“I don’t mean to paint her as a one-dimensional bitch. She’s not a terrible person. She’s a good daughter. A protective older sister. A loyal friend. She helped her grandmother nurse her human grandfather when he developed dementia, which was hard on all of them. Although she was devastated that Koby chose Gita over her, Ashlynn was never anything but kind to her. She even physically defended Gita once from a falcon shifter at a club. Ashlynn wasn’t resentful or bitter toward Koby. She told me she could never begrudge him happiness, even if she had to watch his relationship play out in front of her.”
Tate twined a strand of Havana’s hair around his finger. “But the thing with Ashlynn is that all her bad traits surface whenever she’s not getting her own way. If she wants something, she’ll go for it without even considering all the facts surrounding the situation. She didn’t even give Koby time to grieve Gita before she made a move on him—she just expects to get what she wants. And when she doesn’t get it, she can’t make her peace with the situation and let it go. She becomes more determined than before to have it. If that means betraying or hurting others, she’ll do it.”
“She can only see the end goal.”
He nodded. “Whenever she doesn’t seem to be getting closer to that goal, she turns resentful and defensive. Not because she’s an awful person, but because she hates that she failed. She can’t admit to having a weakness. So she projects all the blame onto others. It’s more of a self-defense mechanism than anything else, but it’s a destructive one, and others get caught up in her drama.”
“Well, she was dumb not to appreciate what she had in you. She should have held tight.”
“I’m glad she didn’t. I’m glad she broke things off, or there’s a chance I wouldn’t have you now.”
Sensing that he meant every word, Havana frowned. “But you went through the whole imprint-threads-nightmare.”
“I’m still glad she fucked up. I’d rather have you. And I do.” As if to punctuate that, he kissed her soft and long and sweet. And then her stomach rumbled. He smiled. “I need to get you fed. You didn’t have lunch, and your body needs to recover from the blood loss.”
She pursed her lips. “I could eat.”
“Then we eat.”
Soon enough, they were dressed and entering the living area. Neither Aspen nor Camden had left. He was sitting on the sofa, glaring at Aspen … who was pointedly ignoring him. Havana rolled her eyes and asked, “Is Bailey home yet?”
Aspen smiled. “Yeah, she’s in her room putting her phone on charge.” Her eyes dropped to Havana’s neck. “My, my, my, that’s quite a bite. I take it you two kissed, made-up, and decided to give ‘more’ a chance.”
“No,” said Tate, sliding an arm around Havana’s shoulders. “More like we kissed, made-up, and agreed that we’re true mates.”
Aspen’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he replied.
Her gaze cut back to Havana’s neck. “But that’s not a claiming bite.”
“I can’t feel the pull of the bond,” grumbled Havana.
“Yet,” said Tate. “I feel it—that’s enough for now.”
Aspen stood. “Well, congrats, guys. I mean, I know you haven’t officially claimed each other. But it’s a big deal that you found each other—that in and of itself is worth a ‘congrats.’”
“It is, so thank you,” said Havana, stiffly accepting a hug from the bearcat. When it went on a little too long, Havana struggled. “Okay, you can let go now.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, dork.”
Snickering, Aspen stepped back.
“Real pleased for you both,” Camden said, his eyes dancing from Havana to Tate. “It’s about time we had some good news around here.”
“News?” echoed Bailey, strolling into the room. “What news? We have news on the license plate number?”
“Take a look at Havana’s neck,” said Aspen, grinning.
Bailey did, and her brows lifted. “Well, now.”
“It gets better,” Aspen told her. “Tate says he feels the pull of a mating bond.”
Bailey gaped. “Really? That’s awesome. Wait, you don’t feel it yet, Vana?”
“It would seem that something on my end is blocking its frequency,” said Havana, folding her arms, knowing she sounded sulky and not feeling all that apologetic about it. “I’ll figure out what it is eventually.”
Bailey gave a little clap. “I’m so happy for you.”
Havana threw up her hand when Bailey moved toward her, her arms open wide. “I already had to deal with a hug from Aspen. I don’t need another.”
“Suck it up, sister.”
Havana sighed as the mamba’s arms wrapped around her.
“I’m feeling left out,” said Aspen, diving on them both and hugging them tight. “Ah, that’s better. Don’t you think so, Vana?”
Havana felt her upper lip curl. “What I think is that if you both don’t stop with this shit, I will cut you.”
Bailey pouted. “But we’re cold.”
Havana effortlessly shoved them both backwards, making them grin like loons. Hoping to distract them from drowning her in more hugs, she said, “Tate does have some news about the license plate number. Sadly, it didn’t belong to the Charger.”
Aspen frowned. “Really? Shit.”
Bailey’s shoulders sagged. “Gideon wasn’t wrong in what he said over the phone at the motel—finding him won’t be easy.” She slid her gaze to Tate. “Aspen told me he called you earlier, smug because he thought Havana was dead.” The mamba licked her front teeth. “I really hope you’re not planning to kill him quickly, because he needs to suffer a little before he croaks.”
“No quick death for him. You’ll get your pound of flesh. We all will.” Tate guided Havana into the kitchen. “Anything in particular you feel like eating?”
Startled by the question, she blinked. “You don’t have to make—”
“I want to feed you, relax you, take care of you, so let me.”
He thought she’d argue? Not likely. She hummed. “Grilled cheese sandwiches would be good.”
He gestured at the dining table. “Then sit. I’ll make them.”
Brushing her teeth the next morning, Havana watched through the mirror as Tate entered the bathroom and came up behind her. His eyes followed the path of his hands as he snaked them under her long tee and shaped her bare ass. He was already washed, dressed, and ready to face the world. She hadn’t expected him to be one of those people who could enviably roll out of bed looking fresh as a daisy right after waking.
Well, he hadn’t rolled straight out of bed. First, he’d woken her with his finger on her clit and then fucked her from behind while they lay on their sides.
He’d never stayed over before, just as she’d never spent a full night at his house. But last night he’d curved his body around hers, pulled her close, and told her to sleep well before drifting off. And she’d honestly never slept better in her life. She’d felt settled. Safe. Home.