Mated? Her mother had been taking bets with Josephine’s aunts for years about this. Now, she it looks like she had accidentally married her new supernatural boss.

“Robert will move your things to the room beside mine,” he told her. Now she was practically hyperventilating.

“Mated? Is that like married?” she repeated with wide eyes.

“When shifters bite the neck of someone, it’s a mating ritual,” Robert explained calmly and then cleared his throat. “I’ll begin moving your things.” He flew out of the room, leaving her alone with Roman.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered with his head in his hands. “I didn’t mean to bite you. Touching that statue, I just...it did something to me.”

She winced when she noticed her ears were ringing. She sucked in a deep breath and gasped when her wound began to ache again.

“It hurts,” she confessed softly.

“It’s because we’re connected now,” he offered. “When a shifter mates, it forms a sacred bond. The bite burns whenever your mate is in distress,” he explained and heaved a sigh. “I hate to admit that I’m in distress, but there’s no point in lying. I can’t believe I lost control like that.”

“Your eyes,” she whispered. “Before you bit me, your eyes were clouded. You didn’t seem like yourself at all.”

His lip twitched upward. “I wasn’t. My clan practices control. I can typically keep myself from shifting, but there are times when even I can’t stop it.”

“When you touched the statue,” she added and he nodded.

“I can’t explain it. I’ve never felt something as strong as that,” he said. His eyes flickered to the gauze bandage on her collarbone. “Apologies have never been my strong suit. For what it’s worth, I truly am sorry. There are things that might reverse it, but you don’t have much time.”

She bit her lip, processing everything. Everything from the past few days replayed in her mind. This job, Roman, the danger…

“Let’s talk about it after we find the document, Roman.”

His eyebrows shot up and he leaned towards her. “You still want to help me?”

“We’ve already this far in,” she said with a shrug. The movement reminded her of the bite when it stretched painfully, but she resisted the urge to wince. “I want to help you find that cure for your father.”

His smile was warm, a gesture that she wasn’t used to. She shivered. His nostrils flared and he opened his mouth to say something.

“Ready?” Robert asked as he walked in.

“Ready,” she said.

Her original room was already luxurious and her new digs connected to Roman’s quarters were even nicer. She admired the elaborate tapestries hanging on the wall and lowered herself to sit on the lush rug before the massive bed. Her eyes roved over the decorated ceiling arched high above her. It was a room fit for a queen.

In a way, she was. Or a princess, at least. If Roman was the prince of the Midnight Den, then did that actually make her a princess in their eyes? She stifled a chuckle at the thought of herself with a crown.

As the sun dipped and her room grew dark, she rose from the floor and climbed onto the bed where she snuggled underneath the luxurious comforter. Minutes ticked by as she tossed and turned against the silky sheets. She peeked out from beneath the blanket to stare at the clock beside the bed. An hour had passed. She groaned and collapsed against the pile of pillows behind her. Outside, the soft sound of crickets added to her insomnia.

Finally, she pulled herself out of bed and pulled on the short kimono robe hanging nearby. She tiptoed over to the connecting door to Roman’s room. Her hand hovered above the polished wood, begging her to knock. She thought of him, his handsome sleeping face, and felt a wave of guilt. How could she wake him up just because she couldn’t sleep?

Swish!

The door opened suddenly. She tightened the robe around her with a sudden gasp. To her surprise, he was leaning casually against the frame in a second.

“When you can’t sleep well, it affects me too,” he informed her with an amused smirk. She blushed as he walked inside and beckoned for her to follow. He climbed into his own bed and patted the space beside him.

She gave him a pointed look. His smirk grew more wicked.

“You don’t want to officially validate the marriage, Princess?” he asked in a sly tone. Her cheeks burned.

“I’ll ignore that,” she said softly and went to the opposite side of the bed, sitting the farthest that she could away from him. He chuckled darkly. “So, it’s not just me. You can feel what I feel?”

“Somewhat,” he said with a shrug. “It’s different for everyone. If you’re not compatible with someone then you’ll have a very hard time reading them.”

But, he seemed to have no trouble reading her. She tried to steady her nerves, worried that he might be able to feel it.

“Have you always been…like this, a shifter?” she asked.

“Since I can remember,” he answered. “The women in my family can be affected too. My mother wasn’t, but she’d grown up around bear magic.”

“You mentioned your mother earlier,” she said while lacing her fingers together anxiously. She still hadn’t told him about finding the symbol in his mother’s note. He only thought his mother was connected because she’d brought the statue with the symbol into the house.

“She was amazing,” he said with a dazed look. “She passed away when I was young, but I can remember that she often studied different types of magic. Of course her specialty was bear lore, but she was familiar with other supernatural groups. I should’ve suspected that she was the one who hid the document.”

Her heart throbbed as his eyes clouded with painful recollection. She couldn’t imagine losing her mother that young, even if the woman did drive her insane sometimes. He was without a mother, his father dying from something he can’t stop, and an impossible quest.

“I’m so sorry, Roman.”

He shook his head and emitted a half-hearted laugh.

“Don’t be,” he rasped. “You should be glad that she didn’t have to watch her son grow up into a bastard.”

“Don’t say that,” she cried.

“Fine,” he said with a playful roll of his eyes. “You know, she always mentioned that she’d wanted to leave me rare treasures. I never gave it much thought. She always said she wanted to me to have a wonderful wife, as well.”

“My mom doesn’t stop talking about marriage. If she heard what happened today, she’d freak out,” she said and they laughed together.

“How did your mother meet your father?” she asked after a few moments.

His face broke into another one of those half-smiles she was quickly growing fond of.

“She was working intelligence for the government. They placed her with the Midnight Den due to her unique scholarly specialty,” he answered and she didn’t miss the distant gleam in his eyes.

“Wow,” she muttered, truly impressed. “She must’ve been brilliant.”

“She was,” he added. “Definitely brilliant enough to hide all of the rare magical documents she could get her hands on. She could’ve never guessed that we would need the wolf magic for good.”

“Roman, I have a confession to make.”

Then she told him everything about her excursion into his private library and eavesdropping on him and his mystery conversation.

By the time she was down to her fortieth apology, he was almost laughing.

“So, what? You looked at my books. I bit you,” he countered. “I still think you’re in the clear. Man, I’d forgotten all about that note. It was a gift from when I was young, too young to be interested in books, or even read anything that complex. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d had that statue bewitched to prompt me to mate as soon as possible.”

Could he really chalk everything that had happened up to the magic?

Suddenly, he looked over at her and she stifled a gasp when she realized that she’d voiced her thought out loud. He gave her a wicked grin and then winked.

“Magic works in funny ways.”

Silence fell over them. Pushing his comment to the side, she was determined to focus on serious matters. She felt a rush of hope as her mind began working on everything they knew. His hair fell into his face as he looked over to the clock across the room. It was getting late. She should go back to bed, but her legs couldn’t seem to move. Her skin tingled as she realized that she was sitting on his bed. If she leaned over, she could brush against him. Heat rose to her cheeks.

His deep chuckle interrupted her thoughts. She sucked in a sharp breath when his hand reached over to her own.

“Josephine,” he told her with steady eyes. His cheeky expression turned her into jelly. “I can feel that.”

“Feel what?” she asked, feigning ignorance. Her heart beat wildly.

“I can feel your desire,” he whispered hoarsely as he leaned towards her. She shivered as his breath brushed her neck. “May I see it?” His fingers brushed the bandage.

She nodded timidly. He pulled the bandage back and whistled lowly.

“I know I’ve said it,” he told her while shooting her a look. “But, I’m still sorry.”

“I know you didn’t mean it,” she said. When his hand brushed around the wound, it sent sparks of pleasure through her. She jumped. “What was that?”

“A mate’s touch is a natural anesthetic,” he said with a grin. “It should be fully healed by morning. Of course, there are other ways to speed up the process.”

She raised one eyebrow. “And that is…?”

His grin turned naughty. She rolled her eyes, but they laughed again. Somehow, the serious situation felt lighter.

“I should get to bed,” she said when the clock chimed to signal a new hour. He followed her to the open connecting door. Before she could walk through, his hand gently grabbed her arm. She gasped as he pulled her towards him.

“Josephine, I know this isn’t ideal,” he said in a rumbling voice. She shivered as she felt the vibrations from his chest. “If you need anything, please let me know.”

A sudden rush of bravery ran through her. “Answer me. Why did you kiss me?”

His eyes glittered. “I kissed you because I wanted to. I had to. Your entire scent pulled me in.”

She held her breath. No boyfriend, no lover, no man had ever told her anything like that. It made her feel gorgeous. She felt like a treasure, even if it was only temporary.

“A goodnight kiss,” she told him. “That’s what I want.”

His breathing grew heavier as he leaned down. “Are you sure?”

“You’ve kissed me twice,” she told him. “That seems a bit unfair.”

“I’ve never been known to deny a woman,” he confided. She closed her eyes as he leaned down. When she felt his lips brush hers, the wound sent a wave of ecstasy through her. She gasped in pleasure. That’s was all he needed to press her up against the wall.

His lips were fiery against her. She groaned against him as her core brushed up against his hardened member. His fingers played with the edge of her robe that barely brushed her mid-thigh. Her heart jumped as his hands slipped underneath the silky fabric and began toying with the lace panties she wore.

A sudden sound broke their heated embrace. They ripped away from each other with clouded looks. The sound continued.

“Fuck, my phone,” he said with a growl.

She stifled an embarrassed squeak. “I’ll head off to bed.”

Before he could say anything else, she was in her own room. She dove underneath the covers with a flustered groan. Three times, she’d fallen for the charms of Roman, and there was no end in sight.

The bite throbbed as she fell into sleep. On the other side of the door, she felt he was in distress. Was it from the call? She fell into an exhausted, restless slumber as her thoughts tumbled around her.