Chapter 5
Ansel
“How did my life go from boring to filled with so many problems just like that?” I ask Russo, snapping my fingers.
He grins. “I know, it’s great, right?”
I glare at him as I lean against the porch railing.
Russo came over after dinner to see how things were going and to give me a rundown on what they’ve found out about the men chasing my mate.
I filled him in on what’s been happening here.
He had a good long laugh when I told him that my mate still doesn’t believe me and thinks she’s hallucinating on the pain medicine.
“How can I convince Mira that I’m a shifter and that we’re meant to be together?” I ask him.
“Maybe try having the conversation when she’s not about to pass out from the medicine,” he suggests.
I flip him off. “Yeah, I got that. Do I just shift for her again?”
“Yeah, you’ll have to. She needs to see you when she can’t blame the pain medicine or exhaustion.”
My bear paws at me. Wake her up, and I’ll shift right now.
No, she needs her rest. And we need to talk to Russo about what he’s found on those men.
He growls, pacing agitatedly inside me.
“All right, I’ll try again,” I agree. “Have you found the men?”
“Not yet. We picked up their scent. They’ve been seen around town, but they’re not staying at any of the hotels there. They ate at the diner, grabbed a coffee, and went by the medical clinic, but no one has seen them since.”
“They’re looking for her,” I growl.
“Yeah.” Russo sighs. “But we won’t let them find her.”
“I found tire tracks this morning,” I admit. “I followed them, but it doesn’t look like they stopped or got too close.”
“They don’t know she’s here,” Russo says, trying to reassure me.
“Hopefully not. But there aren’t many houses out this way. It won’t take them long to narrow it down and track her here.”
“We’ll find them before they can find her,” he promises.
“We better.”
We share a grim look.
“How do you want to deal with them?” Russo asks.
“Kill them,” I snarl.
“Your mate is okay with that?”
I pause. “I hope so. They kidnapped and drugged her. Can’t imagine she’d care what happens to them. Hopefully, she’ll feel safer with them dead and gone.”
“You might want to double-check that with her.”
“I will.” I sigh, wondering how the hell I’m going to broach the subject with Mira.
“The Alphas have been briefed,” Russo adds.
“Good. At least that issue is being dealt with. Now I just need to convince my mate that I’m a shifter, that we’re meant to be together, and that she’s safe here. Oh, and find her friend and check she’s okay with me killing the men who kidnapped her.”
“Should be easy,” Russo quips.
We both fall silent when we hear Mira stirring inside.
Russo nods at me, pushing off from the porch railing. “I’m going home to my mate. I’ll check in with you later. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
He claps me on the back, and I watch him disappear down the trail that leads to his place before I turn and head inside.
Mira is waking up as I sit next to her, and I smile when she blinks her eyes open and looks at me.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, passing her a glass of water.
“Groggy,” she admits, “But better. No pain.”
“That’s good.”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she says softly.
I nod, pushing to my feet. “I’ll carry you.”
“I can use the crutches!”
I lift her easily, ignoring her protests and worry over my shoulder. Carrying her into the bathroom off the kitchen, I set her gently on her feet.
“I’ll be right out here when you’re done,” I say, closing the door behind me.
I lean against the wall while I wait, practicing what I want to say to her.
Tell her she’s ours, my bear suggests.
I’m just going to—
The thought dies when the door swings open.
“This might sound crazy,” Mira says, “but did you turn into a bear earlier?”
“I… Yep,” I reply, startled by the sudden question. I had a plan worked out, but once again, my mate is throwing it into disarray. “You remember?”
“I thought it was a dream, but then I saw this.” She holds up her wrist, where some of my fur is stuck to her bandage.
“Do you remember what I said?” I ask, my heart racing.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
I step closer. “Do you believe me?”
“About us being soulmates?”
“Yes.”
“It’s still kind of unbelievable, but I can’t deny that it feels like there’s something special here,” she says slowly.
“I’ll prove it to you in time,” I promise, wrapping my arms around her waist.
She smiles. “I believe that.”
“Come on, let’s get you comfortable.”
“Not the couch!” she blurts.
I frown. “You don’t like it? Is it uncomfortable? We can buy a new one.”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s great, I just—I can’t sit on it anymore. I’m so sick of lying down.”
I smile gently. “No couch it is then.”
Lifting her again, I carry her into the kitchen and set her gently on a chair at the table. I get her a glass of water before pulling out food from the fridge. “You must be hungry.”
“Starving.”
“Is chili okay? Or I can make something else?”
“Chili is great.”
I get started heating that up while she looks around my place.
“Any sign of Ridley?” Mira asks when I join her at the table with our food.
“Not yet. We have people looking for her and the men who took you.”
“Have you found them?”
“Not yet. They’ve been around town, though. I saw tire tracks out back this morning.”
She looks nervous. “Oh.”
“We need to talk about them,” I say, dreading this conversation. I hate causing my mate distress in any way, but I know we need to get on the same page about this threat.
Mira sets her spoon in her bowl and watches me.
“How do you want to deal with those men?” I ask slowly.
She blinks, frowning at the question. “Um… the police?” She sits up straighter as she sees something in my expression. “Why are you asking? Are you worried they won’t believe me? I have you as a witness. And my injuries.”
“They’ll believe you,” I reassure her. “They’re shifters too, and they can smell the guy’s scent all over here.”
Mira’s eyes widen. “Everyone in town is a shifter?”
I shake my head. “Not everyone. Most are, but we have humans here too. Some are mated to pack members. Some are tourists passing through.”
“So, it’s not uncommon for a shifter to have a human mate?”
“Nope. Not around here.”
She nods, picking up her spoon and eating again.
“I’d like to deal with the men in a different way,” I admit.
She glances at me. “Okay,” she says slowly.
“I want to kill them. If they threaten you again in any way, I will kill them,” I correct.
Mira stares at me for a beat before she finally says, “I’m okay with that. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No,” I growl instantly. “They’re the bad ones. The world will be better without them in it, where they can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Maybe we should try to talk to them and ask them where Ridley is,” she suggests.
“I’ll try. If we can find and capture them without them pulling a gun, then we can talk to them. Otherwise…” I trail off.
“I know. We have to do what’s right in the situation. I don’t want them to hurt you or anyone else.”
“Good. I’m going to keep you safe, Mira. Always.”
She nods again, and we eat in silence for a few minutes before she clears her throat.
“How’s your shoulder?”
“It’s good. Another day of healing, and I’ll be back to normal.”
She snorts. “I think it’ll take longer than forty-eight hours to recover from getting shot.”
I smile. “Not for a shifter. We heal faster.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Lucky.”
I laugh. “You’ll be able to heal faster too once we’re bonded. You’ll get some of my shifter qualities then.”
“What does that mean?”
“When I bite and claim you, your hearing will get better. Eyesight too. You’ll heal faster and—”
“I’m sorry, did you say when you bite me?”
“It won’t hurt,” I rush to assure her. “It’s how shifters mark each other. It’s like our version of a wedding ring.”
“So, I have to bite you too?”
“You can. Usually, only shifters feel the need to, I think.”
She can bite us, my bear growls.
She can, I agree.
I hope she does.
“Okay, when do we bite each other?” she asks.
“In a few days. If you’re ready,” I add quickly. “Shifters mark each other for the first time on the night of the full moon.”
“Do you shift and howl at the moon?”
“No.” I laugh. “We mark our mate and then make love.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” I agree, and we go back to eating.
“Tell me about yourself,” she says.
I lean back in my chair. “Well, I was born and raised here. My parents are gone, but my older brother, Russo, still lives in town. His house is just over that way,” I say, pointing toward his cabin.
“Are you two close?”
“Very. He’s my best friend.”
“That’s nice. I always wanted a sibling.”
“Only child?”
“Yeah. I used to think I was an experiment,” she says, smiling wryly.
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t picture my parents ever being intimate.
They never kissed in front of me. Never hung out or laughed together or seemed close.
When I was older, they were never home at the same time.
Then, when I was older, I realized it was more like I was a box to tick.
They wanted to look like the perfect couple, the perfect family.
So, they had the fancy house, the new cars, the designer clothes, and the perfect daughter. ”
“We won’t have that type of relationship.”
“Good. I hated living there with them. The house was always so cold, like a museum or something. I was alone most of the time.” Her eyes fill with tears. “At least I had Ridley.”
I can’t stand to see her upset, so I pull her into my lap, cradling her against me as I comfort her.
“We’ll find her,” I promise. “It’ll all be okay.”
She nods against me.
I swallow hard, praying that I can keep that promise.