Page 103 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

I couldn’t lie to my mate. “Well, yes. I love our home, but if you don’t, we’ll build you a new house, one that you’ll love. Making you happy will always come first.”

She let out an adorable huff. “We definitely need to talk.”

Upon reaching the second floor, I banged on Beck’s door. “Meeting on the deck.”

He must have heard us coming because his door swung open immediately. He pulled Nova in for a hug.

“Hey sweetheart. Are you hungry? Want me to grab some food,” he asked as he stepped back.

“Kato said he’s getting some,” Nova replied.

“Let’s go sit down,” I said, lightly tugging Nova down the hallway and onto the deck.

“Holy shit. This place just keeps getting better and better!” Nova obviously wasn’t afraid of heights. She left my side to wander around the deck. “I am definitely spending time out here. This is amazing.”

She ran her hand along the edge of the hot tub, the railing and then the fireplace.

“This and the pool are my favourite spots,” Beck said. “Even during the winter, we come out here to relax. We have propane heaters that keep it toasty.”

There was a tap on the door and when I opened it, Kato came in with a huge charcuterie board. He set it on the table before setting out plates and napkins.

Beck grabbed three beers from the fridge. “We have beer, water, apple juice or orange juice, Nova. Or I can make you coffee, hot chocolate or tea if you’d prefer something warm.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll take a beer.”

Once we were all seated with plates full of a variety of cheese, crackers, meat and olives, I glanced at each of my brothers before settling my gaze on Nova. “I’m sure you have questions, Nova. Would you like to start?”

“Yeah, not so much. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the whole mate thing.” Bright spots of colour appeared on her cheeks. “I, um, read a lot of romance books. I remembered that fated mate is a very popular trope.”

“Say what now,” Kato asked, confusion written all over his face. “There’s a trope for that?”

Her head nodded up and down eagerly. “Yep. And RH or reverse harem. So, I think I have a good grasp on what’s going tohappen. You all belong to me and I to you three. You will never cheat on me and if you do, well then I’ll hunt you down and it won’t be pleasant. You’ll always put my happiness above your own.” She smiled at me. “Like with the house. If I wasn’t happy here, you’d work to fix it. Sound about right?”

Beck laughed out loud, a deep belly laugh. “She’s perfect.”

“We do still have things to discuss,” I said.

“Yeah,” Kato added. “Where are we all going to sleep?”

Nova took a sip of her beer and cleared her throat. “I’d like to know more about the island. And what exactly you were doing on my yacht.”

“You’ll love the island. When we introduce you and Mary as our mates, everyone will welcome you,” Beck said. “We’ll have a huge celebration that everyone will attend. Our dad is the alpha of the shoal. That means he’s the man in charge, but we run more as a democracy, voting on most things.”

“Regarding why we were on your yacht, we have been contracted by a top-secret division of the Canadian government that is aware of the existence of shifters.” A division that knows shifters exist. We were on your ship to gain access to Trent’s computer. They’ve been trying to nail him for quite some time, but the slippery fucker has always managed to escape justice.” I paused to clear my throat. “He somehow found out that shifters existed and has been kidnapping them and selling them to foreign governments.”

“Apparently Roy, the man who hired us, got impatient when captain Jody, their undercover agent, wasn’t getting answers fast enough.” Beck picked up Nova’s hand and placed a kiss on her palm. “Luckiest day of our lives. And with the information found on your yacht, Trent should get picked up by Roy’s people very soon.”

“He was selling people? I’m lucky he wanted me for my money,” Nova said with a growl.

Kato popped an olive in his mouth. “Humans and shifters. He wasn’t picky.”

“I’m so glad my mom didn’t leave that piece of shit anything. Mom must have already been suspicious of him because she was getting ready to leave him.” She wiped a stray tear from her eye. “That’s probably what got her killed.”

I stood, picked her up and sat down with her on my knee. “I’m sorry you lost your mom.”

“I’m glad we had a small part in making Trent pay for it. He won’t be going to a regular prison, so you don’t have to worry about him ever getting out,” Beck reassured our mate.

“Good. I hope he lives to be a hundred, rotting in his own filth in a hole somewhere.” Nova’s eyes were lit with a fiery vengeance. I liked seeing this side of her.

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