His bear pushed forward, wanting to be closer to their mate.
Their mate.
Forrest closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The scents of wildflowers, peppermint, and desire filled his nose. She was the one female made specifically for him and after all these years, he had finally found her.
Audrey Thomas was his mate.
His bear made a low rumbling noise.
Forrest opened his eyes and studied her face. Her beautiful soft gray eyes had been the first thing he noticed. Her pink lips stood out against her pale ivory skin, but so did the dark circles under her eyes. She looked tired. He needed to find out what was going on so he could fix it, but first he had to help Seth tell her about shifters.
Audrey shook her head at Seth. “You are going to stay here and explain to me why you skipped classes this afternoon.” She let go of his arm.
“It really wasn’t a big deal.” He looked down at his feet.
Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She held it for a couple of seconds, and then let it out as she opened her eyes. “Do you realize how worried I was?”
“No.” Seth glanced at her.
“I didn’t know where you were, what you were doing, or who you were with. You weren’t answering any of my texts or phone calls. I was terrified something had happened to you.” Audrey wiped the corners of her eyes. She really didn’t want to start crying again but she was powerless to stop it.
He shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t have to be worried about me. I can take care of myself.”
“I was worried about you because I love you. And yes, you probably could take care of yourself, but you’re only thirteen years old. I need to be taking care of you” Audrey’s bottom lip started trembling. She looked at Forrest. “Thank you for finding him and bringing him home.”
Forrest took a couple of steps closer. “I’m just glad I was there to help.” He glanced at Seth. “I think someone has something he needs to tell his aunt.” Forrest looked at him expectantly.
“Maybe this isn’t such a good time.” Seth scrunched his nose as if he had caught a bad scent.
“The sooner you tell her the better for everyone,” said Forrest.
Audrey looked at them as she crossed her arms. “I think someone needs to start talking.”
“Aunt Audrey, I think it might be a good idea if you sit down.” Seth weakly gestured at the couch.
Audrey tilted her head to one side as she studied Seth’s face. Very rarely did Seth call her Aunt Audrey. She knew something serious was going on with Seth. “Okay,” she said as she sat down on the couch. “Does this have something to do with skipping classes this afternoon?” she asked though she already suspected it did.
Seth slowly nodded. “It’s kind of the reason I had to skip school this afternoon.”
Audrey glanced at Forrest then looked back at Seth. “Do you want to talk about this with just the two of us, or do you want Mr. Durant here?”
Forrest didn’t like Audrey calling him Mr. Durant, but he didn’t say anything to her. She needed to focus on Seth. Later, he would have a talk with her.
“I asked Forrest earlier if he would stay while I told you what I had to tell you. That way if you had any questions he could answer them because I don’t exactly know everything yet.”
“Come here.” She patted the coffee table. Normally she would have yelled at him about sitting on it, but right then it seemed like the best place. “I don’t expect you to know everything. You’re a teenager and there’s still lots of stuff to learn. I learn new stuff all the time,” she said as he sat down in front of her.
“It’s just you’re going to have questions, and having Forrest here helps because he is kind of like me,” said Seth.
Audrey drew in a sharp breath. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Daniel had been wrong. The one thing he said probably wouldn’t happen was happening. It was the only answer. Her brother-in-law would have been so happy about Seth being able to shift into a coyote, and he probably would have gone into triple over-protection mode.
“Audrey?” Seth stared at her.
She opened her eyes. Her hands shook as she reached for Seth’s. She slowly smiled. “Why didn’t you tell me when it first started happening?”
Seth frowned. “What do you mean?” Slowly his eyes widened and then narrowed. “You knew? You knew I was different…and you didn’t tell me?”
Realizing Forrest was a shifter too, Audrey glanced at him before turning her attention back to Seth.
“Seth,” she started to say.
“You knew and you didn’t tell me.” Seth jerked his hands out of Audrey’s and jumped up. “How could you have kept something like this from me. Don’t you think I had a right to know?”
“When you were a baby, you never shifted nor showed any signs that you were going to shift. As far as I knew, you weren’t going to ever shift into a coyote. I didn’t want you worrying about something that probably wasn’t going to happen.” She stood up and took a step toward him.
He shook his head and stepped out of her reach. “You lied to me. You should have told me, but you didn’t. What else have you kept from me?”
“Seth, come sit down so we can talk.” Audrey tried keeping her voice calm.
“Why would I want to talk to you?” Seth shook his head as he glared at her. “You lied to me about what I am. Everything else you say is probably a lie too.” He ran from the living room. A few seconds later, the slamming of his bedroom door reverberated through the house.
Audrey blinked several times.
An anguished cry ripped from her throat. She hugged herself as she sat down on the couch and cried.
CHAPTER FOUR
Forrest’s bear roared. Their mate was hurting. The animal wanted to be as close to its mate as it could so that it could protect her from the danger and destroy whatever was hurting her. It was all the Forrest could do to convince the animal there was no physical danger and keep the beast from bursting forth.
When he finally got his bear under control, Forrest sat down next to Audrey and gently pulled her into his arms. He didn’t say anything. He just let her cry, realizing she had been on an emotional rollercoaster all afternoon, and at that moment she needed a shoulder to lean on.
After several minutes the anguished cries turned to soft sniffles and a few hiccups.
Forrest softly caressed her hair and the sides of her face. He had never felt the peace that came with just holding his mate in his arms. Her soft curves were the perfect contrast to his hard muscles. He kissed the top of her head, marveling at the different shades of blonde streaking through her curly locks. Her hair was beautiful and as soft as the rest of her.
Even his bear was content for the first time in a very long time.
They needed their mate more than either had been willing to admit. There was no way they were letting her go. They would fight anything or anyone to keep her.
“I need to check on Seth.” Audrey said in a soft whisper filled with pain and sorrow.
“Give him a little more time to think and cool off.” Forrest hugged her, pulling her even closer. She stiffened and then slowly relax. “Once he does, he will be ready to talk.”
“You’re right. I need to let him cool off.”
“You know about shifters?” asked Forrest. He realized Fate had given him everything he wanted…a beautiful mate and a cub or rather a pup. His eyes widened. I’m the father of a teenager! How do I handle a teenager?
“I know a little,” admitted Audrey. She took a deep breath. The musky male scent mixed with the scent of fresh rainwater had a calming effect on her. The feel of his warm body and strong arms wrapped around her made her feel safe…something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Her body surged to life with an intense desire. It was completely unlike anything she had ever felt before. Something deep inside told her Forrest belonged to her. He was the other half of her soul…the half that had been missing all these years.
“It
’s not common knowledge for humans to know about shifters yet you do, and you have a nephew who is a shifter. It’s rare for anyone outside of mates to know about shifters.” He was curious who had told her about shifters.
Audrey looked up at him. “So you want to know how I know and why I have a nephew who can shift?”
“Something like that.” Forrest buried his nose in her hair and sniffed. The scent of peppermint, wildflowers, and her desire made him want her even more than he thought possible. His cock double in size and pressed painfully against the denim jeans.
“I’ve noticed you keep sniffing me, and there’s a low rumble coming from your chest. Are you really a shifter too or is this just a ruse to gain my trust?”
He smiled. His mate was not only funny but smart too. He heard the suspicion in her voice. “I’m actually a black bear shifter, and I keep sniffing you because you smell really good to me and my bear.”
“I do?” Hope filled her. Was he feeling what she was? Were they really mates like she suspected?
Forrest lifted her chin so he could look into her gray eyes. “You smell really good to me because you are my mate. I was beginning to believe I would never find you. But now I have you in my arms, I’m never letting you go.” He brushed his lips against hers, knowing that anything more would end up with him making love to her right there on the couch. If they had the house to themselves he would have given into that desire, but Seth was in a room just down the hall.
Audrey sighed. It was a mixture of contentedness and frustration. “My sister told me it would be this fast and intense if I was lucky enough to be a mate to a shifter. I’m glad I’m lucky. I didn’t realize it until now but I’ve been waiting for you all of my life.”
“And I’ve been waiting for you too.” He wrapped his arms tight around her. “And I’m never letting you go.”
Audrey put her hands on his hands and leaned against him. She knew this is where she wanted to be. “My sister was mated to a shifter, and don’t laugh at me for repeating that. I just wanted to make it clear, she was mated to a shifter.”
“But you told Seth you didn’t know if he would shift or not.” Forrest knew it was possible for the child of a shifter and a human not be able to shift, but the probability was very remote. The shifter gene was just too strong for the offspring not to be a shifter.
“Even Daniel, his father, wasn’t sure if Seth would be able to shift,” said Audrey. “Maybe you should let me sit beside you. I’m a little too heavy to be sitting in your lap.”
Forrest snorted. “Are you trying to politely say I’m a weakling?” He knew she had to feel his cock pressing against her bottom.
“No. I’m saying I’m too big to be sitting in anyone’s lap.” Audrey dried her eyes with the edge of one of her sleeves.
“I happen to like you exactly where you are. Besides you can never get too old to sit in my lap.” He gave her a light squeeze. “And you are not too heavy. Never insinuate that you are fat. You have absolutely beautiful curves, and I’m going to enjoy exploring each and every one as I make love to you.”
Audrey blushed but didn’t say anything. She knew what she wanted to say but she hadn’t dated very much in high school or during college. The boys were clueless as to how to treat a female, and most were after a quick round of sex rather than a relationship, and that was not what she wanted.
And then her sister and her mate were killed in the car wreck. With the responsibility of raising Seth, she didn’t bother with dating. She was too busy building a home for them, plus there wasn’t anyone she trusted enough to babysit Seth.
So how did she tell him she wanted to have sex with him but she lacked experience—as in no experience at all? Maybe she should just not say anything and let it happen when it was supposed to happen. That seemed like a good plan, at least for now.
Forrest saw the blush spread across her face. He liked that she didn’t hide her emotions. “Why did Seth’s father think Seth wouldn’t be able to shift?” he asked, changing the subject. He didn’t want her to feel pressured about sex.
“How many coyote shifters have you met?” she asked. She was grateful for the change of subjects. She needed the distraction to hopefully get her body under control.
“Seth is actually the first,” said Forest. He frowned. “Either they’re very secretive or there’s a problem with the birthrate.”
“It’s birth related. The coyote shifters are dying out. But having children isn’t the problem.” Audrey chewed on her bottom lip.
“Something biological has to be causing it to happen. I know when bear shifters and wolf shifters mate with humans, the children almost always are shifters. It’s rare for a child not to be able to shift though occasionally it does happen.” He couldn’t imagine a whole species of shifters dying out because so few children could shift.
“Daniel believed it was something biological too but he didn’t have any proof. The scientists who were studying the issue disappeared along with their research. They’ve been missing for years. Daniel said there weren’t any clues as to what happened to them. One day they were there, and then the next they were gone with no trace.”
“Hunters.” Forrest said the word very softly.
The deadly tone Forrest used when he said the word caused Audrey to shiver. “I think so. Daniel was extremely overprotective of Ellie, but he was also protective of me.”
Forrest felt his bear stir. The beast had mixed feelings about another shifter protecting Audrey because it didn’t know the shifter. Forrest realized Audrey had stopped talking. “Are you okay?” he gently asked.
Audrey nodded, but didn’t say anything because she was worried she had just said too much.
Forrest noticed she had wrapped her arms around herself. It was a protective gesture to keep herself safe. “You can tell me anything. You are my mate. I will do everything in my power to keep you and Seth safe. If something happens to me, my brothers will protect you.”
Audrey turned and looked at Forrest. His warm chocolate brown eyes showed his feelings for her. Instinctively she knew he would do anything to keep her safe. She reached up and touched his chiseled jaw with her small hand. “I believe you.” She knew if she hadn’t witnessed the instant love between her sister and Daniel, she would have had a harder time accepting her immediate feelings for Forrest.
“It’s normal for shifters to be protective of their mates and the ones their mates love,” said Forrest.
“Ellie and I weren’t just sisters. We were identical twins.” She waited for that little bomb to explode. Audrey knew she had to tell him.
“You were Daniel’s mate too?” Forrest growled at the thought of Audrey being someone else’s mate. Twins always had the same mates, because they were two halves of the same coin. But if Audrey was also Daniel’s mate, how could she be his?
“Daniel and I were definitely not mates. There was absolutely no attraction between us.” Audrey knew what Forrest was thinking. In the shifter world, at least what she knew of it, twins always had the same mates.
“I’ve never heard of twins not being mated to the same person,” said Forrest as he tightened his arms around her as if he was afraid she was being taking away from him.
“Daniel said the same thing, but he and I were not mates, which was a good thing.”
“How’s that?”
Audrey smiled as she looked at Forrest. She could feel the tension in his body. “Ellie and I were identical twins, and over the years we shared a lot of stuff…clothes, books, apartments, answers on tests…but there was absolutely no way we could have shared a mate.” She turned and put her hands on either side of his face and looked directly into his warm chocolate brown eyes. “I will not share you with anyone, and I refuse to be with anyone but you. I guess that makes me territorial. Ellie was the same way when it came to Daniel.”
Forrest smiled and laughed. The tension flowed from his body. “Maybe just a little territorial.”
Audrey snorted. “You’ll g
et used to it.”
“It could be interesting.” He winked at her.
She flashed a brief smile at him. “I accept the fact we are mates, but I also have to think about Seth. He’s so angry. I never meant to hurt him. I was trying to protect him based on the information I had.”
“Is that why you didn’t tell him he was a shifter?” Forrest tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Daniel said the coyote genes were not very dominant and fewer of the children showed any signs of shifting. He said the odds of Seth shifting were so low there really wasn’t a chance of it happening especially when he didn’t shift by the time he was a year old.” Audrey sighed. she rubbed her temple.
“Are you okay?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t want Seth worrying about something that even his dad believed wasn’t going to happen. After Ellie and Daniel were killed in the car wreck, I had no idea who I could trust. After the accident I was so afraid something would happen to Seth. Did I do the right thing?”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t think Ellie and Daniel’s car wreck was an accident. Daniel was always ‘protective’ of Ellie and Seth.” She made a set of air quotes with her fingers. “But about two months before the accident, he became super over protective. He was constantly watching people, patrolling the house in coyote form, and he never let Ellie and Seth leave alone. Even Ellie was becoming over cautious.” Audrey’s bottom lip quivered.
“What did the police say?” asked Forrest.
“They ruled it an accident due to speed and reckless driving. If Daniel was speeding there was a reason. I took pictures of the car before the insurance company disposed of it. I’m no expert, but the rear of the car looked like someone had hit them or ran them off the road.” Audrey took a deep breath and slowly let it out. The only positive thing was that Seth was with me. I was babysitting while they went out to dinner and a movie.”
Mated Hearts (Durant Brothers Book 1) Page 3