Page 131 of Finlay

His attitude had made our work distribution simple over the years. Calan had never coveted leadership, perfectly happy with his role as the enforcer. I was lucky to have him in my circle. Lucky to have all of them, in fact.

The only thing missing now was Chester.

Our visit to Southampton had solidified theknowledge that he’d eventually be my mate. Logically, I knew it was right to wait. That rushing Chester into the decision would backfire in the long run. I just wished I could stop picturing Clyde’s hand around his throat. The pure terror in Chester’s eyes as he stared at me, wondering if I’d be fast enough to save him.

I never wanted him to be in that position again, especially not without the mating bond to protect him.

I was going to have to be patient…and ensure Chester was guarded around the clock.

Calan and Evan were about to leave when a piece of unfinished business had me holding my brother back.

“What’s up?” he said once Evan had left the room.

I gave him a dark smile. “I’m sending you over to Siberia. There’s someone I need you to take care of for me.”

Chester

Shop was dead so decided to finish a little early and go home

Chester

Don’t panic – Logan is with me

Chester

He’s volunteered to put up the Christmas lights for me to save me going up a ladder.

Ididn’t see Chester’s texts until a couple of hours after he’d sent them. I’d decided to drop in on the warrior training Evan was overseeing. If a threat to our borders was coming, I needed to know we’d be able to withstand it.

What I saw of the young shifters was extremely promising.There were two in particular, Brodie and Hamish, who showed enormous potential. I made a note to speak to the others about fast-tracking their training.

By the time I’d finally checked my phone and seen the texts, Chester must’ve been home a while. Part of me was irritated that I’d missed out on spending a few extra hours with him, but this was the reality of my life as the clan leader. I had responsibilities I couldn’t ignore.

Even if I sometimes wanted to.

Besides, it was good that Chester was getting to know Logan better. Well…hopefully it was. Logan could be a little git, but his heart was in the right place.

I was also massively relieved to see that it was him, not Chester, who’d be climbing up the ladder to do the lights. Don’t get me wrong, I knew Chester was more than capable, but I’d prefer it if he waited to do risky things until after we were mated, even if the risk was ridiculously small. Given that Chester had confessed he’d almost slipped off the ladder last time, it was a small risk I’d rather he didn’t take.

Humans were so fragile. I’d always known that, but having Chester in my life was like painting it on a wall in neon colours and then underlining it several times. The anxiety would fade once he was my mate. I had no intentions of rushing him though, much to Buddy’s chagrin.

After checking with the council and Evan that I wasn’t needed for anything, I shifted and ran to Chester’s. The cold air barely penetrated my thick fur, which was perfect considering the climate we lived in.

I got to Chester’s and dropped the overnight bag I’d been carrying in my mouth. Shifting back into my human form, I smiled at the sight before me. Small twinkling lights hung from the roof of Chester’s home. There were evensome strung around the bottom windows and in a few of the trees closest to the property.

With the surrounding woodland and loch, it looked like a scene from a postcard.

No. It looked like home.

Lifting my bag onto my shoulder, I walked towards the house to relieve Logan. I didn’t need to go far to do so though; he came barrelling out of the front door almost immediately.

“Have a good night,” he sang, his eyes twinkling as he bounded past me. “See you tomorrow, Buddy!”

I froze and groaned.Fuck.I should’ve known that wouldn’t stay quiet forever. I wasn’t mad at Chester about it—Logan and the others had ways of ferreting information out of you before you even realised.

Oh well. I didn’t regret pretending to be a dog. How could I, when it had led to Chester becoming such an important part of my life? If putting up with a few centuries of teasing was the price I paid then I’d do so gladly.

It was unusual that Logan hadn’t hung around to give me more shit though. I’d half expected to have to physically kick him out of the house before he’d leave, and that wasbeforehe’d discovered my little secret.

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