Page 34 of Juneau Heat (Urban Heat 1)

“No. She played me for a fool. She wanted to push him to make her his mate. She was not alpha material, so I doubt it worked out in the end.”

“I thought you said you had to respect her as his mate, but now you’re saying she wasn’t?”

“He claimed her as his by marking her. He did not complete it with a bite and a declaration before his pack. When he does that, it would mean she’s an alpha like him. He let his dick lead him regarding her. No different than I did, I guess. She wasn’t an alpha.”

The jealousy that stirred in Shiya’s belly made her grit her teeth. What did this woman look like that she caused Kotori to forget his principles to have her? She supposed she should just drop it. The woman was old news, a long while ago, from the appearance of his scar. Kotori’s concern seemed to be more about his decisions than about caring for the woman.

Shiya decided not to bother with examining her own feelings. She liked being with Birk and Kotori. She definitely enjoyed the sex, and she would leave it at that. After crossing the room, she sat on the bed and removed her boots.

Kotori raised his arm to allow her to settle in next to him and lay her head on his chest. They waited in sile

nce for Birk to bring the food.

When her second lover came in holding two laden trays, she shook her head at his strength and sat up. Kotori slid to the top of the bed and hoisted her between his legs. She leaned on his chest while Birk placed the tray beside them.

“Wow, I don’t think I can eat even a quarter of what you have here,” she said. Bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, rolls, and bread enough to feed an army crowded the plates. “Are you sure you’re not wasting food, Birk?”

He winked. “When we shift, it must eat up a lot of energy because Kotori and I are starving beyond reason. A typical polar bear can eat forty pounds of food a day. This isn’t that much.”

“Damn near it.”

They ate in silence, Shiya having drawn her knees up to rest her plate in front of her. Birk eyed her half-empty plate and frowned. “Aren’t you going to finish that bacon?” She shook her head, and he leaned over to nab the last few pieces with his fork.

Shiya rolled her eyes. “How could your mom afford to feed you? Come to think of it, I know you have a sister that you don’t have much to do with, but you never told me why.”

Birk finished up the last of his food, piled her plate on his, and set them both on one of the trays. He moved the trays to the floor and then pulled her knees down so he could rest his head on her thighs.

“My sister didn’t inherit the shifter gene, but it was the one thing she wanted more than anything else. A long time ago, she left Alaska, and I haven’t heard from her since. When my parents passed within a month of each other, she didn’t attend either funeral, and I had no number to contact her. She made her choice, and I accept that.”

Birk’s words sounded determined, yet she heard the hurt and loneliness. He loved family and wished he had more of one. She knew that much from talking to him before she flew up here.

“I’m sorry your relationship isn’t better. Maybe someday you’ll find a wife, and she’ll birth you lots of babies.”

All three of them fell silent at such a ridiculous dream coming from her. She felt like an idiot. Kotori’s question surprised her.

“Would you like to have children someday?”

“Of course. I’m just like most other women.” Despite the family she had been born into, she longed for someone to love her unconditionally and the chance to have his children. “I always dreamed of having four. My mother used to tell me to wait until I felt the pain of just one to be sure of that number. As a little girl, I thought she was just teasing me because I was her fourth, and she used to tell me often I was one of four perfect gifts.”

Kotori’s arms encircled her, but she didn’t need comforting. The tears she’d cried nonstop for her mother were all dried up, and while it had hurt beyond belief, the past could not be changed.

“Shiya,” Birk said, and she looked up at him. The pain in his eyes startled her. He hurt for her mother’s loss on her behalf. Her heart constricted, and she leaned down to kiss his lips. He caught her when she tried to pull away. “Tell me everything.”

“I . . .”

He waited. She looked from him to Kotori and turned away. They didn’t push, but she felt the support from both of them. They wanted to know, and she desired to tell them what happened, even if it hurt. After all, Kotori had shared his painful past.

“We . . . they—my parents—were on an assignment. I always admired the way my father allowed my mother to take the same type of jobs my sisters take. I was the only oddball who stayed behind the computer.”

Kotori made a sound of surprise, and she looked up to see it in his eyes.

“This was your first time trying to seduce a shifter?”

She winced. “I guess that’s kind of a compliment since you couldn’t tell.” She glared at Birk, feeling afresh the sting at his previous words about her and her sisters whoring with their kind. “I’ve never been out of my home office, except to sit in the back when there was an interview. That was the closest I’d come to a shifter.”

“An interview?” Birk said.

She ignored his question. “Contrary to what you think, not one of us has slept with a shifter. I was the first.”

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