Page 105 of Grave Beginnings

“Yeah, let’snotput that on tap.” He waved his hand. “Shower. I’m going to dress. Ivan is getting ready to go. Keanan is supposed to take him shopping for his room stuff.”

“Oh,” I said. “I should give him my credit card.”

“I think Xavier is handling that.”

I squinted at him. “Who is that guy?”

“Think of him as a higher-up like Sarge.”

“How high?”

“Very.”

I sighed and drained my coffee cup in a long gulp. This day was going to need a lot of coffee. At least the beating from yesterday felt like a bad workout and not like I’d been taken to the cleaners.

Keanan arrived, Ivan letting him in as I came out of the bathroom with my toothbrush in my mouth. I spit the paste into the sink and wiped off my face before calling Ivan over.

“You okay with him?” I asked. Keanan—who didn’t have the same resting bitch face his twin did but also didn’t inspire instant friendly vibes either—leaned against the counter in the kitchen, appearing bored.

“Yeah. It’s fine,” Ivan said. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Can you not get nearly killed again?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Did you plan to get beat up?”

“Normally, I’m better at avoiding it, to be honest.”

“But you were distracted by me?”

“Worried about keeping you safe, but my distraction comes from many sources right now.” Including the hot man puttering around my kitchen. “Can I give you my credit card? I’m worried about us owing Xavier something.”

Ivan stared at me for a long moment. The two of us huddled close to the bathroom door. Did the two other shifters in the apartment hear everything? “You know this mate thing is pretty serious, right?” Ivan finally asked.

“I have questions, but yeah, I think I get it.”

“Like, if you walk away—which you can, ‘cause you’re not a shifter—he’ll never find someone else,” Ivan whispered.

“Pretty to think so.”

“No. Not at all. Because he will never find anyone else appealing. His shifter senses are on high gear, focused on you and you alone.” Ivan studied me, looking way too old for his sixteen years. “I don’t even mean not getting it up if you leave him. Shiftersfade.”

“He was doing fine before me.”

“Before he met his fated mate, yeah, probably. Lonely, as all shifters are searching for their mates. Once they meet them, they can delay an actual bonding, which will prolong their lives. But after bonding, if you reject him, Angel will fade.”

“Fade, as in?—?”

“Die, Jude. Shifters die a slow death of wasting away without their bond mate. Who wants to live without part of their soul once they have glimpsed what it felt like to be complete?”

I swallowed thickly, knuckles white where I gripped the toothbrush in a death grip. “He never said anything about that.”

“You were dying. I think he was less worried about himself and more about you.”

“Xavier said he might be able to break it?”

Ivan waved his hand at me as he shook his head. “It’s not pleasant and not guaranteed to save the shifter. Yes, he’s powerful, but fate isn’t something that is meant to be broken.” He studied me. “Do you want to break the bond? I thought you were into him?”

“He could do a lot better than me.”