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I smirk, still staring at the flames. “Na-na?”

“What, surprised Nadia has a pet name?”

“Kind of,” I mumble, picking up a stick and using it to poke at the smoldering log, mostly to have something to do. “She seems very resistant to all things…pet. And cute.”

“Nah, that’s not true,” Shayne says with a happy sigh. “She’s all tender beneath. She’s just…a prickly little hedgehog. But when you get past the spikes, she’s just a softie.”

I hum, wondering if I’ll ever get around the spikes.

From the corner of my eye, I see Shayne grin at me, leaning casually back and crossing her legs, coy and cute. “Nice to get a minute alone with you, Cole.” Her voice drops low, playful.

I stop poking the log and turn to her, amused. “Is this a date, Shayne?”

She wrinkles her nose at me and shakes her head. “Sorry to disappoint, Prince, but you’ve been friend-zoned out of solidarity. Girl code.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Did Nadia ask you to do that?”

She smiles, slow and coy. “She absolutely did not. Does that make you sad?”

I don’t give anything away, which just makes her smile more.

“She’s my bestfriend, Cole,” Shayne says, shaking her head and leaning close. “Which makesyouallkindsof off-limits. She may not have decided if she wants you, but you’re on hold as far as I or Grace are concerned.”

I nod, taking a deep breath, turning back to the fire. “Good to know.”

“So, are you like, in love with her?”

I freeze for a second before whipping my head back to Shayne. “What?”

“Are. You. In. Love. With. Her?” Shayne says each word slowly, as if to a child, grinning and clearly enjoying the hell out of herself. She leans forward and clasps her shins as she waits for my answer, all eager tension. I shake my head, thinking it might be better for the world if Shay and Jude never cross paths. They would be…diabolical.

But something about that connection to my brother makes me break down a bit. I usually have him to talk to, and now he’s not here, and…it’s lonelier than I thought it would be. Which is fine – I can handle a bit of loneliness, I just –

“Well?” Shayne asks, giving my boot a tap with her shoe, and I realize that I kind of lost myself in my thoughts.

I sigh and turn to her. “Of course I’m not in love with her, Shay,” I murmur, keeping my voice low. “I barely know her. Part of thereasonI came on this mission was to try togetto know her. But, obviously, she’s resistant to that. Which is…understandable.”

I mean, I don’t understand it. I don’t really knowwhyNadia hates me. But…I’m trying to be understanding about it.

“What do you mean you barely know her?” Shay asks. “Didn’t you like, grow up together?”

I shake my head. “Nadia came with her father few times but…eventually she stopped coming. She didn’t really like us. I haven’t seen her in years.”

“So, that’s really why you came here?” Shay leans closer, studying me. “To get to know her once you figured out the whole mate thing?”

I shrug. “And to help my people. And toprotect her,” I give the fire a rather vicious poke. “Which she also hates. And resists. But you humans are very delicate and…I worry.”

“Sounds a lot like you love her.”

I sigh again and turn to Shay, who is looking at me more softly now. She sees the frustration on my face and smiles.

“So,” Shayne says, turning her head a bit to the side, “it’s not like that? It’s not like…you see her, and know she’s your mate, and fall in love?”

I shake my head. “Not like that at all. It’s like…some kind of instinct in you, something you justknowis true the moment you see it or smell it. Like…how you know your favorite color is green. You justlookat it and even though you know the other colors are all very nice…green’s it. That’s the best one. Except with a mate, it’s…very specific and intense.”

I shrug, thinking that’s not a very good description. But words were never truly my gift.

“Green’s my favorite color too,” Shayne says softly, musing.