Page 5 of Shifter Mates for the Single Mom

“Hmm. People like that do not like living rough.” I thought about it and chuckled. “I’ve never even heard of a shifter bothering with the private-jet lifestyle. Most of us don’t even like visiting big cities for too long. Too noisy… and smelly.” I wrinkled my nose, and she finally smiled a little.

“Well, if they’re targeting heiresses like me, most of them live in big cities. Maybe it’s camouflage. Another act. Though Matthias does seem to be too much of a neat freak and too vain for country life. He’s got a French manicure, for pity’s sake.”

I let out a laugh before I could stop myself, startling her. She blinked at me, and I smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. But if this city boy takes his beast form on me and his claws have nail polish on them, I will shit myself laughing.”

She thought about that, and her smile got a little stronger, her shoulders shaking just a touch. “I… wouldn’t put it past him. He did wear a white suit inside a damn art studio.”

That’s good, kiddo. More like that. Make fun of him. Laugh at him. Take your power back from him, damn it. “So, he’s a brilliant con man, but he’s also overconfident, plays sick games, and has a touch of ‘nouveau riche idiot’ to him. And his mommy has his back.”

“Yeah, she really does.” She tilted her head as she looked at me. “Look, I’m sleep-deprived and just saw a bloodbath, and I’m not a giant badass shapeshifter, so maybe I’m coming at this from a totally different angle, but you… You’re not scared of Matthias at all, are you?”

I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, feeling the tightness of her muscles and the way they shook just a touch with exhaustion. “No. He’s a rogue shifter, and so may be his mother and their bodyguard. But I’m Alpha of a Pack of four highly trained shifters with decades of combined experience serving the US and foreign military, sweetheart.

“Yeah, the men he killed were experienced and tough, but they were used to fighting humans. They weren’t prepared to fight what’s probably multiple shifters of an unknown type. We are. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again, and I’ve got no doubt we’re stronger together than Matthias and his family. We will put a stop to them and their bullshit.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It boils down to something simple. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, I won’t lie to you. Matthias is clearly a tough customer, and smart. He’s also a coward and likes to sneak around and manipulate people. We’ll have to prepare you and Aidan for dealing with a threat like that. I’ll protect Aidan as much as I can from the uglier parts of the truth but I think you’ll need to teach him some passwords and things so he can make sure that you’re… you.”

She paled. “I hadn’t thought of that. Though we already have a password system in place for the panic room and when anyone besides me picks him up at summer camp.”

“Good, that’s a good start.” I still had my hand on her shoulder. It had settled there naturally, like touching her was a regular part of my day. But she hadn’t said anything, and it seemed to comfort her.

I got back on my phone to text Jamie. “If you have time to start some automated searches while you guys are packing up, I need everything that you can find about the Montrose family. Son, Matthias, 35. Mother, Amala, probably in her sixties or seventies. I also need you to check any high-ticket hotels, resorts, or glamping sites in this area for either of them. I will forward you photos of both once Maddy gives them to me so you can check against CCTV and traffic cameras in the area.”

The response came back in under a minute while Madelyne got up to refill our lemonades. I caught myself staring at the curves of her ass in her whitewashed jeans and pulled my gaze back to my phone to see the reply. “I’ll get that started. Ulf wants to know if the rogues are Wolves.”

“Unknown. If they are, they’re Pack rejects and probably criminals in someone else’s Territory. Their behavior isn't very Wolflike, though. Urban, sneaky, cowardly, into luxury and wealth. But whoever they are, they turn into big, fast predators.”

“I guess I’d better thaw out more steaks if everyone’s coming,” Maddie said as she returned with our refilled drinks. “Though, uh… I think I’ll have to move the grill. The side patio freaks me out now.”

“Nothing like an unexpected pile of corpses to fuck up your enjoyment of a place.” My fingers were caressing her shoulder soothingly. I willed them to stop. “I’ll help you move it once we’re done here.”

“Not going back to talk to the others?” she asked softly, sounding more hopeful.

I squeezed her shoulder, feeling her relax a little under my hand. “Hell no. I’m briefing them by text and saving the rest for when they get here. Then we’ll review your security and start beefing it up for the night. None of that involves me leaving. I’ll be by your side until all this is over.”

Finally, she gave me a real smile, a soft-eyed one that left me tingling and wanting to pull her closer. “Thank you, Nathan,” she murmured. “I feel a lot safer hearing that.”

Her tired gaze had no more fear in it, and there was a spark in it that made my body respond instantly. “Good,” I said softly. “Now maybe you should take your son’s example and try and get some sleep until the guys get here.”

“I think I will once our drinks are done. I can, with you around.”

Her soft gaze had me hard as a rock and hungrier for her than ever. After she was done lingering over her drink and talking about how life had been outside the Matthias mess, she got up to go up to the master bedroom. And God, I loved watching her go.

But it was when she looked back over her shoulder with longing and invitation in her eyes that I found I could barely resist. The look in her eyes, the things she couldn’t bring herself to say, were unmistakable in everything from her body language to her sweet, musky scent.

If she had said at that moment, “Come up to bed with me”, I would have done it in a heartbeat without a thought to the shitty timing or the dangerous distraction it would cause. But my conscience and my self-control both held steady, and she didn’t speak.

But it hurt like Hell to let her walk up those stairs alone when she didn’t want to be.

THREE

MADELYNE

I was screwing up. I knew it. I had started flirting and making eyes at Nate, who was trying to focus on protecting us. And I didn’t have any excuse, because I damn well knew that he had a thing for me. He always had. In fact, when he left the year before Ben’s death, I had been almost certain that it was because of me. We would never betray Ben, either of us, so he could never have me. But now…

Ben was gone. I was alone, and Nate was there, in my home, protecting me, living close. After the damage Matthias had done to my trust and self-respect, I never expected to get hot for a man again.

---