Kade kept eye contact as he joined her. “I won’t lie to you but before I start, can you explain what you mean about your sixth-sense?”
As he ladled out the beef casserole and poured their wine, she shrugged. “Apparently, I get it from my grandmother. She was a little strange and could see the future, well, sometimes. She did readings for people and some even called her a Witch, but that is just silly. She just had some special gifts and she used to tell me I had them too. I don’t know if I do but I do know that I can tell when someone is lying to me. I can feel it in here,” she patted her chest, “and my skin tingles. It’s weird but it’s never let me down. So, Mr. Alpha, don’t lie.”
Maybe this explained his earlier feeling. Her grandmother may have had second sight and passed it down to Kirsty. Humans scoffed at such things that Shifters took for granted.
“I don’t usually lie,” Kade said, nodding to the food. “At worst, I’ll omit the truth to save someone from being hurt, or if the information would put the Pack in danger. Other than that, I speak my mind and rarely care about the consequences.”
“In that case, we won’t have a problem.”
“Let’s get some food inside us and we’ll talk as we eat.” Kade slathered butter on his bread, shoving it into his mouth so he had a few more moments before he had to answer her.
When she raised her eyebrow again he guessed she knew what he had done, and why.
Oh boy, this was not going to be easy. Barely managing to swallow the food in his mouth, he gulped down almost the full glass of wine, pouring himself another and downing that too before taking in a deep calming breath and meeting her eyes.
“Firstly, I need you to stay calm and not freak out.”
Okay that was probably not the best way to start the conversation. Not when Kirsty’s eyebrows shot up and disappeared beneath her hair as she spluttered on the wine she had just sipped.
Her face turning red as wine dribbled down her chin, her hand swiped at his as she glared. He heard himself apologizing as her face returned to normal. “Sorry.”
“You do realize that when someone tells you to not freak out that that’s exactly what you do?” Kirsty shook her head. “Pray tell, just what is it that I’m supposed to not freak out about?”
Kade’s head fell back, frustration growing inside him and causing him to fight for control when all he wanted to do was leap across the table and kiss his mate. “Kirsty, do you know anything about Shifters? Anything at all? How we find our mates? What they mean to us? What family means to us?”
His voice came out hoarse, strangled, and full of emotion as he finally looked over at her surprised face.
“Hmm, not a lot. I’ve only heard rumors that Wolves only have one person they love and that it’s for life. You don’t have divorce, or cheat on your wives, and as far as I can gather, family is important to you.”
“That doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Kade replied softly. “Wolves have a soul-mate. One person the Goddess perfects for us. One person in the whole universe that is created just for us. They are like one half of us, we are two halves that come together to make a whole unit. A Shifter will do anything for their mate, they will protect them, love them, they will literally die for them. They are everything to a Wolf and for an Alpha that is doubly so. An Alpha is made stronger with a mate by his side. His mate makes him stronger, stabilizes him and the Pack. It’s a precious gift that is the most joyous thing that can be given to anyone, but for an Alpha there are no words to describe just how important that person would be.”
“I see,” Kirsty said, looking thoughtful for a moment. “It sounds almost magical.”
“It is.” Kade nodded enthusiastically. “Very. When a Wolf meets their mate, they know, it is what could be called magical. They know by scent, sight, as soon as they meet, they know, and very soon afterward they mate.”
He watched as a host of emotions ran across her face, confusion, shock, and he dared to hope that he saw a flicker of realization there. Her eyes dropped to the table as she picked up a fork and started to eat slowly, not a word passing her lips for long minutes as he sat and stared at her.
“Mate is a strange word,” she finally said, refusing to look at him. Instead, she picked up her wine and gulped half of it down.
“Not to us it isn’t.” He reached over, refilling her glass. “We don’t marry the person that means the world to us because marriages can be dissolved, but that rarely happens with Shifters. I will not lie and say it never happens. There are times when a mating is perpetuated to make alliances between Packs, but that happened more frequently centuries ago. It rarely happens now, so I can say, hand on heart, that there is nobody in my Pack that will ever leave his or her mate. They are all soul-mates and would rather die than be parted from the one they love. Our love runs hotter, deeper, more real than anything you’ll find in the human world, Kirsty.”
Again, she remained silent, the clock above the window ticking away loudly in the silence as he waited. Kirsty’s head remained bowed, her red hair falling to hide her face from view, and he dearly wanted to reach over and move
