4

Larissa

People tended to be judgmental of things they didn’t understand, so I totally got where Kace was coming from. But that didn’t mean I was going to blindly agree to keeping everything he told me a secret from the people I loved. I crossed my arms over my chest and blushed when his gaze dropped to my boobs. My nipples pebbled at the spark of desire in his eyes, and a knowing gleam filled his dark orbs even though he couldn’t see them. “That could be a problem. I tell my best friends everything.”

“You can talk to Allegra,” he conceded with a smile. “Zeke already told her since she’s his fated mate.”

It was a relief to know I wouldn’t have to keep secrets from one of my closest friends, but it only half-solved my problem. “What about Calliope? She, Allegra, and I have been a trio since kindergarten, and it would totally suck for her to feel left out. I spend a lot of time with her since we’re roommates, and we’re already going to have to adjust to the fact that Allegra has apparently decided to move in with Zeke even though they’ve only known each other for one night. Calliope is way more sensitive than Allegra or me, so it’s going to be tougher on her. The last thing I want to do is make her feel worse because she thinks I’m hiding something.”

He ran his hand through his thick hair. “If it’s that important to you, then we’ll figure it out.”

“Really?” I was surprised he was agreeing so quickly. It made me consider the possibility that he’d truly meant it when he’d said I was going to be the most important person in his life.

“As the alpha, I have the final say when it comes to sharing information about our existence with anyone other than human mates and their families,” he explained as he reached out to lace his fingers through mine. “Allegra already wanted permission to share with both of you, and I promised to consider her request after she got settled into the pack. Finding out you’re my fated mate makes the decision a fuck of a lot easier. If you say Calliope can be trusted, then I believe you.”

“She’s the softest of the three of us, but she’d never do anything to hurt Allegra or me,” I promised, giving his hand a little squeeze. “Calliope hates confrontation, but she took on this soccer mom who wanted me o the team my senior year of high school after I accidentally sprained her daughter’s ankle during practice. She was drawing in her notebook up in the stands, waiting for my dad to pick us up after practice. Usually when she’s in one of her creative moods, the rest of the world kind of fades away. But as soon as my teammate’s mom started to rip into me, Calliope came storming down the steps like an avenging angel. I can’t remember another time when she yelled like she did then. It was so out of character, but she was scary as heck. By the time she was done, my teammate was pulling her mom o the field to get away from Calliope even though she only had one good leg.”

Kace’s thumb brushed across my palm, sending goose bumps up my arm. “She sounds like a great friend. I’m sure we’ll get along great.”

“Oh, crap!” I reached into my coat pocket and pulled my cell phone out. Glancing down at the screen, I groaned, “I was supposed to call Calliope as soon as I found Allegra, and now she’s freaking out. She called three times and sent half a dozen texts.” I stabbed my finger against the screen to pull up her number. She picked up a split second after the ringtone began. “Allegra’s fine. I’m sorry it took so long for me to call back.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she sighed. “I was going to skip class and order a rideshare to go hunt you down. What’s going on in this Timber Ridge place? I was almost afraid to go there since it’s like the Bermuda Triangle for my friends. You both went in but never came back out.”

Kace chuckled, and I realized he could hear everything my friend was saying. I shook my head and pressed a finger against my lips before turning my attention back to my best friend. “Don’t skip class. There’s nothing to worry about. Allegra got distracted because she’s all loved up on her sexy sheri.”

A deep growl rumbled up Kace’s chest, and he yanked on my hand until I fell forward and sprawled on his lap. I let out a startled yelp, barely holding onto my phone. “Larissa? What happened? Please tell me you didn’t get into a fender bender, too. That would be bad...unless you also get rescued by a hot cop. Then it would be awesome. Especially if he has a partner for me.”

Out of the three of us, Calliope had always been the one who’d dreamed of finding the perfect boyfriend. Plenty of boys had asked her out in high school, but she’d turned them all down because no one lived up to her expectations. If she’d been the one who’d stumbled on a guy who could shift into a wolf and swore they were fated mates, she'd probably jump right in without any questions if she thought he was the one for her. Meanwhile, I still had plenty, but I couldn’t ask them while she was on the phone. “I wasn’t in an accident and didn’t get rescued by a hot cop. But I did kinda sorta meet Zeke’s”—I paused, scrambling to come up with a better term than alpha to describe Kace—“best friend, and we’re hanging out. So I won’t be back until later.”

“Dude. Seriously?” she shrieked. “Ugh, I really wish I didn’t have my drawing and digital imaging class right now. It’s my favorite, and I hate to miss it except for an emergency. Coming to rescue you and Allegra counts. Running o to Timber Ridge in the hopes that I’ll meet a hot guy too, not so much. But I want all the deets when I see you tonight. Or tomorrow morning if things go really well, if you know what I mean.”

I didn’t get the chance to respond before she hung up, probably in a rush to get across campus. Kace’s shoulders shook with his laughter as he took the phone out of my hand and set it on the co ee table. “She can meet every unmated male in my pack if it’ll make you happy.”

“I’m sure she’ll take you up on that o er.” I laughed and shook my head. “And you’ll probably come to regret it at some point.”

He wrapped his arms around my back and settled me more comfortably on his lap. “Now that your friend isn’t worried about you, how about I answer the rest of your questions?”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed, though I still hadn’t fully wrapped my head around the fact he could change into a wolf.

“As the alpha, I’m the highest-ranking member of our pack and its leader. I have a telepathic link with all of the shifters in my pack,” he explained. “Zeke is my second in command, or my beta. He’s also a wolf, but we have other kinds of shifters in Timber Ridge. Tane, my third, is a tiger.” I hadn’t been scared when Kace shifted into a wolf, but I couldn’t imagine how I would’ve reacted if I’d found a freaking tiger standing in front of me when I’d opened my eyes. “There are tigers?”

“Bears, lions, and dragons, too.” He flashed me a sexy grin, his dark eyes twinkling with humor. “But no bunnies or honey badgers.”

“Forget bunnies and honey badgers! There are people who can shift into dragons?” I cried, jumping o his lap. “Are they teeny-tiny ones about the size of your wolf? Or actually dragon-sized?”

A low growl rumbled up Kace’s chest as he stood. “There isn’t anything remotely small about my wolf. He’s a fucking beast of an animal.”

“I worded that badly. I’m sorry.” I patted his chest. “Your wolf is freaking awesome.”

“Damn straight he is,” Kace grumbled. “Even if the only dragon I know is about twice his size.”

My eyes widened as I tried to picture someone turning into something two times bigger than Kace’s wolf. “Are they rare?”

He nodded and explained, “There aren’t many dragon shifters, and he can’t just bite someone to make more. We’re born this way, and everyone in Timber Ridge is a shifter except for you, Allegra, and one other fated mate. It helps that we don’t need to hide who we are in town since shifters age more slowly than humans, heal more quickly, and are physically stronger.”

“Wait.” I held up my palm. “You’re talking as though I live here, too.”

He gently wrapped his fingers around my wrist and tugged my hand to his lips. Then he pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “Of course, I am. Your place is with me.”

He acted like my staying was a foregone conclusion. Considering how quickly Zeke was talking about Allegra moving in with him, it was probably the way relationships went for shifters. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole fated mate thing yet. I needed a little bit of time to think about it all. “That’s all fine and dandy except I need to go back to my dorm. Like right now.”