Page 40 of Unforeseen Mate
Mason looked down at the table and then back up at Hayden. “If she was dying, she didn’t have much of a choice.”
“Would you have made a different one if you hadn’t been closer to death?” asked Hayden, truly curious about the answer.
Mason shook his head. “No. Like you, I knew Emery was my fated mate. I would have done anything to keep her safe and to take her to mate.”
Deke chuckled. “Well, Colby, looks like you’re the last bachelor standing. Poor, dumb bastard.”
Colby chuckled. “Not so dumb and definitely not poor, you neanderthal. But more to the point, does Fallon understand she’s given up her humanity and that she will need to spend time in the Underworld?”
Wanting to alleviate his friends’ concern, but more importantly that of their mates and the Shadow Sisters, he said, “She does. I’ll admit I don’t know that she grasped all of itat first, but she does now, and says she would make the same choice.”
“That’s good enough for me,” said Colby, sitting back. “Deke, toss me a beer.”
FALLON
“Come on Fallon, let’s go upstairs,” said Nora. “Colby asked the Shadow Sisters to go by your place and pick up some of your clothing. I also asked them to bring a few of your things that I’d knew you’d miss.”
Fallon fell in behind her and walked up the grand staircase. “This place is gorgeous,” she whispered.
Nora grinned. “I know.” She opened the door to an enormous suite. “There are so many things I want to say to you, and I don’t even know where to start.”
“Then let me. I probably over-reacted to you punching Hayden in the face, but don’t do it again.”
“I can’t promise. Hayden can be a real pain in the ass, but I will promise not to punch him unless he really deserves it. By the way, if he forced you into a pair bonding, the Shadow Sisters can help with that.”
“I keep hearing whispers about them, and especially his sister, Caye.”
“Cayetana. She is the second-in-command in the Shadow Sisters. Aubry Hawthorne is their leader. The origins of their society are as old as shifters themselves. Let’s sit down by the fire. I’ll tell you as much as I know. Please just tell me I haven’t lost my best friend.”
“You haven’t. I may be pissed, but I suspect there were a myriad of reasons you never told me about your real job or your unique abilities. I want to know everything.”
“I’ll tell you all I know, but as you have probably already figured out, it will change the world as you see it. Between what I can tell you and that claiming bite…”
Fallon reached out and took her friend’s hand. “He gave me a choice, even when he had none.”
“Just because he believes you are fated mates…”
“He isn’t the only one who does, but the reason he had no choice was that I was dying. Not only was I shot, but the bullet had been poisoned.”
“Hayden really believes he can banish Abraham into nothing, where the dragon can never strike at anyone again?”
“He does, and I believe him.”
“In that case, I will subjugate my right to kill the bastard to Hayden’s. It’s funny; Hutch said if any human could quickly grasp and accept the existence of shifters, it would be you.”
“Part of my job has always been about reconciling physical evidence with myth and legend, and there is an abundance of cultures who have stories about mythical creatures who can shift from man to beast and back again. Tell me about the Shadow Sisters. There seems to be bad blood between them and the hellhounds.”
“Between them and everyone,” said Nora. “Most shifter species are heavily male dominated…”
“Hayden’s brother wants to turn their females into nothing more than breeding stock.”
“That willneverhappen. Caye will put an end to that and to Tanner if he tries. Caye left the hellhounds to join the Shadow Sisters and fight for other females who are trapped and forced into lives not of their choosing. The women who comprise the Sisters come from every shifter species. They each leave theirlives behind to lock arms with each other. They’re well trained, well-funded and scare the shit out of a lot of the men. They are a formidable enemy.”
“Are they a part of the Resistance?”
“Officially? Probably not. Unofficially? There are many who believe that the Sisters have been funded by Colby for years and exchange information with him freely.”
“Hayden said he was the head of intelligence for the Resistance.”
