This could be going well.
Or it could be goingreallybadly.
I honestly can’t tell.
Fern hasn’t moved in three full minutes, not a blink, not a twitch, not even a shift in her breathing.She’s staring straight ahead like I’ve just told her the sky is green or gravity stopped working.
My bear watches her closely.
Say something,he urges.She needs to understand.
I’m about to speak again when she finally snaps out of whatever freeze she’s stuck in.
“No.”
The word is sharp.Cold.Final.
I exhale slowly.“Fern?—”
“No,” she says again, louder this time.“That’s… no.Absolutely not.I’m not—no.”
“It’s not a debate,” I tell her gently.“It just is.”
Her eyes widen with outrage.“You’re crazy.”
“I’m not,” I say calmly.“I literally shifted in front of you.That should’ve been the part that was crazy.”
She glares.“You can’t be in love with someone you’ve known for thirty seconds!”
“Shifters can,” I reply without hesitation.“We know instantly.It’s instinct.Bond.Recognition.”
My bear pushes forward, his presence brushing against my skin.Show her.Tell her.She must feel it too.
I draw in a breath and settle beside her, not touching but close enough that she can hear every word clearly.
“When I was a kid, I grew up hearing stories about mates.About how one day, out of nowhere, I would smell her.See her.Know.That my soul would recognize hers.That everything I thought I understood about myself would finally make sense.”
She swallows hard, looking down at her bandaged wrists.
“I’ve spent half my life waiting for that moment,” I continue softly.“Wondering if I’ll ever find her.Wondering what she’ll be like.And yesterday, when you fell into my arms… I knew.Immediately.”
She looks torn, angry, confused, scared, and something else is hovering behind her eyes.Something she’s trying very hard to ignore.
I wish I knew how to prove it to her.I wish I knew how to make her feel safe in this.
Footsteps crunch outside, and my bear and I are instantly on high alert.
I stand, stepping in front of my mate as I look out the front window.The patrol team approaches, and I head for the door, body tensing before they even reach the porch.
What did they find?If they’re here, it must be bad news,I think as I stride out onto the porch.
“We found their tracks,” Knox says quietly.“They’re searching the area from last night.Hard.”
“Yeah,” Logan agrees.“Their scent is everywhere along the northern boundary.”
My muscles lock, and I glance back at my mate.
They won’t find her here.They won’t even come onto our land.Or… I don’t think they will.They learned their lesson last time.But… if they’re looking for her this hard, they might test it again.Or worse, if Fern leaves Night Grove Falls, if she panics and runs?—
