Her Fate

by Davenport, Fiona

  “I am happy to be mated to Damon.” I struggled to find the words to explain my feelings. “There’s no way to make you understand what he already means to me, not until you’ve found your mate.”

  “Then answer my original question, Trin. What’s wrong?” she demanded.

  I flopped face-down on the mattress and mumbled, “It’s just that we have such different lives. Mine is in New York while Damon’s is here. How can we possibly remain happy when one of us will have to make a big sacrifice to remain together?”

  My sister’s reply was drowned out by Damon’s deep voice. “You’re overthinking this, kitten. Nothing is more important to me than making you happy. I swear to you that we’ll work everything out to both our satisfaction.”

  Jerking up, I found him standing in the doorway. His wolf flashed in his eyes, and I could tell that his animal was close to the surface. Before I disconnected the call with my sister, I murmured, “Sorry, sis. I have to go. Love you.”

  Damon crossed over to me, taking my hands and brushing a kiss to my knuckles before pressing my palms against his chest. “But as long as you’re already here, I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a chance to show you what I love about Timber Ridge.”

  “I think I’d like that.” I was curious about my fated mate, so it was easy to agree. Except there was one problem with that plan. “But I came to town to watch the kids so Tane and Calliope could go off and celebrate their anniversary by themselves.”

  He didn’t seem the least bit worried about disappointing Tane. “We’re a newly mated couple, which takes priority over everything else. Your brother’s trip will just have to wait.”

  7

  Damon

  Trinity made good on her promise over the next two days, and I took her to several of my favorite spots in the area. I hadn’t planned on going to fish at the lake since I was worried she’d be bored, but she had insisted on it after she’d gotten Cason to share a bunch of stories about me at dinner last night. Kace had set him up with an apartment over one of the shops downtown so he had somewhere to stay while Trinity and I were in the early stages of our mating. We needed privacy, but Trinity felt bad about my brother being kicked out of his own home and had invited him over to eat with us when she realized what had happened.

  “After what your brother told me about the last time you guys went fishing, I was expecting them to be a lot bigger.” Trinity nudged the bucket where we’d thrown the fish we’d caught. “And more plentiful.”

  “Cason may have exaggerated a little,” I admitted with a grin.

  “Uh-huh.” Her brown eyes filled with humor. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since lots of guys embellish when it comes to size.”

  I pulled my line out of the water, set my pole on the floor of the boat, and pulled hers out of her hand to place it next to mine. Once that was all done, I pulled her onto my lap, gripping her hips while she straddled me. “I want the name of any guy who dared to talk about their dick size around you.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She twined her arms around my neck. “What would you do with the names?”

  My answer was swift. “Hunt them down and make them pay for their mistake.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing there aren’t any names since I was speaking of men in general and not anyone in particular.” She flashed me a sassy grin and winked.

  “Careful, kitten.” Yanking her closer, I ground my hard-on against her pussy. “If you push my buttons hard enough, I’ll be forced to fuck my come into your pussy until it’s dripping down your legs. That’s the only thing that will soothe the territorial beast inside me.”

  She brushed her lips against mine, wiggling on my lap. “You say that as though it’s a threat, but a few screaming orgasms sound like more than a good time to me.”

  “To me, too.” I slid my hands to her ass and squeezed before lifting her off my lap and setting her in her seat. “Except there are too many boats out here for the kind of privacy I need to strip you bare and sink my cock inside your tight pussy. I’d hate to have to kill one of my pack mates because they accidentally saw you naked.”

  “Excellent point.” I wrapped a lock of her dark hair around my finger when it slid down her arm after she tilted her head to the side. Her plump lips curved up into a playful grin. “Maybe we should come up with a different way for your wolf to work off his jealousy.”

  I didn’t bother to deny that since I wasn’t embarrassed by it. Fated mates tended to be possessive by nature, and I assumed that Trinity wouldn’t appreciate the idea of another woman flirting with me. “I’m open to suggestions.”

  “How about we ditch the fishing poles and let our animals out?” She wagged her brows. “My tiger would love to spend some time with your wolf.”

  Fur brushed the inside of my skin. “I fucking love that idea.”

  I moved to the back of the boat and started up the motor, cranking it as fast as we could go. We’d already spent several hours on the water, which was longer than I’d expected Trinity to last. “You seemed to enjoy fishing even though we barely caught anything.”

  “It was more fun than I thought it would be,” she admitted with a smile. “Just you and me without any interruptions except for a nibble from a fish every once in a while.”

  I refrained from pointing out that with the hectic pace of her life in New York City, there were bound to be plenty of roadblocks in the way of us getting one-on-one time together. I didn’t want to pressure her about the possibility of staying in Timber Ridge, especially not when she was being such a good sport about me showing her around. But I was curious about one thing. “What do you do when your tiger needs to run? I can’t imagine New York has many places where it’s safe to shift.”

  “The city, no. But the state, yes.” She tossed a line onto the dock when I pulled the boat alongside the wood structure. “My family has some property Upstate that we use for monthly runs.”

  Timber Ridge offered shifters a fuck ton more freedom than that. We didn’t have to wait for pack runs if we wanted to shift. As long as we stayed on pack land—which we had in abundance—we could go for a run pretty much whenever we wanted. I had a difficult time picturing a world where I only let my wolf out once a month. “Is that the only opportunity you get to shift?”

  “No, I go up there by myself sometimes when my tiger is antsy.” As we loaded our stuff in my truck, she described her family’s property. By the time she was done, I was looking forward to seeing the land for myself. At least if we ended up living in the big city, I’d have somewhere to escape to when we were able to get away.

  I scanned our surroundings to confirm nobody was nearby before asking, “Is your tiger ready to come out and play now?”

  “Heck yes!” Her smile was blinding as she kicked off her shoes and tossed them onto the passenger seat. I moved around to her side of the truck, standing behind her so she was blocked from sight by my body and the door. Even though I was certain that nobody was around, I was still driven to protect my gorgeous mate. Plus, sticking close meant I was able to trail my finger down her spine when she whipped her shirt over her head. My gaze dropped to her tits when she turned to face me. “Hey, you were the one who said we couldn’t have sex out here. Get out of those clothes and shift before you start something you’re not willing to finish.”

  “Trust me, I sure as fuck am going to finish this.” I claimed her mouth in a deep kiss before forcing myself to step back. “Just not until we’re back home.”

  “Then we better hurry up and shift because I’m looking forward to letting our human sides play after our animals have had their fun.” It didn’t take long for her to strip out of the rest of her clothes, but I went slower with mine because I wanted to have a little time with her tiger before I shifted.

  I was down to my jeans and T-shirt when she called her tiger forward. Cracking and popping sounds filled the air as her human form retreated, and her animal dropped to her paws in front of me. Her tail swished as she circled around m
e, rubbing her fur against my legs. “So fucking gorgeous.”

  When she let out a little purr, my wolf pushed to be let out. He was impatient to have some time with his mate. I gave her a quick rub behind her ears before stripping down and shifting. Once I was in my wolf form, she bumped into my side and took off. I chased after her, my tail wagging as we took turns pouncing on each other before darting away. We spent more than an hour playing in the woods before we shifted back again, got dressed, and headed back home. After I pulled into my driveway, I grabbed most of the fishing gear out of the truck bed and followed Trinity up the steps to the front door. When she unexpectedly stopped, I almost bumped into her.

  “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a big box on the porch.

  I set everything I was carrying in the corner and rubbed my hands together with a grin. “That is a coffee maker that can make lattes.”

  “Really?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

  “Yup.” I nodded before bending down to pick up the box. “I know how much you miss being able to go to your favorite coffee shop each morning, so I thought I’d help you get your caffeine fix the way you like it while you’re here.”

  Her plump lips formed a perfect O, reminding me of what they looked like when they were wrapped around my dick. But all thoughts of sex fled my brain when a tear spilled down her cheek. Setting the box back down again, I pulled her into my arms. “I’m sorry, kitten. I thought this would make you happy, not sad.”

  She sniffled and flashed me a watery grin. “Oh, it did. These are tears of happiness because buying a brand new coffee maker just so I could have a latte in the morning is so sweet. I’m so lucky fate gave me such a thoughtful mate.”

  “I’ll always find a way to give you what you need.” Even if it meant leaving my hometown and pack behind.

  8

  Trinity

  On what was supposed to have been my last day in Timber Ridge, Damon and I were mobbed by my nieces and nephew as soon as we walked through the door of my brother’s house. “Aunt Trinity! Where have you been?”

  Damon and Tane pulled the two oldest children off my legs and tossed them in the air. They giggled and squealed while I gave the youngest ones hugs and kissed their cheeks. It took a moment for everyone to settle down enough for me to answer. “I’ve been getting to know my mate.”

  “I’m so excited that Uncle Damon is your mate.” Kyla did a little dance and punched her fist into the air. She was the second oldest and tended to be the most outspoken of the bunch. “We didn’t get to see you much this trip, but pretty soon, you’ll be living just down the street, and we can hang out with you whenever we want.”

  There was an awkward silence as Damon and I looked at each other. We’d done an excellent job of avoiding the subject of what came next, but we were just about out of time for that conversation. When I’d called Riggs to let him know I wasn’t going to be back in town on Monday as I’d originally planned, he hadn’t been happy about the delay. But he’d agreed it was necessary when I’d explained that I’d found my mate in Timber Ridge. His patience had a limit, though. If I wanted to keep my job, I needed to be back in New York City next week. While I figured Damon would understand if I decided to go back—and would insist on coming with me because he’d never agree to us being apart for more than a day—I wasn’t sure that my mate could ever be truly happy living in a big city.

  Offering my niece a weak smile, I murmured, “That would be pretty awesome.”

  “Alright, kiddos.” Calliope clapped her hands together. “Go upstairs and get ready for bed.”

  “But it’s not that late, and we wanted to play with Aunt Trinity and Uncle Damon,” Alena complained, jutting her bottom lip out.

  “Yeah,” the other kids cried in agreement, following their older sister’s lead.

  “Listen to your mother,” Tane growled, giving his children a look that reminded me so much of our father that I had to hold back a grin.

  My nieces and nephew didn’t argue. As they headed toward the stairs, Calliope eased their concern by assuring, “You still have a couple of hours before bedtime, so you’ll have plenty of time to spend with your aunt and uncle.”

  Their little footsteps sped up at that news, making me giggle. I loved how excited they were to hang out with me even though I hadn’t spent as much time with them as I should have before now. I hadn’t been that good of an aunt since I mostly saw them when Tane and his family came out to New York for a visit.

  “Thank you so, so much for watching the kids tonight. We know that you and Damon would prefer to be alone while you’re in the early stages of mating and would have understood if you hadn’t wanted to come over tonight.” Calliope nudged my brother in the side when he didn’t chime in.

  “Can we change the subject?” A muscle jumped in Tane’s jaw. “I don’t want to think about how my sister has been spending her time over the past few days."

  Calliope rolled her eyes, and I shook off my guilt and laughed. “As if you have any room to complain when I’m going to be hanging out with your four cubs while you go out to celebrate your anniversary and yet another pregnancy. I know how you’ve been spending your time for the past decade or so, too.”

  I finished my statement with a fake gagging noise, and my brother chuckled while shaking his head. “I guess I can’t argue with that since knocking my mate up is my favorite pastime.”

  “And practicing, too.” Calliope covered her mouth as she giggled, her cheeks turning pink.

  “Luckily for me, it wasn’t just practice, or else I wouldn’t be able to name the next baby.” I rubbed my hands together and grinned. “I’m really hoping it’s a girl so I can make her my namesake.”

  Calliope returned my smile. “I’ve always thought Trinity was a beautiful name.”

  “Nope. Sorry. It’s not going to happen.” Tane shook his head and lifted his finger to make a circle gesture in the air. “The deal was that you watched our children so Calliope and I could go on our anniversary trip, but that’s not what happened, is it? All I get is a few hours to take my mate out to dinner, which means you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain.”

  “C’mon, it’s not my fault I found my mate only a few hours after I got here.” I fisted my hands at my hips. “Are you really going to punish me for the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”

  Damon wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side. “It isn’t exactly flattering to have my mate talking about someone being at fault for us finally finding each other.”

  I rubbed my cheek against his shoulder, grimacing a little over how I’d worded that part. “You know I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “True,” he conceded with a grin. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t tease you about it.”

  Tane chuckled. “My sister should be totally fine with that since she’s spent my entire life pushing my buttons.”

  “Hey, I was an awesome big sister,” I objected, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “I can’t argue with that.” My brother pointed at me. “Just like you can’t say you and Tabara weren’t bossy as fuck even though I’m bigger in both my human and tiger forms than either of you.”

  As I came up with the perfect response to push his buttons just like he’d accused me of doing, I grinned. “It isn’t my fault that you’re the baby of the family.”

  Damon’s body shook as he laughed and murmured, “Well played, kitten.”

  “Kitten?” My brother grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Maybe you should keep your mate’s nickname for you in mind the next time you decide to tease me about being the baby in the family, baby cat.”

  “Ugh,” I huffed at how he emphasized the last two words. “I should have known you’d be a jerk about that even though it’s so sweet.”

  Damon squeezed me as he glared at Tane. “He’d better not be a jerk to you about anything while I’m around.”

  My brother grinned at the threat. “Have I mentioned how much I lik
e the two of you together?”

  “Enough to still let me name the baby?” I widened my eyes and puffed my bottom lip out in a pout.

  “Yes,” Calliope answered for him as she tugged him over to the door. “But only if you let me provide some input.”

  “Deal,” I agreed with a triumphant grin.

  She paused to glance over her shoulder at me. “I’m not sure if you’ve considered this already, but I bet you’d make a killing if you opened a restaurant in Timber Ridge.”

  “A restaurant?” I echoed softly, surprised by the suggestion.

  My sister-in-law turned to face me and smiled. “Just think about how many of them you’ve successfully launched for other people and what you could accomplish with your own place. You could take everything you’ve learned by risking other people’s money and put it to good use for yourself here.”

  “But Timber Ridge is so small.” I’d enjoyed myself more than I had expected while Damon showed me all of his favorite spots, but my first instinct was to reject the idea of opening a restaurant here. “I can’t imagine that I’d have enough customers to make a go of it.”

  “You are so wrong about that.” Calliope rushed over to take my hands in hers. “Your brother and I aren’t the only ones who are forced to drive an hour to have dinner out at a nice restaurant. Everyone in Timber Ridge has to do the same.”

  I gave her hands a squeeze. “You make a good point.”

  “And it isn’t just the shifters who have this problem. None of the towns closest to us have anywhere to eat that could be called fancy. You’d probably get more than your fair share of human customers, too,” she added with a smile.

  My brother moved to stand next to his mate and jumped on the chance to urge me to move to Timber Ridge. “Your costs would be much lower than running a restaurant in New York City, too. Our pack owns all of the buildings downtown, so you wouldn’t pay rent. And I bet you could get a lot of your ingredients at lower prices from all the nearby farms if you dealt with them directly. And there are members of the pack who’d appreciate having a job close to home, so you wouldn’t need to pay your staff a premium to come work here. As long as you’re willing to train them, they’re already in Timber Ridge.”