Page 21 of Siren in the Rain

“Be… gentle and careful with him,” Harper says cautiously. “That young man has been through a lot. He might not be ready for what you want for quite some time.”

My ears droop and my heart aches. “I know. We’ll take things at his pace. I’d never force him into anything he doesn’t want. He’s my mate. I’ll do whatever it takes to help him heal and be whole again. I’ll wait. No matter how long it takes.” I shrug. “There is no one else for me from now on.”

Cal reaches over the row of seats behind me and squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Griff. You’re too fucking sweet and full of sunshiny goodness for anyone to resist for long. And no one can fight against the attack of your puppy-dog eyes.” He reaches up to rub one of my ears, and I press into the touch, tail flapping faster. “And these ears! So fluffy and irresistible. Seriously, you’re cuteness incarnate.” He shakes his head ruefully. “If a sarcastic and jaded sonofabitch like me couldn’t hold out against you, then neither will this guy.”

I gaze at him adoringly. “Thank you, Cal! That makes me feel so much better.”

He covers his face with one hand. “Gah! There they are again. I seriously can’t with those eyes, man.”

Ruby snorts out a laugh. “Your bromance will always crack me up.”

Cal leans closer and nuzzles my ears with a loud sigh. “Ignore her. Our bromance is a beautiful thing. It was meant to be.”

“Are you guys always… like this?” Emma asks suddenly, her eyes darting between us all.

“Pretty much,” I admit.

“We’re all really tight,” Ruby says. “Most of us were alone in the world until we joined the team. Now we’re a big, quirky family.”

Emma’s eyes turn to my mate’s sleeping form. “If anyone needs a family like that, it’s Shae.” Her voice is soft as she continues to talk. “His own father and stepmother were responsible for his captivity.”

A growl bubbles up in my throat and I want to gnash my teeth in outrage. Then I look at Shae, curled up in a protective ball, and I want to cry. The last hour and a half has been an emotional roller coaster for me, but I know it’s all so much worse for my mate.

“His own family?” Ruby whispers, her face lined with sorrow. “How horrible.”

Cal stares out the window with a scowl. “Blood relationships don’t mean shit in my experience. Good riddance to those fuckers.”

“We’ll be his family, if he’ll have us,” Dallas chimes in from the driver’s seat.

My heart swells with pride as I survey my friends. We might be a group of oddballs in the eyes of most people, but I wouldn’t trade a single one of us, and I will always thank my lucky stars for the day Dallas saved me and brought me into the fold.

I glance at my mate. I just hope Shae will let us do the same for him.

Feeling that odd warmth in my pocket again, I pull out the gold coin I picked up earlier. New writing appears, unsolicited, on the side with the engraved dragon: Trust your instincts. You got this.

I’m instantly encouraged.

Then I hesitate. Can it read my mind?

“So cool,” I whisper as I stare at it in a way that totally isn’t creepy or Gollum-esque.

“What the hell is that?” Cal asks.

I turn in my seat and hand it to him. “Found it on the ground before we went into the shelter. It’s been giving me advice.”

Cal studies the coin, turning it over in his hands, and I see the sigils on his arms flare silver briefly. “There’s some seriously strong magic coming off this thing.” He frowns. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

I bite my lip. “Do you sense any bad vibes from it? Magically, I mean.”

He studies it a moment longer and then hands it back. “Nope. It’s more like the thing’s… sentient? I don’t know how to describe it. There’s some mischievous intent but nothing dangerous or dark that I can tell. Seems like it wanted you to find it. If it starts doing anything weird, let me know.”

“Leave it to Griff to find a magic coin that doles out love advice,” Ruby snickers. “Talk about lucky.”

Everyone else wants a chance to check it out, so I pass it around while Shae sleeps on. I’ll tell him about it later. After all, I believe this magic coin’s tied to us finding each other the way we did.

When I have it back, I clutch it tight and watch my mate as he slumbers curled up in his seat, head resting on the window. There’s a furrow in the middle of his brow, and even in sleep, the emotions rolling off him make me ache with the need to comfort him.

I redouble my efforts in pumping out my SCSS and gradually the line between his brow smooths out and his body relaxes.

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