“What are you talking about?”
“You know, like most male shifters my age, I served in the Great War.”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’ve seen many things. Many disturbing things. They left my bear broken, and when I returned to my company after the war, I wasn’t able to hack it. My bear was too wild, too crazed. I had to sell the company and move to Fate Mountain. Ever since, I have been slowly descending into madness.”
“Madness? What do you mean? You seem perfectly normal to me. A tad messy, but ultimately normal.”
“The solitude has not been good for my PTSD. I told you the mansion can play tricks on the eyes. I have been living here for several years now alone and I fear my mind is gone.”
“I don’t understand, James. I’ve seen the same weird things. There must be an explanation. You know, when I was a kid, everyone said this place was haunted. Did you know that before you bought it?”
“I did. But I don’t believe in that kind of thing.”
“Maybe you should. Maybe there’s something to the whole haunting thing.”
“Insanity is the only rational explanation.”
“Maybe they’re robots,” she said, feeling as if she’d had an epiphany.
“I don’t think they’re robots. Most of the trinkets here are antiques,” he said, kissing her forehead.
“It has to be something,” she said, tapping her chin with her forefinger, her curiosity piqued.
“Whatever it is, let’s figure it out in the morning. For now, I want to spend the night in a warm bed with my mate on the first day of our claiming.”
“Mmm. That sounds nice. I want exactly the same thing.”
Chapter 10
James and Matilda woke the next morning to the warm yellow sunlight streaming through the windows of his bedroom suite. It flowed over the stuffed leather couches, Oriental rug, and onto the king-sized bed covered in fluffy black blankets. James pushed the comforter aside and swung his legs over the bed, resting his feet on the floor. The shaggy white rug was warm and soft against his toes as he stood and stretched.
Matilda sat up and yawned. He turned to look at her and enjoyed the smile curling on her lips. She gazed up into his eyes, the bedsheet resting over her bare breasts while her green eyes gleamed in the morning sunlight.
“I’m going to cook you breakfast,” he said.
He could feel the mate bond between them flowing and circulating like cords of energy that would connect them together for eternity. Now that he had finally found her and claimed her, he knew the true meaning of what it was to be a man. With his complement, Matilda, he knew he could accomplish anything. Maybe he could even figure out what was going on in his own home.
“The kitchen is still clean,” she said with a laugh.
They pulled on matching red plaid flannel robes and fur lined slippers and made their way down to the kitchen. The coffee pot had already brewed the morning coffee and James poured them both big cups of rich brew. Matilda liked hers with cream and sugar and he liked his black.
While she sat at the counter and sipped her coffee, James pulled the necessary ingredients out of the refrigerator to make Matilda his signature breakfast.
This morning he was inspired. He planned on a full spread. Eggs, bacon, waffles from scratch, fresh squeezed orange juice, and fresh fruit. As he put the ingredients on the counter, Matilda’s eyes grew wide.
“I’m good at cooking, but I never said anything about being good at cleaning,” he said.
“That’s for sure.”
He could feel the burning of her eyes on him as he started to crack the eggs into a bowl.
“I suppose I could learn to clean now that I have a mate,” he said.
“Look at you, James, you’re growing as a person,” Matilda teased.
For the first time in his life, James felt truly connected to another human being. The human part of him longed for that bond as much as the bear inside him craved it. With his newly claimed mate sitting in the kitchen looking up at him with her beautiful round face and doe eyes, James sliced open a melon and reached across the counter to slide it into Matilda’s waiting mouth.