Page 45 of Midnight Whispers
“Not now.”
Riley sighed and made sure he was loud enough for his dad to hear him.
They got in the car and pulled onto the road when his dad finally spoke again. “Do you even know what the mating marks mean?”
“He explained it.”
“You made a lifelong commitment to a man you barely know.” Dad’s jaw muscles ticked.
“He’s your best friend, Dad. Are you saying I shouldn’t trust him? I trusted your judgment.” Riley could tell he won that part of their argument.
“You’re not ready for it, Riley. You just lost your mom. You’re starting college.”
“And seriously considering starting a business.” It had been rolling around in his mind since Griffin put it there. He first had to decide if he wanted to bake as a profession. He loved doing it but wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it for a living. He feared it would become a chore after a while. He wasn’t sure if that would be the case. He fell into the task, allowing it to empty his mind. His thoughts could flow freely.
“That’s a conversation for another time.”
“Agreed. But you brought it up.”
Riley wasn’t sure what he said, but something made Iven chuckle and shake his head. “I need to change my argument points, don’t I?”
“I don’t see why you even want to argue with me.” Riley stared out the window as the town disappeared behind them. “It’s notyour decision. It’s not the rest of your life. It’s the rest of mine. And honestly, I’m lucky.”
“How so?”
“First tell me where we’re going.” Riley dreaded the answer. Panic formed in his chest.
“To find Cass.”
“He’s missing?” Riley’s stomach twisted in knots, and he sent silent prayers that nothing was wrong but deep down he knew what his gut was telling him.
“No. Not really. He went after a suspect alone. Which was a stupid thing to do. You’ll be able to help me locate him.” His dad was worried too. Riley could tell in the way he white-knuckled the steering wheel.
“Is he in danger?”
“Hopefully not, but I won’t lie to you. He could be.”
“How will I be able to help you find him?”
“Through your mating bond. I’ll show you when we get there.” Dad took a deep breath and let it out as if attempting to not panic. “Now tell me how lucky you are?”
Riley appreciated the distraction, although it didn’t help that much.
“Cass is…he’s protective. And that has kept us from bonding up to last night.” Riley wasn’t sure how much he should say, but he wanted to be honest. “Neither of us planned it. We just wanted to be together. We were caught up in the moment.”
“He put you at risk by bonding with you.”
“Yet here we are with the potential to face danger.” Riley would have gone, regardless of who needed him, but it was Cass. His mate. His life partner. He had a whole new level of fear he had never experienced before.
“How else are you lucky? Besides Cass’s protectiveness.”
“He’s not impulsive. I like that he’s a little wiser than me. He’s thoughtful. He asks my opinion. He asks me to do stuff with him. He doesn’t take me for granted.”
Iven sighed, but he smiled. “None of that surprises me.”
“Because you know him.”
“Yes, I do.” Iven sighed. “I want to find the mistake.”
