“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 sheriff.”
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 off 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 coffee 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 offer.” 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 off 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.”