Page 8 of Dancing Moonbeam

“Okay, I stuck around.” His mate’s lavender-gray eyes sparkled with mischief.

Jaytee frowned.

Moonbeam spread his arms. “It’s Friday.”

“That trip took more out of me than I thought.” He admitted with a soft chuckle.

Moonbeam snorted. “Traveling can play havoc with you.”

The playful banter between them only added to the electricity in the air, making this moment with his mate all the more unforgettable.

“Is your twin always so…” Moonbeam tapped his chin.

“Cocky?” Jaytee filled in for him. “Yeah, but he’s usually not an asshole about it. I think all of us are just dog-tired from traveling. Please accept my apology on his behalf, Moonbeam.”

That underlying alluring scent was still there, still calling to Jaytee, to his wolf, but he somehow managed to beat it back. He wanted to ask what his mate was, but he was afraid of pushing too hard and causing the guy’s tension to return.

“Moonbeam?” His mate burst into laughter, sounding like a symphony in the air. “I forgot you called me that in the café.”

Jaytee was absolutely enchanted with him. “I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that’s not your real name.” He held a hand over his heart. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jaytee Frost. My knucklehead twin is Damon, and my other brother is Jax.”

Moonbeam’s laughter bubbled over again. “Jax Frost? Does he nip at noses?”

His brother’s name had been a bane to him many times over his 247 years. While most simply snickered good-naturedly, Jaytee couldn’t count how many times Jax had gotten into fights with jackasses who cruelly teased him about it.

“Never made the connection.” Jaytee grinned.

His mate brushed his golden hair back when it had fallen forward from his amusement. Jaytee held back a gasp when he caught a glimpse of a pointed ear before Moonbeam settled the strands over it.

He’d heard of wood elves and fairies, just never met one. That was why his mate’s scent had confused him. Which species was Moonbeam?

“My name is Raidh.” He didn’t give a last name. “But I kinda like Moonbeam better.”

“Sweetheart, I’ll call you whatever you want.” Jaytee moved a little closer. The underlying scent grew stronger, but this time his wolf didn’t go apeshit over it. Instead, his beast wrapped itself around it, bathed in it.

Jaytee snarled and jerked forward, snatching his mate behind him when a woman appeared out of thin air and yelled, “He’s sent your sister to fetch you!”

The woman was tiny, even shorter than Raidh—who looked only around five feet tall—with olive-colored skin and cobalt-blue hair that could rival a unicorn’s mane. Were all pointy-eared people breathtaking?

She let out a high-pitched squeak when she saw Jaytee. Then she tugged fiercely on his arm as if she could actually pull his three hundred pounds of solid muscle away from Raidh. With a raised eyebrow, Jaytee lifted his arm, and she dangled helplessly in midair.

“I got him, Raidh. Run!” she yelled frantically.

Jaytee looked at the petite woman dangling precariously from his beefy wrist. Demons were known for their ability to teleport through shadows, but there weren’t any shadows on the side of the café. Neither the female nor Raidh were demons, which only added to his confusion. Could wood elves or fairies teleport?

Raidh just blinked at her. “What exactly do you have, Elvine? A wolf-sized pull-up bar?”

“Why did you attack me?” Jaytee asked, perplexed. “Raidh and I were just talking. I wasn’t hurting him or anything.”

Elvine’s reaction had been too swift and fierce, leading him to question the nature of her relationship with Raidh. Were they friends, family, or something more? If they were involved romantically, it would complicate the hell out of things.

Although preternatural looked for their mate throughout their existence, because they never truly felt whole until they found their other half, they didn’t just sit around waiting. They became involved in relationships or started families. Shifters lived for a thousand years, and that was one hell of a long time to remain single.

But Jaytee never understood the ones who chose to start a family with a human. To watch their loved ones grow old and die? To outlive generations of descendants?

Raidh placed a delicate hand on Jaytee’s broad shoulder, making physical contact with him for the first time. The touch was electrifying, igniting a longing within him that he’d never felt before. “Elvine is just a bit...overprotective.”

“I am not overprotective!” Elvine protested as she dangled. “You just have a knack for getting into trouble.”

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