Leaning in, he kissed her gently, slowly deepening it as passion exploded between them. He had no idea how long they kissed, lost to everything but her, until Justin cleared his throat behind him.
“I’ve got your clothes. You can get dressed any time now. Staring at your naked ass is disturbing.”
Chuckling, Colton eased away from her, darting in to nip her lip one more time before he stood to get dressed.
This wasn’t quite the ending to the story that he’d imagined. He hated that she’d been hurt, that they had to turn her to save her life. But, as he caught a glimpse of her staring at him hungrily as he dressed, he decided that it worked out perfectly.
He had his mate, the love of his life, his everything, forever now. And there was no way that could be considered anything but perfect.
Chapter Ten
“I really am so fucking sorry.”
Katia smiled at Justin, shaking her head. This was about the hundredth time he’d apologized to her, and he’d done the same to Colton even more. She appreciated it, but it wasn’t needed.
“It’s okay. It all worked out in the end, and you gave me an incredible gift by giving me my owl. It’s all good.”
“The hell it is,” Colton muttered as they walked into her room at the hotel. “What the hell were you thinking? What did you get yourself into?”
She perched on the bed, curious to know the answer. After Colton got dressed, her new owl—jeez, would that ever not be weird to say? —had begun scratching at her chest, demanding to be let out. Colton had said that was normal and walked her through the process of shifting, ordering his cousin out so she could undress and try to shift.
The process of shifting had hurt like a motherfucker but being in owl form had been amazing. It’d taken some adjustment to get used to the body, but she managed it, even flying a tiny bit. Not for long, and she didn’t go very high, but it’d been amazing, and such a rush.
After that, they’d piled in Colton’s truck and made the trip back to the hotel, the silence only broken by Justin’s incessant apologies.
Justin exhaled wearily, rubbing his hand over his light brown hair. “I tried to play Enforcer. I learned there was a group of humans who found out about the existence of shifters. They’re finding them, suppressing their animals, and selling them on the black market. I thought I could stop it by myself, which was stupid, I know. I allowed myself to get caught, thinking they’d take me to the leader and the other shifters, and I could end it and set them free. Instead, they kept me, trying to get me to give them locations of other shifters, and I stopped nothing. I didn’t even meet the man behind it.”
“You’re right, that was stupid.”
She shot a look at Colton and he just shrugged unrepentantly. She knew he’d let go of most of his anger at his cousin, but his annoyance was still clearly visible.
“I saw your truck here the other night and I knew you were close,” Justin continued. “I knew I was in over my head at that point. I hoped you were tracking me, but I wasn’t sure if you knew for sure I was there. I goaded them into doing something stupid, so you’d hopefully know I was close, and that’s when they did this.”
He held up his still bandaged hand and Colton’s mouth tightened. She’d asked Justin why he was still wearing it, since she knew as a shifter, the injury itself had probably already healed. He’d gotten a self-conscious look on his face, and she’d realized he was embarrassed by his missing finger.
And now to learn he’d done it on purpose to let Colton know he’d been there and to possibly help find him? That could have backfired big time if Colton hadn’t demanded she let him in the room.
And by the thunderous look Colton was giving him, he agreed with her. “That was also a dumbass move, Justin. If I hadn’t been sure you were here, I might not have asked Katia to let me in, and I never would have seen it.”
“You did, though.” Justin went quiet and then exhaled heavily. “I just wish it hadn’t been for nothing. I didn’t stop shit or free the shifters they haven’t sold yet.”
“For now, anyway,” she muttered.
Colton smirked at her as he shook his head. “You’re not gonna stop going there, are you?”
“Nope.”
Justin’s confused gaze bounced between them. “What are y’all talking about?”
She shrugged. “I think you would have succeeded if you hadn’t been working alone.”
“She thinks we should start our own Enforcer group. Rogue Enforcers,” Colton explained with a half-smile. “For shifters who want to be Enforcers, but just don’t have exactly what the true Enforcers demand to become one.”
Justin perked up as he looked over at her. “Really?”
Shrugging, she nodded. “It makes sense. From what Colt’s said, you had everything but the gift. If you form a team, or even a loose group, whose weaknesses are offset by other’s strengths, it could work. Colt’s gone through training, and he could do that with anyone who wants to join and give them the skills they need to be effective.”
“I think that’s an awesome idea.”