Page 8 of Twisted Mates

“Oh my goddess,” he says, shaking his head. “You’re something else. I forgot how funny you are.”

“See?” I say, poking his stomach and feeling nothing but hard abs under his sweatshirt and coat. “I’m not so bad after all.”

“Stop,” he says, running his fingers through his hair. “I never said that.”

“I know.” I reach over and squeeze his knee. “I’m just kidding, I swear.”

I start to pull my hand away, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, when he surprises me by capturing my fingers with his and intertwining them. “I just want you to be happy,” he says, and I’m struck by the earnestness in his tone.

I swallow back the unexpected emotion that builds in my throat. “I am, Kai. You’re one of my oldest friends. I could’ve done a lot worse.”

He smiles and squeezes my fingers once before putting his hand back on the wheel. “Me too.”

When we finally reach the house, it’s almost like being taken back in time. Nothing has changed. Nothing’s needed to. This place has a timeless beauty about it. It would have been beautiful in the 1700s and it’s beautiful now.

I suppose you could call it a cabin since it is constructed with wood, but it’s freaking huge. It’s accented with river rock, with windows on the entire backside overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. There’s a creek running right through the backyard, and there’s nothing but trees as far as the eye can see. It’s gorgeous up here, and calling this place home is a dream.

“Come on, Xander and I will bring your stuff in once we get you and Carrington inside and settled.”

I can’t argue with that; it’s too cold out here to try to be an independent woman at the moment.

We step inside, and Carrington and I take off our snow-covered shoes at the door. Kai goes back out to help Xander with my things while I soak in my surroundings.

The house is just as beautiful on the inside as the scenery is on the outside. Exposed wooden beams stretch across the high ceiling and all the fixtures are antique brass. Rich browns withdeep greens remind me of the forest while the hints of golden yellow and pure white are just as vibrant as the wildflowers that grow within it. But the best thing about the room by far is those floor-to-ceiling windows. Even under the veil of night, I can see all the beauty of the mountains.

I love everything about this place. Out in nature has always been my favorite place to be; even when it came to choosing a career, I managed to work it in. Science and math have always been my strengths, but I just felt this calling to environmental science. As a shifter, I have a foot in both worlds—animal and human—and I want to help take care of both of them. It’s been hell over the past three months to not be able to be outside, to have to listen to nature instead of being out in it. I’ve missed my work, and I can’t wait to get back to it.

But right now, all I want to do is shift and run through the trees behind the house. After everything today, I just want to feel free.

“Home sweet home,” Carrington says, patting the back of the leather couch.

“I’ve always loved this place,” I say, sitting down in the recliner opposite where she plops down on the sofa.

“Me too, it’s my favorite.” She sighs happily and shakes her head like she can’t quite believe what she’s seeing when she looks at me. “I cannot believe we are about to be sisters-in-law.”

I grin. “I know, it’s so wild that the goddess chose Kai for me. Like, what are the odds?”

“Who knows, I’m just glad She did.”

Kai and Xander come through the door at the same time as Clayton, each brother holding two of my bags while Clayton holds nothing but his chin in the air. Xander places my things on the floor and then disappears up the stairs.Bye then.

“Good evening, all,” Clayton says as he removes his wool jacket and hangs it next to the door.

“Daddy, is everything okay? You have that look,” Carrington says.

“I was finishing up my phone call with Bradley and June.” He glances my way. “We all wanted to get out before the storm got worse, so we just chatted on the way home. Needed to tie up the loose ends and work out some business regarding Alexia.”

“What business?” I blurt, not even thinking that I might be speaking out of turn until after the words have left my mouth. But it doesn’t seem to bother Clayton because he just barrels on.

“Making sure you’d be comfortable while you were here, setting up the day when all of your belongings would be moved, that sort of thing,” he says, taking off his suit coat and draping it over a chair in the dining room.

“Makes sense,” I say. “So, I was hoping I could get a shower before bed.” I motion to the bags next to me where Kai and Xander set them down. “Can someone show me where I’ll be staying?”

Clayton laughs. “Kai, show Alexia to your room so she can get settled.”

My face heats up and I glance at Kai, who looks just as alarmed. “Wait, what?”

“You’re mates. What’s yours is hers and so on and so forth. Show the girl to your bedroom.”

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