Page 23 of Flare
“You’re going to wear a hole right through that platter,” Maggie said at last, nudging him with her elbow as she dried wine glasses beside him.“What’s bugging you, Eddie?”
Ward turned his head to glare at her.“YouknewEmily’s fiancé was a bear shifter.”
Maggie shook her head.“Not until she got to my place on Thursday night, I swear.”
“But you knew she was engaged, didn’t you? Why try to set us up when I went to Rob’s concert?” Ward let his frustration show.“Don’t tell me you can’t smell the mating bond on her!”
“Of course I can.” Maggie shot him a glance filled with mixed sympathy and apology.“And no, I didn’t know she was engaged. Or that Andrew Brunborn had mated her.” Her mouth twisted as if his name left a nasty taste in her mouth.
Ward’s senses informed him she was telling the truth.
She added,“I wasn’t jerking you around, cuz. I know you’ve always had feelings for her.”
He didn’t answer.
“And she says she’s done with Andrew. She returned his engagement ring.”
Ward sighs.“Does she know about shifters?”
Maggie shakes her head.“I don’t think so. Andrew didn’t seem like the type to confide in an Ordinary. Not even his mate. Especially since she held all the cards in that relationship. No way he’d let her know that.”
Ward’s gut clenched.
Grandma Elle had promised to protect Emily if… when… Andrew came after her.
But the family sure as hell didn’t need Ward pouring gasoline on the flames by claiming another shifter’s mate.
“I always thought you two would be good together,” Maggie said as Ward reached for the bowl that had held the garlic-roasted potatoes.
Ward turned his head and stared incredulously at his cousin.“Did you forget the part where Andrew’s already mated her?”
“That doesn’t matter if Emily’s rejected him. Look, you know I dated Andrew,” she said, her voice flat.“And let me tell you, he was a negging creep. He also doesn’t take no for an answer.”
Ward’s shoulders tightened. He’d never encountered Andrew Brunborn, but he was ready to shred the other shifter’s hide if they ever met.“Is that why he and Cade had that fistfight in the Hair of the Dog’s parking lot, just before Grandma Elle trespassed him?”
“Yup. We met up for a ShiftMatch date. He told me I wasn’t his type but wanted to sleep with me anyway, didn’t respect my no, and then Cade showed up to help me when things got ugly.” Her grin flashed momentarily at the mention of her husband, then expression turned serious again.“Mate bond or not, I can’t imagine Andrew treated Emily with the respect she deserves.”
Ward’s jaw tightens.“Asshole.”
“Exactly,” Maggie sighed.“Now she’s left him, and from what she’s told me, there isn’t a chance in hell she’s ever getting back together again with him. But when Andrew comes for her… you might lose your chance. Because she could run again.”
Ward’s gut twisted at the thought of Emily leaving.“I don’t want to scare her off. She just got here. But if Andrew’s been treating her badly, she’s gonna need some time. And space.”
“She needs someone solid to protect her,” Maggie said, not looking at him.“Someone who makes her feel safe. And you? You’re as solid as they come, Eddie.”
He let out a breath, heart pounding, bear pacing beneath his skin. He wanted to believe Maggie more than anything, but couldn’t let her give him false hope.
“You know mating bonds don’t work the same way with Ordinaries,” she continued.“We can form a lifelong bond with them, but they don’t bond to us in return. They can walk away. Or take a second mate, like Matt sharing Sophie with Chris.”
She was referring to Bearpaw Ridge’s biggest scandal, when Ordinary human Dr. Sophie Markidis had taken both Maggie’s older brother Matt and Matt’s best friend Chris Langlais as her mates.
Sophie had recently returned to Bearpaw Ridge to do her residency at the shifter medical center downtown. None of the trio had shown up for tonight’s dinner.
Ward braced his wet hands against the edge of the counter, suddenly exhausted. He wanted Emily more than he’d ever wanted anything else.
For a moment, he let himself imagine it—Emily in his arms, in his home, her scent mingling with his until no one could tell where one ended and the other began.
But the thought of challenging another shifter’s mate bond—even a one-sided one—went against everything he’d been taught about ethics and clan law.
