Bently shoves his elbow into Harbor’s side. “Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of insta-lust like you are,” he says gently.
In response, Harbor just shrugs. “Your true mate is literally made for you. Why not fuck on the first date?”
“You can do that when you meet your true mate.”
Harbor practically grins from ear to ear. “That’s my plan. If my true mate doesn’t drop trou the moment we meet I’ll be incredibly disappointed.”
That makes all of us chuckle and the tension I was feeling a moment ago fades away. As much as I try not to stare, I keep finding my eyes drifting over to my mate. I can’t seem to get enough of him. I want to study him until I know every detail of his face, every speck of color in his eyes, every quirk.
Gods, he’s so handsome.
I want to run my fingers over his head, feeling his short, dark hair under my fingers. His eyes are a dark brown color that I could absolutely get lost in. His smile is warm but when he’s just listening, he’s got the case of resting bitch face. I’ve just met him but I already feel so much fondness just looking at him.
I put my hands into my pockets, keeping myself from reaching over and touching him. I hold myself back because as much as my inner lion would like to crawl into this man’s lap and rub myself against him, that’s not something my human side is quite on board with. Not yet anyway.
“We live about two hours away from here,” Zeke tells us. “The three of you are welcome to follow behind as we drive back.”
“That sounds great,” I say with a little smile, cursing the nerves nipping at my stomach.
It seems like they have an established thing going on. Would I even fit in with his plans? Ray is obviously freaking out, will she even want me around when things finally settle down? I feel so completely and utterly out of place.
Zeke takes a step towards me, leaning over so he can talk softly, just for my ears to hear. My entire body goes hot all over as I feel his breath against my ear. “I can see that look. You’re starting to freak out about everything, aren’t you?”
“I might be.”
His warm chuckle lights a fire inside of me. I have to bite my bottom lip to keep myself from making an embarrassing noise in front of my cousins. “You don’t need to. I haven’t said this yet, but I’m really happy we met. I’m really happy we’re mates, Casper.”
“Oh,” I breathe out, my shoulders falling away from my ears. “Okay, good. Me too.”
“Would you like to ride back with me to my place?”
“I’d like that a lot.”
“Can we use your shower when we get to your place?” Harbor blurts out. “A hot shower sounds divine.”
“Yeah, you can use my shower,” Zeke says, nodding his head. “As much hot water as you want.”
“I already like you,” Harbor says with a grin.
“Good. Because it seems we’re family now. We’ll be in each other’s lives for a long time.”
I’m so giddy with emotions I could cry. Or hysterically laugh. Or maybe both. Thankfully, I have enough self control to keep it inside in front of everyone. If I’m not careful I’ll end up on my belly, kicking my feet and twirling my hair before the night is over.
Page opens the back door and steps outside. She frowns at us, looking a bit haggard.
“Everything alright?”
Page looks over at Zeke. “Yeah. I think it’ll just take some time. Right now she’s being stubborn,” Page explains with a shrug. “She’s in denial about everything and claims that she’s going to stay firm in her belief that the supernatural is not real.”
Zeke raises his brow. “Did you show her your fangs?”
“I did. She even touched them but claims they’re obviously prosthetic,” Page says, facepalming. “It’s fine. She’ll come around. At least she didn’t break up with me.”
My eyes dart over to the car, finding my spark tucked in on herself. My chest aches for her. This is all so much to learn at once. She must feel so confused, possibly betrayed by her friends as well. I wish there was something I could do to help but I’m just a stranger claiming to have a special bond with her. What could I possibly do?
“Everything will work out,” Zeke says softly and I can tell he’s directing the words at both myself and Page. “Let’s head back home. Everything will sound better after we get some sleep.”
“Maybe I should ride in the RV,” I say, nodding towards Ray. “It seems like maybe Ray could use a little space, while she processes all this?”
Zeke hums in agreement but I can tell he’s not happy about it. He seems to want to be glued to my side just as much as I want to be glued to his.
We all get into our respective vehicles and head down the road. Bently carefully follows behind Zeke while I scramble to get all of my shit packed up. I’m not sure what the plan is once we get to Zeke’s home but I want to be prepared to stay.
Chapter Four
Zeke
“So,” I say, pulling my car onto the highway. We’ve got about two hours to kill and I’d rather not spend it in this awkward silence. “How are you feeling, Ray?”
Ray crosses her arms over her chest, staring out the window. She makes an annoyed sound in my direction. “Do we really have to talk about this?”
“I think we do. Get all your frustrations out. Let me have it so we can work past this.”
“How do I know this isn’t some fucked up prank?”
I raise my brow in the rear view mirror at her. “How do you explain Casper being able to shift? You saw him, Ray.”
“Some sort of holographic trick?”
