Page 28 of Into the Dawn (The Devil’s Claw #3)

28

BEN

A s the sun rises outside, painting the wooded landscape out my bedroom window in golden light, we talk about everything. Our fears, our hopes, our future. The mate bond pulses steadily between us as a constant reminder of our connection.

And all the while, even though they're tough conversations, it's easier to open up with the bond thrumming between us about what happened in the past, letting me feel how genuine and strong her emotions are. And how much she loves me.

My beast purrs contentedly, finally at peace now that our mate is truly ours.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again." I vow, my fingers threading through her hair. The silky strands slide between my fingers as I breathe in our combined scent. "But you don't need me to protect you, Nessie. If you survived a lifetime of that, you're already the strongest person I know."

Tears spill down her cheeks as years of pain and self-doubt begin to crack. I kiss them all away, each touch a promise of unconditional love and acceptance. The salt of her tears mingles with the lingering scent of our mating. I can’t get enough of her. I know this happens to all mated pairs, but this seems even more intense, more dramatic than I’ve heard.

Licking a path up her neck, I nip her mark again, enjoying how she squirms with need already, just from that slight touch.

"So what now?" she asks, tracing patterns on my chest. Her fingertips leave trails of warmth on my skin. She’s hot, even with no covers on, and sweat cools on our skin from our most recent vigorous lovemaking. We never had this before, always forced to sneak around, worrying who'd find out about us.

Never again. This is our life now.

I catch her hand, bringing it to my lips. Our pulses sync through the contact. "Now, we build our life. Together. Whatever we want that to be."

The world outside seems brighter somehow, as if the mate bond has enhanced everything around us.

"Do you want to stay in Sutton?" Vanessa asks as I swing my legs over the edge, feeling deliciously sore and used. I stop, a nagging worry making me uncertain of what she's going to say next. My beast stirs anxiously. Does she want to leave? A fresh start somewhere far, far away?

I don't want to leave again, but I can understand why she'd want to. The memories here must be difficult for her.

"Ben, relax. I don't want to move away. I just want to make sure you're okay. We're still pretty close to the compound…" Her scent carries concern for me, making my heart swell.

Relieved, I stand and stoop to lean over her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Our bond flares at the contact.

"This is our home. We stay.” Although with Evan having a new baby on the way, maybe not exactly here. “I’ve bought some land close by… it’s going to take a while for me to build, but we’ll get there."

"For us to build,” she corrects. “I’ll get a job and start saving. We’ll do it together.”

I can feel Vanessa's joy through the bond at staying in Sutton. She knows Kali and Evan, and she has some friends here from before. It's a town that's protective of shifters, even the human population. We're safe here. That knowledge settles something deep in both our beasts.

"First things first. I need to get my job back and find a new home while we save up."

Vanessa frowns, but I wave her concern away. Her protectiveness makes my beast preen. “You lost your job because of this?”

"Just a little disagreement between business partners. Apparently, leaving right before a tour and kidnapping people aren't desirable behaviours in an adventure holiday operator."

When she looks at me, stunned, and shakes her head with a grin on her face, I know she's the one for me. Our bond pulses with shared amusement. No problem will be big enough to get us down.

"Maybe they'd hire me instead." She laughs without realizing she might actually be on to something. Her scent brightens with the possibility.

"Come on, let's go."

Dressed and finally out of the house without stripping each other's clothes off and tumbling back into bed, I deposit Vanessa at the Devil's Claw with Evan and Kali there to keep her company and then prepare to swallow my pride. The mate bond stretches between us as I walk away, already pulling me back. I don’t want to leave her, it feels wrong. My skin itches with the need to go back to her, but I force my feet to keep moving, needing to sort this out before I can get back to satisfying my mate.

Jack is going to be pissed, and rightly so. I'm the one who convinced him this was a great idea and to hire extra staff at his hiking goods store so that we could run it together.

Then I go and mess everything up.

The bell jingles as I step inside his shop, unsure whether I even still have the privilege of walking through to our office in the rear. The familiar scents of leather and new equipment fill my nose. Instead, I go to the store's office—Jack's office—preparing to grovel. I stand outside and knock on the open door gently before he replies with his usual gruff grunt.

"Jack, I fucked up. I'm so sorry, but…" My rehearsed speech dies on my lips as he waves off my apologies with a dismissive hand, barely looking up from his screen while he types out an email in his painfully slow, one fingered way.

"You rescued John," he says simply, leaning back in his chair. His scent carries no anger, only understanding. "That's worth more than a few missed tours. Besides." A grin splits his weathered face. "Business has been booming since word got out about possible wild beasts in the area. Apparently, the possibility of seeing a 'Bigfoot' is quite the tourist draw."

I shake my head, grateful for his understanding but still feeling guilty. "I left you in a tough spot. And I appreciate you coming to help us, even after I left you in the lurch."

"You did," he agrees, eyes twinkling. "Which is why you're handling the beginner tours for the next month."

I groan but accept the punishment, knowing I'm getting off easy. My beast bristles at the thought of dealing with clueless humans but accepts the justice of it.

Beginner tours means dealing with city folk who think hiking boots are optional, and bear spray is for decoration. Last week, one woman showed up in high heels. But it's a small price to pay for Jack's forgiveness and keeping my position in our fledgling business.

"Oh, and one more thing," Jack adds as I turn to leave. "John stopped by earlier."

My heart clenches. I haven't seen much of John, being too wrapped up in my mating and making sure Vanessa is okay. And I wanted to give him time and space to get to know Holly, the daughter he never knew he had.

"How did he seem to you?"

Jack's expression softens. "Good. Really good. I thought he might be upset about his ranger job being gone earlier than he had planned, but he seemed fine. Said being a grandfather is going to be a full-time position soon enough."

Relief floods through me. I'd been worried about that, about Griffin moving into his place and taking his job before he was ready to leave on his own terms. The pack dynamics are shifting in ways we couldn't have predicted.

I guess if you thought you weren't ever getting home, everything else like jobs or where you’re living seems inconsequential.

"I know I should be diving straight back into work, but…"

Jack holds up a hand. His scent carries amusement and understanding. "You've got a new mate. Take the rest of the week, and we'll get back on track after." He sniffs the air and frowns. “Actually, don’t come back till next week. I have a feeling you’re going to be otherwise occupied for the next few days.”

I want to go and see John, and to talk to Henry about the case against Jed. But he’s right, I could do with some extra time to clear the decks.

"You're a good man, Jack," I say, backing toward the door before he can change his mind.

The mate bond tugs at me, urging me back to Vanessa. I feel a twinge in my gut, and I pause, unsure if it’s Vanessa’s or my own. I rub my belly, trying to ease away the dull ache with a clammy hand.

Shaking his head, he waves away my obvious sucking up. "Yeah, yeah. Or maybe, I just can't stand that loved up look you've got plastered on your face. Go on, get out of here. Tell Vanessa I said hi."

Gritting my teeth as I step outside, fending off a wave of anger, I lean against the wall and rub my temples.

I get that my beast is loved up and pissed off to be away, but there are more things I need to sort out before I can retire to bed with my mate again. The thought of our own space makes my beast rumble with satisfaction. Namely, finding us somewhere of our own to live.

And I think I know just who to talk to.

Slipping my phone from my back pocket, I take off at a jog toward the pretty guesthouse with the beautiful garden on the outskirts of town.

"Hello, Maisy?"

"Ben King. Well I never. I heard you've been a busy man lately." Her voice carries the warmth of family.

She tuts down the phone at me, her tone teasing, and I can tell she's smiling on the other end, itching to get the gossip straight from the horse's mouth. I should have known rumours of my exploits wouldn't have taken long to reach the town matriarch and surrogate grandmother to Evan and me.

"You at home? I've got something I need to talk to you about. Right now."

The future stretches before us, full of possibilities, and I can't wait to start building it with Vanessa. But for now, I need to find somewhere quiet and isolated that I can steal her away to, because it’s not my rising temperature I’m feeling, it’s her heat barrelling toward us, and fast.

Dialling another number as I run, I’m panting hard by the time John picks up the phone. “I need a favour.”

“Anything.” No questions, no hesitations. This man is a hero.

“Vanessa’s going into heat. Get her out of The Claw and back to Evan’s. See if Holly will sit with her until I get back.”

John curses, and I hear rustling in the background as he stands and starts to move. “On it. She’s with me now. We’ll bring her back there and keep watch till you get back.”

I growl out a thanks, barely able to focus on anything other than getting back to Vanessa and hiding her away.

Maisy appears on her porch with a bright smile, her apron dusty, and her hair messy from working all day in the kitchen.

I must look odd when her face immediately falls.

“What is it?” she demands nervously. “I can’t take any more drama.”

Bending double, I stretch out a hand. “The old cabin. Kali’s. I need the keys.”

Maisy narrows her eyes. “Why yes, it is still vacant. And maybe we would consider renting it to you, why don’t you come in like a normal person and discuss it with me? Or even ask before you start issuing orders, Ben King.”

Shaking my head, I force myself to stand still long enough to look her in the eye.

“No time. My mate. Heat.”

Maisy’s eyes go comically round before she hurries back inside to snatch a key off a hook.

“Go. Go. We’ll sort out of the details later.”

I turn to leave, but at the last minute, spin back around and pull Maisy in a tight hug. “Thank you.”

Then in the blink of an eye, I’m gone, vaulting off the porch and taking off at speed through the woods, back to where I left my truck at the Devil’s Claw.