Mate Bond

“Nope.” Bowman tugged on another strap at his thigh. “If I had a mate so meek she obeyed my every command without arguing, I’d be bored out of my mind. Although sometimes . . .” He thought of Kenzie’s sparkling eyes and sassy smile. No, he liked her just the way she was.

“Speaking of Kenzie,” Jamie said, “I saw her talking to Cristian. They were on the upper road, in a lonely stretch, the two of them going on about something.”

Bowman swallowed the anger that built up in his throat. “He’s her uncle and pack leader. Of course she talks to him.”

“More like arguing. I couldn’t hear, but I could see. He was trying to intimidate her.”

“Was she intimidated?”

Jamie snorted. He tore open the last strap and helped Bowman gently pry the splint apart. “What do you think? She looked pretty mad.”

Bowman shrugged as though the news didn’t alarm him. “If something’s up, she’ll tell me.”

“You trust her that much?”

The splint came away, and Bowman breathed a sigh of relief. Then he dug his nails into his skin as air hit it. Everything itched.

“Yes. I do.” Bowman bent a fierce eye on Jamie as he scratched away at his leg. “You’d damn well better trust her too, or we have a problem.”

“Oh, I trust her,” Jamie said, stacking the pieces of splint and setting them aside. “But I don’t trust that Romanian werewolf an inch.”

Calling a Shifter a werewolf was an insult—Shifters were a living species; werewolves were movie monsters humans turned into after they were bitten. “I hear you. Help me up.”

Jamie lent his sinewy strength while Bowman struggled to get his bad leg under him. Jamie pulled him upright, and finally Bowman was standing.

His hurt leg was annoyingly weak, and Bowman made a face as he tried to put weight on it. “Why did you come?” he asked Jamie. “Or did you sense I was going to get out of bed and fall on my ass?”

“Because of seeing Cristian,” Jamie said. “I didn’t like the idea of you here alone and hurt while he was wandering around.”

Jamie backed away, letting Bowman find his balance on his own, but Jamie’s touch had helped Bowman some. Shifters needed one another’s comfort, strength, the sense that they were part of a group. Being alone was a terrible thing for a Shifter.

“Thanks,” Bowman said. Jamie made such a good tracker because he could anticipate his leader’s needs without being told, and took initiative with what he thought was right.

“You’re welcome.” Jamie looked him up and down and folded his arms again. “But if you think I’m helping you get dressed, you can forget about it.”

“Just find me some pants,” Bowman growled.

* * *

Walking to the landing end of the zip line gave Bowman a chance to stretch out the still-healing leg, as well as show every Shifter in Shiftertown that he was already up and feeling much better.

He and Jamie didn’t pass anyone on the way, though. They were all at Cade’s, friends and rivals alike.

Cade had rigged the zip line he’d been going on about high up on a hill above his own house, with a platform in the tall trees. The line ran almost the length of Shiftertown, gliding down the long hill to another platform at the bottom, where Bowman and Jamie headed. Cade had tested the zip line extensively on himself, figuring that if it could take his weight, then it would be safe for cubs.

Why the hell Cade had decided it was a good idea to put up a zip line at all, Bowman didn’t know. When he’d asked, Cade had given him his straight-faced look and said, “Bears just want to have fun.”

A bear was coming down the line now. It was a cub, in its grizzly form. It clung to the handle with its oversized paws, its back legs dancing as it descended in a rush toward Bowman. At the last minute, the cub dropped from the line to land on the platform with precision.

He bounced up and ran to Bowman, jigging around him, making happy little bear noises, which made Jamie laugh.

The cub, one of Cade’s nephews by the look of it, circled Bowman again, then Jamie, then sprang off the platform and scampered to the path that led back up the hill.

Ryan was coming down next. “Cowabunga, Dad!” He let go of the bar and leapt the last few feet down, landing in Bowman’s outstretched arms.

Bowman steadied himself on his good leg before lowering Ryan to the ground. “There, are you happy now?” Bowman rumbled at him.

“Nope.” Ryan wriggled away. “Have to go again!” He scrambled off the platform and ran up the path after the other cub.

Before Bowman or Jamie could say a word, another rider came barreling toward them. This time it was Kenzie, sensibly in human form, her hands locked around the bar, a crash helmet on her head.

She lifted her legs in a perfect right angle to her body, using the momentum to propel her faster. Bowman’s libido charged at the sight of his mate swinging gracefully through the air.

“Woo—hoo—hoo—hooooo!” she bellowed.

She was coming straight for Bowman. Jamie jumped well back, but Bowman waited for her. Kenzie loosened her hold and dropped at the last second, and Bowman caught her.

Kenzie was flushed with wind and excitement, her golden eyes sparkling. Bowman felt the chill of the wind on her, but her skin was heated with her own sweet warmth.

She flung her arms around Bowman and kissed his lips, her cold nose rubbing his cheek. “That was awesome,” she said happily, pushing away from Bowman. “Better than sex!”