’ve prepared me for hearing that four-letter word out loud from her. It felt like taking a sucker punch to the chest, but in the best damn way.
“I love you, too,” I growled, pulling her tighter against me. “More than anything in the world.”
“Good.”
I nuzzled her hair, letting the relief wash through me. “Don’t worry about calling Forest. I’m sure he already guessed.”
Her brows drew together. “Really?”
“He might be young and hasn't met his mate yet, but the wolf has heard enough stories to understand I’d go to the ends of the earth to be with you.”
Her pretty eyes filled with wonder. “You would?”
“Even New York City,” I grumbled.
Rowan laughed. “I bet your polar bear would’ve loved the Hudson River when there are chunks of ice in it during a cold snap. It’s rare, but so is the sight of a wild animal roaming around the city.”
“Then they’d try to put me in the damn zoo,” I muttered, shaking my head.
“I wouldn’t let that happen.”
A shiver ran down her spine when I slid my hand to the curve of her neck to where her mating mark peeked above the sheet. I stroked my thumb over it, unable to stop myself from pressing a kiss to the spot. “Mine.”
She arched into me, warmth radiating through the bond so intensely it made my chest ache.
The morning felt damn near perfect until a loud knock shattered everything.
The sound was so abrupt that my polar lunged forward before my conscious mind caught up. I sat up instantly, my muscles going tight as I scanned the air, and a warning rumble vibrated low in my chest.
Two strangers were at the door, carrying the faintest trace of Rowan’s scent. Unmistakably blood kin.
My mate stiffened beside me. “What was that?”
Another pounding knock rattled the door.
Rowan pushed off the bed and hurried to the window. When she peeked through the side curtain, her breath hitched. Then she turned toward me, her face pale. “My parents.”
Every protective instinct I possessed roared to life at once.
We dressed fast. Rowan fumbled with her jeans, and I barely managed to pull a shirt over my head before she moved toward the door. I stepped in behind her, close enough for her to feel the heat of my body as she pulled open the door.
A sharply dressed couple stood on the porch. They wore expensive coats and polished shoes, wholly unsuited for a snowstorm. Their gazes swept over the cottage with thinly veiled judgment.
Her father’s mouth twisted first. “You haven’t been answering your cell. So we had to come all this way, to this dumpy town I never wanted to see again, to find out what you did to make my mother—”
He abruptly broke off when his gaze finally collided with mine.
I didn’t move or speak. I simply let my polar bleed up through me. Just enough to flash gold in my eyes and make the air tremble with the threat of what lived inside my skin.
He recognized the warning immediately. Predatory stillness in a shifter was a language the locals knew.
I’d never hurt him. Rowan wouldn’t want that. But the way he’d spoken to her already told me everything I needed to know about this man. He had failed the most basic test by disrespecting my mate.
I kept my stance relaxed, but every muscle in my body was coiled and ready. Her parents had arrived uninvited and already shouting. They wouldn't hurt my mate, not while I was breathing.
Rowan shook her head with a sigh. “Dad, you can try to contest the will if you want, but Gerald said he didn’t expect any issues with filing the final paperwork today.”
Her father scoffed, puffing up his chest to make himself look bigger. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Attorneys in this town—”
I cut him off before he gathered any more steam.
“Gerald doesn’t miss deadlines.”
The words came out low, but I didn’t bother hiding the steel behind them. Her father flinched, his gaze darting toward me.
I leaned casually against the doorframe, letting the weight of my presence settle over him. “I’m sure it’s already done.”
Rowan’s mom blinked. “Done?”
I couldn’t help the hint of satisfaction in my tone as I added, “Even with the storm, I have no doubt he was at the office when the sun came up this morning.”
Owl shifters practically lived for predawn hours. Gerald probably filed everything before most humans had even rolled over in bed. He loved beating everyone to the punch.
Her father muttered under his breath, “Figures you’d end up with one of them.”
Rowan inhaled sharply. “Dad.”
Her mother frowned. “One of whom?”
Her father straightened so fast he almost fell over. His gaze cut to me again, finally remembering the rules humans were expected to follow in Timber Ridge. Keeping our existence a secret was at the top.
“Nothing, dear.” He shook his head. “It’s just a shame our daughter wants to tie herself to someone from Timber Ridge. And stay here, in this place.”
Rowan’s mother wrinkled her nose as though the rustic cottage had personally offended her. I felt Rowan tense beside me, embarrassment flickering through the bond.
I moved forward, just one step. But it was enough to make the floorboards creak and her father stumble back like prey. “Don’t come back here unless she asks you to.”
Her father went pale. My message was received.
Her mother blinked, oblivious. “We’ll talk later, sweetheart.”
Rowan managed a stiff nod.
I stood there until they retreated down the porch steps, her father pulling his wife along with a shaky urgency that my polar found deeply satisfying.
Rowan exhaled shakily beside me, but I didn’t look away from the window until their taillights disappeared through the snow.
“Well, at least we got you meeting my parents out of the way.”
I closed the door, turned to my mate, and murmured, “They won’t bother you again.”
“I suppose that’s another advantage to staying in Timber Ridge,” she murmured.
“Not that I see them that often anyway. We live in the same city, but I think it’s been almost two years.
I can’t even remember the last time they came to my apartment.
Never in my wildest imagination did I expect them to show up here like that. ”
I reached for my mate and pulled her against my chest. Her head tucked beneath my chin, and I rubbed my hand up and down her back, feeling her settle against me.
“They won’t surprise you like that again,” I promised quietly. “If you want to see them, it’ll be on your terms.”
Her arms circled my waist, holding on for a long while. When she finally drew back, Rowan looked around the cottage like she was seeing it not as a place she inherited but somewhere she could live.
“I think it’ll be a while before I’m ready to talk to them again. Especially my dad.”
The bond pulsed with her pain. I cupped her cheek, offering her quiet comfort.
She took a small breath. “I found letters that my grandmother wrote to me. Years of them. I want to read all of them before I decide anything about my parents. I feel like I missed so much by not knowing her before she died.”
“There are a lot of people in Timber Ridge who remember Eleanor. They’d be happy to tell you their stories.”
Her eyes brightened at the offer. “I’d love that.”
“The thing I remember most about her,” I murmured, brushing my thumb along her jaw, “is the sourdough bread she baked. She said her starter was decades old.”
Rowan’s eyes went wide. “Really? I love baking bread too. Maybe I got it from her.”
I nodded toward the kitchen. “I saw a jar in the fridge yesterday. Might’ve been her starter, though it’s probably been in there too long.”
Rowan lit up like I’d handed her a treasure. “I bet I can revive it. It’s probably just dormant, not dead. I’ll try feeding it for a few days if it still smells okay.”
Her hopeful look hit me right in the chest. “I didn’t smell anything bad in the fridge. And my nose is exceptionally good.”
She laughed softly, her eyes beaming at me.
“But if that one’s past saving, I know she shared her starter with a few people in town,” I added. “They’d be happy to give you some.”
Rowan bit her lip, excitement flickering through the bond. “Maybe I could open a bakery. I’ve always wanted one.”
“You should.” I loved the idea of my mate doing what she’d dreamed about. “As long as you don’t focus on pies, Timber Ridge will line up around the block for you. That’s what the one already in town specializes in.”
She flushed, and I couldn’t stop myself from brushing my knuckles along her cheek.
“You could even partner with Timber’s Treasures. As long as Larken is good with it.”
“Larken?” she asked curiously.
“Our pastry chef.”
Rowan laughed, a delighted sound that eased everything inside me. “No worries there. I’m obsessed with bread. Not pies or sweets.”
I grinned and slid my thumb along her cheekbone, savoring how she leaned into my touch. “Perfect.”
Standing in her grandmother’s cottage with winter light spilling across her skin, the scent of my mark on her, and her bakery dreams taking root, I felt the future settle firmly into place.