CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Two weeks later Tao and Riley were snuggled together on the plush sofa of the playroom, drinking coffee and eating a cookie she’d grabbed from the snack cart. The room was cute and spacious, with stuffed animals, books, and all kinds of toys. Forest-themed murals decorated the walls. Paper butterflies and birds dangled from the ceiling, which also featured glowing stars and planets.
The playroom was especially good for when the weather was bad. Earlier, Riley and Tao had spent an hour in their animal forms chasing and herding the kids around the woods. The children had been extremely disappointed when it started to rain and they had to be brought inside, but having the playroom to go to softened the blow.
Most of Tao’s attention was on the basketball game that was playing on the wall-mounted TV opposite the sofa, but Riley preferred watching the kids play. At that moment Savannah was trying to stop Kye from undressing a doll, while Lilah was having a one-sided conversation with Dexter, who was flicking through one of the plastic toy boxes.
“I was thinking we could take the kids out for the day tomorrow,” said Tao.
Riley frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea? I know things have been quiet, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.”
“We’re in constant contact with your uncles. They’re helping Hugh and Sage keep note of everyone’s whereabouts. The moment anyone in the flock can’t be accounted for, they’ll call us. So far everything’s been as quiet there as it has been here.”
“Which makes it look like I was in fact behind the shootings.”
“I don’t think that’s why the shooter’s keeping a low profile. They can’t act while everyone’s being so closely watched.” He nuzzled her. “I know you’re reluctant to take any chances, but they’ll lose their little minds if they’re cooped up too long.”
She sighed. “You’re right. It’s not good for them.” She really should have thought of that and was annoyed with herself for not having considered it. “I’ll call my uncles in the morning. If they say everyone in the flock can still be accounted for, we’ll take the kids out for the day. I don’t want them to feel suffocated and bored.”
“They’re not bored. They had fun this morning playing with our animals. But they’ll become bored if confined to their territory.”
“They did have fun, didn’t they? I like your wolf.”
Tao smiled. “He likes you.” That was an understatement, really. His wolf adored her. He’d be with her twenty-four/seven if it were possible. “He likes playing with your raven.”
“He’s much more patient than you are, so she doesn’t find him as much fun to torment, but she loves that he plays with her.” Riley took another bite of her half-eaten cookie. “Savannah’s warming to you.”
Yeah, he’d noticed. “I switched sides, in her eyes.” Tao rubbed her thigh. “You know, on an honest note, I think Greta actually likes the kids.”
Doubtful, Riley asked, “Then why does she give Savannah a hard time?”
“Most likely because Savannah stands up to her so often. Greta’s probably just trying to knock her down a peg or two.”
Well, that would be pointless. “Savannah’s fearless.”
“She gets that from you.”
Frowning at Tao for taking a big chunk out of her cookie, she said, “She was that way before I met her.”
“Not according to Makenna. She said that Savannah used to be very withdrawn and unsure. She didn’t trust people or form attachments to anyone other than Dexter. Makenna said both of them seemed drawn to you, like they somehow sensed you’re a natural protector.”
“Maybe they heard that ravens vigorously protect kids.”
“Or maybe they saw in you what we see—someone tough, strong, and resilient who’ll stand between them and danger.”
“You didn’t see that when we first met,” she contradicted.
“My judgment was clouded by how badly I deal with change and outsiders.”
Riley sighed, admitting, “I love them.”
His mouth curved. “I know you do.” If she’d thought she’d been fooling anybody about it, she was totally wrong. It was written all over her in neon colors.
Done with her cookie, she wiped the crumbs from her hands. “Do you think they know?”
“Hell yeah. They love you right back. You’re their hero.”
“Their hero?” she echoed.
“You’ve stood over them like a sentry. They know you’ll always protect them and keep them safe. Not because you swore it—kids sense bullshit. They know it because they see that you’re bone-deep loyal. They trust you.” He curled her hair behind her ear. “I trust you.”
She scowled. “Stop reducing me to mush.”
His mouth quirked. “Mush?”
“You do it every time you blurt out something nice.” She was a dominant female; she wasn’t supposed to be mush. But for Tao, someone unduly suspicious by nature, to say that he trusted her . . . that was no small thing. Her raven was rather smug about it.
“It’s only the truth.” He closed his eyes as she began sifting her fingers through his hair. He knew she was trying to distract him from talking about anything that made her “mush,” but it was seriously hard to care when her fingers were massaging his scalp.
Riley ran her finger along the scar beneath his ear. “I remember when you got that.” Shifters scarred only if a wound was very bad. Tao had almost died that night. Her lungs burned at the memory.
“You were worried,” he sensed.
“Yeah, I was worried. Have you ever been that badly injured before?”
“I’ve had plenty of broken bones, even had some internal bleeding, but I’ve never been that close to death before.”
“When Wade came toward me with that gun, I thought I was going to die. My life didn’t flash before my eyes, but it made me realize how much I wanted to live, who I’d miss and stuff.”
Tao linked his fingers with hers. “I thought of you. Seriously. I was lying there for a good few minutes before someone noticed me. I didn’t have the strength to call out to anyone. I knew I was dying; I could feel it happening. I literally thought, ‘This is it. This is the end. Everything is over.’ And I looked at my life and all the things I never did. And then you popped into my head. I wondered if you’d be okay, if you’d run or if you’d stay with the pack. I didn’t like the idea that you’d only ever remember me as the guy who was an asshole to you.”
“You’re reducing me to mush again.”
He chuckled. “I made the decision there and then to act on how much I wanted you if I lived through it, but I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. I knew I couldn’t let you see how much I wanted you or even that I liked you. I had to seem like I was no threat.”
“You tricked me.” And she still rather admired the deviousness of his plan.
“I did what I had to do to get what I wanted. And now I have it.” He kissed her, flicking her tongue with his, coaxing her to play.
“Kissy, kissy, kissy.”
Tao pulled back to scowl at Kye, who was now making kissing noises that Lilah tried to replicate.
Savannah’s upper lip was curled as she stared at Riley and Tao. “Yuck.”
Dexter had his little nose scrunched up. He grabbed Riley’s leg, holding Tao’s eyes with a gaze that gleamed with both possessiveness and challenge.
Tao ruffled his hair. “I don’t want to take Riley from you and Savannah, little man. I just want you to share her with me. Can you do that?”
After a long moment, Dexter nodded. Savannah, however, eyed Tao closely for a little while.
Eventually the little viper nodded. “But I’ll still bite your nose off if you upset her.”
Tao stifled a smile. “Fair enough.” Glancing at the clock, he said, “I have to go now. It’s my turn to guard the southern border for a while so that Trick can have a break. You guys be good for Riley.” He gave her one last kiss before disappearing.
Riley inhaled deeply. “Right . . . who wants to make cookies?”
Four hands shot up in the air.
“Let’s get this room tidy first.”
Makenna, Grace, and Lydia helped them bake the cookies. Of course, all four kids made an absolute mess of themselves. Later on Grace and Lydia took them to be washed and changed while Riley and Makenna cleaned the kitchen.
Riley was cleaning the flour and cookie dough from the kitchen countertop when Dante strolled in with an odd expression on his face. Ryan, Zac, Greta, and the Alphas all looked up from the table.
The Beta’s eyes danced from Riley to Taryn as he said, “Tao’s parents just drove through the fence.”
“Shit.” Taryn pushed away from the dining table and exchanged a worried look with her mate. “Where’s Tao?”
“On patrol in his wolf form,” replied Dante. “I’ve left a message on his cell to tell him they’re here. Hopefully he shifts soon and sees the message.”
Zac frowned. “Why is it bad that they’re here? I thought you guys liked them.” It was clear by the teenager’s voice that he kind of liked them too. The Alphas exchanged another odd look.
Dumping the rag on the countertop, Riley asked, “Am I missing something?” Because they seemed seriously worried. Makenna shrugged, clueless.
Taryn turned to Riley, scratching her head. “Tao’s parents are great. Lennon is a sweet guy and Avery is a little on the hippie side. Tao gets his directness from her, so she’s not one to hold back if something bothers her.” It sounded like a warning of some sort.
Riley tried to read between the lines but failed to understand where the Alpha was going with this. “What are you trying to tell me?”
Trey moved to his mate’s side. “One of the reasons I have a lot of respect for the couple is that they stood strong against a number of people who tried to come between them. When Avery mated Lennon and moved to his pack, it was hard for her. A few of the females who’d had a fling with Lennon acted like serious bitches to Avery, one in particular. They recruited others in the pack to band against her.”
Riley nodded. “Tao told me a little about it.”
Draping an arm over Taryn’s shoulders, Trey continued. “I always suspected that the main reason Tao held back from you was that he was taking his dad’s advice to never have a fling with someone from his pack. Lennon gave Dante and me that same advice. I didn’t listen, and Taryn paid that price before the bitch in question moved to another pack.”
“You think Lennon will be pissed at Tao for not taking his advice,” Riley guessed.
“No, Lennon’s a pretty understanding guy and he accepts that Tao will always go his own way,” replied Trey. “But Avery will be upset that her son did something that could later hurt him and his mate in a big way.”
“Ah.” Riley rubbed at her nape. “Look, I won’t lie and say I won’t find it hard when Tao takes a mate, but I wouldn’t try to hurt him.”
“We know you wouldn’t,” Taryn assured her. “Honestly, I’m not sure you have to worry about Tao leaving you for someone else anyway, but that’s not a conversation we can have right now. I’m just warning you that Avery might be difficult.”
“I could just sit with the kids until his parents are gone,” Riley offered.
“That won’t help,” said Makenna. “She’ll smell you on Tao as soon as he arrives, so she’ll flip her lid whether you’re in the room or not.”
“And no one has the right to make you hide in your own home,” stated Dante.
He was right, and everything inside Riley balked at hiding anyway. Her raven would hate it. “I’ll finish cleaning while we wait for them.” The wolves all pitched in. By the time an unfamiliar laugh echoed throughout the tunnels, the kitchen fairly sparkled.
Trick entered first, so he’d obviously accompanied the mated pair into the mountain. The male who followed him inside was much darker than Tao, but they had the same solid build and rough angles to their faces. It was Lennon’s confident walk and the way his wandering gaze took in everything that really made her think of Tao, though.
The female at Lennon’s side shared Tao’s shade of hair and gold eyes, but she had a warm and welcoming way about her that was very unlike her son. As Lennon talked with Trey, Avery used Zac’s shoulder as a shelf for her elbow while she teased and laughed with the teenager. Then, after giving Zac a gentle pinch on the cheek, she began to make her way around the room, smiling and chatting with each of the wolves. Her walk was slow and easy. She kind of . . . floated around the room, her long gypsy skirt swirling around her legs.
Finally she reached Riley. Tilting her head, she smiled. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Hoping she wouldn’t end up going toe-to-toe with the woman, Riley returned her smile. “I’m Riley.”
“She recently joined the pack,” Taryn put in.
“I see.” Avery studied Riley closely. “A raven, right?”
Riley nodded. “That’s right.”
Avery moved toward her. “It’s the hair, it will always—” Her nostrils flared and she came to an abrupt halt. Her warm smile vanished. She turned to Taryn. “Where is he? Where’s Tao?” The flat tone got the attention of Lennon, who, with a frown, then crossed the room to his mate.
“He’s on his way,” said Taryn.
Turning back to Riley, Avery folded her arms. “Just how long have you been sleeping with my son?”
Riley blinked. “Wow, that’s really not your business.”
“Not my business? I’m his mother.”
Riley gave her a wan smile. “Greta might disagree with you on that.”
Avery’s attention snapped to Greta, who’d returned to her seat at the table.
Greta lifted her chin. “I’ve raised him all these years while you’ve been living with your daughter-in-law’s pack.”
“Raised him?” echoed Avery. “He was fifteen when he left.”
“A fifteen-year-old boy still needs a mother,” Greta insisted. “You weren’t there for him. I was. She might be a raven with a big mouth, but he could do worse.”
Riley’s brows flew up. Coming from Greta, that was a compliment.
Makenna leaned into Riley and whispered, “Siccing them two on each other was a truly brilliant idea.”
“It’s not about how well Tao can do for himself,” Avery told Greta. “He knows better than to sleep with females from his pack.”
Greta raised an imperious brow. “You didn’t sleep with any males from yours before you mated into Lennon’s pack?”
Avery’s back snapped straight and her eyes flickered. “Of course not.”
Greta huffed. “You were never a good liar, Avery.”
“How dare you!”
“How dare you come in here, causing a fuss when you have no right to interfere—you lost that right when you left him to fend for himself.”
“I didn’t throw him out on the streets, Greta. I let him leave with Trey and the rest of you because I had to respect his decision.”
“But you didn’t come with us. Oh no. Not Avery the free spirit, who makes decisions based on tarot cards,” Greta mocked.
“Will you ever be anything but vile, Greta?” Avery abruptly whirled back to face Riley and began to advance on her. “You and I need to—” She froze, and Riley truly couldn’t blame her. While Avery had been preoccupied arguing with Greta, she hadn’t noticed the two children who’d slunk into the room and were now crouched on either side of Riley—not until they’d let out a cautioning hiss the moment Avery took a threatening step toward Riley.
“Snake?” asked Lennon, eyeing Savannah with curiosity. He didn’t seem the least bit upset on his mate’s behalf. Riley got the feeling it wasn’t uncommon for Avery to offload her anger and that he’d long ago decided to simply stand back and let her get on with it.
“Viper,” said Riley.
Lennon’s eyes gleamed as they studied Dexter. “He can partially shift?”
“Yes,” Riley replied. The little cheetah was currently tapping his claws on the floor. She cut her gaze back to Avery. “So I really wouldn’t push them right now.” Both kids were superfast. They’d launch themselves at the woman before Riley even had the chance to stop them. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she’d bother to stop them.
“How about we all just calm down?” proposed Taryn, her voice soothing.
Avery’s eyes flared. “Calm down?”
Trick’s head tilted. “Sounds like Tao’s coming. I think it would be best all around if you weren’t ranting at his female when he walked in.”
Lennon cast his mate a “He’s right” look. Avery straightened her flowery top, chin jutted out. It would seem that she wasn’t done.
Taryn exchanged an exasperated look with Trey. “Avery, I’m asking you as Tao’s Alpha to let this alone. Lecturing him on it won’t get you anywhere.”
“I respect that you’re his Alpha, but this isn’t pack business; this is between mother and son.”
As Tao stalked inside the kitchen, the tension in the air sliced through him. He briefly halted, taking in the situation. Riley looked calm, but the children crouched on either side of her, snarling at his mother, were far from it. It didn’t take a fucking genius to work out that Avery had let loose on Riley, and that seriously pissed him off. Knowing his mother, he could guess what her issue was.
Crossing to Riley, he turned to face his parents. “Mom, Dad.”
Lennon nodded, mouth curved. “Good to see you, Son. Why don’t you introduce me to the raven here?”
Avery frowned at her mate. “You have no problem with him ignoring your advice?” Her mate just shrugged. Avery sighed at Tao. “I would have thought you’d learned from your father’s mistakes.”
Tao exhaled heavily. “Mom—”
“You saw what it was like for me with those women,” Avery clipped. “It didn’t just affect me, it affected you and your father.”
“Mom—”
“She’s pretty, I’ll give you that, but since when did you start thinking with your—?”
“Mom. Enough. You’ve made your fucking point.”
“Don’t you fucking swear at me. And I’m not fucking done.” Avery’s nose wrinkled. “God, her scent is all over you.”
“Good. That’s where it should be.”
“You’re a smart wolf, Tao. You know better than to have a fling with a female from your pack.”
“It’s not a fling.”
Avery’s brows snapped together. “Excuse me?”
“It’s not a fling. It started out as one, I won’t lie about that. But it’s far from one now. That’s all I’m prepared to say on the matter. I don’t owe you explanations. I’m a grown fucking man.”
Mouth tight, Avery cut her gaze to Riley. “Don’t you have anything to say?”
Riley pursed her lips. “About what?”
“Mom, don’t,” Tao advised, because Riley would toy with her like a cat with a mouse.
Avery lifted her chin. “I want to hear her speak.”
“Mom, really, don’t.”
“What, she can’t stand up for herself?” Keeping a wary eye on the kids now coiled around Riley’s legs, Avery said to her, “You’re very dominant. I can sense it. And yet you haven’t once spoken in your defense or tried to state your right to be with my son. That tells me you don’t want him as much as he appears to want you.”
Riley twisted her mouth. “Huh.”
“Huh? That’s all you have to say? You don’t deserve him. Only his true mate—the other half of his soul—will ever really deserve him. That’s clearly not you, and, regardless of what Greta seems to think, he can do better than you.”
“Huh.”
“Huh? Are you capable of saying anything else?”
“Um-hm.”
Avery turned to Tao, who had a hand over his face. “What, is she possessed by a mentally defective spirit?”
Riley frowned. “I don’t think it’s mentally defective.”
Avery glared at Riley, mouth tightening. “Really? Well, then, maybe the spirit can talk to me since all you seem to want to say is ‘huh.’”
“Hmm.”
She scowled at Greta. “I suppose it’s your influence that’s made her so bitchy.”
Riley’s frown deepened. “You can’t teach someone to be a bitch. They either have it or they don’t.”
Greta nodded. “Very true. Avery doesn’t have it.”
“Now that I’ve met you,” said Riley, “I understand Tao better. Studies show that ninety-two percent of males born to highly strung mothers grow up to become—”
“Highly strung?”
“Okay, everyone just stop,” ordered Tao. “Mom, trust me when I say this could go on all night. Let it go. Like I told you before, I’m an adult. I make my own decisions, not the ones you want me to make.”
Avery sniffed. “I don’t interfere in your business, but this is different. It’s bad enough when I thought that it was just a fling. If it’s more and you care for each other, that will make it even harder for both of you to see each other with whoever you mate. A lot of people will be hurt because of this.” She looked at Riley. “Including you. I’ll bet your mother would have the same concerns.”
Tao growled and snapped out, “Not another fucking word.”
Avery seemed surprised by the whip in his voice, but she challenged, “Am I wrong?”
“I guess we’ll never know,” said Riley. “She’s dead.”
All the bluster left Avery in a rush. “I’m sorry.”
Tao shifted to stand in front of Riley, eyes hard as he spoke to his mother. “You have two choices. You can drop this and sit down. Or you can go. One or the other. If you do stay, the conversation will not include any of the bullshit you just spouted. You made your point. We heard it. We’re ignoring it. So, what will it be?”
Lennon squeezed his mate’s shoulder. “Let’s just sit down, Avery. I understand why this is a sore spot for you. It’s not bad that you want to save him and his mate from what you endured, but you don’t have a prayer of coming between Tao and the raven here. I can see it. Surely you can.”
“He’s right on that,” said Trick. He pulled out a chair and gestured for Avery to sit in it.
After a few moments, Avery said quietly, “Thank you, Trick.” She and Lennon both settled at the table. Everyone other than Tao and Riley did the same.
“I’m taking the kids to the playroom,” Riley told Tao.
He cupped her chin, hating that she was hurting at the mention of her mother. “Baby—”
“They’re a little wound up right now and I can’t guarantee that Savannah won’t bite your mom—or that I’d try to stop her.”
Tao didn’t want her to go, but he knew she wouldn’t want an audience for her pain. “All right. I’ll come to you when they’re gone.” He squatted to speak to Savannah and Dexter. “Thank you for protecting Riley. I need you both to look after her for me. Can you do that?” They both nodded solemnly, and he smiled. “Good.” Standing, he gave Riley a quick kiss.
The kids cast Avery a very unfriendly look before each taking one of Riley’s hands and letting her guide them out of the room.
Once they were gone, Tao took the seat opposite Avery. “So, what brings you here?”
“I can’t come visit my own son without needing a reason to justify it?” she clipped.
“Stop being defensive because you feel bad.”
Avery’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t know her mother was dead. How did it happen?”
“That’s Riley’s story to share.”
“I could tell the comment hit her hard. I feel awful.”
“You should.” Tao had no sympathy for his mother whatsoever. “You couldn’t have known her mom was dead, but you did know that you had no right to direct your anger at your own past on Riley.”
Avery sniffed, but she didn’t deny it. “She’s a steady one, isn’t she? I stood there ranting and she just looked at me like I was the most boring thing she’d ever come across in her life.”
Lennon smiled. “Made you feel stupid, did she?”
Tao shrugged. “I tried to warn you.”
“I thought you were protecting her,” said Avery. “It wasn’t funny, Lennon.”
Chuckling, Lennon took her hand. “Maybe not from where you were standing, but I thought it was.”
“The kids are very protective of her,” Avery noted.
Tao nodded. “They’d have gone for your throat if you tried to harm her.”
“The little viper bit me once,” said Greta. “Hurt something awful. But she’s a sweet kid.”
Makenna sighed at the old woman. “Then maybe you could stop whining about it to her.”
Greta waved a hand. “You lot spoil her. She needs someone to exercise that vicious streak on now and then. If she has an enemy to turn it on, she won’t use it on anyone else here.”
Taryn looked at Greta, stunned. “Either you really do mean well in a twisted way, or you’re just somehow able to justify to yourself anything that you do.”
Greta smirked. “I guess you’ll never know which it is.”
Avery snorted. “It’s probably a bit of both.” Turning to Tao, she smiled. “Well, tell me about your raven.”
Liking the sound of “your raven,” Tao returned the smile and told his parents all about Riley. By the end of the conversation, his mother had softened to the point that she’d apologized for “being a bitch.” Like him, she found it hard to apologize, so he knew it was sincere.
Two hours later, once his parents left, he sought Riley out. She wasn’t in the playroom. Grace had taken over with the kids so Riley could have a shower—apparently Kye had gotten milkshake in her hair. Tao went to their room and, sure enough, she was in the bathroom. But it seemed that she’d decided to take a bath instead of a shower.
He frowned. “Why is the water purple?”
“I used a blueberry bath bomb.”
“Smells good.” He crouched at the side of the bath. “I like your smell better. My parents left. My mom really does feel bad for jumping the gun and upsetting you.”
“She’s not the first person to have mentioned my mom, taking for granted that she’s alive. I’m not going to break down.” Honestly, it hadn’t been the mention of her mother that hurt; it had been the simple reminder that Riley would never know how her mom would have felt about any of the choices she’d made. She’d never know if her mom would have been proud of her, if she’d have liked Tao, if she’d have doted on Savannah and Dexter as Riley suspected.
Feeling Tao’s hand dip into the water to stroke her leg, she met his eyes and said, “I’m okay, really.”
“Give me your mouth.” As soon as she sat up, he slid his hand around her nape and took her mouth. Slowly. Lazily. Just enjoying her taste. “Thank you for not clawing my mom’s face off her skull.” She laughed. “I like making you laugh. Your eyes light up, your little dimples peek out, and that husky sound . . . I swear it makes my balls tingle every time.”
She found herself actually blushing. “Well, I like it when you make me laugh.”
“I had a dream last night.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
He chuckled. “Not that kind of dream. We were in the little clearing near the river. I was lying on my back on the grass. You were sort of snuggled against my side with your head on my chest and your hair all spread out. That’s it. That’s really as much as I can remember. But it was just so . . . peaceful. We haven’t had much peace lately. I was disappointed when I woke up and realized it was a dream.”
“Maybe we can reenact it when all this crap is over.”
He smiled. “Yeah. We’ll do that.” He kissed her again. Harder this time. Deeper. And said what he’d wanted to say all day. “I want to claim you, Riley.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs and began racing a mile a minute. “What?”
“You heard me.”
She licked her lips. “If this is to do with the stuff your mom said—”
“It’s nothing to do with her. This is what I want.” Tao hadn’t thought she’d be so surprised. “What did you think would happen, Riley? I told you, we have something. It’s good and it’s real and it makes me fucking happy. I want to keep it.”
She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes. “I should have known you’d do this.”
“Do what?”
She looked up. “Move so fast.”
“This isn’t moving fast, it’s taking action. I’m not a person who holds back when I want something—you know that. I don’t see the point in committing to someone unless it’s on every level.”
“Which is great, but don’t you want to be one hundred percent sure that I’m someone you could care for enough to imprint with one day?”
He framed her face with his hands. “Riley, I’m sick in love with you. I don’t know when it happened or if it was some gradual thing, but it’s how I feel.” He’d cared about people before, but what he felt for her made those feelings seem like a cheap imitation of what it meant to care for someone. “I love that you’re smart and strong and fearless. I love that you’re a sly little fighter and you don’t sweat the small stuff. I love that you get me, accept me, and let my shit roll right over your head and just get on with your day.”
Riley’s eyes stung. He’d turned her to mush again. “You think that if we give in to this, a mating bond will snap into place, don’t you?”
“I don’t know. Now ask me if I care. Ask me.”
She swallowed. “Do you care?”
“No. The whole true mate thing is overrated. Your old flock has it right. Fate doesn’t always have to include a person’s true mate. If you tell me you’d prefer to search for your true mate, I’ll accept that. Okay, that was a lie, but it sounded good. Seriously, Riley, it’s pointless to go through life searching for that ‘click’ when it’s easy enough to walk right past your mate and not even recognize them for who they are—or who they should be—to you.”
“It’s not as simple as you make it sound.” She wasn’t concerned that he wasn’t her true mate. Plenty of the couples in her flock had imprinted, including her own parents, so it was pretty much the norm to her. What concerned her was that . . . “If we claimed each other and it all messed up, we’d have to see each other every day. I’d have to watch you with another—”
“Never gonna happen, Riley. I don’t want anybody else. Only you. I know I could never be happy with anyone else—not now that I’ve had you.” He was utterly sure of that. “I want you to be just as happy. No, that’s not right. I want to make you happy. Do I, Riley? Tell me.”
“Yes. You make me feel happy and . . . safe.” She glowered at him. “I don’t need someone to make me feel safe.”
He smiled. “Of course you don’t, baby. But I’m glad that I do.”
“What if a mating bond doesn’t snap into place? I know you think it will, but what if it doesn’t?”
“Hear me when I say this: It doesn’t matter to me if you’re the other half of my soul or not. You’re in my soul. I don’t know how you got there, I really don’t, but you are.”
Well, it wasn’t just himself he needed to worry about. “And your wolf?”
“My wolf is crazy about you. He wants to mark and claim you just as much as I do.” Tao stroked his thumb along her cheekbone. “How about your raven?”
“She already thinks of you as hers,” said Riley. “She has for a while.”
Relieved, Tao said, “So I want it, my wolf wants it, your raven wants it. Do you?” He held his breath, unsure what he’d do if she said no.
“I wouldn’t be an easy mate, Tao. And I kind of come as a package deal.”
He smiled. “It’s about time you admitted those kids are yours. You think that would put me off? I adore the way you love those kids to distraction. I love how you stand guard over them.” He wasn’t at all surprised by the fear in her eyes. Her uncles had warned him that she found it hard to believe she could hold someone to her. It was only natural that she’d worry. “Look, this isn’t something we have to do right now. I’ll give you time to think about it.”
She looked at him dubiously. Since when did he possess patience? “You will?”
“I’ll give you until tomorrow night to think on it. That’s as much time as I can give you without losing my mind. Then we talk it all out and I’ll claim you.”
“You’re so certain I’ll agree?”
He smiled. “Ah, baby, do you really think I’ll ever settle for anything less than what I want? What I want most is you. And I’ll get it.”