Rafe nodes to me. “Our next step is to make Dupree think Lana’s dead.”
“How?”
“We have Channing and a few insiders working on cracking the assassin’s communication lines. We can send a message to Dupree from the assassin, requesting payment and saying the mission is complete. That should bring him out of hiding. Then we’ll get him.”
“All right. It’s a plan.”
“It’ll be all right, brother.” Lance slaps me on the back and leans in for a half-hug. I bump shoulders with him and return the back slap and do the same with Rafe.
“Thank you, brother.” I flick my fingers in salute to Deke, who nods.
“And we’ll have you and Lana up to visit soon,” Rafe adds. “Adele and the ladies will want to meet her. They can talk to her, help her acclimate to shifter matehood faster.”
“That sounds good. She’ll probably like that.”
“She’ll need that,” Lance says. “Our mates are badass, but no question, taking a human mate has some complications.”
“That’s a fucking understatement,” Deke mutters.
“Humans complicate everything.” Lance shrugs. “But it’s worth it. You got this.” With a final slap on my back, Rafe and the rest climb into their vehicles and head out.
I raise a hand to send them off. Lance, Deke and Rafe all took human mates, and it worked out for them. They trust. But they don’t know that I’ve been down this road before.
Tiffany was human. And she betrayed me.
Lana isn’t Tiffany. I never felt like this with Tiffany.
My bear is content in the knowledge that Lana is our mate. I can be, too.
Lana
An hour later, I have a makeshift skirt pieced together from a donated pair of jeans. Hutch hovers over my shoulder while I pin things in place and give him pointers.
“Can I ask a personal question?” I ask Hutch around the needles in my mouth, and wait for his nod and shrug. “Where is your mom?”
“Ma? She’s good. She has her own place now, for privacy. She's hibernating.”
“Hibernating?”
“A few days after we turned eighteen, she said she loved us, but she’d raised seven boys, eight if you count Everest, and she needed a break. She's been sleeping on and off since then.”
“Oh, wow.” That sounds nice, actually. I wouldn’t mind being able to hibernate every once in a while. “Wait, why wouldn’t you count Everest as a boy she raised?”
“She didn’t really adopt him. He wandered out of the woods one day and sat down to eat at our picnic table. Everest is like that. He comes around when he wants, and when he stays away no one can find him. But he’s still part of the family.”
“Family,” I murmur. I love their family. Mine was nothing like this.
“Hey, guys, you almost done?” Canyon calls from the kitchen. “Teddy texted that he’s on his way. I’ve got the grill prepped and need some help. We gotta eat now if we’re going to make it to the town meeting.”
“I’ll be ready.” I whip my new jean skirt away from the sewing machine and hold it up. “Just give me a sec to change.”
This time, instead of watching the seamless choreography of prepping for dinner, I’m a part of it. Me and the two Bad Bear brothers work in sync to get the salad stock chopped and the salmon on the grill. Hutch and I stream back and forth from the kitchen to the picnic tables, setting out plates, utensils and napkins.
Matthias and Bern show up first. The goth triplet takes a heavy stack of plates out of my arms and ferries them to the right spots.
“You should be resting.” Matthias peers at me.
“I napped,” I say. “I’m feeling fine, I promise.”
“Hey, Lana, sit over here,” Canyon waves. “You’ll be next to Teddy and me.”
I beam at him and take my spot. It’s like having four new brothers. A whole new family.
Be careful, a little voice inside me cautions. It might not last. But I wave that little voice away. I need to think positive.
Matthias checks his phone and pockets it. “Teddy’s coming. He says to start dinner without him.”
“He better get here quick,” Canyon warns. “Otherwise, there’s no time for him to eat before the town meeting.”
“Plus, Everest will scarf all his salmon.” Bern digs the tongs into the salad and serves me.
“Everest is coming?” I perk up. “I’ve been wanting to meet him. Outside of bear form, I mean.”
“He's great,” Hutch sets a bread basket near me. “Really quiet. Kind of shy. He’ll come to the meeting with us. Between him and Teddy, you’ll be perfectly safe, Lana.”
“What about us?” Canyon protests.
“And us. We’ll guard you.”
Matthias sets down his fork. “You’re coming to the meeting?”
“I want to,” I say. “If Teddy thinks it’s safe.”
Canyon nudges me. “Here’s Everest.”
A shadow falls over the table. I shield my eyes to look into the setting sun, and the giant blocking it.