Page 16

Imri

Unable to sleep, I tossed and turned throughout the night, catching an hour of rest here and there. Eventually, I got up, feeling all muggy-headed.

The ache in my chest, which had vanished when I saw Sully, returned with a vengeance. I rubbed at it unthinkingly at the breakfast nook, drinking my third coffee before six am.

Rowan took the seat next to me. “Can’t sleep?” He laid his head on my shoulder, his presence reassuring.

“I fucked up.”

We sat in the quiet a moment. “You saw him yesterday, didn’t you?”

“How did you know?”

He sat thoughtfully for a long moment. “We could all tell you’d been crying. Your eyes were red. ”

Apparently I hadn’t done such a good job of hiding it. “How did you know it was Sully?”

“Who else could make you feel so guilty? Your lines are sour with it.”

“Lines?” I ran my fingers through his hair, enjoying this quiet moment to bond with him. Rowan had been responsible for the others for too long. I wanted to be a safe space for him to be a kid again, even if he was technically a young adult.

“Sometimes my magic can see a person’s aura. I’ve never had much of a chance to play with that ability. I used to try it out on Uncle Malik. It’s how we’d know if Mom had to try another treatment with him.”

“In case I’ve never said it, you’re remarkable, Rowan.” I laughed. “Remarkable Rowan sounds like a superhero name. Your powers are your epic magic.”

Rowan’s laugh was sweet. “I’m supposed to be making you feel better, not the other way around.”

“We can do both, right? Having the three of you makes all this mess with Sully worth it. Once we get the documents and some photos, I can decide.”

“What’ s there to think about?”

“Your mom kept you from that town for a reason. Every time I’ve been there, it’s shown me there’s a darker side to it. Sully is the kid of the people who own the best hotel in the town. There’s no way they’d want him with a dingo shifter.”

“Is that a good enough reason to stay away from your fated mate?”

That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it?

Hours later, the kids forced me out of the house. They were done with my pacing, my short temper, though it was never directed at them, and my general grumpy behavior. They threatened to have my moms call me to talk some sense into my head if I didn’t just go see Sully.

Finding my mate wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. His scooter was at his house, but after knocking for five minutes, I knew he wasn’t.

I drove to the main street and parked, determined to stretch my legs while I waited for him to come home. What I was going to do if his parents were there, I didn’t know.

Sully wasn’t in any of the shops, but more than once I thought I heard his name when I stopped by the busy café, Rosie’s. Thinking it must have been my overactive imagination, I brushed it off. Besides, they kept talking about this other guy with him. Sully hadn’t told me he was mated. He didn’t wear a bite.

Acting irrationally and asking someone was out of the question. I couldn’t damage his reputation when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

More and more, I just wanted to give in to this incredible pull I felt to him. He was sweet, but not a pushover, he was gorgeous and kind. He was handling my bullshit with grace far older guys wouldn’t have been capable of.

I was in awe of his maturity.

After a couple coffees and an incredible BLT sandwich, I decided to head by the hotel and circle back towards Sully’s home.

It was tempting to go into the hotel and ask if he was working. I didn’t, because that would bring unwanted scrutiny on us both.

While I was heading back towards his house, I spotted him. I pulled over to the side and rolled the window down.

“Hey, want a ride home?”

Sully looked at me with a mix of mistrust and hope. “Um…”

I hated that I’d caused so much damage in one afternoon. “Just to talk, okay? I feel awful about yesterday.”

“Alright,” he said with a little hesitation. He climbed into the truck with a nervous smile. “Were you looking for me?”

“I was.”

His face lit up with joy. The smile he sent my way was blinding. To be on the end of smiles like that would be worth anything the town put us through, right?

“There’s something I wanted to show you,” Sully said after a moment. The truck took the turn into his wide driveway easily. I parked behind his scooter, leaving room for other vehicles.

“Mom and Dad are going straight from the hotel spa to a party. They’ll be out all night,” he explained at my wary expression.

“Good. I can’t stay too long, but I’d like to spend some time with you, if that’s okay? ”

“You’re kinda giving me mixed signals.” He gave a tiny laugh, though he was obviously nervous to be alone with me.

I sighed. “I know. This bond has got me all mixed up, and Rowan is on my case about you.”

“Is that the only reason you tracked me down?”

His eyes met mine. I didn’t want to crush the hope there. “No. I can’t stop thinking about you, Sully.”

“Do I get to know your name yet, Pete?”

We shared a grin. “Not yet.”

“That’s not a no, Jim.”

“Exactly. I’m getting there, Sully. Just… give me a little more time, alright?”

“I can do that. How about I show you what I’ve been working on?”

We left the truck, and I followed him into the house. There was no need to lock doors when wards were keyed to inhabitants.

Following Sully up to his room, I explored while he dropped his bag on a chair and closed the door. I picked up a framed photograph.

“This your family?” I hadn’t seen either of his parents. Didn’t know if he had any siblings. I barely knew a thing about him aside from his age, what he sounded like when he came and that he graduated college. His certificates from his degrees were also on the wall.

“Yeah, my mom, dad, sister, Vanessa, she’s an alpha. My brother, Todd, is a beta. I’m the youngest by ten years and they never let me forget it.”

“I’m the baby, too,” I said with a smile. “My older sister is also an alpha. Amira is following my mama into construction. She’s mated with two kids.”

“Vanessa has two kids, too! She’ll take over the running of the hotel. Todd is a chef. He’s got a mate and they have one boy.”

“Our families are so similar! My brother, Nasir, is also a beta. He’s got a baby with his wife and will look after Mom’s café when she comes to visit. They felt bad they didn’t have anything for me, so when Uncle Malik asked if he could leave me the house and his money…”

“I’m sorry about your uncle. After you told me about the sickness, I did some research into it—“

“Don’t worry, it’s not contagious, or hereditary,” I said, automatically. More than once over the years, I had to explain about my uncle. I’d lost a few friends thinking I’d get sick too .

“Oh! I know.” Sully looked embarrassed. “I just felt bad for misunderstanding what happened that night. He was probably scared and trapped in his dingo form. I hope he wasn’t punished because of me.”

Seeing him looking so guilty, I had to do something to make him feel better. I went to him and wrapped him in my arms, holding him tightly. I leaned my head against his.

“He’d been alive a lot longer than anyone would have guessed. He had another three years in the hospice where he got the best of care.”

“Did… Did the town make him leave his home?”

Unwilling to lie to him, I told him the truth. “Yes. It’s part of why I don’t like this place. They claim to be a haven, but when a resident needed their help, they cast him out.”

“That’s what I wanted to show you.” Sully tried to break free. “You’re going to have to let me go if I’m going to show you what I’ve been working on.”

Reluctantly, I let him go. I took a seat on the bed. “Okay. What’ve you been up to, Sully?”

With a grin, Sully went to his desk and pulled out a tablet. He used a stone to bring down the larger screen on the wall and cast his chart to it. There I could see the town charter from when it was established hundreds of years ago, along with the pivotal changes it had made.

“See this?” Sully pointed to the bylaws. “They are still active. I’d have to check with Trisha. She’s my best friend, fae, and an awesome lawyer. She graduated early, she’s so smart. They basically say the town is breaking the law with your inhibitors.”

“Seriously? You know about them?”

“I didn’t,” he said, sheepishly. “Honestly, it never occurred to me that they were any different from ours. I didn’t mix with predator shifters much. Well, not at all, really. My parents…”

“Sully, it’s fine. You didn’t know. How did you find out?”

“Well,” he winced. “My mom has been arranging a mating for me.”

The whispers from the café clicked into place. “Orson?” I felt a prickle of jealousy, which was silly. Shifter law put fated pairings before any other type of mating. Fate would not be denied. As we’d learned by trying to be apart.

“Yeah, Orson.” Sully blushed. “He… we have an agreement. He’s in a relationship with a pr edator shifter and wants to mate with them, but they aren’t like you. They don’t come from outside—“

“So they haven’t been exposed to prey shifter scents, and they don’t know if they’ll hurt your friend.”

“Exactly.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier for you two if you mated? If your mom set this up—“

“We don’t argue with fate,” he growled. It was pretty sexy. “Besides, I don’t see Orson like that. Never have, even before you came along.”

The words did little to soothe the jealous monster in my heart. After rejecting Sully and making him cry, I had no right to feel that way about the person his family had picked out for him.

“Ricky, come here,” Sully called, taking a seat in the middle of the bed. I’d gotten up to pace the room in my agitation. He patted the space next to him. “I’ve got a plan.”

“Okay.” I settled next to him. I could feel his body heat and smell the cologne he wore, but not the delicious scent which made up Sully, the fated mate, who was undoing all my objections. “Hold on a second, please.”

I took my phone out and sent Mom a message, begging her to hurry up with the documents. It was ridiculous staying away from Sully. The only reason I hadn’t told him my name yet was because I liked our game, and I didn’t want him wandering the woods alone trying to find me.

As soon as I had a paper trail for the kids, I’d find him, then I’d ask him to give this a try. Town be damned. Sully had found proof they were breaking their own laws. We could work with that, or I’d take him and the kids away, if he wanted to be with us.

“Kids okay?” Sully asked with interest.

“They’re fine, thanks. Rowan has the twins searching for plans to make a chicken coop when my moms come to visit.”

“How old are the twins?” It was obvious Sully was genuinely interested in them.

“Ten. Rowan not long turned eighteen. Want to see some pictures?”

“I’d love to!”

Some time later, we were laying on the bed together, side by side, swapping stories about our lives. Sully loved seeing Sandy and Berry. He especially liked hearing about Berry in her garden and Sandy cooking .

“Adam?” I grinned at another new name. Sully was on his side, staring at me, his fingers so close to touching mine.

I turned my head to look at him better. “Hmm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

I hesitated. “That’s not what I came here for. I never even said sorry for yesterday. I’m so sorry, Sully, for how things have been between us.”

“Is that a no?”

“Only if you promise not to come to the woods alone again. Wait until you have my name.”

“Are you going to give your name?”

“Soon.”

He kissed me then, with a frustrated little growl that made me grin against his lips, before I took the kiss deeper.

It escalated quickly. I meant to keep it fairly innocent, I swear I did. Suddenly, I had Sully topless and straddling my waist while he tried to unbutton my jeans.

“Hey, wait.” I stilled his hand, then twisted us so he was under me. “Why don’t we slow this down?”

“I want to feel you. Will you fuck me?”

Instead of answering, I opened his pants and dragged them down his body. I roughly shoved at my shirt and jeans, leaving them on the floor.

“You’re gorgeous, Sully,” I said, while tracing my hand over his body. He barely had any body hair and just the tiniest patch of curls around his hard cock.

I flipped him onto his stomach and went to town on opening him up with my tongue. The taste of his slick was my new drug. He was incredible. The sounds he made while I got him ready for me had my cock leaking.

“Please!” I was glad he wasn’t using other names on me when he was like this.

Once he was up on his knees, ass in the air with four fingers inside him, I knew I had to get inside him before I blew my load at the pretty sight he was making.

“Need to see you,” I muttered when I turned him over.

He looked incredible on the bed, his hair wild, cheeks flushed, his eyes on my body. His arms reached for me, and I went, desperate to kiss him.

We both groaned when I slid inside him. It was a gentle, slow rock to our mutual pleasure. The feel of being inside him wiped all sense from my mind. I nearly told him my name!

It felt like hours, but still not long enough as we moved together, sharing air, staring into each other’s eyes. I’d never felt such a connection to anyone before.

After, he lay on my chest until my knot went down. I hated having to leave him, yet still had to. The kids were waiting for me to come back.

“Do you have to go?” Sully asked, sleepily. I wiped him clean and covered him with the blanket.

“I’m sorry.”

“I get it. Soon, maybe it won’t be like this, will it?”

“Not for much longer,” I swore.

The proof of what Haenvale should have been, had the potential to be, was on the screen in front of me. I had a little research of my own to do. Then I could have my mate.

I left him a note for when he woke:

Sully,

I loved getting to know you better. Let’s do this again soon,

Love, I x

Had to give my mate a hint in the name game.