Page 46 of Dawn Unearthed

Sage’s eyes narrowed. “You say that.Everyonekeeps saying that. That I’m not ready for the magic. I’m not ready to know the history of this town. But I’ve been through two attacks, have seen magic, and shifters, and everything else I didn’t believe was real. And I haven’t run away yet. Don’t think so little of me.”

I let out a breath, and my bear growled at me. “I would never think little of you, Sage. I’m an alpha bear. I could hurt you.”

“Could you? Or are you worried that you don’t know if it’s fate or something real?”

I didn’t know what I could say to that other than what I knew was our truth. “Fate is real. That’s what makes us who we are. Determines how we push and pull against the force itself.”

She swallowed hard and looked at me again. “Then talk to me. Who are you, Rome?”

How was I supposed to answer that? “I’m me. A bear shifter. An alpha. I grew up here.”

“And you say that I could be yours forever. I don’t know what that means.”

“What do you want to know, Sage?”

She looked around us and bit her lip. “Can we go inside? I don’t know who might be watching.”

I tilted my head, inhaled. “No one’s near enough to listen in, but yes, we can go inside.”

She laughed, shook her head. “Extra-sharp senses could be handy.”

“We should see if there’s a spell to find out if someone or something’s listening in. Witches are very handy.”

She brightened slightly. “Maybe. I learned how to hold water today.”

I grinned at the pride in her voice as I let her inside. “Seriously? That’s great.”

Sage practically bounced as she spoke. “It was a sphere, and I only got Rowen and me a little wet.”

I looked at her dry clothes. “Did Rowen do her air thing to dry you off?”

She beamed. “Yes, something I will probably take another decade to learn.”

“I’ve grown up knowing who I am and about the magic in our world. I don’t know what I would do if I suddenly found myself finding out that everything was new and completely different.”

“It feels like a veil has been lifted. Things were always different for me. The tattoos for one.”

My bear anchor slid over my body and peaked out of my collar, wanting to see our mate.

Sage’s eyes widened as she looked at it. “I’ll never get used to them moving around.”

“I find it funny that some of my ink doesn’t move,” I said with a laugh. “I have more tattoos than the bear.”

Her gaze darkened a bit, and my cock hardened. Now I wanted to show her every drop of ink on my body, but I refrained. This was about getting to know each other, not stripping each other naked, and marking her as mine.

“I feel a pull towards you, Rome.”

“Good,” I said, relief pouring through me, even as undeniable hunger clawed at my insides. “We don’t have to do anything about it, Sage.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if that’s what I want. You’re a very handsome man, Rome. I love how you are around the cubs and how protective you are. I could see myself going out on a date with you. I really could. And this pull? I don’t know. I’m not good at this. I wasn’t even good about this with Rupert.”

My bear sat up, intrigued, not jealous at all of the man she had once loved. There was no competition with a ghost, and there shouldn’t be. There needed to be balance. Only I didn’t know how to find that.

“You weren’t like this with Rupert?” I paused. “You don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want to.”

She shook her head. “I always talk about him. And I don’t know if that’s weird to anyone else, but he was a huge part of my life and will always be in my memories. So, I talk about him. I loved him. I love him differently now, a feeling that is more about a memory that feels difficult to hold onto. He’ll always be there. I told myself when I was ready to start dating again, that I wouldn’t compare anyone else to him. That I would try my best not to compare myself to who I was before with him. I’m not the same person who married Rupert. I’m not even the same woman I was when I first drove into this town.”

“That person ran out in the middle of a storm to try and lift me out from under a tree. I like that person, just as I like the woman in front of me.”

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