When I pull back, the guys are all grinning at us happily.
Doc smirks, “She used the Alpha voice on Amari to stop her from attacking us and so that we could get to Asher and heal him. I knew then with one hundred percent certainty that she was your mate. Not that I was really questioning it before then.”
I frown slightly, “I did? I did wonder why she actually listened to me when you said that River would be the only one who was able to help.”
Doc nods, “Yeah, I honestly didn’t think that you would be able to calm her.” He looks back at River, “I was trying to work out a way to prove to you that the only way that she would be able to do that is if she were the mate of an alpha. I was going to get all of the guys to help me.”
“So how did you figure it out then?” Reed asks curiously. “I find it hard to believe that Neith just happened to have a rip in her dress over the exact right spot, to reveal her mark to you.”
River nods, “It was Logan, actually. He called Neith my Luna Regia, and I explained that she wasn’t. He argued with me and wouldn’t let it drop.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t snap at him,” Van says with a raised eyebrow.
River smirks, “I did have to remind myself that it wasn’t good practice to rip off the head of someone you’ve just saved.”
I burst out laughing along with others.
“So how did he help?” Ransom asks, as curious as the rest of us, especially since even they didn’t know about kitsune mate marks.
“He knew about kitsune mate bond marks. Apparently, he has sources and loves to read. That’s all he told me, and I was too shocked to question him further. He even knew what the shape of it was,” River replies, his eyebrows dipping down slightly.
“I have never found any books that mention kitsune’s having mate bond marks, and I’ve done a lot of research into kitsune mates so I could prove to you that Neith is yours, and even before Neith turned up, I was looking into them to prove to you that you could have a mate,” Raiden explains.
River smiles gratefully, “Thanks, man.”
Raiden nods, but he’s on a roll, so he just continues what he was saying, looking extremely intrigued, “I’d be really interested to know where he got the books from, and who his source is.”
River shrugs, “The best thing to do would be to ask him.”
Raiden nods thoughtfully, “Yeah, I will.” His eyes suddenly widen, “Shit. If Logan knows enough about kitsune marks to know that they exist, and what they look like, then he’s going to know what the whole thing means.”
It takes me a moment to catch up to where Raiden’s brain has gone.
“Shit, the number. He’s going to know that it means how many tails you have,” I say as soon as I realize.
“Fuck, that’s not good,” Griff frowns. “I like Logan, though. He’s a good guy. Maybe just speak to him about it.”
“Griff’s right. If he knows as much as he seems to about kitsunes, then I would think that he knows how rare it is, and how much danger you could be in if it gets out how many you have,” Reed points out.
“I don’t think he would want you to be in danger,” I say. And feel my eyes tingle with the shift as I add, “If he does, I’ll rip out his throat.”
“So fucking hot,” Raiden mutters.
I feel my eyes go back to normal, and grin, “Wait, do my eyes do the thing that you all do when you're mad?”
The guys all smile at me.
“Yeah, they do, Nene,” Van replies, with a proud smile.
“So fucking cool. I’m a badass, I always knew I was,” I reply teasingly, and then, because my brain, of course, went there next, I add, “Oh, I wonder if they will do it when I’m turned on?”
River smirks and starts to move toward me, “One way to find out.”
I grin and hold up my hand to stop his forward momentum, “As much as I would love to see what you have in mind, I don’t think we have the time. Especially now that we need to go and find Logan, make sure that he hasn’t told anyone about your tails, and ask him not to.”
Van nods, “Plus, we need to go and help out. There will be a lot of chaos back at the pack house. A lot of things have changed for the pack over the last couple of hours, not to mention the injured wolves that need to be moved into the medical building.”
“Good point,” River frowns. “Come on, let’s go. This has taken longer than it probably should have.”
