Page 18 of Slay All Day

“Yeah,” I sighed, my throat getting scratchy at the thought of how badly my brother’s search had been going. “I’d hate for him to lose out on finally finding his mate because he’s here with us instead of out there tracking her down. It’s been hell on him ever since he caught the faintest trace of her scent. Knowing she’s out there somewhere and not being able to find her is wreaking havoc on his state of mind.”

Connor’s head jerked back, and his brows drew together. “Damien is the best enforcer the council has. I can’t imagine him having a problem finding his mate once he’d gotten a whiff of her.”

“It’s the strangest thing.” I explained how her scent trail seemed to disappear, only to pick up again miles away out of nowhere.

Connor stepped closer, his voice going whisper-soft. “I have an idea why your brother is having such a tough time finding her.”

“You do?” I mumbled under my breath.

“There’s a kind of shifter whose scent can do that under certain circumstances.” He scraped his hands over his face. “They’re so rare that I only know of one in the entire country.”

“Could it be her?” My heart raced at the possibility that a random conversation with Connor could lead my brother to his mate.

“No, the guy was a mated male who was friends with my father.” His gaze darted toward Damien. “I haven’t seen him since I was a kid, but I think my dad mentioned that he had a daughter about twenty years ago.”

I grabbed his arm to drag him over to my brother. “C’mon, you need to tell him everything you know.”

“Hey, baby.” Trey flung his arm around my shoulder as soon as we got close, pulling me away from his alpha and against his side.

My lips curved up at his territorial display. It was unnecessary since I only had eyes for him, but I wasn’t surprised. Shifters tended to be possessive of their mates. I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before turning to my brother.

“I was telling Trey about the problems you’ve been having with your mate’s scent trail.” Damien crossed his arms over his chest, his nostrils flaring as his brows drew together. It was clear that he wasn’t happy to hear about me sharing his personal business with my new alpha, but I wasn’t about to let his irritation stop me from telling him about what I’d discovered. “Don’t get all pissy with me.”

Trey’s shoulders shook with the laughter he must have been holding back, while Connor’s eyes went wide as he mouthed, “Pissy?”

Damien had earned himself a reputation as a badass in the years he’d served as an enforcer for the shifter council, but he was still my brother. He’d never given me a reason to be scared of him. Rolling my eyes, I ignored their reactions as I continued, “It’s a good thing that I mentioned it to him because he may know why she’s been so hard to track.”

“Shit, really?” Flames swirled in his green eyes, and I knew the information had brought his dragon close to the surface.

“Yup.” I flashed him a grin before adding, “And from what he told me, there’s a really good chance that his dad used to be friends with her father way back when.”

Damien focused all of his attention on Connor as he demanded, “Tell me everything you know.”

The tiger alpha didn’t take offense at being given a command while on his own territory. Instead, he jerked his chin toward the house and offered, “Let’s go somewhere we can’t be overheard. If your mate is what I think she is, then the information I need to share with you should be kept to a small circle of people. Her kind tends to stay under the radar because their safety often depends on secrecy.”

Trey pulled me closer as we watched them walk inside. Giving me a squeeze, he brushed his lips against the side of my head. “I don’t often hear Trey speak in code. What was that all about?”

“He didn’t tell me much beyond there being a rare type of shifter whose scent does wacky things,” I explained as I rubbed my cheek against his chest. “But he’s more than welcome to be an enigma as long as he helps Damien find his mate. My brother has waited more than long enough for his happiness. It’s past time for him to experience what I’ve found with you.”

Epilogue

Trey

The sight of me shifted to my tiger form, sprawled out on the floor in front of the fireplace with Cara curled up on my back taking a nap would have shocked most people. But my mate barely reacted since she’d seen us like this countless times before. Once I’d ensured that Cara knew I was the dominant feline in our family, she’d decided I was one of her favorite people. Denica sighed and shook her head before she set our squirming three-year-old daughter down. Delaney ran toward me, squealing, “Kitty!”

I stayed in my tiger form for another five minutes so our baby girl could climb all over me. When she started to yawn and settled against my side with her thumb in her mouth, Denica picked her up and headed upstairs. I shifted back to my human form and tugged on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt before following them.

My mate was laying our half-asleep daughter on her mattress when I made my way into her room. Gliding my hand down her spine, I whispered, “I’ve got this, baby.”

“Thanks,” she mouthed back before scooting past me.

I rubbed Delaney’s back until she was finally sound asleep. After slowly lifting my hand, I padded softly across the floor and cautiously closed her bedroom door. When I looked in our bedroom, I didn’t spot my mate, so I grabbed the baby monitor and headed downstairs. I found her waiting for me in the living room. She was curled up in the recliner she had claimed as her own back when she’d been nursing Delaney. As I got near, she tilted her head back and grinned up at me. “Would you like to take a quick trip to New York City with me?”

I set the monitor on the table next to her. Then I lifted my mate off the cushion and dropped onto her spot, settling her on my lap. “Are you in the mood for a vacation, baby?”

“Nope. I just think it’s past time for me to talk to Jude about making my resignation official.” Her plump lips curved up in a grin as she wrapped her fingers around my wrist to tug my hand over to her belly. “Since I’m pregnant again.”

My fingers clenched, gently pushing against her stomach. Then I dragged her scent deep into my lungs, and the slight change to it finally hit me. I pressed her closer to my chest with my other arm, and brushed a kiss against her forehead. My voice was filled with awe when I whispered, “Another cub.”

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