“Have you had coffee yet?” She nudged me out of the doorway, her soft hands on my body sending the blood rushing through my veins. I held back the instinct to take her in my arms, fighting my bear, which roared inside me. It wanted out. It wanted our mate. I couldn’t have her, but I needed to protect her. If Vince learned what she was to me, he would use her to hurt me.
She guided me to the couch and pushed me to sit down before crossing over to the kitchen. She opened cupboards until she found my coffee and turned on the pot. Soon, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee reached me, helping me to finish waking up.
“How do you take it?” She called from the kitchen.
“Black.”
“That’s easy.” She handed me a mug and sat next to me, her perceptive gaze studying me again. “Now, what’s really wrong?”
Brooke
Mason took a slow sip of his coffee, delaying his response. I watched him thinking, figuring out what to tell me. What lies to say.
“If you’re not going to tell me the truth, don’t bother.” I wrapped my hands around my warm mug, inhaling deeply the scent of coffee. “I think we’ve moved beyond lying.”
He stared into his mug, fingers flexing around it. A flash of vulnerability slid across his face. “I had a nightmare.”
The word had a heavy weight to it. Was it a nightmare, or had he experienced a flashback? I’d read a little about PTSD after Aaron enlisted, wanting to be prepared if he struggled when he came home. Concern rose. “Was it because of me?”
His brow furrowed. “You?”
“My coming here and stirring up old memories you’d rather forget.” It was something I hadn’t considered before arriving. I’d been focused so intently on what I wanted, I hadn’t considered the impact it would have on anyone else.
“It might have brought things closer to the surface, but the memories are always there.” He shifted on the couch, rolling his shoulders as if he could shake the memories off of where they lay, heavy on him. He took another sip of coffee before putting his mug on the side table. “There is something I need to tell you.”
His reluctance was obvious, the words sounding as if he had dragged them out. My breath quickened. Had he changed his mind? Would he tell me about Aaron? I struggled to keep my voice calm. “Anything.”
He leaned forward, hands clasped and elbows on his knees. He kept his gaze trained on the floor. “What do you know about shifters? Specifically, about mates?”
My brows drew together. “Not much. I assume it has something to do with relationships.”
“Shifters have something we call a fated mate. It’s the person fate picked for us. Our everything.” His shoulders rose and fell once, twice, three times. “The surest way to hurt a shifter is to hurt their mate.”
I stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. It seemed off topic, but I sensed there was more to come. It took several minutes before he spoke again, his eyes still locked on the floor.
“I’m telling you this because if Vince realizes you’re my mate, he’ll probably shift his target to you.”
It took a moment for his words to fully register. When they did, the breath rushed out of my body. My heart pounded as I considered the implications. Did this explain my attraction to him? The pull he’d had on me from the very start? But if it were true, why was he just now telling me?
He didn’t seem overly thrilled about it. I pictured his brothers with their mates, and I could see what he meant by the everything description. But he wasn’t acting like I was his everything. I wasn’t sure I even wanted him to.
I picked my words carefully. “You’re unhappy about it.”
His shoulders stiffened, and he raised his gaze for the first time, expression bleak. “It’s not that simple. As a shifter, I want you more than anything. But you want to know about Aaron, and I can’t… won’t tell you. It would always be between us.”
“Shouldn’t I have a say in this?” I didn’t know what my say would be, but an ache flooded my heart at his finality.
“There are things that would change any feelings you might have for me. I’m broken, and there’s no fixing me.” His jaw firmed, eyes darkening. “But I promise you, if Vince tries to get to you, I will protect you. I won’t let my past destroy your future.”
“I don’t believe you’re broken.” I gave in to instinct and cupped his cheek with my hand. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and his stubble was rough against my palm. Still, touching him felt right. “But if you are, it just gives you somewhere to start healing.”
He gripped my wrist as if to pull my hand away but instead held it in place and leaned into my palm. “I wish it were that easy.”
“Of course it’s not easy. Breaks never are. But you know what happens when a broken bone heals? It grows back stronger until the body is ready for it to return to normal. It doesn’t heal weaker than before.” I stroked his cheek with my thumb. “I believe that’s true for other breaks too. It just takes time and effort.”
His eyes closed, and his throat gulped. When he reopened them, there was a yearning that reached out and grabbed me. It made me want to follow this mate thing to its end. But part of me held back. Was Mason right that my brother would always be between us? Could I let my search for the truth go?
I was alone, but if I were Mason’s mate, that would change. I would have him and his family. Plenty of people to erase the loneliness that was so often my companion. Briefly, my imagination wandered and drew images of what the future could hold if Mason and I accepted each other. My clothes next to his in the closet, family dinners with his brothers and their mates, and knowing where I belonged.
