“Why don’t you tell us why you are here?” Kelos asked, his voice deep but gentle.
Amber hesitated, giving Shawn a sidelong glance. The man she’d come to find was going to be of little use tonight and Margie and the children could not stay in the car. They needed to be inside where it was safe and warm.
“Shifter, huh?” Amber met and held Kelos’s gaze.
“A shifter. Yes.” His eyes narrowed. “How much do you know about shifters?”
“I know that you shift from human to animal form. I know you have heightened senses.” She gave Shawn another sidelong glance. “Unless you’ve drunk too much beer.”
Kelos chuckled. “Shawn was letting his hair down for a night since Jane is sleeping over at a friend’s house.”
“And I’ve come and ruined it.” Her throat constricted. Not because she’d ruined Shawn’s evening but because reality hit her like a freight train. Her heart clenched in her chest and the enormity of the situation crowded in on her.
Then it was gone. She pushed it away and focused on the here and now and what she had to do.
“You haven’t ruined anything,” Shawn assured her. “You are Kelos’s mate. That makes this one of the best days ever.”
“You might not think that way…” She paused. The one other morsel of information Shawn had told her about shifters was that they mated for life. That once they met their mate, they would do whatever it took to keep them safe and build a good life for them.
Meeting Kelos now when she needed help the most was like a gift.
So why did she feel so damn guilty about it?
Because she was about to drag him into her crazy life. She didn’t know that Kelos deserved any of this. And she certainly didn’t believe she deserved him.
Or he deserved a woman who had sworn never to have a husband or children, when from what Shawn had told her that was exactly the life all shifters dreamed of.
“Amber.” Kelos reached across the table and touched her hand and she jumped as if he’d shocked her heart into life. “Why don’t you tell us why you are here?”
She nodded and stood up. “It might be better if I showed you.”
“Showed us?” Shawn asked wearily, getting to his feet.
“Yeah, Margie, my sister-in-law, and her kids are in the car outside. We need somewhere to stay.”
“Your sister-in-law and her children?” Shawn’s eyes came into focus, the magic of caffeine waking him up.
“Yes. I left them outside while I checked to see if you still lived here, and if it was safe.” She inched toward the doorway. “Can they come in?”
“Of course.” Shawn was on his feet and striding toward the front door before she had time to answer.
“Are you on the run?” Kelos caught hold of her elbow as she got up from the table and followed Shawn. Amber turned to face him. She wanted to ask him what business it was of his, but the expression on his face said it was his business and she was too tired to argue.
“Yes.” Her forehead creased. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“It doesn’t matter. If you are on the run, you can’t stay here.” He glanced toward the open door and the town outside. “There are too many people who will see you and ask questions.” He paused and looked past her, his eyes resting on the refrigerator.
Amber swung her head around and followed his gaze, worried there was someone there. But there was only a photo staring back at her. Shawn and Jane, smiling happily.
“It was a mistake to come here,” she conceded. “We’re putting Shawn and Jane in danger.”
“It wasn’t a mistake to come here,” he told her. “But it would be a mistake to stay.”
Amber nodded. “I’ll go. We can find a hotel or something.”
“No,” Kelos said sharply, a hint of desperation in his voice. “It wasn’t a mistake to come here. Because you met me.”
Amber arched an eyebrow. “I have more important things on my mind right now than being the mate of a shifter.”
He gave a small laugh, deep and sonorous. “You have missed the point.”
“And you are going to explain it to me,” she said in exasperation.
“I have a house.” His mouth curled up at one corner. “It’s not much, but it’s deep in the forest and no one will see you there.”
She huffed out a breath. “You think I’m going to put the safety of my sister-in-law and her kids in the hands of a man I’ve just met?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “Of course you do. Because we’re mates.”
“That and you have little choice.” He stared at her. “I will protect you and your family with my life.”
“I don’t think even a cougar or a bear would make much difference if we were found,” Amber told him.
“I never said I was a cougar or a bear,” Kelos replied.
“A lion? Tiger?”
“Dragon.” His eyes flashed amber as he spoke the words, leaving her in no doubt, he wasn’t making it up. He was right, for now, the safest place was by Kelos’s side.
Chapter Three – Kelos
“Dragon, huh?” His mate stared at him, searching his face for an answer.
She’s trying to figure out if she can truly trust us, his dragon told Kelos.
We’re her mate, of course she can, Kelos answered.
She needs us to prove that to her. His dragon puffed smoke out of his nostrils. He was right. Amber was not ready to take his word for it. So, he would prove himself to her. First, though, he needed to get them all to safety.
“Will you come with me?” He held out his hand to her.
“I don’t have any choice.” She glanced down at his hand before locking eyes with him. There was that question again. Could she trust him, a man she’d just met?
“I will take care of you all.
