Tor and I shared a long look.
“So it looks like someone has reconciled himself to having a mate.” Tor smirked. “Gods, he’s going to be insufferable now.”
“Speaking of insufferable,” Mira said, moving closer. “Mum is planning a victory dinner. A full ten course banquet.”
“Not tonight,” Tor groaned. “If I don’t get Harper home and scrub the stink of that fucker off her skin in the next half hour, the tiger is gonna come out and lick her clean.”
“I’ll keep her off your back,” Dina said.
“Thank the gods?—”
“But you’ll owe me and I’m keeping a tally, little brother.”
The tigers all clustered around Tor, discussing excitedly their plans, but when I went to follow Mack and Harper, I was met with another obstacle. The dads had found their clothes and were dressed now, but they didn’t look any less pissed.
“Harper is wearing a mating mark,” Jim said.
“She is, and before you ask, I don’t know when that happened.” My eyes went all hazy for a second. “I wasn’t there. I was at the building site, like you asked.” There was no intentionto make that an accusation, but when I heard it plainly in my voice, I nodded. “When I should’ve been home with Harper. If I was there, she wouldn’t have been taken.”
“If you hadn’t decided forming a sleuth with a bloody wolf shifter was a good idea, then your mate wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
For a moment, all I could hear was a shrill ring in my ears. My tongue slid over my teeth, still tasting the blood of those idiots Dax surrounded himself with. I wanted to lash out, shout at my fathers, but what difference would that make? I knew they’d get all huffy and somehow make this about Mack.
“But I did.” I stared into each one of my father’s eyes, daring them to look away. “I did, Dads, and you can either accept that or get the fuck out of our lives.”
The chatter of Tor’s family faded away as they all turned to stare. I was making a damn scene, and after what had happened today, maybe that was understandable, because… I swallowed hard, fangs pushing free of my gums. I saw every single fingerprint Dax left on Harper and some primal part of me needed to reanimate the dickhead so I could tear his head off his shoulders.
“Harper, Tor, and yeah, Mack, they’re my family now. I will always love you guys, but…” My head was moving from side to side, the bear pushing closer and closer to the surface. For him, this had gone on far too long. He didn’t understand family relationships. This was just an impediment, getting in the way of being with Harper. “If you keep this shit up, if you keep trying to shape my life in a way that suits you, I’ll be forced to live it without you.”
As their mouths fell open, I pushed past them. Every step that took me closer to Harper made my heart lighter. Bear shifters nodded as we passed, as if acknowledging what had happened, but all I could focus on was her.
“Dar…?” Harper dove into the car Daria was sleeping in. The woman blinked her eyes and then smiled when she saw my mate. That, of course, pulled at sore facial muscles. With a hiss, she touched her cheek. “Oh fuck, Dar, I am so, so sorry. I didn’t ring, didn’t warn you.”
“Guess picking up guys from the hardware store has some occupational hazards.”
Daria’s croaky voice killed me. Harper was taking this all on herself, but that responsibility lay squarely with us.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Mack and it took him a second to notice. He turned around, frowned, blood flaking off his face. “Mack?—”
“I heard you.” He glanced over at Tor. “That go for you too, Kitty Cat?”
“Obviously we should’ve listened to you about Dax.” His toes wriggled, digging into the dirt. “I mean, we kinda figured it was all a bit of a beat up. He hadn’t made a move against us?—”
“Until we found our mate.” Mack’s arms crossed his bare chest. “Like I told you.”
“Fuck, Mack.” My eyes found Harper, saw her talking animatedly to a very tired looking Daria, unable to believe what I was going to say. “You did and we didn’t listen, so…” The bear roared inside me, making clear what he thought of this idea, but it had to be said. “If you want to break up the sleuth…”
“What? Is this your dads getting in your ear again?” Mack snapped.
“Harper accepted your bond. If you want to form a pack with guys that actually listen to you, I’ll understand. I’ll release you from the bond.”
“We’re doing that?” All of Tor’s usual bounciness was gone. If he was in cat form, his ears would be pressed hard against his skull. “Um… shit, I guess?—”
“Are you serious right now?” Mack smiled and then shook his head. “Being all fucking noble. Telling me you’ll walk awayand leave me to deal with Harper on my own? I’m not sure that’s the generous offer you think it is. Nah, mate.” He held out his hand and I just stared at it. “We’re gonna need to stick together, because keeping Harper safe?” Tor slapped his hand against Mack’s and he shook it before turning to me. “That’s gonna be a full-time job for all three of us.”
I didn’t deserve Mack’s offer, but I took it anyway, going to shake his hand, but he pulled me in close.
“Maybe we need to add some extra members. More bears and less rifles. Whaddya think, Kieran?”
