Page 57 of Shark 2

He put the ring on my finger, pulled me into a hug, and whispered in my ear, “I love you, Kassidy tiger shark. And while it may have taken us longer than it should have, we don’t want to be without you ever again. I know I was the most resistant at first, but at the end of the day the one thing I look forward to the most is coming home to you.”

Jong-hyun hugged me from behind and kissed the back of my head.

Grant and Reed came forward as well and pried the twins off me to hug me next.

“We’re sorry we froze, but you’d ruined our plan,” Grant whispered in my ear.

“We’d planned to surprise you later with the ring and ask you to be our mate,” Reed said and rubbed his cheek against mine. “You seem to always surprise us when we least expect it.”

Chuckling, I wiped my tears on his shoulder. “Sorry.”

“Really? You’re taking her as a mate? All four of you are sharing one woman. A shark shifter on top of that? Not even a land shifter like you all?” Jong-kyu demanded.

“Love doesn’t care what race they are. Love can see past all inconsequential things to show you the true value of a partner,” Jong-hyun said. “Kass is smart, brave, kind, and would destroy the world for us.”

I nodded emphatically. “Torch it to the ground.”

“And we would do the same for her,” Jong-min said. He reached forward and gripped my hand. “We almost lost her twice and it opened our eyes to a world without Kass. A world that would be devoid of meaning.”

Squeezing his hand, I sniffled and said, “You’re going to make me cry again.”

“Let’s sit and finish our discussion, yeah?” Jong-min said with a smile at me.

Nodding my agreement, I planned to sit between the twins, but Reed pulled me to the couch he and Grant sat on and tucked me between them, nuzzling my cheek and kissing it.

Jong-hyun brought out a notepad as they discussed what types of food they wanted to serve, restaurant theme, and other items, marking it all down in the notepad.

“The reason we brought Jong-kyu here tonight was because he has decided to live here for a while and he is going to work at the restaurant as well,” Jong-min explained. “Any objections?”

“Nope,” I said and Grant and Reed shook their heads.

During the discussion, Grant opened the gift I’d given him and immediately put the magical ring on. It would change size and shape when they shifted, to ensure they didn’t cut off a finger or something when they shifted. They weren’t cheap, but I’d been saving up for them for a while, plus the severance pay from the aquarium had helped me refill my savings so it didn’t hurt as much.

When the others noticed the gift was also a ring, they all, while still talking, opened their boxes and put their rings on.

Looking around the room at my four soon to be mates, all wearing the rings I’d gifted them, I couldn’t stop smiling wide and I wasn’t sure I ever would.

We still had to go through the official mating process, but as all our rings glistened on our fingers, it was the best sight of my life. A sight I had never thought possible.

27

With my parents leaving so soon, the guys went into hyper mode to finalize their plans, including the menu, purchase items, create advertisements, and preparing for the grand re-opening.

All of that meant that our official mating was put on hold until we had time and weren’t rushed. None of us wanted to rush the mating, and it was enough for us to have our rings and have officially accepted each other.

As tourist season opened, a flood of annual visitors and new ones came to the city. Gina’s was so busy that we had a line out the door each day. There was no time for me to think or do more than focus on taking orders, serving drinks, and delivering the pizzas to the tables. We hired another person due to the massive increase, but they only worked part time, so I was still the main one in the front handling it all. As often as I could, I would give the two in the back breaks, since working around the oven and making pizzas was tiring. Especially when we had to also prep all the toppings, sauce, and pizza dough balls before the shift even started.

Gina gave the three of us pay raises due to our increased workload, which I was extremely grateful for.

My parents were leaving in two days, so they’d invited my soon-to-be mates and I over for dinner.

Jong-min tried to insist on cooking, but they wouldn’t accept.

After cleaning up the pizzeria like a mad woman, I raced home to shower and change.

As I finished rinsing the shampoo from my hair, the door to my shower opened. Shampoo was in my eyes, so I couldn’t see who it was. “We have to wash fast to make it to my parents’ on time.”

No one responded.

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