Desired (Two Marks 2)

“Nah,” I said, sitting beside her at my small kitchen table. “Most of our whiskey gets exported. It’s not special to the people who grew up here.”

“We drink it in Montana,” Nash said, popping open the beers with his thumb, even though they weren’t twist-offs. Rachel’s brows went up at his strength.

Nash and I would need to talk about when to share our secret with Rachel. The sooner, the better, as far as my wolf was concerned, but I had to admit, I knew nothing about courting a human.

Nash might know a little more. I knew from Shelby that a whole rash of shifters in her pack had mated human females, and all of them fated mates, like ours. From a biological standpoint, I was interested in exploring the reason for that. It seemed a diversification of genes was necessary to ensure the shifter species. Heck, Landry and Wade had just mated Caitlyn, who was human.

I believed in evolution. Just as it had created the Two Marks breed to accommodate a lack of female shifters, now it seemed to be seeking to blend our DNA with humans. Almost always female humans to male shifters, though. I had yet to hear of a male human mating a female shifter.

I clinked bottles with Nash as our mate snatched up her sandwich and took a huge bite. We watched her eat for a moment. I was sure Nash had to be as fascinated by everything about her as I was.

“You ran from your old life, straight into our arms,” Nash said, and picked up his sandwich.

Rachel gave a short laugh, and wiped her mouth with a napkin she grabbed from a holder in the center of the table. “That certainly wasn’t the plan. But, yeah. I guess I did.”

“What was so wrong with your ex?” I asked. She’d given me a little bit of information earlier, but it was time to get more details. “Not that I want to spend our time talking about him.” I grimaced.

“I didn’t love him,” Rachel confessed, sounding like she felt guilty over it. “When I get married, I plan to marry for love, not because some guy wants an association with my family name to build his future political career.”

Nash’s brows shot up. “That was the deal?”

She nodded. “He wants to someday run for the Senate, and my family has political clout.” She looked between the two of us. “My grandfather was governor in the ’80s, and two of my uncles have been in local politics my entire life. Having me at Chester’s side would’ve ensured name recognition and likeability,” she explained.

I whistled. Rachel came from a prominent family. A well-known one. “I see. So you are the prize he needs to claim.”

“Yes.”

A muscle ticked in Nash’s jaw. “He was going to use you,” he growled, eyes flashing silver.

I shot him a warning glance, but his wolf was on notice, ready to protect our mate, even though her ex was nowhere near us. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, never.” Rachel’s surprise couldn’t be faked. “My parents wanted the connection, too. Their daughter being a senator’s wife is a big deal for them. That’s why they knew about the engagement party. They were all for the match. I wasn’t.”

It settled my wolf, everything she said, and Nash’s eyes turned back to blue. Yeah, the sooner we marked and claimed our mate, the better. It seemed like Nash’s wolf could be volatile when it came to Rachel. I didn’t blame him, but a niggle of concern ran through me. I knew nothing about this guy—nothing of his history or temperament. Of course, Shelby trusted him, so that helped, but I’d only known her a few months.

Gibson knew Nash’s pack alpha, and wouldn’t have allowed Nash to leave with me to claim Rachel if he knew of any issues.

“Nash, what do you do?” she asked, then took another bite of sandwich.

“I run a construction company with my best friend,” he said. “I guess I’ve always preferred partnership to working alone.” He shot me a meaningful look. “Rand is going to be pissed when I don’t return Monday.”

“You aren’t staying in West Springs for a while?” Rachel asked in surprise. “Shelby said you might stick around, but—” She stopped and shook her head.

Nash nodded firmly. “I’m staying. Yeah. Definitely.”

Rachel put her sandwich on her plate. “Wait… are you staying… for me?”

Nash sent another look my way, like he was looking for help, but I wasn’t sure of the best way to play this, either.

“You’re welcome to stay here at my place,” I offered. It was the right thing to do. Once we’d marked our mate, we’d all be living together. We might need to get a bigger place, but we could figure that out. Hell, if Nash was in construction, maybe he could add on to my cabin. I’d bought a small house because I never expected to have a triad. “Both of you are,” I added, looking at Rachel.