Page 70 of The Witch's Shifter

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Rowan turns, and when he sets eyes on my mark, his fingers curl into tight fists.

“It’s okay,” Aurora assures them. “It doesn’t hurt, see?” She reaches up to touch it, and when her fingers trail across the scarred pink skin, my mouth almost starts to salivate. She was delicious, so soft and supple when I had her in my jaws. And the way she whimpered, my name on her tongue.

It’s a struggle not to get hard just thinking about it.

“But . . . what does it mean?” Alden asks.

“It means I claimed her,” I say, finally breaking my silence.

Everyone looks at me—including the cat. But no one speaks. If not for Harrison purring in Aurora’s arms, it would feel like the world had lost all its sound.

I’m ready, prepared should Rowan turn and attempt to strangle the life from my eyes. But without his sword, and with my injuries mostly healed, he wouldn’t have a chance against me. In fact, I’d like for him to try. It’d give me a reason to finally put him in his place.

Part of her family, I remind myself.

“So, you’re mated, then?” Rowan asks. A muscle in his jaw ticks. He’s not meeting my eyes.

Aurora gives him a tiny nod. Through our bond, I can feel her reluctance, her fear at what Rowan’s response will be.

When Harrison and the men first stepped from the cottage, our bond was overwhelmed with joy, the emotion so potent I almost forgot my own feelings about returning—hesitance, but also some excitement, some relief at being somewhere familiar. Now, the emotions I feel coming from Aurora are more tame, and when Rowan doesn’t immediately try to kill me, joy sparks again.

Being able to feel her like this will take some adjusting to. It almost makes me dizzy, how happy she is. It seems we’re unable to speak through our bond, the way full shifter mates can, but being able to feel her emotions, at least when they’re this strong, is magical in and of itself. It’s a deeper connection to her, a connection I treasure and will do anything to protect.

“I hope,” Aurora says softly, her green eyes glittering, “that we can make this work. I want us to be a family. All of us.” Her gaze finds me. “I want Faolan in my life, and I want you all to get to know one another. I’m certain you can find some common ground, right?” The smile she gives me, then the other two, is tiny but dazzling.

She’s trying so hard. I’ll be damned if I’m the one to ruin it for her.

It all rests on Rowan now.

He looks at me. I look back.

And then, with a flexing of his jaw, he slowly holds out a hand. It’s so surprising, I don’t react at first, just stare at his outstretched palm. When I first met him, he’d have rather stuck me through with a blade than put his hand in mine.

“I... I’m willing to give it a shot,” Rowan says. One of his brows quirks up. “Are you?”

The way he says it, it almost sounds like a challenge. And I love being challenged.

My lips pull back into a smirk. I put my hand in his and squeeze, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. To his credit, he doesn’t flinch.

“I am.”

Watching us, Alden laughs, then puts one arm around Aurora’s shoulders and pushes his other hand through his messy curls. “Well, guess I’ll need to build that expansion onto the cottage after all.”

“An expansion?” Aurora asks, voice like birdsong, eyes going wide.

Once more, our bond is inundated with her joy, and it’s so all-consuming, it chases away some of my apprehension.

Rowan and I give each other one more look, then trail Aurora, Harrison, and Alden toward the house, listening to Alden’s plans for expanding on the cottage to fit yet another one of us. To fitme.

And for a moment, it almost feels like they’re my family. My pack. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever have again.

Chapter 36

Aurora

“BLESSED SAMHAIN!” SELENE SAYS WHEN I open the door and find her and Wyland standing on the front porch. Wyland holds Fletcher against his chest, and Gwynn is perched upon Selene’s shoulder, eyes bright and inquisitive. It’s afternoon, and the sun is high in the sky, turning the dry grass and fallen leaves around the cottage a shimmering golden hue.

“Blessed Samhain,” I repeat. Then my gaze flicks over Selene’s shoulder. Behind her, all I see are leaves skittering across the ground and the pine boughs swaying a bit in the breeze. I’m almost afraid to ask, but I force the words out. “Where’s Mama?”