Page 20 of Mysterious Mate

“That’s it? They ring the food bell, and you’re done? You’re a jackass, Weston.”

Willow turned on her heel, pushed him out of the way, opened the gate, and headed to her room.

“You’d be lucky if I was just a jackass,” he muttered under his breath as he examined his hand. There were little droplets of blood. The little minx had broken his skin with her sharp teeth and was even now licking her lips. Knowing that could add an element of danger when it came time to have her suck his cock.

He walked across the courtyard to the keep, washed his hands, and went to stand just inside the dining room. When Willow entered, she looked beautiful in a pair of leggings and a loose silk-knit sweater. She was barefoot and had pulled her hair back. He longed to be alone with her and see her naked with her hair hanging down. He could easily imagine her coming to sit in his lap as he fed her by hand.

Dinner was a strained affair. Willow moved his place setting to the other end of the table and managed to eat her dinner without ever looking up or saying a word. She rose just as silently and retreated to her room as quickly as she could.

Later that evening, Cage sat at his desk, his fingers drumming a restless beat against the wooden surface. His thoughts were a chaotic tangle, swirling around his brain like a storm he couldn’t control. He realized he’d been reduced to immature fits of jealousy and rage whenever anyone approached her. He rationalized his behavior by telling himself it was because he needed to protect Willow. But he knew it was a lie. His bear wanted Willow and was going to do everything in its power to see that no one laid claim to his fated mate.

There hadn’t been any movement from any quarter in weeks, yet he still felt on edge. He reviewed the security reports and checked in with his people. He picked up his phone and put a call through to Colby. They needed to discuss Willow’s case, and Cage hoped the lynx-shifter could provide him with some clarity.

“Cage,” Colby greeted him warmly.

“Colby.” Cage returned, not sure how he was going to get to the heart of this conversation.

“What’s the status? Has something happened?” Colby’s voice was steady, always a rock in the storm.

Cage sighed. The time for pretense, at least with his boss, was over. “We had a little visit from some of Carlyle’s people…”

“Why am I just hearing about this now,” growled Colby.

“Because it was little more than exercise to test our defenses—at least that’s what it was from our side. We had minor injuries. Carlyle on the other hand will think twice before hitting us again. We’ve been hearing chatter that the Shadow League has ramped up their efforts to locate Willow and kill her.”

“Do you think the intel is credible?”

“Most likely. We’ve found a couple of mercenaries in different locations where we left breadcrumbs, hoping to see if that very thing would happen. She’s definitely not in the clear—at least not yet.”

Colby was silent for a moment before asking, “What’s really bothering you, Cage? You sound off.”

Cage hesitated. Bears by nature were loners. Bear-shifters were only slightly more sociable. All of his instincts screamed that he needed to keep his feelings to himself, but he was at his wit’s end. “I… I’m struggling. It’s Willow. I can’t stop thinking about her, and it’s beginning to affect my judgment. I don’t want to lose my focus, but she’s driving me to distraction. She’s also married. I know he’s a bastard, but she’s still married to him.”

To his surprise, Colby laughed. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Not to worry. We already have the authorities working on getting her a divorce. Interpol is all-in, as so many courts won’t allow a wife to testify against her husband, so they want that marriage ended.”

“Can they do that?”

Colby chuckled. “They’re Interpol; they can do just about anything, and what they can’t, I can. He’ll either be divorced or dead very soon. As for the whole human-bear thing, that isn’t really a problem. In fact, it could actually be a solution.”

Cage frowned. “How do you figure that?”

“Didn’t you tell me you thought she was your fated mate? You’re a bear, aren’t you? Claim the girl, and be done with it.”

“Brie off on some operation you don’t know about?” That was a stab in the dark, but it made sense. For one thing Colby would never be so cavalier about claiming a mate—especially a human—without full and informed consent.

“She is, but that’s my problem, not yours. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and if you claim Willow and she transitions to a bear, that significantly reduces the chances of her telling the non-shifter world that we exist. Plus, it bonds her to you in a way that makes her safer. You’ll have a bonding link in case someone figures out a way to spirit her away from there. As for the League, I think they’ve learned better than to mess with a grizzly bear-shifter’s mate.”

Cage shook his head, even though Colby couldn’t see it. “It feels manipulative. I don’t want that to be how our relationship starts.”

Colby chuckled before continuing in a softened tone. “I get it, Cage. I do. But you know I’m right, and we’ve both been around enough shifters who torture themselves trying to keep themselves apart from their fated mates. At the very least, you need to have the conversation with her. She deserves to know the truth about you, about us. You might be surprised at how she reacts.”

“Colby,” someone said from Colby’s end of the call. “The plane is ready.”

“Look, Cage, I need to go. Trust me when I tell you that bonding link is pure gold. My mate may have slipped away from the abbey, but I can track her down, fetch her back, and make sure she stays safe.”

“I would think her people in the Shadow Sisters would want that, as well.”

“You’d think, but you’d be wrong. They’re all about the sisterhood and I am woman, hear me roar. Whatever you do, don’t let Willow join up with them. They’re incredibly effective in derailing the Shadow League’s various operations and getting females of all kinds out of harm’s way, but it’s hell to be mated to one of them.”

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