He chuckled, the sound bitter and raw. “That’s not something many dominant males would admit, but for you, I will. I doubt that I’m worthy of you, and if I fail you when we mate, I—”
“Shh, don’t say it. You won’t fail me. I trust you.”
He tightened his arms around her and simply held her. “My father cautioned each of his sons not to be in a rush to pick a mate. A breeding partner only warmed a male’s bed, not his heart. You do both.”
With that, Rafe eased back. “I must do this. I need to prove to myself that I can be the mate you deserve.”
Love rushed up. She nodded quickly. “Okay, but hurry home.”
His smile turned her heart over. “I will. Promise.”
She followed his retreating back with her gaze, then stood there until she heard the front door bang shut, before she rushed down the stairs.
Kade met her gaze. Going by the sympathetic expression he wore, he’d heard the fight she’d had with Rafe. She studied Rafe’s twin, then crossed her arms over her chest. “How did you get stuck with inside babysitting duty? I thought it was Xander’s turn.”
Kade shoved his hands in his front pockets. “It was. Xander’s pulling double duty patrolling because Rafe ord—” He smirked. “Because Rafe asked me very nicely if I would stay inside.”
Ordered him, then. She shook her head. “And you agreed because?”
“Because Rafe is my twin, and if anything happened to you, he’d kill himself.” Kade leveled a hard look at her. “I don’t ever want to lose him. It’s why I’m in this role to begin with.”
“He didn’t want to lead your family?”
“Yes and no. I didn’t want to be alpha. Rafe convinced me to accept the spirit. Now I know why.” Kade motioned toward her with a jerk of his chin. “You.”
“Me?”
“Subconsciously, he must’ve known his mate would be a human. If he’d been leader, he wouldn’t have been able to claim you, even if he’d wanted to.”
“Because I can’t have his babies, and he’d need a son to pass on the spirit of your family if he died.”
Kade grinned. “Exactly, sure in desperate times, any male feline shifter can accept the spirit, but it wants to remain with a direct bloodline.”
“How long have you held the spirit? Aren’t you getting the urge to mate?”
“Not mate, breed. My cats could care less who I choose as long as she’ll birth us strong kids.” Kade glanced at her. “But I don’t want to be that male who only touches his mate when he wants sex. My parents were true mates. I saw the difference. I see it with you and Rafe. Unless I’m in a position where I must mate a female in order to produce an heir, I’ll fight my stubborn cats until I meet my true mate.”
Josh walked into the room, stopping Jazz from asking Kade more questions. Josh leaned against the wall a few feet from Kade. “I saw Rafe leave. If you’re in here, who else is patrolling with Xander?”
“Nobody.”
Josh straightened. “What do you mean? We’ve always had two of you in the woods. One patrolling. One sitting and watching the house.”
“Zach’s on his way over. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“And that’s a few minutes too long.” Josh moved toward the door. “I’ll go sit outside and keep an eye on the woods.”
Kade grabbed his arm. “No, you won’t.”
“Why? Because I’m human?”
“Yes. I’m sorry if that hurts your pride, but it’s a fact you can’t change. You will never be faster or stronger than a shifter. Jon might be old by shifter standards, but he’d still gut you with one swipe of his claw.”
“I held my own against Devin.”
“You held your own against a male who was fighting the influence of his cats. If he’d given in to them immediately, you wouldn’t have even landed the first punch.”
“Fine. I won’t leave the front porch, and I’ll yell if I see something. I won’t move an inch off my seat.”
Kade crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”
“Son of a bi—” Josh clamped his mouth shut and glanced at the hallway.
Josh’s parents, Mira, and the kids shuffled in from the kitchen with bags of chips.
Jazz laid her hand on Josh’s arm. “Come on. Help me pick a movie for the kids.”
“Sure. Might as well. Doesn’t look like I’m good for anything else.”
Josh picked the first one. With nothing else to do but worry, she sat on the arm of the sofa to watch an animated flick she’d seen dozens of times. The opening scene played. Singing filled the room, but her gaze kept straying to the door.
Kade motioned her over.
“Rafe loves you. That is why he’s so desperate to take out Jon. He doesn’t want to risk losing you to him. Nor does he want to spend the next several decades looking over his shoulder, waiting for Jon to die of old age.”
“Rafe told you he loves me?”
A lopsided smile spread on Kade’s face. “No, but I know my twin.” He rested his hand over his heart. “We’re connected. I feel his devotion to you. It’s a first for him.”
Jazz glanced over her shoulder at where Josh sat. “Hasn’t Rafe ever been in love?”
“There are many types of love. Once you’ve lived a few centuries, you’ll realize that. Rafe has been infatuated with women. Lusted after them. Cared for them. Never has he loved. It wasn’t for lack of available women.” Kade shook his head. “Many single shifter fathers have paraded their daughters before him, hoping to entice my twin into choosing one of them as his mate. Rafe refused to even kiss any of them, let alone mate them.”
She was glad but couldn’t help asking, “Why?”
“There aren’t that many Royals. We just don’t reproduce well. It takes four conceptions to occur at once in order for a Royal to be born. So the female who snags one of us is prized and gets the social boost
