A Mate for Christmas: Collection 1 by Zoe Chant

Author:Zoe Chant [Chant, Zoe]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

17

Caine

Opal put her hands on Caine’s shoulders and pushed him down into the kitchen chair. He sat down, too tired and miserable to object. The Heartwells had given him some time to recover after Meaghan left, but now they were all gathered around. Even baby Ruby looked serious.

“Right,” Opal said, crossing her arms. “Tell me everything you know about shifters.”

“I know lots about shifters!” Cole piped up from behind her. She sighed and reached out without looking to ruffle his hair.

“Yes, kiddo, but I’m asking Mr. Guinness.”

“I could help him!”

“I think you’ve helped enough today, champ,” Hank rumbled. Cole’s face fell.

Caine roused himself enough to defend the tiny dragon shifter. “Don’t blame him for what happened this morning. It’s all my fault. And it would have been worse if he wasn’t here.”

Hank dragged over another chair and Opal sat down in it, arms still crossed.

“What do you mean, it would have been worse?” she asked.

Caine’s gut twisted. His hellhound was hunkered down inside him, so thickly wreathed in black smoke that the only trace of it was the slight glow of its eyes.

“Because if I’d been the only shifter she ever met, she might not have seen how wrong I am. Now she’s gone, and that’s…” Caine dropped his head into his hands. “That’s the best outcome I could have hoped for.”

The room was silent. Even Cole didn’t say anything.

Opal cleared her throat. “You said you don’t know what a mate is?” she said slowly.

“No. But my hellhound thinks Meaghan is one, so it can’t be good.” Caine groaned. “She’s the best goddamned thing that’s ever happened to me. I can’t let her get caught up in this nightmare.”

“If she’s your mate then she is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Trust me.” Jasper wrapped an arm around Abigail’s shoulders and pulled her close to him.

“And good luck letting her do anything,” Abigail added, jiggling Ruby. “Meaghan’s only been here six months and she’s already a legend. Nothing stands in her way. Not even poor Jackson after you lot saddled him with keeping her away from the ghost gang problem.”

“Which she’s solved.” Jasper reached a finger out for Ruby to grab. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but having just spent the last two months flying my wings to stubs trying to track down the shifters who’ve been causing trouble, I’m feeling slightly embarrassed that Meaghan figured it all out despite our best efforts to solve it ourselves and keep her away.”

“It’s almost as though keeping humans in the dark is a bad thing,” Abigail teased. “Where have we learned that before, I wonder?”

Her teasing grin softened as Jasper caught her chin and kissed her on the forehead. Caine’s chest ached. Movement stirred inside him.

Burning eyes blazed through the smoke. His hellhound’s anger sent lightning down his spine.

He must have made some sort of noise, because the next moment, all eyes were on him.

“You knew?” he gasped out. Smoke blurred the edges of his vision. “You

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