Silver Fox (Silver Shifters 2)

Bird, that kindly soul, said, “Maybe Doris has an early day tomorrow. You know she does so much volunteer work at the synagogue . . .”

Godiva looked even smaller than Joey had imagined, and twice as fierce as she stated, “Those pies got baked yesterday. I know, because I helped peel the apples.”

“Maybe ants got in them?” Bird said in a soft, hopeful tone.

Godiva was still glaring at Joey, but with her brow furrowed in question.

Joey, normally never at a loss for words, could not think past his sheer, giddy exhilaration. In one second, his life had changed forever. He’d met his own beautiful mate, with bright, intelligent eyes and a mouth made for kissing. Hidden under some enveloping blue thing, he’d caught hints of entrancing curves.

And she had turned her back and walked away.

Deep down, a tiny fox voice yowled Matematemate!

Wild joy was foremost in his mind, but beneath it lay a tumble of other emotions he had no time to sort out. Joey felt as if he’d plunged into a fast-moving stream, and a single false step would send him tumbling over the rocks to drown.

The others had seen . . . something. Mikhail’s astonished gaze told Joey that Mikhail had recognized that moment for what it was. But two of the three humans didn’t know about the mate bond, and Bird’s head had been turned as she introduced him to Jen.

Joey held his breath as he watched them begin to doubt what they’d seen, and work their way to an explanation that made sense for humans.

Godiva turned to tall, pale-haired Jen. “Did you hear her phone go off? It could be that fan-damn-ily of hers again.”

Joey’s inner ears flicked up. “Ah, family problems?” He clasped his hands tightly behind his back to hide how much he wanted to run after Doris. Protect her. Defend her. Explain to her. Talk to her—spill every detail of his life, and listen forever to hers. Offer himsel

f, body and soul.

Godiva snorted, a startling sound from so small a woman, splintering Joey’s thoughts. “To be fair, Doris’s family is basically okay. It’s just that they all think they’re Broadway stars and she’s the stage manager.”

Jen, whose icy wall of grief Joey could sense, dipped her chin in a tiny nod. “True. On both counts.”

“Welp.” Godiva got up. “Maybe it was a hint that it’s time to beat feet. We’re the last wedding guests, so it’s about time our butts went out the door.”

Bird began to protest, but Godiva waved her off, then took her phone from Jen and brandished it. “At least I’ve got this scenario in the bag, heh! It’s definitely time to hit the road. It was a great wedding and a great day.” She cackled. “If I get cracking, I’ll have pages for Friday at the writers’ group, instead of silently gagging at Bill’s tripe. It’ll be his turn to have steam coming out of the ears: two female characters, a murder, and not a hooter in sight, ha, ha!”

Bird—who had frosting in her hair, Joey noticed with a flutter of silent laughter—escorted her two friends out, leaving Joey alone with Mikhail.

Mikhail, the Imperial Warrior Knight, looked down from his towering height, his expression troubled. “Joey, you know I haven’t been mated for long. But . . .”

“Yes.” Joey breathed the word.

Mikhail turned his head, as if he could see in the gathering darkness. “Doris?”

Joey’s inner fox leaped up. Matematemate!

“Yes,” said Joey.

Mikhail looked puzzled. “But . . . you’ve met her before.” It wasn’t quite a question. Mikhail was at once too shy and too formidable for that.

Joey knew what he meant. The mate bond was not subtle—at least for shifters. One look, and you knew. For non-shifters, it was complicated.

His bond with Doris was an hour old, and it was already complicated.

He drew in a deep breath, his nerves alight with the fire of promise. Challenge. He shook his head. “I’ve never met Doris. Remember, I wasn’t there at your wedding. The Empress summoned me to give my witness report about Cang’s betrayal and the Oracle Stone.”

Mikhail’s gaze blanked, and Joey knew he was remembering how he had discovered an Oracle Stone deep in the caves of Playa del Encanto, the little town on California’s coast that they both now lived in. Oracle Stones were as rare as they were powerful. But the discovery had nearly turned into a disaster when the Guardian of southwestern America, a red dragon named Fu Cang Long, went renegade and tried to kill Mikhail in order to steal the Oracle Stone.

Mikhail’s eyes narrowed. “What did the Empress say?”

“Nothing unexpected. She requested me to aid you by finding Cang, as your orders are still to remain here to guard the Oracle Stone site. Once I find him, one of you Knights can capture him and turn him over to Imperial justice.” Joey paused, finding it difficult to focus on these serious subjects while his fox was still leaping about inside him, tails waving madly as he yipped, Mate-mate-mate! “It took me so long to get back because I had duties. First to my family. I couldn’t go to China and not see them.”