Page 52 of Protected By Her Mate

We’re interrupted as the door opens to reveal Keenan. Though he’s a nearly exact replica of Lennox, except his hair and posture, I don’t feel the intense spark I feel with Lennox.

“Probably a good thing,” Keenan drawls with a blindingly handsome smile. “Vanessa is it for me.”

I take a step back, narrowing my eyes at him. “You can read my mind too.”

“I can hear your thoughts,” he corrects. “But only if you project them.”

Vanessa comes up behind Keenan, slipping around him to face us. “It’s quite disconcerting, isn’t it? Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, then Mags will teach you how to conceal your thoughts. A girl needs to have a few secrets, am I right? Please, come in!”

She grips me by the arm and leads me inside, chattering as if we’ve been friends for years. She looks great for someone who wasn’t supposed to survive her injuries just a day ago.

In truth, I’m awed by her beauty, her reputation, and her house. I’ve never met anyone famous before besides Keith Richards in a Donair shop in Queens. And I didn’t technically meet him so much as order food at the same time as he did.

“Shall we sit by the pool while Keenan and Lennox discuss whatever business they have?”

I look at Lennox, hoping he’ll tell me he needs me, but he says, “Go ahead. We’re talking palace business. I’ll come get you when we’re done.”

Feeling abandoned, I allow Vanessa to drag me out the back door.

She sweeps her arm out to indicate the pool. “This is why I bought the house. I swear I must’ve been a mermaid in my last life because if I could, I would stay in the water forever. Do you want to borrow a bathing suit? We could go for a dip now.”

I tell her no and she continues chattering, circling the pool with me in tow. “Actually, I probably would have been a Phoenix in my last life. Is that how reincarnation works for shifters? It’s all very confusing and I’ve only been a shifter for a day, so — “

“You’re a shifter?” I ask, surprised. “Lennox didn’t tell me.”

She shrugs. “I’m a brand-new shifter. It happened last night when I died.”

“You died?” She looks fantastic for a former corpse.

She nods enthusiastically. “Yup. Keenan was very upset, but then I was brought back and that’s why I’m a shifter now. Mags and her brethren believe that my death broke the family curse, which is why they were able to bring me back using…,” she looks around like there might be spies in the bushes, then whispers, “… dark magic.”

I gape at her wondering if she hit her head in the explosion.

Vanessa looks thoughtful. “It’s weird, though. It seems like it happened months ago, even though I know it was only yesterday. It feels like watching the Terminator series, where the latest movie references what happened in an earlier movie but you kind of forget and if it’s bugging you, you go back and watch the earlier movie.” She shrugs, then waves her hand at a patio set. “Come, sit down.” As we sit, she continues, “I know it sounds fantastical, believe me, but it’s all true.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You’re family,” she says simply as if that explains everything.

Now I know for sure she hit her head. “No,” I say slowly. “Lennox is related to Keenan, not me. You can’t have missed the resemblance between them.” Maybe I should call an ambulance; she might have a concussion.

“Of course, I know Lennox is Keenan’s twin. I met him in Wolf-Haven and he came to our wedding. What I mean is you’re family because you’re Lennox’s mate and we don’t keep secrets in this family. There’s no point. Everyone knows everyone else’s thoughts.”

Once again, I gape at her, then forcibly close my mouth and lean closer to her across the table, saying in a low voice, “How do you know I’m Lennox’s mate when he won’t even admit it to himself?”

She rolls her eyes. “That stubborn wolf! Is he really refusing to acknowledge your connection? I bet this is Mags’s doing. As much as I love that witch, she can be interfering when it comes to other people’s relationships.”

“Witch?” I say faintly.

She nods emphatically. “You’re going to love being part of this family.”

Not if there are interfering witches, but I keep the thought to myself. “So if you and everyone else knows Lennox is my mate, then why won’t he admit it?” An ache radiates through my chest and I rub it. “The only explanation I can come up with is that he doesn’t want me.”

“No, no, it’s not that at all!” She moves her chair closer to me. “He’s just afraid for you. He thinks if he lets himself fall for you the curse will get you.” Her eyes cloud and she looks frightened for a second, before adding, “I should know. I’m a victim of the curse.”

“How did the curse get you?”

“It killed me,” she says gravely. “You saw for yourself how close to death I was. When it finished me off, Mags and her brethren were able to bring me back, but I had to go through a change. Do you want to see?” Her last sentence is said with child-like excitement, as though she wants to show off her new skill, but I have too many questions to lose the focus of our conversation just yet.

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