Page 289 of Primal Bonds

“’Kay. Where?”

“Delaware. But unless the city catches fire, handle it. Anything else can wait until I get back.”

“So this isn’t business.”

“No.”

“You going to tell me what it’s about?”

“No.”

“Does it have anything to do with the little convo you and Rosana do Rio had at the Full Moon last night?”

He scowled. The clan grapevine had been working overtime. “And if it does?”

Marjani had told him straight up that this yen he had for the Rock Run alpha’s little sister was insane. Hellfire, he knew that himself. But he couldn’t let it go. His cougar insisted Rosana was his mate, but that was insane. Adric couldn’t think of one single earth/water fada mating, anywhere.

What would their cubs be, anyway? Catfish?

“Because.” Marjani set a hand on his arm. “If she’s your mate, maybe you need to stop fighting it.”

He almost choked on his coffee. He set down the cup. “Is this the same sister who’s always telling me to forget about Rosana? That it will only fuck things up for me and the clan?”

Her dark eyes flickered. “I know, I know. It’s the wrong thing for the clan, and we both know it. But Adric, this thing I have with Fane—I couldn’t turn away from it if I tried. If either of us rejected the other, it would literally kill us both.”

He wrapped his arms around her still-too-thin body. “That’s because you accepted the bond. I haven’t, and I never will. You know I can’t. I’m alpha, and there are still people who are unhappy with that. I can’t give them any more fuel for their fire.”

She looped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. “So you do feel the bond.”

He stiffened. “No. Just the…possibility. And that’s all it’ll ever be. I promise.”

“Oh, Ric. Don’t make promises like that. Because if something changes…” She shook her head against his shoulder. “I just want you to be happy. You deserve it, more than anybody.”

He pulled back and grinned. “Well, I intend to get very happy tonight.”

Marjani chuckled, like he’d meant her to—and the sound went straight to his heart. These last few years, there’d been times when he’d wondered if she’d ever laugh again.

“Good.” She gave him a squeeze and released him. “And don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. For the next twenty-four hours, forget you’re alpha. Just be Ric.”

Chapter 4

Rosana waited until breakfast was almost over before making her announcement.

They were in the spacious cavern that served as the Rock Run Clan’s dining hall. It was the second breakfast shift—the fishers and marine workers were already out on the river or at the marina, their children in the creche. Now the warriors took their turn before heading off to their duties.

Dion sat at the table’s head with her brother Tiago on the opposite end. Lucky her—Tiago had stopped by with his dryad mate, so she had not one, but two big brothers to deal with.

Across from Rosana, Dion’s mate Cleia fed strawberries to little Brisa, back to her usual cheerful, high-energy self. On the bench next to Rosana, Tiago’s mate Alesia dug into a bowl of yogurt and berries. Perched beside her was Tiago’s otter friend Fausto, greedily downing a heaping plate of raw mussels.

Rosana took a deep breath. “I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m going to the beach.” She spoke in English for Alesia’s benefit. The dryad only knew a smattering of Portuguese.

“I have a couple of days off and…” Rosana trailed off as Dion and Tiago turned identical frowns on her. The only two of her four brothers still at Rock Run, they could be scarily alike. Same wavy black hair tied back with a leather string. Same steel-blue eyes. Same disapproving scowls on their good-looking faces.

Fausto paused in the act of cracking open a mussel to dart a glance at Rosana. He might not understand English, but he could detect the abrupt change in atmosphere.

“Which beach?” Dion asked.

She hitched a shoulder. “I don’t know. Somewhere on the Eastern Shore—Delaware, or maybe one of the Maryland beaches. I’ll be back by tomorrow night.”

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