Page 38 of Mated to the Human: Volume One

Cane stepped closer to the counter, leaning his elbows on the well-worn top. “Honestly, it’s going pretty good. Jake and I get along okay, and we’re figuring everything else out as we go. How about you?”

Merrick shrugged. “I mean, it might be better if I’d seen him more than a couple times. He’s, uh, not the most social creature, apparently. Which, neither am I really, but…”

Cane frowned. “Aren’t you living together? I thought that was the deal.”

“So did I.” Merrick reached out and scratched Maple behind the ears. “But I didn’t want to leave my apartment, and I guess neither did he. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t be unloading that on you.”

“It’s fine, man. Sorry it’s not going great.”

“Eh,” Merrick said, obviously trying to make light of the situation. “It’s basically like nothing’s changed, other than I now have a dinner date several nights a week. Which works for me.”

Cane nodded. “If you want, I could—”

“No, no, please. Leander is perfectly civil and”—Merrick blew out a big breath—“I’m sure we’ll find our footing. It’s barely been a week, right?”

Relief flooded through Cane. He so hadn’t wanted to get in the middle of one of the other mated pairs. The way Jake told it, and from what Hollis said about Derek, all paranormals took their mating seriously, and taking care of their mates even more seriously than that. Cane had to believe that whatever hang-ups were holding Merrick’s mate back would work themselves out.

“Absolutely. We’ll see you at the gala this weekend?”

Merrick sighed. “Yep. We’ll be there.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hollis, the other human mate, isn’t looking forward to it either.”

“Yeah?” Merrick sighed. “At least we’ll be in good company.”

Cane snorted a laugh. “We will. I’ll let you get on with your day.” He handed Merrick his card. “If you need anything, give me a shout.”

Merrick took it with an appreciative nod. “Thanks. See you this weekend.”

“See you. Bye, Maple.” Cane ran a hand over the cat’s head one more time and turned for the door. Outside, the air was cool, but the sun was warm on his face. He stepped out of the doorway and moved down the sidewalk, stopping near the wall to pull out his list. He only had a couple places left to visit today, then he’d have to hunt down Hollis’s burrito.

An eerie feeling prickled over his skin. Someone was watching him. Moving only his eyes, he looked around. Across the street, sitting in a coffee shop window, was a man dressed in a suit, sipping at a cup of something. He glanced at Cane and away three times in the span of a few seconds.

Leaning back against the wall, Cane pretended to study the list in his hands. The suit made the man fit in with the working crowd in this area. He looked like any other office rat except for the shoes. Black boots instead of dress shoes.

With a scowl in the man’s direction, he pulled out his phone. His mother picked up on the third ring.

“Hello, son.”

“Are you having me followed again?”

On the other end of the line, his mother was quiet. He’d never outright told her he knew. Finally, she cleared her throat, and said, “I’m not.”

Dropping the list and any pretense, Cane stared openly at the man. “Sure about that? Because I’m looking at a mook in a cheap suit and combat boots, who can’t seem to keep his eyes off me.”

“Cane.” She sounded serious and also vaguely apologetic, which was enough to keep Cane from marching across the street. “I am not having you followed.” Her voice dropped low. “I stopped that when you went to college.”

He bit the inside of his lip. As he watched, the man got up, returned the cup he’d been using, and walked out of the shop. He didn’t look Cane’s way as he turned and walked down the street in the opposite direction. He couldn’t shake the skin-crawling feeling, but he actually believed his mother.

Clearing his throat, he said, “Alright.”

“Um, how are you?”

He couldn’t stop the laugh that spilled out of him even though there was no real humor in it. “I’m fine, Mom.”

“Lenette sent over an update about how things are going.”

Here we go, he thought, settling with his back against the wall. “Yeah?”

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