He couldn't help himself, he moved over to sit beside her, carefully wrapping his arms around her as she cried. He couldn't explain it. He didn't see much need for money once you had what you needed to survive. Couldn't understand those that seemed to keep reaching for more of it to the exclusion of everything else. Wasn't like you could take it with you when you died. So why waste so much of your life chasing after it? Especially to the point of putting those you were supposed to cherish and protect in danger. To him, the men who did that were fucking cowards.
Patting her back awkwardly, he shook his head. “I don't know, Adele. For some people, too much isn't enough. They always want more, and the lure of it is so strong, it gets to the point where they don't care who they hurt as long as it pays well. Every man has a price. Some are just clearance rack.”
It was something he'd heard his mother say often when he was younger, usually about people she found distasteful and beneath her. It seemed to fit the situation now. Thian held her until the tears stopped flowing, until the silent shaking had eased. He wasn't any good at this comforting shit, but he didn't know what else to do.
He couldn't undo the mistakes the Mayor had made. Couldn't fix his death. Right now, all he could do was keep Adele safe and protected. He'd have done that anyway because it was his job, but now he had a more pressing reason. She was his mate. The other half of his heart. Fuck.
This was the first time he had faced this. How did the other's deal with it? He couldn't fathom simply telling her straight out and expecting her to understand. Most normal women wouldn't handle being told they were the mate of a goddamn cat very well. Hell, he hadn't handled being told he was a cat very well, and he'd watched the transformation with his own confused and shocked eyes.
Those that knew about the shifters in the world were a small subset, and were generally allowed to live because they served a function for the shifters- protection, weapons, specialized clothing or supplies. People who found out about them by accident didn't live long. They couldn't be trusted. There'd been too many slip-ups over the centuries.
He didn't know if the Mayor had been one of those privileged few, or if he'd simply been blinded by the money and assumed he was working with human criminals. That was another piece of the puzzle that led to more questions. If he was getting paid each time a woman was taken, didn't he wonder what the purpose was? Had he mentioned anything in passing to anyone else, or had he truly been working alone? The unknowns had the potential to cause a whole fuckton of problems. Problems that Thian would likely be the one dispatched to solve. He hoped Adele wasn't one of them.
Chapter Three Hundred Ninety-Four
The next morning, he blinked, frowning in the bright sunlight. Why the fuck was there sunlight? Tugging the blanket higher over his head so he didn't have to deal with the shit, it took him another moment to realize he smelled food. A few minutes longer to remember he wasn't alone. Surrendering to the inevitable, he pulled himself from the thin covers he'd been hibernating under, to spot Adele in the small galley kitchen as his mouth went dry.
She'd opened the curtains to let the early sun in, and was wearing one of his white t-shirts as she stood at the stove. Looked damn good on her, too. The counter hid her from the waist down. Thian couldn't decide if he wanted to know what she was wearing underneath the shirt or not. The torture of wondering was a nice distraction from everything else.
Too soon, the illusion was broken as she came around the island counter, two plates in hand. Sadly, she wore a pair of thin shorts underneath the cotton. Damn pity, that. Taking the plate with a grumbled thanks, he stared at it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had someone make him breakfast that he didn't have to pay for in some fashion. Sure, the club whores cooked occasionally, but the unspoken agreement was that they were doing it for favors. It wasn't free.
Any other time, they mostly fended for themselves or ordered something from the bar, which they indirectly paid for since they were responsible for the the damn bills. Having someone wake up and make him food without an ulterior motive present was nice, but concerning. In his life, he'd grown too used to always looking for the duplicitous side. Came with the territory of the club and what they did.
“It won't bite you, Thian. I promise. I triple checked the dosage of poisons to get them just right. Potent, but not lethal.”
He couldn't help the snort at her sarcastic quip. He doubted a regular dose of would work on him, but the appreciated her humor this early in the morning. “That so, Princess? One wonders what you need me indisposed for. You want to take advantage of me, you just gotta ask.”
The pink flush on her cheeks made him grin as she cleared her throat, turning away from him as she picked at her plate in silence instead of answering him. Did that mean she felt something between them as well? He couldn't decide if that would make thing easier, or harder. If he decided to simply walk away, knowing it would hurt her made it worse.
There was no rule saying a shifter had to claim their mate. If they didn't want a mate, or if the pairing was too dangerous for whatever reason, they could choose to step away from the pairing, to
