"Doc…" Ari began.
Her father held up a hand. "Chris. Doctor Chris Wilson. You can call me Dad, the others can call me Doc, Chris, or Doctor Wilson."
Ari looked surprised as a shy smile appeared. "Dad, when Brie found us, we had just discovered the bodies of close to seventy-five of our people stacked up in a warehouse. The transfer refers to getting them home."
"Éire Danu?" her dad asked.
She simply stared. "Was I the only one who didn't know?"
"Sorry, baby girl, but this kind of secret is on a need-to-know basis. My name has been down as a paranormal-friendly doctor ever since I graduated. My college roommate was a wolf shifter," he explained.
"Un-fucking-real."
"I was going to tell you," Rathais said, pointing to his badge. "As Sheriff of Monroe, you'd have to know."
Ari smiled at her. "You're a sheriff?"
She shook her head. "Deputy."
"I was training her up to be my replacement for when I aged out," Rathais complained.
"Aged out?"
Her boss blinked. "Oh. Yeah." He placed his hand over his badge and whispered words she didn't understand. Suddenly, she was looking at a much younger, virile version of the boss she had always had a bit of a crush on.
"Damn," she exhaled slowly, her eyes never leaving Rathais.
Rathais winked, and Ari began to growl low in his throat. "Mine!" he snarled, pulling her so that her back was flush against the front of him. Through the thin fabric of the scrubs she could feel his flesh, hot and hard.
"Okay. Right. Come on, Dad, let me show you the SUV," Gage said, maneuvering her father out of the room.
"You better not hurt my baby girl, Ari, or I really will neuter you," her father threatened, though he was laughing the entire time he said it.
When the door shut, she was spun around to face him. "Mine," he growled again.
"Yeah, the whole supposed mate thing. Does that mean you're mine too? Or do you expect me to wait at home while you prowl?"
She watched in fascination as his eyes shifted to a bright honey color. "I am yours, and you are mine. Fate has chosen you just for me. I will never forsake you, never betray you, and always place your whims, wants, and needs above my own. There will be no other for me, but you."
"If I truly am yours, then you better kiss me, because I think I may die if you don't."
"We can't have that," he said, before swooping down to take complete possession of her lips. She thought that the kiss would be hot and hard, like him. But his feather light touch and playful nipping was driving her insane. When Ari stepped back, he had a satisfied smile on his face.
"I'm sort of sorry I shot you."
"And I am very sorry I scared you."
She thumped the tip of his nose. "I'm getting you back for that horrible neuter prank."
His eyes lit up. "I can't wait."
Chapter Four
Brie didn't know what to think as they made their way back to the warehouse. The men were quiet and somber. She had argued for five minutes outside the SUV with her father about him returning with them. Finally, he swayed the men by stating he wanted to get to know Ari better since he was mated to his daughter, and none of them could argue that point.
Both Aiden and Rathais agreed that since her father had been a point of contact for their world for years, him coming to Éire Danu to see where his daughter would be living was completely reasonable.
She looked up at Ari's profile. Just like that, every single person in this car, except for her, accepted that the two of them were together. What if he expected her to change, give up her job, or become more 'feminine'? God, what if he was a mouth breather? She watched him closely: his mouth was closed, and he was breathing. So far, so good.