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Nero and I looked at each other, and then he shrugged. “Might as well tell him. They’re going to find out anyway.”
I sighed. “Nero is my fated mate.”
For the first time since I started my story, Julius looked skeptical, and he glared at his brother. “Prove it.”
Nero pulled the collar of his shirt aside and leaned forward so his brother could see his saddle patch.
“Well, fuck me running.” Julius’s eyes flicked from the patch to me and back, and I wondered what he was seeing. Nero let go of his shirt and stood up to his full height while Julius studiedme and sniffed the air. “But he’s not an orca shifter.” Another sniff. “Seal? Sea lion?”
I shook my head. “Sea otter.”
He snapped his fingers. “Sea otter. That’s it. I didn’t know we could be fated to other kinds of shifters.”
Nero shrugged again. “Me either. Until today.”
Both Nero and his brother had taken the fated mates news in stride like it was no big deal. Which meant they had to be a shifter species that had a powerful belief in fated bonds. Julius’s reaction made me feel even better about this whole thing. It was nice to know Nero’s family was prepared to accept me as his mate, very few questions asked.
“Interesting.” Julius looked at me and nodded. “So what’s on the drives?”
“My entire system backup. My hardware is destroyed, but they didn’t get anything. I wipe it all every night.” I tapped the external hard drive.
Julius smiled. “Smart.”
I nodded.
Julius’s eyes narrowed again. “If you’re good enough to know to wipe your drives and store everything externally, how did these guys track you down?”
Nero growled. “Julius…”
Putting my hand on his chest to calm him, I addressed his brother, whose eyes were fixed on where my hand rested, a confused look on his face. “That’s a good question. I think I got too close to something someone didn’t want me to see.”
“What?” Julius met my eyes, his own curious and a little feral like he was excited for a potential hunt.
“I don’t know.”
Julius’s answering smile was full of glee. “Then it seems like we’d better get to work figuring it out. You”—he pointed to me—“go wash your hands. I haven’t forgotten what I walked in on.And you”—he pointed at Nero—“have dinner duty tonight, and I’m starving.”
“But—” Nero started to protest.
“Ah, ah. The rotating dinner schedule was your idea. And nothing is going to happen to Felix while he’s here. We’re just going to get his system up and running. No risk in that, is there, big brother?”
Nero’s face was stony, and I could tell he wasn’t sure that was actually true. From his perspective, I understood. My computer was exactly what had gotten me into this mess.
Julius gestured toward a door across the room I could see led to a small bathroom and shooed his brother away. “Quin will be home soon. You know how cranky he gets when dinner isn’t on the table when he walks in. Better get cracking. I’ll keep your mate safe.”
“I hate you.” Nero glared at his brother before dropping a kiss on my cheek and reluctantly heading toward the door.
And then Julius and I were alone. He picked up my external hard drive and plugged it in. Having access to his setup was better than I could have imagined when I saw the wreckage that was my gear, but now I had hope and was ready to pick up the trail where I’d left off. Hopefully, this time, Nero’s nickname for me would hold true, and we’d get lucky.
CHAPTER
FIVE
NERO
This wasthe first time Felix had been out of my sight for more than a second, and I fucking hated it. But if I stopped moving and focused, I could still feel him in the house. I knew exactly where he was, and if I really concentrated, I could sort of feel how he was feeling. I stopped, hand on the refrigerator door, and tuned in to Felix. Right now, he was excited and safe, and that made the tightness in my chest let up just a little.
I still didn’t like that he was away from me, though.
