Page 39 of Baseball and Shifters

“He did something to it,” she accuses.

“My dad taught me about the mate bond from a young age,” I explain. “He always stressed how vital it is to build a strong bond from the start. It should be cherished. Our bond is the singular most important thing in my life now. You are my most important treasure, my Emerald. Nothing will ever come before you and our bond.”

“Tone it down a little, D. Don’t scare her off, man,” Lucas chuckles.

“No. I think that’s exactly what she needs to hear,” I argue, the movie long forgotten. “It wasn’t easy growing up with Ranger St. James as a father, was it?”

“You know who my father is?” she gasps.

“We met him the other day when he visited the school with my dad, Shifter Tribunal Leader Demetrius Ashford.”

Her eyes widen in understanding.

“He’s an asshole. It’s not hard to tell. He wasn’t a loving parent, was he?”

Her throat bobs as she swallows and shakes her head.

Lucas gasps.

“What?” Bas demands.

“In the woods that day. You said you were a slut for having four mates. Your father told you that, didn’t he?”

My dragon roars in my head.

He said that to our mate? We’ll kill him.

She doesn’t say anything, just nods as she sinks in on herself.

I can’t have that.

“No, Emerald. You don’t ever cower to anyone ever again. You are perfect. You are strong and beautiful. You are the cherished mate of a dragon. You are more than what your gutless father made you believe you are. There is nothing wrong with you. Do you hear me? Kitsunes always have multiple mates. It’s how fate intended you to be. There was never a chance of you only being with one person no matter what some bigoted tiger may want. You are meant for more.Youare meant for greatness, my treasure. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

She sniffles and Bas wipes a tear from her cheek.

The sight almost breaks something inside me and my dragon roars again.

“How could you say that?” she hiccups.

“Because it’s true, my sweet. I can’t allow you to think less of yourself. You are my mate and if it takes til my dying day to convince you how priceless you are, I will happily spend my last breath reminding you.”

“But my father… He’ll never let us be together. When he finds out I’ve mated all three of you… I’m scared to find out what he’ll do.”

“Why? It doesn’t make sense to me. Everyone knows kitsunes have multiple mates. Surely your mother had other mates. Why is it such a big deal that you do?”

She looks at me like I’ve completely lost the plot.

“My mother only had one mate.”

“How do you know?”

She looks so lost I want to smack myself for asking but finally she stutters, “you mean… My father wasn’t her only mate?”

“It would be very unusual if he was,” I tell her gently.

“But… He never said anything.”

“What about your mom? She didn’t teach you about kitsunes?” Lucas asks innocently.

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