Artie’s anger dissipated slightly with my words. “What was the agreement?”
“Friends with benefits, obviously,” Emily said.
“Not even that. Just casual sex until the snow melted enough for her to get out. She was planning on picking a mate at the Supernatural Resort. I guess she went there a few months back, and she’s friends with the owners. I was going to let her go. They were going to help her find someone, so she could make sure she didn’t have to bond with the alpha. He found us before the snow thinned enough that she could make her escape.”
“Then how did you end up claiming her?” Artie asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Lost control of my bear, I guess. Letting her leave was going to fucking hurt, so my instincts kicked into gear. She was pissed. I felt like shit for it. Still do.”
“So you unintentionally claimed the only unmated female kitsune alive,” Artie drawled.
“No. I unintentionally claimed Madison, the girl I’ve been obsessed with for more than a decade. She’s a hell of a lot more than just a kitsune to me.”
“Fuck you.” There was no heat behind his words.
“Fuck me,” I agreed.
The door to Hudson’s house opened, and I looked over as he stepped outside. He wasn’t grinning like usual, but he didn’t look suspicious about why we were there.
I opened the car’s door and stepped outside, accepting his back-clapping hug even though I didn’t want anyone’s scent on me but Madi’s.
“Hey, man. It’s been a while,” Hudson remarked.
“It has. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?” He released me and stepped back, tucking his hands in his pockets.
“I have a question. About bears. And mates.” My cheeks filled with air.
“You shouldn’t look that stressed talking about your mate, Bo,” Hudson said with a grin. “Or your lack of a mate.”
An uncomfortable chuckle rattled my chest. “Yeah. That’s the thing. How do you know for sure that you’re mated?”
Hudson’s forehead creased. “What do you mean?”
“I, uh, bit someone. While we were fucking. It wasn’t planned. But she’s a supernatural. A kitsune. There were no vows, so we can’t actually have a bond, right?”
The crease in his forehead deepened, and he glanced at the SUV. Emily waved. Artie tried not to scowl, and failed.
“Madison’s the only female kitsune, isn’t she?” Hudson finally asked, looking back at me.
“Yeah.”
“And she’s engaged to their alpha.”
“The wedding’s supposed to happen in the morning,” Emily called out.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Pretty much.” I grimaced.
Hudson glanced at his house before looking back at me. “Given the situation, I’d say there’s only one way to figure out where your beast stands. We’ll have to head into town to do it. Give me a minute to tell Callie what’s going on and get Reed in on it. We’re going to need backup.”
“Do I want to know why?”
“Probably not.” Hudson smacked me on the arm. “We’ll figure it out.”
When he strode back into his house, I leaned against the side of Artie’s car with a quiet groan.
