Page 12 of Arbor

As the puzzle pieces started to fall into place, Megan’s breath whooshed out of her. Once she was able to breathe again, she did that and asked, “And you think I’m… your mate?”

“I know it.”

Megan’s thoughts were spinning. If she was watching this situation from the outside, she would think Arbor was a compulsive liar and she was an idiot for believing him, but… hedidturn into a full-size lion in front of her. Shedidsee him pick up that trunk like it was nothing heavier than an empty laundry basket.

Curious, she pushed her foot out and pressed against the trunk to see if she could move it with her foot. Maybe it wasn’t as heavy as she expected. The thing didn’t even budge a millimeter. It was probably heavier than she originally thought, yet he moved it with ease.

The memory of his eyes glowing shot into her brain and reminded her of what she witnessed on their walk over from her cabin. Arbor wasn’t a compulsive liar, as far as she could tell, so she had no reason not to believe him.

Her past with men and other people who were supposed to care about her didn’t lend to the belief in humanity and a world where people treated each other right, but she couldn’t deny that her gut was screaming at her to trust Arbor. Why? She didn’t know, but she decided to follow her gut and see where it led her. If she would have trusted it more before, she never would have taken her piece of shit ex back.

“Kitten?”

Megan jolted at the sound of his voice. Her head swung back around, and she looked at him. His brows were drawn together and his concern was written all over his face.

“What?” Her voice sounded a bit panicked, but she couldn’t help that. She had just decided to do something that her life had taught her wasn’t smart.

“Kitten, I’m not saying I expect you to just fall into my arms and vow your life to me. I won’t mate you until you’re ready, no matter how insistent my lion gets. I just… I wanted you to know you have someone on your side… to face whatever you’re running fromwithyou.”

Megan gave a distracted nod as she lectured her body to fucking relax and try to take in his words. He wasn’t pushing. He was just explaining. That was all.

“What can I do to help with whatever is happening right now?”

It wasn’t funny, yet Megan started laughing, hysterical with the entire conversation. Seeing a man turn into a lion in front of her and glowing eyes didn’t send her over the edge, but finding out that soulmates were real was apparently too much.

“Fuck. I don’t know what to do,” he expressed.

Megan shook her head as she wiped the tears of laughter from her face. “I’m fine. Really.” It took her a bit, but she finally reined it in. “I’m just… Mates? Like… what does that mean… exactly?”

Concern was still in his gaze as he explained, “It’s a permanent bond, or at least, it is in most cases. As cheesy as it sounds, shifters live for their mates and their pack or pride. Their focus becomes keeping them safe, happy, and healthy. It means we would be in tune with each other in a way we haven’t been with anyone else. To solidify the bond, I would bite you and magic… We’re mated.”

His way of describing things had the giggles building again, but she swallowed them down. “And you’re okay with me taking my time with this?”

He gave a nod. “My lion isn’t, but he’s not in control here.”

“You talk about it as if he’s separate from you.”

“He is, and he isn’t. It’s complicated, but I guess the best way to describe it is that he is the animal half of me. When I’m not in lion form, I feel the animal’s wants and desires and demands, but they are like whispers in my head alongside my thoughts.”

She shrugged. “Makes about as much sense as something like this can.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough.”

Megan sighed and reached out to him. She ran her fingers through the hair on the side of his head and giggled when she heard him begin to purr at the contact. “You really are just a big pussy, huh?”

Arbor grinned. “I would like to tell you I’ve never been called that before, but… I’m a biker and hang with other bikers, so…”

“Do I get to meet these friends?”

“They are more like brothers, but yes. We have church tomorrow morning. You might have to chill alone for a bit while we do that, but we’ll probably have lunch after and hang. They’d like to meet you.”

Her brows pulled together. “They don’t know anything about me.”

He shrugged. “You’re my mate, Kitten. They are going to welcome you as if you’ve always been there. You’re about to have more family than you could imagine.”

Family?That was such a foreign concept to her, but she was open to finding out what it felt like to have that. “It will be a first for me. Being a foster kid, family was not something I ever had the chance to experience.”

Arbor reached out and pulled her into his lap. Against her temple, he whispered, “No pressure, but… when you’re ready, I would like to know all about that.”