21. Celina

TWENTY-ONE

CELINA

Blinking my eyes open, I stared at the gray wall beside my bed. I'd had the weirdest dream. The details were fuzzy around the edges, but the basics still remained. I'd dreamed that Miles confessed to being a shifter, and that I was supposed to be his mate. It was literally like a plot from one of my books, only a tad crazier. I couldn't remember ever having witches or crazy billionaires in my stories before.

Had I gotten drunk? Pounded through a bottle of wine then passed out? My dreams tended to be more intense when I was hammered. That had to be what caused the vividness of the fantasy.

The haze of sleep was finally starting to slip away, so I stretched out to clear it some more. When I felt someone move behind me, I froze. My eyes, still groggy from my nap, snapped wide open. The sound of Miles growling and rolling over brought everything back into hyper focus.

His arm was draped around my body, and his lips rested next to my ear. "Have a good snooze?"

I touched his hand with my finger, making sure he actually was there. His skin was warm and firm. Most definitely real. "It wasn't a dream," I mumbled.

"Nope." Miles chuckled.

I rolled over in the bed, bringing us face to face. The movement was so quick and abrupt that Miles jerked away in surprise before relaxing again. He pulled me close, and the feeling of his arms around me helped calm my nerves, but I was still in shock.

My mouth opened, and words tumbled out. "You're really a wolf shifter? Tate's a dragon? What the hell are Steff and Blayne, then? Wait, holy shit, witches are real? Like for real, real? That curse? Did it make you want to be with me? Is that the only reason you like me?"

Miles shook his head, the skin between his brows creasing. "Hang on. One question at a time. First, and most importantly, no, the curse didn't make me feel anything. That's not how it works. All it does is force us together. Like luck on steroids. It brings us together and makes me aware of you. Without the curse, you never would have come to Lilly Valley, would you?"

I frowned and shook my head. "It was pretty random. How I ended up choosing this place, I mean."

"Exactly. You were always my fated mate. The one person who was perfect for me. Without the curse? I might have gone my whole life without ever meeting you. And once I did? I knew from the first second I was meant to be with you. Any other time, I might have just thought you were my cute new neighbor. That's what the curse does. It was supposed to make us weak and vulnerable. Instead, it's helping us find our mates. It's making our pack even stronger. Does that all make sense? It was a blessing in disguise."

"Okay." I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. "I only wanted to be sure. I've never been wanted. Once I heard about this witch thing, my mind jumped to the most logical conclusion."

He brushed a strand of hair out of my face. "That's not logical to me. Anyone would be blessed to have you in their life. I need you to understand that. I don't want you thinking awful things about yourself anymore. Not when you are so amazing."

I smiled—possibly the most heartfelt smile of my life. It was the one thing I'd wanted to hear. The thing I'd craved since I was a child. Acceptance. "Okay. Good. Me too. Like you, I mean. I like you. That's what I'm trying to say, shit?—"

He put a finger to my lips, shushing me. "I get it." He grinned. "The other questions? Yes, Tate is a dragon. Steff is a bear, and Blayne is a panther. Witches are indeed real. Also, just like people, not all shifters and witches are good. But, for the most part, paranormal creatures are like any other human. They're good at heart and only want to live their lives."

It made sense when he said it like that. I'd met his friends and their mates. They did seem like anyone else. I'd never have known they were different. Another important question sprang to my lips. "How did you guys find out about Felicity…er Mariana?"

Miles sat up and scooted his back up against my headboard. I sat up and joined him. He looked at me and lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "As soon as I met her, I thought something was off about her. I ran into her out jogging first. I'm pretty sure it was before she ever bumped into you. I never told you about that because it was so random. I'd thought it was in passing, but looking back, I think she was trying to find me that morning and make contact. I'm the next target for the hunters. The next time I saw her, the feeling in my gut got stronger. Then it kept building. The last time I saw her, it took everything in me not to attack her right then and there. The wolf inside me was raging and dying to rip her apart.

"There was an attack on my old pack, and they managed to detain one of the hunters. When they interrogated her, she told them about one of the leaders and how she called the head honcho ‘daddy'. We knew the guy probably had his daughter involved, and once we looked into Felicity, we found out her father was this rich guy. He'd lost his wife to a dragon shifter. Some star-crossed lover thing. Pretty unheard of, honestly. Shifters rarely, if ever, have long-term relationships with humans. This Antonio guy lost it and founded a hunter organization. He's been and killing shifters ever since."

I tried to take in everything he'd said. It was hard to believe all this was going on. All this subterfuge right under the surface of the human world––killing, hunting, magic, all of it.

A memory of something Felicity said sprang to mind. "Felicity told me once that she'd had a boyfriend. Someone who got in trouble after becoming obsessed with another woman. She…she said he died."

"I'm a little surprised she'd tell you that, honestly. From the description, it sounds like a hunter named Ryland. He had the hots for April. Really creepy dude. I'm not even going to tell you all the things he did to get her. Kidnapping was the least of it."

"But you guys really killed him?" I asked, my voice quavering.

Miles's lips were set in a hard line. "We did. It was him or us. He gave us no choice. I wasn't there for it. It was Steff, Tate, and Blayne, but I trust them, and I trust that they did what they had to do. It was good versus evil. Easy as that."

"No, I get it. It's just crazy. What you guys are going through," I said. Then I chuckled and gave him a sly look. "Maybe once it's all over, I can write a book about it. Fiction, of course."

Miles laughed and got out of bed. "Sure. Just change the names and locations. You want a hamburger? It's almost dinner time."

"Hell yeah. Do you have bacon?" I asked, suddenly feeling ravenous.

"What wolf doesn't keep bacon on hand at all times?"

He went into the kitchen to start working on the food. I remained on the bed for a few seconds, pinching my arm just one more time. Still real. I shook my head and followed him to the kitchen.

He threw two potatoes into the oven to bake and started making some ground beef into hamburger patties.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this curse. What does it do to you? There's no way it just brings me into your life and leaves you to figure it out."

He sighed and made another patty before answering. "There is more to it. If I don't claim my mate after a time…things get bad."

"Uh…first, what's it mean to claim someone? And second, define bad."

"Claiming is what shifters do to…I don't really know how to describe it. I guess it's our version of getting married, but it's a bodily connection. The male bites the female. The saliva is injected and it binds us. We become closer than any human connection could possibly be."

My eyes must have looked like saucers, they were so wide. "Holy shit."

He nodded and kept working. "Yeah, it's pretty serious. If a mating bond isn't performed in time, I'll go feral. That's what the curse does."

"Feral? Like a cat?"

"Sort of. All the legends you've heard about bloodthirsty werewolves, dragons, shifters in general? Those are shifters who went feral. We lose our human side almost completely. Hunger, rage, and madness takes over. Along with that, there's physical pain if I try to reject the mate or if she rejects me. Agonizing pain if I'm honest."

"So, if you don't claim me soon, that's what will happen to you?"

"Basically, but don't think about it too much. The thing I worry about the most is what will happen to you. The curse will…Well, it will turn you into a shifter. There's still plenty of time. Steff and April went weeks, if not months, before he claimed her. There's no rush here."

That news was new. I would become a shifter? That was not something I'd anticipated. "Seriously?" I asked.

Miles nodded, looking pained. "I didn't know how to break it to you easily. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that."

"No, no, it's…it's fine. I mean, April and Harley went through it, and they seem totally fine."

"Right. I'm sorry. I hate that you've been pulled into this. I even thought about not telling you and dealing with whatever came of it. Pain, death, whatever it took to keep you safe."

"I don't want that for you. It sounds miserable." It was the truth. Everything about it sounded like hell.

The pained look on his face vanished as he grinned. "That's what I like most about you, Celina. The reason I care for you so much."

"What do you mean by that?"

"After hearing all these…all these crazy, dangerous things––all you care about is me. What's going to happen to me? How do I feel? Most people would probably be more self-centered, even if they usually aren't," he explained as he washed his hands.

I never handled compliments well. They always made me self-conscious. I looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. "I just don't want you to be in pain because of me. I couldn't live with that."

Miles walked around the kitchen island and took my hands, then put his forehead to mine, staring into my eyes. "I'm telling you the truth. I'm fine right now."

"Will you promise to tell me if things do get bad? Painful, I mean?"

He kissed me on the forehead. "I promise. Okay?"

"Okay."

Miles went back to cooking, and I was content to watch him. My writer's brain couldn't stop whirring, and new questions popped up every few seconds. As much as I wanted to let things be, I yearned to know more, especially since I was fully involved now.

"What's the next move?" I asked.

Miles was cooking bacon in a pan and glanced over his shoulder at me. "You mean about the hunters?"

"Yeah."

"Honestly, we aren't sure. The Antonio guy is rich. Like, wipes his butt with hundred-dollar bills rich. He's probably got connections and really good security. Getting to him won't be easy. One thing we know for sure is that he's got a real hard-on for Tate. I think he sees him the same as the dragon shifter that stole his wife. We know he isn't going to stop until he gets him. Maybe that's something we can use to our advantage, but who knows."

My mind kept circling back to Felicity. As bad as it was, I could still see things from her perspective. Her mother ran off with a man she barely knew, took her away from her father, and then she found out he was something that shouldn't be real. No wonder she went a little crazy. Try as I might, I couldn't blame her for not being able to deal with living in that shifter world. I mentioned this to Miles, and he shook his head.

"I don't blame the shifter or the mother. All the blame for what happened to Felicity goes on her dad. You can be mad at your mom for tearing your family apart. That's normal. What isn't is that you turn into a bloodthirsty murderer. He did that to Felicity, Mariana…whatever. She may not have become what she is without him twisting her mind.

"It's not her fault what she is now, but she is a hunter. That can't be changed. Their only goal is to eradicate all shifters. If I claim you"—he looked at me with that same intensity that always took my breath away—"she'll come for you. You'll have a target on your back. If she cares for you at all, she'll try to protect you from that fate. I think that's part of why she wanted to steer you away from me. You need to keep your head on a swivel. We saw with April that they aren't beyond kidnapping."

His words echoed in my head. I watched him put the burger patties onto a hot pan and then walk over to me. He put his hand out. "Let me see your phone."

I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over. "What are you doing?"

He pulled open my contacts and started putting in his friends' numbers. "I want you to be able to get a hold of any of us at any time. If there is ever a moment when you feel unsafe or worried and can't reach me, call them." He handed the phone back to me and looked me in the eyes. "They'll come. Hell or high water, they'll come."

Chills ran up my arms, making the hairs stand on end. I believed that was true. His eyes told me they would walk into war for each other. What kind of friends did he have?

"Okay, thanks."

"I don't want to rule your life or try to control you, but I'd like you to try and be safe. Especially when I'm not around. If history tells us anything, the hunters will make some kind of move soon. We're going to have one of our team watching you twenty-four-seven. A bodyguard basically."

I nodded. That was something I was used to. "I actually used to have one."

He arched an eyebrow. "You had a bodyguard? When?"

"When my first book became a bestseller. I was only a teenager. My publisher and my agent wanted to make sure I was safe when I went out for book signings and stuff. It didn't last long. Once they saw what a homebody I was, it was pretty unnecessary. Authors get stalkers, but I only had a few weirdos way back in the day. But trust me, I'm fine with someone being on the lookout."

"Okay, cool. That makes things a little easier."

He went back to the stove to flip the burgers and pull the bacon off the pan. Not wanting to sit there like a bump on a log, I sliced tomatoes, onions, and lettuce. I saw that he had bleu cheese in his fridge, and my mouth started watering. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, Miles," I said, showing him the container.

He laughed. "Best cheese for a burger."

Fifteen minutes later, we sat side by side at his table, eating hamburgers and baked potatoes. It was one of the best meals I'd ever had. The food was good, yes, but it was the company that made it taste so much sweeter. I ate until I was stuffed and set my napkin on the plate. Miles finished his own meal and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close until my head was resting on his shoulder.

"You're handling this really well," he said.

"Thanks. If I do everything you asked, do you think it'll keep me safe?" I wasn't sure if I wanted the answer, but I had to hear it.

"I think it's the best chance, yeah."

"Well, if that's the case, then it isn't a hardship. At least I know I'm in danger. I'm fine giving up a few things to stay safe."

Miles pulled me in and kissed me. Every kiss with him was like the first—passionate, hungry, and loving. My body relaxed, and I let him pull me close, when we were done, snuggling against him.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make you happy."

I smiled to myself because I believed him.