“Uh, so there’s something I need to tell you,” Jason said.
Jason had somehow found it in his honest, generous heart to forgive the unforgivable, but nothing good ever followed ominous words like that. Riley braced, not wanting to hear whatever was coming next. He didn’t get a say in the matter—Jason rushed on, almost like if he didn’t speak now, he never would.
“We’re mates.”
Riley’s brain reeled, unable to make sense of two simple words.
“But we can’t be. I’m human,” he said blankly.
He hadn’t even realized that was hope in Jason’s expression until it vanished, and Riley hated himself for the way he could keep screwing this up without even trying.
He reached out quickly, catching Jason’s hand and tugging him gently to the sofa. “Tell me what that means.”
Because even if it was a fantasy, he needed to understand what Jason thought this was.
“I know how it sounds, and I had no idea it was possible, but Matt says one point four percent of shifters have a mate who isn’t a shifter.” Jason’s voice was fast, almost nervous. “So it can happen. We were made to be together.”
Riley tried to smother the wild, almost hysterical laugh that rose in his throat.Made for someone. Because if he believed that—if he truly accepted it—it would mean everything else had been a lie. All the years he’d spent believing he was only wanted for what he could give, that love was conditional and had to be earned.
“Like I was always meant to find you?” he asked, very quietly.
Jason nodded, and smiled. That smile. The one that had ruined Riley from the start.
Maybe it wasn’t logical. Maybe it wasn’t even true. But for once, Riley didn’t want logic or facts. He didn’t want plausible deniability or an exit strategy. He wantedthis. He wanted Jason.
He leaned in and kissed him. Finally, he’d found where he belonged.
Chapter Thirty-one
RILEY
The sun was higher in the sky, slanting through the windows and filling the room with light and shadows. Riley had twisted on the sofa, one knee drawn up, his back warm where sunlight touched it, his gaze fixed on Jason.
They hadn’t been able to stop looking at each other, even without speaking. It was like they both needed time to let the new reality between them settle, cautious, careful, but solid.
A hurried knock on the door was immediately followed by Tristan poking his head in. “I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes everywhere except on them, “but I really need my charger. My battery’s dead, and I have a paper, and I—”
“It’s fine, Tristan,” Jason said.
“Thanks.” Tristan rushed over, almost wiping out in his socks on the wooden floor. “Sorry again,” he mumbled, bolting with his charger in hand. He never once looked in their direction. Like he was trying to be subtle or sensitive or something.
Jason turned back to Riley, his lips lifting slightly at the corners, but Riley caught the way his hands tightened, like he needed reassurance. Everything between them was still new and fragile, and after the interruption, perhaps Jason wasn’t sure.
“Where were we?” Riley murmured, and was rewarded by the brightening smile on Jason’s face.
“We could always move this to my room,” Jason suggested. “Less chance of being interrupted. Because I’ll bet you anything that Bryce will be counting the seconds until he can get in here and find out what’s going on.”
“Sure.” It sounded like a good idea, moving where they’d be assured of privacy. “I know you said pack is family, but I’m beginning to realize it must be like having a bunch of nosy brothers.”
“Pretty much,” Jason agreed. “But it’s more than that, too. Somethingbindsus to one another, makes us stronger.” He hesitated, then met Riley’s gaze. “Like I feel when I’m with you, only different.”
Riley’s breath caught. “Yeah,” he said, his voice soft. “Before you, something wasn’t right. Something was missing, but I didn’t even know it.”
Jason’s smile was soft and happy as he stood up. So very happy. Riley thought he could spend the rest of his life basking in the light of that smile, but the part of him that made him want to be a reporter still needed to understand.
“A pack’s even more than a family, then? At least, more than a human family is?”
Jason nodded as he stood slowly, then put his hand briefly to his forehead.
