Riggs almost spat out his drink when Alistair came out in a tux to bring us our desserts. I didn’t know how I’d talked him into it, but he was playing his character to the hilt.
“Our chef has made this chocolate mousse cake for your tasting pleasure,” he said as he delivered our plates and newsilverware. “Will there be anything else you require, madam or sir?”
Again, my mate was speechless, so I stepped in.
“I think we’re fine, thank you.”
Alistair nodded and left us to our desserts.
“How—” Riggs laughed, shaking his head. “Did youdrughim?”
“Of course I didn’t drug him! I just spun it as revenge against you, and the rest of the Clan spun it as a fun competition to see who could disturb you the most.” I peered at him over the rim of my glass with a small grin. “Who’s winning, by the way?”
He shivered, as though struck with the heebie-jeebies. “Roarke,” he said dryly. “One of the strongest, apex, mythological shifters on the planet should not be serving me drinks.”
Riggs grumbled under his breath about ungrateful Clan members as he took a bite of his dessert, and I followed suit, then had to pause for a full thirty seconds with my eyes closed to appreciate how amazing it was. It was the perfect mix of decadent chocolate and light creaminess.
Later, after we’d finished our meal, we sat around talking. Roarke had gone home to Emrie, and the rest of the Clan had left. We talked well into the morning, about everything and nothing. I told him about my time in MI, and he told me about his family and how he came to be the Alpha of the Clan.
As he walked me to my door and left me with a heated kiss, I realized, as I locked the door behind me, that I was no longer falling in love with my mate, I was fully there.
I think a part of me had loved him for weeks now, but it had happened so gradually that I hadn’t realized it...
I loved him.
Full, committed, mated love.
I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
I stared at a blank wall for a few moments as I tried to wrap my head around this information.
Dazed, I moved to check on Alanna, nodding at her guards for the night, then got ready for bed. Snuggling into my sheets, I thought back just three months ago, and how much things had changed since then.
I fell asleep to the steady patter of spring rain on the window, with thoughts of my mate keeping me warm.
Chapter 16
Piper
Iwoke to shouting and the distant glow of fire. Bolting to the crib, I grabbed Alanna and clutched her to my chest. Startled awake, she immediately started crying.
I tried to soothe her as I stared in horror out the window. It was a clear night, not a rain cloud in sight, which was unfortunate, because the woods were on fire again. Some of the Clan houses in the distance were burning too. I gasped as a telltale glow caught my eye. Turning toward the source, my eyes went wide. The front of the Lodge was on fire.
Running for the closet, I snatched our go bag, kept packed and ready for any eventuality, and checked the door leading out to the Lodge. It was cool, so I bolted into the hallway.
I was angry with myself for being stubborn for so long and not completing the mate bond with Riggs. If we’d done even the first half, I could be speaking to him through the mate link right now. I had no way of communicating with him. Calling him on the phone would be ludicrous, and I couldn’t shout for him because I didn’t know if the Lodge had been breached, and I didn’t want to scare Alanna or draw attention to us.
I ducked into a bathroom long enough to grab a wet towel, then wrapped it loosely around Alanna’s nose and mouth,making sure she could still breathe. Even though there was only a hint of smoke, she was far more susceptible to it than I was as a shifter.
Shouting echoed through the Lodge. Bears growled just outside, and in the distance, other shifters howled. I could feel the clash of different magics, mostly water and ice, with more still that I couldn’t pin down.
When I reached the second-floor landing and looked down into the living area, a curse slipped out. They’d breached the front doors.
I wanted so badly to fight. Barrett was rightthere. I wanted to pay him back for all the terror he’d visited on Alanna and me, for trying to kill us, for trying to kill his own daughter, his flesh and blood.
But I couldn’t.
I had to rely on the Bear Clan.
