Looks like your plan worked. The hot shifter tradies are coming over tonight.
So I need to make myself scarce?she asked.Can do, babes.
That wasn’t what I meant. I was relying on her to be my wingman. What the hell was I going to do with three strange men, shifters, shifter men in my apartment on a Sunday night? My mind instantly supplied me with a long list of options. I shook my head and threw the car in gear, taking off down the road to the nearest shopping centre.
Chapter 4
Mack
“We’re on.” Dear god, Tigger bounced on over like he’d gotten all his Christmases at once. The fact I was balanced on a ladder, drilling holes into a solid brick wall, did nothing to stifle his excitement. “Harper, she sent me her address. We’re going over tonight.”
“Fuck!” I looked around hastily. The bear shifter community hall was filled with families, bear and human alike, so swearing wasn’t exactly polite. The trouble was the drill skidded along the wall, ripping up the plaster and nearly snapping the drill bit. “Did you have to grab the bloody ladder?” I snapped. “Now I’ve buggered up the wall.”
But it wasn’t Tor grabbing the ladder that had me loosening my grip on the drill, it was her. Harper. Beautiful, with just a hint of fire in her eyes. The way her chin went up, her hands to hips that I wanted, needed, to grip.
But I couldn’t.
Harris males were a nightmare their fated mates tried to wake up from, screaming, and honestly, I wished to all the gods I’d never meet mine.
Right up until the point I did.
I didn’t see the mess I’d made, the drill or the picture frames. None of it but her. She had flecks of gold and amber in her eyes, did she know that? I wanted to be the one to tell her, right before my hand slid into her?—
“What happened here?”
Fred was one of Kieran’s dads and he looked pretty damn grumpy standing there, arms crossed. I followed his gaze to the mess I’d made of the wall and then shook my head.
“Tor wasn’t holding the ladder properly.”
“Tor.”
Fred was always looking for an opportunity to disapprove of us, and I’d just handed him one.
“In my defence, I just got a text from our fated mate so?—”
Fred ignored Tor, his eyes snapping up to meet Kieran’s.
“Son?” That note of hope, I never heard that before. “Is this true?”
“Yeah, Dad, I?—”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Fred turned around. “Kim!” His mate’s head popped up from where she was talking to some of the older members of the community. “Kieran’s got news!”
“What’s that, sweetheart?” The diminutive woman was always so sweet. She beamed up at her son, as if to make up for Fred’s grumpiness.
“We found?—”
“His fated mate.” Fred smiled for once, and I was shocked when his face didn’t crack. “He’s found her finally.” His eyes narrowed as he looked me and Tor over. “So now this whole fake ‘sleuth’ thing can finally be put to bed.”
“Dad—!” Kieran snapped.
“Son, I get they’re good friends, but a sleuth, that’s something else. Tigers form ambushes.” I shook my head, the term frankly ridiculous, or was it to protect me from this? “And wolves, they form?—”
“Packs.” I jumped down from the ladder, busying myself with loosening the drill chuck and then replacing the drill bit. “We form packs.”
“See, different,” Fred said. “So now you’ve found your mate, you can find some other bears, and?—”
“No.” Kieran was probably the most even-tempered of the lot of us, right up until you pushed him. He was just as stubborn as his dad, maybe more so. I watched his arms cross, a familiar expression forming on his face. “Harper belongs to all three of us.”
