“Show off.” Jessica rolled her eyes and flicked a little energy ball at the trunk. It hit, and Ethern sneezed with such force he trumpeted out a loud call. The door banged open, and Hunter ran into the room.
“What the fuck?” His mouth fell open when he saw the human with a trunk.
Isobel looked over to Kingsley. He hadn’t even flinched during the commotion.
“Come on.” She took Zain’s hand. “Let’s get you to bed. Hunter, I think you need to watch these two with my brother.” She winked, and Zain led her from the room.
The weight of the day’s events felt heavy on her shoulders. She wanted nothing more than a shower and sleep. Zain opened the door to the room they would be sharing. Hunter’s home was palatial and modern, which was a stark contrast to the Glacial Blood mansion. His pack had money, and lots of it. Something to do with oil, but she wasn’t sure what. The room was minimal with white walls, oak furniture, and a king-sized bed. It was wonderfully inviting.
“Shower?” Zain asked.
“Please.”
“I’ll turn it on. You get undressed. There’s a robe in the wardrobe for you.”
“Thank you.” She watched Zain disappear into the bathroom and heard him turn on the shower. She removed her clothes and placed them neatly on a chair in the corner of the room. It suddenly hit her that these were the only clothes she had in the world. Everything she owned was back at her father’s home. She had nothing: no mementos of her childhood, or her adult life. The pictures she had of her and Zain growing up, and the ones with Kingsley holding her as a baby, were all in her bedroom. Would her father ever allow her to get these things? She clutched her chest. It hurt. Zain came back into the room carrying a toothbrush.
“Hey.” He placed it down on a set of drawers. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t even have any clothes to change into?”
He looked to where she’d folded her belongings.
“We can get you some, don’t worry.”
“But they won’t be mine?”
He bowed his head.
“I can send Jessica and Ethern in to get them if you want?”
She shook her head.
“No, we need to all stay away from my father. It can be a new start. I can ditch the geeky librarian clothes. Maybe go for something a bit edgier. I don’t have to play the respectful senator’s daughter anymore.”
“You don’t, but it will always be who you are, Izzy. I love the person you are. You’re kind, honest, helpful, and a little bit of a geek just like me. It’s why we fit together. It’s why I love you.” He bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “What happens now is going to take a lot of adjustment, but we’ll do it together. You were right when you said we’d wasted too much time when we could have been with each other. I’m not going to waste another minute. I could have died today, and I would never have seen you again.”
“No,” she whimpered. The thought of him dying made her heart hurt even more.
“A new life together.” He placed his hand over her heart. “You and I against the world as it was destined to be. Nobody can get in our way again.”
She moved her hand to entwine her fingers with his.
“You called me your mate back in the laboratory. Is it like marriage?”
“It’s better than marriage.”
“I don’t understand.” She cocked her head in confusion.
“Mating’s stronger than marriage to a shifter. Marriage can be broken, but mating can’t. It’s about leaving your mark on your mate. Everyone will know you're taken. A shifter will smell me on you.”
“Can’t they do that anyway after we’ve….you know?” She blushed.
“Fucked?”
“Yes.”
“They can, but it is different. I want you in both the human and the shifter way, Isobel. I want you as my wife and my shifter mate. The wedding may have to wait a little bit until we can sort out the details. I want to give you a lavish ceremony, but the mating, we can do it tonight if you want. I know I don’t want to waste another second without you being intrinsically linked to me.”