Page 25 of Shifter's Homecoming

She was definitely a human, in this world where the shifters seemed to hate them, and they hated the shifters back.

So how didhismate get inthisworld? He tried to work it out in his head and could not. All he could do was study her. She wore no jewelry that he could see except a silver ribbon around her neck with a tiny silver bottle suspended from a chain at the end of it. The bottle sat on her chest and made his eyes travel down her body and that made him growl helplessly.

Troy passed by and punched him in the side of the head hard enough to make him remember he wasn’t supposed to be growling. He stopped.

His mate had startled at the sound of his growling, then startled again when it cut off. Trent thought he could see her expression tighten, even from across this one large room.

His mate moved in closer to him and Troy, still avoiding eye-contact. She was angry about something, but more than that she wasclose, she wasbeautiful, she wasentrancing. He wanted to hear her voice.

She spoke, busying herself with a stack of folders near them, making a show of organizing them. “I just want to make it very clear to you,Trent,” she said, “That the only reason you are here is because my sense of morality will not let me refuse anyone treatment, not even you.”

Trent felt like he’d been stabbed in the heart. She didn’t want him here? She didn’t want him at all? He remembered Troy’s words.Did you forget that you fucked that up? Did you forget that she hasn’t spoken to you in months?

The realization thatthis wasn’t his mate at all,hit himhard. This was Trent’s mate. The Trent who lived in this world.The Trent who was not him.

Trent collapsed in the chair, folding in on himself. Never in his life had he felt the way he was feeling in that moment, like the air in his lungs was cement, like the beating of his heart was really a stabbing of his soul.

She washismate,his.Her scent told him so, his body screamed it to him. But she wasn’t, right? She belonged here in this world and he did not. But now his brain and his heart joined in and they all agreed, she washismate, and he could not let go of that. He stared at her, with no ability to speak.

She must have been waiting for some sort of a response from him. She huffed a breath out her nose and shook her head once with a small movement, as she deliberately did not look at him.

Troy laughed like seeing her ignore him and him acting like it was the end of the world was the funniest shit ever. Trent wanted to punch him in the head, it would help them both out a lot.

Troy smiled widely, showing all his teeth, and said. “I’m outta here, gomer, enjoy your… recovery.” Inruhi,he said,Call me if you need me. I’ll be here in ten minutes or less.

His mate made to stop Troy. Trent realized he didn’t even knowhis mate’s name. And he could not ask.

“Wait,” she said to Troy, looking lovely and fresh as a spring day, but her voice as serious as azyanya. “His wound, can I handle it?”

Trent did not know what to make of the question, he tore his eyes away from his mate long enough to look at Troy, hoping Troy would say something, anything, that would make it make sense. She was a doctor, or whatever passed for a doctor in this world, so why would she be unable to ‘handle’ any wound?

Troy said, “It’s open and nasty, but there’s no fresh blood, I saw it myself this morning.”

She nodded, and still she wouldn’t look at Trent.

Troy went out the door.

She stared at the door for a long time. Finally she turned away from it. She came toward Trent. She still wouldn’t look him in the eyes, or even at his face.

Instead, she stared at his pant leg where the bulk of the bandage showed under the fabric, her face set in hard lines. Finally she looked at him and when she did she gasped and raised a hand to her pretty lips.

“You shaved,” she said.

He nodded.

Her eyes crawled over his face like she’d never seen it before and always wanted to and for some reason… it made her sad. She turned away.

Her back turned to him, she pointed toward the corner room. “You’ll sleep in there. Please get undressed and put on a robe. I’ll need to run a few tests tonight and then you’re getting a double dose of my vaccine in the morning.”

Trent nodded again, his brain catching on the words, “my vaccine.” He forced himself to walk on leaden feet, unable to think. He crossed the room unable to believe what was happening. He stepped into the room and found a small bed with lavender-colored blankets and sheets. He used the last of his strength to get undressed, then he fell into the bed and lay there waiting for her with one word marching through his brain.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

Trent fell into an uneasy sleep.

***

Trent woke up in the meadow, pissed, wearing the full uniform with gun and badge. His wolf was already with him. He jumped to his feet and ran down the trail, trying to sort out what he would yell about first.

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