“You look more disgruntled than usual,” Conri said. He was sitting in his office across from Zane.

Zane had stopped at the station and asked to see him.

“More?”

“Yes, there’s something, I can’t put my finger on it.”

“I need… some advice.”

“I’m happy to help. What’s going on? Problem with one of the crew?”

“No, no. It’s… personal.”

“Huh,” Conri nodded, his eyebrows going up. “I’m happy to help in any way.”

“I’d ask Bruin, but I don’t even know if he’s still here.”

“They were off to Mexico last I heard. Their passports are going to get plenty of stamps. Bruin wants Willow home, but she’s fierce and isn’t going to let him stop her from returning all of the renquas to the bearen.”

“She’s a miracle, that’s for sure,” Zane agreed. The loss of their females was what all the shiften had to deal with, but the loss of their connection to their creator was a silent pain only the bearen had to experience.

“I think she is, and that’s not just because she’s my sister-in-law,” Conri said with affection.

“So, the True Mates? What do we know? Bruin filled me in on some of the details. But how do you know?”

Conri let out a sigh. “Bruin says you know. That no matter how much you try to deny it, you still know. He says that his mate smells like heaven, turns his crank, makes him incredibly protective to the point of aggression, and well, he said he loved her from the minute he saw her. It sounds like it should punch you right in the gut, or face, whichever.”

“It would be a hell of a lot easier if it was like a siren went off, or lights flashed,” Zane grumbled.

Conri frowned at him. “Do you think you’ve found your mate?”

Zane squirmed in his chair. “I might have found a mate. I don’t know that she’s mine.”

“Why wouldn’t you think she was yours?”

That wasn’t a question he wanted to answer. “I’m sure there are people ahead of me.”

Conri shook his head. “I don’t think it works like that. And from what I’ve seen, those True Mates are known to their shiften first. It would be pretty confusing if they had to bounce around between different men looking for the right one. Tell me about her.”

“She’s beautiful,” he started without even thinking about what he was going to say. It was the most natural thing for him to utter. “She smells amazing. I can’t explain it any better than she smells like dessert. She’s funny, she’s kind. I mean she sat across from me and didn’t even look afraid.”

“You’re a scary motherfucker, no offense.”

“None taken. I know it. I was trying to smile and not scare her off. I think the smile made it worse. She’s different, not like any woman I’ve ever known.”

“You know what they say, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”

“Thanks for that. I was going to ask Wade, but I know how busy he is. I’m sure he has tons of shiften asking him to judge women for him.”

“See, that’s the thing,” Conri said, his eyes shining with amusement. “You know if she’s yours. You would fight any man that came near her or tried to stake his claim. What if I went right now and asked her out?”

Zane couldn’t stop the angry growl that rolled out of him. “Poppy’s mine!” he roared.

Conri didn’t look frightened but a little surprised. “Did you say Poppy? The massage therapist Poppy? She’s a One True Mate?

“I don’t know! I think so. I mean I want her to be. Damn it, I fucking can’t breathe without thinking about her!”

“Well then, why are you questioning it? I can’t believe we didn’t see it before. She’s smart and funny. She’s been giving free massages for over a year now to the station.”

“That fucking ends now, by the way!” Breathing heavily he gave a pause to ponder that. “But what if I’m wrong?”

“I really don’t think you are. More True Mates are going to be found. This is just the beginning. I’d like to think that many of us will find our Ones. We finally can see into our future. That’s exciting. I say grab it with both hands. I’ll let Bruin know. If you need anything, from me, the department or the SPD, you tell us. If she’s your mate, Khain will know about her. None of them are safe. In fact, we need to get you moved. I want you closer to other bearen just in case. I’ll ask around and see who has space.”

“I’d appreciate that. She lives in town and I don’t like being so far away. How do I keep her? I mean how do I tell her who she is to me?”

“That I don’t know. I’d send a text to Bruin and hope to god he answers. That’s what I would do,” Conri suggested.

Zane nodded. Text Bruin, tell Poppy she’s his One True Mate, keep her safe from Khain, make cubs. Simple.

“Good luck,” Conri added wryly.

Grunting, Zane stood up and wandered out of the room. He went to the gym and did chest presses until he was out of breath. He wanted to be with Poppy right that moment. But he needed to find a way to tell her about him. But it wasn’t something he could delay, she was in danger just being alive.

He needed to know if she’d been having problems; if there was there someone bothering her. Conri was right, if Poppy was a True Mate, Khain would know about her and that meant his minions would know about her too.