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“For that paperwork, huh?”

“Dillon may be his fated mate,” I admit.

“Hmm, so he’s a shifter, too. Wolf?”

“Yeah.”

“You know,” she says as we head out of the hospital, “Dillon seems fine, considering she was unconscious for quite a while. She’s in less pain than me. Looks better, too.”

“Jensen already bit her,” I tell her.

“Hebither?”

“She was dying,” I say gently.

Mabel freezes.

I rub her back soothingly. “Her injuries were bad. He bit her to save her.”

“How did that save her?”

“Shifters have special properties. We heal faster than humans. Our bite transfers some of the healing power to our mate.”

“What else do they get?”

“Besides a loving and doting mate?”

She nods.

“Their hearing is better. Eyesight, too.”

“Can she shift now?”

“No. You need the shifter gene for that.”

“Oh.”

We walk in silence for a block before I nudge her toward the police station.

“We should get your things.”

“Right. Tell me more. About shifters and fated mates and all of that.”

“Well, we only have and love one mate. We only ever sleep with that person.”

“So, you’re a…” She trails off.

“A virgin? Yeah. You’ll be my first and only. If you pick me,” I rush to add.

She better,my wolf growls as he paces inside me.

“Hmm.”

“What about you?” I ask. “Have you ever dated anyone?”

I relax as she barks out a laugh. Maybe I’ll be her first and only, too.

“No, I was too busy surviving for stuff like dates or crushes. Plus, everyone in my small town sucked, so even if I’d had the time, I wasn’t interested in any of them.”