Page 81 of Heir

She blinked a few times, coming to terms with how long we were gone. “Jeez, time just flew by.” Her gaze softened when she looked at me. “But in a really great way.”

I grinned like an idiot at her, puffing up my chest just enough for the other two to take notice. I could feel the heat of Maxar’s envy, and the death-glare from Drak had me chuckling.

Yeah. Too bad, suckers. The key to this little demon’s heart was compassion, patience, and a soft place to land. And I was going to give her all of those things and more because she was my mate, and I was head over paws, madly in love with her.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Omaera

Even though my heart was in shambles, I felt a lot better when I climbed into the shower.

Zandren, in bear form, was a sight to behold.

He was massive, first of all. His paws were enormous, his claws long and sharp, and don’t even get me started on those lethal canines of his. And yet, with me, he was a teddy bear. A Pooh Bear.

My Pooh Bear.

He let me cry into his fur, grip it until my knuckles ached, and scream into his neck so loudly that I’m sure people thought there was a murder happening in the woods.

He gave me exactly what I needed when I didn’t even know I needed it.

And for some reason, breaking down while he was in bear form was easier than if he’d been in human form. I felt less . . . vulnerable. Even though he could understand me and would remember everything we discussed after he shifted, it just felt safer on my soul.

Then Drak showed up and ruined everything—the fucker.

What the hell was his problem?

Zandren and Maxar had no problem being away from me. But Drak threw a hissy fit whenever I mentioned the two of us being apart. Then he followed Zandren and me into the woods.

Talk about boundary issues.

He also looked worse than I’d ever seen him when he found us on the trail. Normally, he was a pasty-faced robot, and I didn’t let his lack of color worry me too much. But when I saw him coming toward us, the man looked near death. That didn’t stop me from being pissed off at him, of course. But my continued concern for him lingered on the fringes too. And the fear and concern for my whereabouts, that was clear as day in his mind. It hit me hard in the solar plexus, softening a lot of my ire.

I might joke about wanting him dead, but I didn’t actually want the guy to die. Regardless of my general dislike of him, I still felt that infernal, magical pull toward him. It was why, despite what my spiteful brain told me to do—like not bring down a mug for his coffee—I did it anyway. Because as much as I fought it, I knew we were Fated Mates. My gut was never wrong, and my gut told me that these three weirdos were . . . mine.

The longer I spent with them, the stronger the pull. The stronger the attraction. I felt it more with Zandren than the other two, but I’m sure I’d feel it just as much with Maxar and Drak, eventually. Well, maybe not Drak, but probably Maxar.

I still wasn’t totally on board with the whole bonding or claiming thing, but we’d cross that bridge once we found and dealt with Delia’s killers. One thing at a time.

Still wrapped up in a towel after my shower, I sat down to pee and when I wiped, I saw red.

Oh, wonderful. My period was here.

It’d been inconsistent my entire life. I never knew when it was coming. Sometimes I was every twenty-nine days, then I’d go a lovely thirty-seven or forty between. Or, the universe would get drunk and forget, and make my cycle extra short—like twenty-one days. Stupid universe.

Just peachy keen jellybean.

Growling, I dug around under the bathroom sink for my menstrual disc. I’d pre-sanitized after my last period, so it was good to go. These little silicone things were a game changer. Better for the environment, safer than tampons, and they held more blood too.

After I washed my hands, I stepped out of the bathroom into my bedroom.

The loft was a peculiar layout. Even though there were only two bedrooms, there were also two bathrooms. But the one bathroom had two doors, each one opening to a bedroom. The other bathroom was just on its own off the hallway. Gemma and I usually just shared the joining bathroom, but it was nice to have two just in case we got food poisoning.

After I selected my clothes for the day—denim cutoffs, and a black metal-band T-shirt cut into a crop top and that slid off my shoulder. I decided I wanted to let my skin breathe and went makeup free. My hair would take a while to dry if I stayed inside, but if I went out—like I intended to—it would be dry in no time.

I opened my bedroom door to hear the three men arguing.

Ugh! I rolled my eyes and went to the coffeemaker to brew a new batch, since the stuff in the carafe was cold.

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