Tomorrow, I’d get her to quit her job at Cody’s and come live with me on the mountain. Tomorrow, I’d explain what it meant to be my mate.
10
SUMMER
* * *
The next morning, we were in Rand and Natalie’s kitchen. While I had my own little kitchenette in my apartment, my routine was to have coffee with them in the morning.
It’d been two years since they got together and had spent most of that time rebuilding the farmhouse and getting it just the way they wanted it. From what Natalie had told me, she’d inherited the entire ranch from an uncle who hadn’t made any updates since the 1970s. She’d met Rand when she hired him to make overhauls, but then the entire place was burned down in an accidental fire, and Rand had to rebuild from scratch. With the rebuild, they stayed with the old farmhouse feel, but it had modern appliances, gleaming white counters, and glossy wood floors. The cabinets were a mix of white and gray, to accentuate the farmhouse core.
They also had a very modern, very elaborate coffeemaker. I was at the banquette that looked out over the snowy backyard and the mountains beyond, sipping my mocha. It even had steamed milk. Natalie sat at the kitchen table, and the guys–Rand and Boone–leaned against the counter.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Natalie reached across the wooden table and took my hand when I sat down. “It wasn’t my place to tell, and I was protecting not just Rand but the entire pack.” She’d pulled her red curls back into a ponytail, and her brown eyes were warm but showed she was worried that I hated her.
I smiled, my other hand wrapped around my mug. I was in soft leggings, thick socks, and a sweater with a wide turtleneck collar. It had snowed while Boone and I slept, a few inches that made everything outside gleam. “I understand. I would guess some would think you’re crazy and have you committed for saying shifter wolves existed, and some would blab it to the world.”
“You won’t.” She glanced at Boone and gave him a sly smile. “Not now that you found your mate. I’m so happy for you.”
I frowned. “Mate?”
Rand pushed off the counter and gave Boone a steely look. His dark hair was still wet from the shower, making his blue eyes pop. “Um, she doesn’t know?”
I was starting to feel unsure all over again. Doesn’t know what?
“She knows,” Boone told Rand.
Rand cocked his head. “You sure?”
“Guys,” Natalie called then pointed to me. “She’s right here. Why don’t you ask her?”
“Um, yeah, I’m right here,” I repeated, meaning Natalie, too, seemed to be talking about me as if I wasn’t here.
“You’re my mate,” Boone said casually then took a sip of his coffee.
I looked between the three of them. “Um, what?”
“He’s your mate, honey,” Natalie said, her voice soft. Her face was lit with satisfaction, which meant it was a good thing?
Natalie looked to Rand with nothing but love in her eyes. “Rand’s my mate.”
“Meaning,” I said, drawing out the word. “He’s your husband?”
“He is that, but marriage, that’s a human thing. On paper, legally, we’re married. But he’s a shifter, and they don’t care about those things.”
“I cared that you cared, Red,” Rand said gently. “But Nat’s right. Shifters don’t need a marriage license to be together.”
“Because I got your scent, and my wolf immediately knew you belonged to me,” Boone stated.
I stiffened. A door slammed shut in my chest. I set my mug down with a thunk and shook my head. “No. I won’t belong to anyone ever again. I did that once, and… and I lost myself.”
Natalie grabbed my hand again and squeezed. “I know, but this is different. Boone, in his growly way, is saying that a shifter scents his mate, even if she’s a human, and that’s good enough for them. They know you’re the one. No marriage license or wedding needed.”
“So that’s why you kept saying ‘mine’ last night?”
Natalie’s lips quirked.
“You didn’t seem to mind it when you were sitting–”
