Page 67 of Lost Mate

Dylan hung on tight to him. “Don’t let me go.”

“Never.” It was a promise Ross would keep.

Conversation died while they waited for the other pack to arrive. There was a firm knock and one of the guards opened the door and guided the shifters in. The woman was tall, over six foot, with long blonde hair. The man was smaller, with white, blond hair, a similar build to Dylan. He was a wolf; Ross could tell that.

Arctic wolf, Dylan said.

Ross knew immediately who the alpha was of the two. She radiated the same power Peter and Joe Senior did. If he had to guess, he’d say the man was an omega. He gave off a gentle demeanor like Cal did.

Joe smiled at the woman. “Alpha Deakin?”

She inclined her head. “Call me Rhonda. You must be Alpha Lowther.” She sniffed, her brow wrinkled. “There’s a strange smell here. You didn’t tell me you had lions in your pack.”

“We don’t,” Joe said coldly. After Jake’s betrayal, they would never have lions in their pack, no matter the reason.

“But I can smell…never mind. This is Simon Johnson. He’s from the shifters saved by Dylan Anderson.” Rhonda surveyed the room and sniffed again, trying to make it discreet. She smiled when her gaze landed on Dylan. “Dylan, it’s good to see you again. I was worried when you went missing.”

Dylan licked his lips, staying close to Ross. “I’m sorry, alpha. I have no memory of our meeting.”

She studied him for a long moment. “Your alpha told me. At least that explains your disappearance. But we can tell you what happened up to that point. And Simon worked with you. He’ll know more than me.”

The smaller man smiled at Dylan. “Hi Dyl, it’s so good to see you again. You saved us, you know?”

“I wish I did,” Dylan said ruefully. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything.”

Simon regarded him and then flicked his gaze to Ross. “But you found your mate.”

Ross wasn’t surprised he’d worked that out. Shifters could probably smell his scent over Dylan.

He was distracted by Rhonda making a chuffing noise in the back of her throat, striding across to Niles and grabbing his collar, almost shaking him.

“You’re my mate! How can this be? Lions don’t take humans for mates.”

Niles looked terrified. “You must be mistaken, alpha.”

She leaned forward into his space and sniffed. “No, I’m not mistaken. You’re my mate.”

Ross chuckled and clapped a hand over his mouth when everyone turned to glare at him. If looks could kill, he would be ashes right now. “I’m sorry, alpha, but Niles may need some persuading.”

Rhonda tossed her head. “I can do that. Come with me.” She seemed ready to drag him out of the house and back to her pride.

“I…I…” Niles turned to the pack, all of them staring in fascinated silence. It was like a National Geographic episode, shifter style. “Quit laughing and help me?”

“Alpha, Niles is a valued member of my pack,” Joe said tentatively. He ignored Niles glaring at him. “If he is your mate, we need to talk about this. But could we discuss Dylan’s situation first? Take a seat.” He indicated the chair next to where Niles usually sat. Niles’s glare grew deeper as Rhonda dragged him to his seat and plopped him down as if he were a child.

I wish I’d recorded this, Ross said to Dylan.

You think Eli doesn’t have cameras everywhere? This’ll be around the Cavalry before the hour is out. And maybe one more wolf found his mate.

What? Where?

Dylan nudged Ross who turned to see the doc with his arm around Simon’s shoulders, guiding him to the seat next to his. The doc treated Simon as if he was the only one in the room.

Joe and Cal wore matching resigned expressions. They’d seen this all before. Their pack had just grown another couple and if the doc stayed, there would be another house to build. They’d need zoning to build a small town at this rate.

Ready to find out more about yourself? Ross asked. You must feel like the pieces are being filled in. And we don’t even have to go on the road trip.

Dylan sighed. But we still don’t know why I lost my memory. I feel like nothing will make sense until I know that. Who magicked away my memory and why?

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