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I gave a dry laugh and hoped the family couldn’t sense the horror wrapping around me at the thought of marrying a shifter. “Tate’s fine.”
“Hi, Preston.” Fane’s gravelly voice, even rougher than a moment ago, reverberated through the room. “Nice to see you too.”
His cousin waved his hand as his attention remained on me. “Oh, yeah, hey, Fane. Nice to… whatever.”
Fane angled closer, and a throb of heat pulsated out of him. “Keep staring at her so hard, and you might get an aneurysm.”
“Dinner’s ready. Let’s all go eat.” Ephraim chuckled under his breath. “This is going to be fun.”
“I’ll take the aneurysm,” Preston said, extending his arm for me. “You can sit next to me.”
Fane had other ideas and grabbed my wrist to pull me toward the kitchen, his fingers burning me. “Not a chance, Pres.”
Great. Not only did I have to break bread with a bunch of shifters, but I also had to sit next to a grumpy hybrid who wanted nothing more than to murder me.
ChapterTwenty-One
I wipedmy hands on my jeans and took a deep breath as I folded into a chair at the large kitchen table in front of a giant window overlooking the backyard. Beyond the lush grass, thick groves of pines, sycamores, and oaks created a forest where the shifters probably spent hours running in their animal form.
Would the Mohan pack throw a big party tonight? Did Fane expect me to transform in front of everyone?
He had another thing coming if he thought I’d drop trou and lose control with a bunch of strangers. That would put me in the type of vulnerable situation I hadn’t allowed in years.
Not happening.
Packs sometimes shifted together on full moons because bonds between fated mates were often triggered. In the shifter world, fated mates—or soul mates—were praised and considered one of the greatest honors.
Any shifter could form a mate bond with another but finding your fated meant you were blessed by the gods—unless the bond was rejected by either party. That would definitely leave a stain on your soul.
I tried to keep my hands from trembling as I filled my plate with fried chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans with bacon and flaky, buttery biscuits, but Fane watched me with a smirk the entire time.
Prick.
Everyone in Mohan Wilds was either a wolf or another type of shifter mated to one. I’d heard a few were bonded to humans or other nightworlders, but that was rare.
Fane's family chatted about the mundane as I dug into my fried chicken and pretended not to be freaking out on the inside. After training as a raven, never did I think I’d be having a civil dinner with shifters.
“What was I supposed to do? Leave it up there and not finish the basketball game?” Dylan stabbed a piece of baked macaroni with his fork. “I was down by one and was about to make my comeback.” He’d received detention for climbing onto the school’s roof to retrieve a ball.
Preston ruffled his brother’s hair. “You’re not supposed to get caught, little dude.”
Dylan scoffed. “Likeyounever get caught for stuff.”
“Not anymore.” Preston grinned.
“Think again, Pres.” Nora wiped her fingers on a napkin. “Just because you’re in college now and only home for the summer doesn’t mean you can stay out until the sun comes up.”
His smile dropped. “I’m nineteen. You can’t give me a curfew.”
Ephraim laughed. “That’s cute, son. Keep saying it, and maybe it’ll come true. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
Preston shrugged and gave a lazy, mischievous grin as if he was already thinking of ways around his curfew.
“So, Fane, how’s everything going with you?” Ephraim asked before taking a sip of his iced tea.
Fane shifted in his seat and kept his eyes on his plate. “Everything’s fine. I’ve just been traveling.”
I didn’t need to be an expert on the guy to know he was uncomfortable talking about himself with his family. Andtraveling? Was that what he called finding things and people for a price? Did he alsokillfor money?
