Page 37 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

He nods, but doesn’t seem convinced. To be honest, I’m worried too. Just because she’ll feel the pull of the mate bond doesn’t mean she’ll stay.

Her heat cycle will start soon, and without her knowing how to properly break the connection between us, she’ll be in physical pain. I can’t let that happen. We’ll have to do whatever we can to persuade her to not leave.

Charlie straightens and his tone changes to that of the oldest: commanding and authoritative. “Keep a close eye on her. If she runs, she’ll freeze to death.” He gestures toward the front yard and slaps Connor on the shoulder. “And whatever you do, don’t give up.”

“I’ll finish packing.” Kimberly heads back into the bedroom.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I ask, “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah,” Charlie says. “We think you three need some time alone. We can’t go far because of the kids and the blizzard, but we’ll camp out in the shack hunters use as a shelter about half a mile from here. We’ll be back tomorrow. Don’t screw this up. You get one chance.”

“No shit.” I grumble.

We help Charlie and Kimberly get the kids ready before saying goodbye at the back door.

Kimberly hugs me. “Don’t be too hard on her.” Then she hugs Connor. “Be patient and understanding. All will work out as it should.”

“We’ll do our best,” Connor tells her.

“We’ll see you soon. Good luck.” Charlie hugs us both once Kimberly has moved aside.

With a quick pat on the back, he releases us and takes his daughter’s hand. The two children link up, and Kimberlyholds onto her son’s hand. They walk into the heavy snowfall and disappear from sight. While we’re not completely resilient to cold temperatures, it would take much longer to affect us than it will take for our brother and his family to reach their destination.

And the kids love it. I can still hear their giggles in the distance. A smile curves my lips. I can’t wait to have a family of my own. Watching Charlie and Kimberly with their little ones is a beautiful sight. One I’ve dreamed of being a part of with my mate for decades.

Connor walks off into the house; I call out to him.

“Where are you headed?”

“I don’t know.” His voice has a hint of sadness to it. “Maybe sit with her until she wakes up. Commit her image to memory just in case.”

I release a heavy sigh. He needs a distraction before he worries himself to death.

Mind linking with him, I suggest,Why don’t you cook something? She’ll probably be hungry when she wakes up.

Chapter

Six

CONNOR

I’m not much of a cook. Kimberly does most of the cooking around here, but I’m definitely better than Grant or Charlie. Reece has been through a lot, and there’s no telling how long she’ll sleep. Trying to talk to her on an empty stomach isn’t going to help anyone, so I take Grant’s advice and only sneak a small glance at her before heading into the kitchen.

Grant follows me, probably to make sure I don’t overthink things as I usually do. I look in the fridge and find a casserole with a sticky note on top of the aluminum foil it’s covered in.

While I’m thankful Kimberly thought ahead and had dinner planned out like she usually does, I’m a bit disappointed I don’t have anything to distract myself with.

I take it out and preheat the oven as it’s instructed on the note.

I rest my elbows on the counter and sigh.What now?

I glance over at Grant. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, staring off into the distance. Probably trying to come up with another way to get me out of my own head. He always does this. If something bothers me, Grant has to fix it. Simply because he’sa few minutes older, he feels like it’s his job to help me. Charlie does the same thing. It drives me crazy.

I know they care, but sometimes there’s no fixing things. Just being with me is enough. Kimberly is the most helpful. She’ll just sit with me instead of trying to fix the problem or find a way to distract me. Sometimes she’ll talk about random things, and it takes my mind off whatever is bothering me. I could really use that right now, but talking isn’t my brother’s strong suit.

Grant’s head suddenly shoots up and his back straightens. I inwardly cringe at the movement. He’s got an idea.

“Why don’t you go cut more firewood?” he asks.

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