Chapter 4

EMILIA

You can do this chants through my mind on a continuous loop as I walk up the brick steps leading to the gorgeous plantation-style home that houses Bearly Frosty Snow Removal. When I pulled into the driveway, I realized this house is about a mile from the spot where the hot polar bear shifter saved me yesterday. There's no stopping my thoughts from flashing automatically to my unexpected savior.

Darn. I can't seem to forget about Mr. Tall Dark and Naked. I spent all evening yesterday replaying my crazy afternoon, wondering if I made a mistake by running away before I even found out his name.

After a long, sleepless night, I woke up tired and irritated, which is unfortunate since I have my interview this morning.

Luckily, a long hot shower seemed to revive me some. Plus, I stopped at Rise my fight-or-flight response is telling me to leave with Gianna. I suddenly have the feeling my life will never be the same.

Once the door closes behind her, I feel the four walls closing in around us. This office is at least twice the size of my apartment back home, but I'm suddenly feeling claustrophobic. "Have a seat, little goddess."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" I ask as I walk over and sit on the large brown leather sofa.

"It just fits you." He walks around the desk and sits in the huge desk chair.

"How so?"

"Because you somehow managed to run away from me yesterday before I pulled my head out of my ass and found out your name."

"Oh." Yeah. I don't really have a response to that.

"Tell me about yourself." The speed at which he changes subjects causes my head to spin, but I take a deep breath and force myself into interviewing mode.

"What would you like to know?"

"Everything."

That narrows it down so much. "I'm a recent graduate from NYU. I majored in Business with a minor in Marketing." I start reeling off all my college accomplishments on autopilot.

"What made you want to take a job in Glacier Pass?"

Great, the one question I was dreading. Do I tell him the truth or make up some BS excuse?

"I… uh…" I bite my bottom lip and start again. "I'm tired of living in a big city and wanted to try something new."

I'm pretty impressed with my answer until I watch his dark brown eyes narrow as he stares back at me. "Why don't you try again, and this time tell me the truth."

Huh? My hackles rise and I'm unable to stop myself from asking, "What makes you think I'm not telling the truth?"

"You have a very expressive face, Emilia, and I can tell you're hiding something."

Darn. His internal lie detector is a pain in my rear. "I started looking for jobs far away from New York City because I'm trying to get away from a stalker."

"Stalker? Is it an ex-boyfriend of yours?" Anger radiates from him in waves, and I have the sudden urge to explain the situation before the hot polar bear shifter implodes.

"No." This whole interview has gone completely off the rails. "It's my sister's ex-boyfriend." The truth sounds stupid, but I'm in too far to stop now. "I have no idea why he suddenly decided to start stalking me when they broke up."

"Has he hurt you?"

"No," I automatically answer and realize we're getting way off track here. "But what does that have to do with me getting a job with you?"

I feel like I've suddenly stepped into the twilight zone here.

"Fuck the job." His roar fills the large room around us. "I don't give a fuck about anything else but you."

"Huh?" I'm betting I look like one of those funny memes right now.

"You're my goddamn mate, and I won't have some asshole threatening you."

"Hold on a minute. What do you mean I'm your mate?" Now I know I'm in a crazy dream, and I'm not too sure I want to wake up.

Dillon blows out his breath. "I knew it the first moment I laid eyes on you." He sits back in his chair and stares into my eyes. "You're the best present the universe has ever given me, and I plan to spend the rest of my life making sure you're taken care of."

Woah. This is a lot to take in. "Do I have any say in all this?" I can't believe I'm questioning my good fortune. Oh man, the hunky polar bear shifter thinks I'm his mate.

"You have all the say, little goddess." He sighs. "The short answer is that shifters only have one true mate. Once they find their soulmate, the universe seals their souls together with an invisible bond that nothing can destroy. Unfortunately, the same rules don't apply to humans. Humans have the choice whether or not they accept their soulmate."

"So, you're stuck with me, but I'm free to make my own choice?"

"I'm not stuck with you." He runs his hand down the back of his neck and mutters something under his breath. "You've already become a part of me that I can't live without. Nothing in the world is more important to me than you."

"I have so many questions." And I don't even know where to start.

"Ask away." Dillon walks over and sits on the sofa next to me. As his yummy masculine scent wraps around me, I wonder why I'm fighting this so hard. I should be ecstatic that the universe dropped the hunky polar bear shifter right in my lap. Talk about my freaking lucky day.

"I know next to nothing about shifters. Can you start at the beginning and explain everything?" Shouldn't be hard at all. Oof.

"Okay." Dillon sits back and rubs his bottom lip for a few seconds. "Here are the basics. All shifters have an inner animal intertwined with their human souls. I share characteristics with wild polar bears but still maintain all my human traits, too. My human side maintains complete control of my entire being unless some traumatic event causes my inner polar bear to take over. As you saw yesterday, I can shift from polar bear to human and back on demand."

His answers lead to even more questions. "And you're allowed to mate with humans? How does having children work? Are they born human or polar bears or a little of both?"

"Mating is automatic." He takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips for a soft kiss. "There's no fighting the universe's choice, and we can have children. Our children will be born human and will remain human until their first shift, which is usually around four or five years old."