Page 31 of Shadow Spirit

“That sounds rather ominous.”

“It does, and urgent. Look, I’d never tell any mate or mates that they need to solidify their bond with their mate. God knows I’ve protected dozens of women from being forced into a bond, but if Wordsworth is right, this may be what Strode wanted with Cullen Manchester’s mate and now yours. I think you and Decker need to get to romancing and convincing your mate. I plan to speak to Decker when he reports in.”

“No need, Colby. The three of us are already in agreement that while we might not totally understand this, we’re honest enough with ourselves and each other to know it’s real. I think once Adriana knows, she’ll push the fear aside. The last time she was bitten, it was done against her will and changed her from human to witch/wolf-shifter hybrid. It was terrifying and painful. It won’t be like that this time. We’ll do what we can to minimize the pain, and I think Decker’s plan is to make sure she’s far too gone in the throes of passion to care.”

Greg headed back to the clinic to check on his staff and the few patients who were currently being looked after. He wanted to talk to Decker and share with him what he had learned before they approached Adriana. It seemed to him that the more they could shield Adriana from any arguments between him and Decker, the easier it would be for all of them.

Ensuring that the clinic could do without him until the following day, Greg finished up and then went in search of his… co-mate? Partner-mate? They were really going to have to figure out how to refer to him and Decker. He shook his head. If that was their biggest concern, this whole triad bond was going to be a breeze.

CHAPTER 15

DECKER

His patrol was coming to an end, and Decker was thinking about where his time might best be spent. He’d managed to wrap his head around the idea of sharing Adriana with Greg. In fact, he’d begun to see the advantage of Adriana having two mates. She needed both his dominance and Greg’s nurturing, almost daddy-like attitude. He wanted to talk to Wordsworth to see if the librarian had discovered anything else. Decker wasn’t convinced that they should be waiting. But before broaching the subject with Adriana, he wanted to talk to Greg.

Decker was also curious as to whether there was any information about some kind of link between two wolves sharing a she-wolf, outside of the one each shared with the she-wolf herself. He was beginning to feel a tentative tether to Greg. At first, he’d ignored it. He had no sexual interest whatsoever in another male, but there was no denying the fact that he was beginning to feel Greg’s emotions and thoughts coming down the link.

As Decker began to walk back toward the abbey, he caught sight of Erin skipping up to him. He had enormous admiration for the child as she had come through a horrific experience, but seemed to be adjusting and settling in. Although she hadn’t been with them long, Erin had fallen into the habit of coming to meet him at the end of his patrol. They would walk back to the abbey along the parapets, often holding hands and talking about various and sundry things.

Sometimes Decker felt Erin simply wanted to spend time with him because she saw him as a protector, and that wasn’t the worst thing, but other times he wondered if there wasn’t something more. After all, Adriana was the only witch in the clan, and he and Greg were her mates. Erin had yet to really open up about her experience, but Decker was hopeful when she felt completely safe, she would do so. It wasn’t lost on him that the three people she seemed the most comfortable with were him, Greg, and Adriana. She had a room in the main keep and had been virtually adopted by every member of the clan—child and adult alike.

Erin took hold of his hand and fell into step beside him. Sometimes she just wanted to walk, and sometimes she wanted to talk with him.

“Decker, do you think any of my family or coven could still be alive in the village?” she asked, looking up at him.

Although warriors were fierce by nature, wolves had a deep affection for those in their care, especially children. He didn’t want to lie to her, but also wanted to offer her some hope. He decided to go with the truth.

“You know, Erin, I don’t know. There’s a part of me that wants to believe that you weren’t the only survivor, but Samuel reported that what was left of the place where your coven lived had been ruined.”

She walked along for a few moments in silence, seeming to contemplate his answer. “Thank you for being honest with me. I know when my mother shoved me out of our cottage, she told me to run and not look back. I think she wanted me to search for a fairy ring so I could be protected, but I was too scared to look so I just ran.”

“Sweetie, your mom wanted you to live.”

Erin nodded. “And I didn’t want to look back because I heard everyone I knew screaming amidst the growling and howling of the wolves.”

“Can I ask you a couple of questions?”

“Sure.”

“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. I would appreciate you not lying to me, but you also don’t have to answer anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

“Okay.”

Trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible, he asked, “How did you know to come to the church in the village closest to us? That’s a long way for you to run.”

“I started for the village closest to us, where we had always traded, but one of the wolves who raided our village got in my way. He tried to tackle me and not in a fun way. I picked up a rock and hit him on the head.”

“Good for you,” said Decker wanting to ensure she knew she’d done nothing wrong. “That was really brave and smart of you. Is that how you got the blood on your clothing?”

She nodded. “It was sticky, but I was so scared, and I could see some more wolves between me and the village, so I ran in a different direction.”

“What brought you to our village?”

“I think I knew Adriana was there. I felt like something was pulling me that way.”

He didn’t want to make a big deal of her following her instinct and how, most likely, it had saved her. “You know, I can understand that. Better than most people. I felt pulled to Adriana, as well.”

“I like her.”

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