I flush, and I know without even seeing my face that the heat in my neck and cheeks has turned me red as a tomato. “It’s the best.”
“Aw. I’m so glad.” She sets aside a wicked looking rifle and reaches for two handguns. “You know, I’ve never really wanted a mate.”
“Oh?” I glance at her, surprised. “I thought it was something all shifters wanted.”
“Nah. Lots of us live our whole lives without forming a mate bond. Those of us who are stubborn and headstrong, anyway.” She grinned to indicate she’s making fun of herself, then draws the sigil over the barrel of a handgun with her white paint pen as she goes on. “We date, you know. Normal dating among the pack. Some even get married as they get older and it looks like they’ll never have an actual mate bond. We’re social creatures that way. Looking for some kind of connection, even if it isn’t magical.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“I have flings,” Amora c
orrects with a shrug. “I like doing things my way. I like that I’m not beholden to anybody but myself and the pack. I don’t need a boyfriend any more than I need a mate. Not that wolves really have a say in the latter. If the mate bond chooses someone for you, it’s hard to resist that.”
“Don’t I know it.” I shake my head, grinning. “Four of them is a lot of work.”
Amora laughs. “Well, I for one am glad to see Ridge mated. And the other alphas, too. You guys clearly have something special. Makes me think that if I end up with a fated mate, maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible.”
We continue chatting as we work, mostly about inconsequential things. It feels easy and casual, the kind of conversations two women might have over coffee in their favorite cafe.
And it’s so weird.
I’ve never had a girl friend. I’ve never had someone to connect to on this level, where you confide in one another and joke around simply because you like each other’s company. I really like it, and I’m grateful now more than ever that Ridge’s best friend is a woman.
Even as we talk though, I keep thinking about Amora’s declaration about the mate bond. How it wouldn’t be “so terrible.” I didn’t grow up knowing that one day I might bond with someone. I knew nothing about the mate bond, or about shifters at all, really, and when it first happened between me and all four alphas, I didn’t want the damn thing either. But now, I’d say it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
When we’re done placing sigils on the weapons, we leave the meeting house to go help out along the perimeter of the village, where a team is still working on traps. Amora gets called away by several of her pack mates, and she gives me a nod before striding off to join them. As I turn away from her, I catch sight of Ridge hunched over a deep pit in the ground, swinging a hammer as he nails a board into place.
The sunshine glistens off the sweat on his skin. Ridge has a thick, hard body and tan skin that glows golden in the afternoon light. He hasn’t shaved in days, and his scruff is thicker than usual, giving him a darkly handsome look.
I cross to him, careful to keep my attention on the ground so I don’t tumble into some other hidden pit they’ve already dug.
As if he senses me coming through the connection of our bond, he straightens. The muscles in his back ripple as he twists, tossing the hammer aside onto the grass as his honey-colored eyes search for me in the crowd. When our gazes meet, a frisson of white hot energy floods through me.
Mine.
That man is mine.
And God, he’s beautiful.
I walk right into his arms, not even caring that he’s covered in sweat and dirt. He laughs, and the sound rumbles through me, feeling as heady and intoxicating as the whiskey I drank the other night. I could stand here in the heat of the day and drink in every last drop of him—and still want more.
“Hey, little wolf. I’m happy to see you too.” Ridge rests his chin on my head as he splays his hands over my back, holding me tight against the hard angles of his body.
“Thank you for finding me that night in Devil’s Ditch.” I pull away just enough to look up at him.
His eyes gleam with a mixture of affection and desire as he leans down, closing the space between us to kiss me. His lips are salty and warm from the sun, and he tastes like wide open spaces and freedom.
“I’m glad I did. That night changed my life,” he murmurs against my lips. He kisses me again, then sinks his hands into my hair. “I’ll always find you. No matter what.”
I tighten my grip around his waist and press my face into his skin. I wish I could hold him here forever. All of them, all four of the men I’ve been blessed with.
Please don’t take them from me, I think, squeezing my eyes shut and sending my plea out into the universe. To fate. To God. To whoever will listen.
Please don’t let them die.
24
Dare