Ben shook his head. “I’ve seen my fair share of women, Evie. And no, I’m not itching for female company unless you’d like to ditch?—”
“Ben, stop antagonizing Caelan.” I pinched the space between my brows. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but we should probably leave.”
The sound of throats clearing got my attention.
“So sorry to interrupt your lover’s spat,” Ethan drawled. “But we do have other business to discuss. The others will be here soon.”
As if summoned, the doorbell rang, revealing Soren and Rowan. They stomped the snow from their boots on the front mat and walked toward the dining room. Rowan grinned when he spotted me, that smile widening when he saw the two men I was sandwiched between.
Soren looked bored as usual. He was dressed like he’d walked off the runway, in black slacks and an azure-blue pullover sweater my fingers itched to touch. I had an eye for cashmere, and the sweater he was wearing looked like the highest quality.
Rowan took the seat on the opposite end of the table and wiggled his eyebrows at me. “You smell like dirt and Ben,” he said gleefully. “Something I should know?”
I sighed. “You suck.”
Rowan laughed.
Caelan relaxed a little in the new Lord’s presence. “Rowan. Nice of you to finally show up.”
Rowan rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at Thorvin. “Those dicks wouldn’t wait on us. And Soren had to pack an overnight bag but had to pick up his damn dry cleaning before we left.”
Soren winked. “If you aren’t going to look sharp all the time, what is the point of life?”
I pointed my spoon at my empty bowl. “This gumbo for one. The bread is excellent, too.”
Soren grunted. “I prefer meat and vegetables. Rice is too simple of a carb.”
I stared at him. “Okay, weirdo.”
Ben chuckled.
Rowan plopped his chin on his hand. “So, what did we interrupt?”
“Absolutely nothing. Ben and I were having a conversation.”
“About mating,” Ben said helpfully.
Rowan’s eyebrows rose. “Oh?” His eyes flicked to Caelan.
“So that’s why Caelan is so pissed off.” He chewed on his lip. “Brave to poke that bear,” he mused.
“A Lord needs a mate to come to his full strength,” Soren said, his eyes glittering when they landed on me.
My stomach jolted, Soren’s words souring the gumbo I’d inhaled. Was it true? Was there some sort of power imbalance with us not being mated?
Caelan stiffened. “Let’s drop this conversation.”
But Ethan stepped in. “No, this is a good subject and one we should have talked about a long time ago.”
Thorvin stayed silent, like usual, but Rowan surprised me. “Why do you guys have to act like such dicks all the time? They’re not mated, so fucking what? If I recall, Gianna and Caelan weren’t mated either?—”
“Gianna came from a powerful family of shifters. It was only a matter of time?—”
“The hell it was,” Caelan snarled.
“A mate brings with it an unbreakable bond. A mate cannot betray her mate without death following,” Soren added. “Evie is an unknown with an unheard-of amount of knowledge of our internal systems. It’s only natural for the Lords to be concerned about the lack of a formal bond.”
Rowan scoffed. “You guys are such dicks. Not a single one of you are mated, and you’re giving Caelan—the only one of us in a committed relationship—shit about not having a mating bond?”
