FOUR
Ker glanced at his phone and sent the email Tiana needed. She was in trouble and he had to help her. He didn't know how, but he needed to do something. His dragon was arguing with him. This wasn't his mate, but Ker wanted to get to know her better. He might never get a marked mate. He might not get someone for another four hundred years. So why should he worry about that now?
He called the caretaker and requested an urgent stocking of the cabin. Asked that the caretaker's wife clean the place and then went about making sure anything she might need would be at hand.
“What's going on in here?” His sister-in-law, Morgan, said coming in. “I heard you tossing orders and I had no idea who it was I heard. You sounded just like Tor.”
Ker smiled at her and walked around his desk. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and pulled a chair for her to sit. “How are you feeling?”
Morgan was due any day and with her mother now living part-time in the castle, she was helping with the children. The entire family was growing fast. It was a good thing they had a lot of rooms in that castle. His parents had always wanted a big family and for their sons and their families to stay and raise the children there.
“I'm good,” she replied taking a seat and raising her brows. “So, what's going on? I can sense your frustration and I don't even know what's causing it.”
“It's her,” he growled.
“Tiana?”
He let out a short huff and nodded. Morgan was the first of his sisters and he'd grown close to her. Close enough that he could tell her about Tiana and how much talking to her was starting to mean to him. He didn't care how she looked at this point. There was something about her voice and something about the way she spoke. She was full of innocence and he liked that. Having lived such a long life and seen so much hate, anger, and war destroy people, her innocence was refreshing.
“You know, you can look up her personal information through your own website and drop by,” Morgan grinned, her eyes twinkling.
“And how much of a stalker does that make me look like?”
She scrunched her nose. “You're right. Bad idea. So, call the woman!”
“I did. She's clearly going through something and I don't know how to help her.”
Morgan leaned forward. “I'm sorry, Ker. Sometimes, we're so used to handling things on our own, it's hard to ask anyone else for help.”
He growled. “I know. I don't want her to feel like she has to handle anything alone. I want to help her. I want to be there for her.”
Morgan rubbed her belly. “Then don't tell her you'll be there for her. Show her.”
“How?” he asked. “I already gave her access to my cabin. It's getting cleaned and stocked right now.”
She gave him an impressed look. “Wow. Okay. Then just back off. If she needs you, she'll let you know.”
He growled again and scrubbed his beard. He'd given up on shaving a few days ago. His brothers told him he looked really young when he was clean faced, and the last thing he wanted was for Tiana to meet him and think he was some college kid. If only she knew how fucking old he was. And felt.
“This isn't really helping me.”
Morgan shook her head and leaned back. “What do you know about Tiana?”
“I've already told you. She's a teacher. She's sweet and young and has an air of innocence about her that's driving me fucking insane.”
Morgan's brows shot up and she giggled. “Geez. Alpha much? You sound worse than my husband. And that's saying something seeing as he's the growliest of you all.”
“Not helping,” he said the words in a clipped tone.
“Fine. Look,” Morgan pulled out a sheet of paper from her sweater pocket and handed it to him. “Don't kill me. All I wanted was to see what she looked like, but you know my mother. Working for the government means she doesn't just get a photo. She gets every detail you don't need.”
He took the sheet of paper with trepidation and anticipation. He'd refused to research her just to know what she looked because looks really didn't matter to him. There was no photo on the paper though. He glanced up at Morgan. “I thought you said you wanted to see what she looked like?”
She grinned sheepishly. “I did. I satisfied my curiosity. Now all I can say is she seems like a really nice girl. Don't fuck things up with your lack of patience.”
He barked a laugh and shook his head. “You're something else.”
Another glance at the paper and he saw Tiana's home address. Her work details. College education and even her GPA. He tossed it on his desk. That didn't tell him anything about the real Tiana. The woman who spoke to him about helping her school. Or volunteering at a homeless shelter. That paper said nothing of her soft voice or how whimsically she spoke about doing artwork with her students. That's the Tiana he was interested in finding more about.
“What else do you know about her?”
He thought back to all the conversations, texts, and emails he'd had with the sweet teacher. “She's very giving. Like you guys. She's always looking to help anyone she can. She does a lot of volunteer work.”
“She's a teacher. Her file says she's only twenty-six. She's young.”
“Compared to me?” He chuckled. “I am hundreds of years older than her. At this point, I don't think comparing would help me.”
“No, silly,” Morgan snickered. “I mean just young in general. But from what you say, she sounds so grounded.”
“She is. She is caring and nice. She doesn't have much family from what I gathered or doesn't talk to her family much, but she is always doing something to help someone. She loves to walk in the local park. And even though she sucks at cooking, she keeps trying.”
Morgan gave him a soft smile. “Sounds like you know a lot more about her than we realized.”
“Not enough. I want to know everything.”
Morgan nodded, her gaze piercing him. “And you don't care what she looks like?”
He shrugged. “No. Have you ever spoken to someone and felt like they were going to be important to you somehow?”
A wide smile broke over Morgan's lips. “Yes. Is that how you're feeling?”
He nodded. “I don't know what it is about her, but I know she's special. I can tell.”
“Then all I can say is stay the course, Ker. I love you. I want to see you happy. If she's not your mate, though…”
“I don't care,” he interrupted. “If talking to her has made me feel more than any other woman has in my existence, that means something. I am willing to see how much more she can make me feel.”
Morgan opened the door. “Good luck. Let me know if you need my help at any point.”
“Thanks, Morgan. I will just call her and let her know I'm here for her. That she's not alone.”
Morgan sighed. “Good. You do that. I'm going to take a nap.”