They both filled their plates. Fleance tried to focus on the food, which was excellent, but he couldn’t keep his attention away from her.
She was so beautiful. No, that wasn’t the right word, either. She was so… much. He already knew what she looked like, but that was a staccato series of impressions, hyper-focused by adrenaline and outlined in fire. This was the first chance he’d had to slow down and look at her properly.
Her freckled skin was a few shades darker than his—not hard, given he turned invisible in snow even without his hellhound powers—and her hair was an incredible mass of thick curls that just brushed her shoulders. Her eyes were a hazel brown flecked with gold that reminded him of that first intoxicating taste he’d gotten of her scent—like rolling hills of golden grass speckled with shadows.
But she was more than that. What she looked like, her scent—he’d known that within a second of meeting her. And then he’d discovered that she was the sort of woman who refused to run and leave him, who’d jump into a fight no matter how outmatched she was and try to help a man she’d only just met. A man whose job should be protecting her, not the other way around.
She was someone who looked at Parker like he was a monster, and at Fleance like he wasn’t.
Somehow, in the years he’d been a shifter, he’d gotten the idea that the mate bond was the final step in finding your mate. Perhaps it was because theirs had sprung into existence so quickly—and the feeling of that happening, of Sheena’s heart seizing his with gleeful ferocity, still took his breath away—but all the mate bond told him now was how much he still had to learn about this woman whose soul was bound to his.
She deserved better.
Cold sweat broke out on the back of Fleance’s neck. Sheena gasped, and he realized he’d let too much slip. He was used to keeping his emotions hidden beneath the surface of his mind, but he hadn’t yet mastered keeping them from reaching Sheena through the mate bond.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m still getting used to… everything.”
“It’s a lot,” she agreed. She licked a smear of sauce from the corner of her lips and helped herself to another serving of ravioli. “I mean… on top of everything else I’ve never even heard of shifters that can turn into animals that don’t exist. I’m still getting my head around it.”
“You haven’t met any mythic shifters before?” When she shook her head, Fleance whistled. “Hellhounds aren’t the half of it. Where I live now, Pine Valley—”
“Pine Valley? Is that exactly what it sounds like?” When Fleance nodded, Sheena snorted. “Good to know other countries are as good at naming stuff as we are.”
“It’s become something of a hub for mythic shifters. Makes sense, I guess, given one of the oldest families there is a dragon clan.”
Sheena almost choked on her drink. “Dragons?”
“The Heartwell clan lives in the mountains above the town. A brother and sister, and their families.” He hurried to clarify as Sheena’s eyes got wider. “Small families. They only have one child each, and Jasper’s mate isn’t a shifter, so it’s only five dragons.”
“Only five dragons.” Sheena sounded like she was testing out the words. “Only five dragons. Only five dragons. What next? Wizards?”
“Not that I wouldn’t pay good money to see a guy shift into a guy with a longer beard and a pointy hat, but—” He put his head on one side. “You did know dragon shifters exist?”
“No!”
“But…” Fleance waved out the window, where the lake was steaming gently. “This is Lord of the Rings country. You’ve got volcanoes, sulfur pools—how are you not crawling with mythical shifters?”
“It’s seriously mostly sheep.” Her eyes were still like saucers. “But… dragons?”
Fleance couldn’t help but laugh. “Our sheriff is a pegasus shifter.”
“Okay, now you’ve got to be joking.”
“He used to work with a guy who could turn into a griffin.”
“A—no.” Sheena folded her arms. “Seriously? I’ve never even heard of mythical shifters. Sure, there are stories about taniwha, but those are… taniwha.” His confusion must have shown on his face, and if he needed any proof that she was the other half of his soul, that was it. He would never have let his emotions show so easily in his old life. Now, he hadn’t even noticed how easily his mask had slid off.
Sheena unfolded her arms to gesture. “Taniwha are… They’re mythical guardians. Of waterways, usually. Actual myths, not real the way shifters are real, though don’t tell my cousin Aroha I said that.” Mid-gesture, her hands seemed to arrive near her head by accident, and she ran them through her curls. “But… actual, real mythical shifters. Wow. The closest I’ve ever gotten to something like that is wondering if people could be shifters of extinct animals, or only ones that are alive now.” She looked at him, slightly worried.
“I’ve never met a dinosaur shifter,” he reassured her.
“Oh, just dragons and pegasuses and hellhounds. No worries.” She picked up her fork and stabbed another ravioli. “And… Are you the only hellhound who lives there?”
“No. It’s me and the rest of my pack. My alpha, Caine Guinness, and his mate Meaghan have lived there for a while. The rest of us are newcomers.” He didn’t mention that he’d slunk away without telling his alpha where he was going. But Caine was smart. He must have guessed.
So long as he doesn’t come over himself or send any of the others. Parker is my responsibility.
“‘The rest of your pack.’ You keep talking about your pack, and alphas. What’s that about? And… you live on the other side of the world, and you somehow managed to turn up at Silver Springs the moment I needed you. How is that possible?”
Left unsaid: If
