Their Mate Between

CHAPTER 7.

On four feet, he chased the scent. Intoxicating. Enticing. And definitely female. He could already picture all the fun things he planned to do once he caught up with his prey. Naked and sweaty things.

Kade was fully aware of the dangers that came with blindly pursuing another shifter in the woods. What if she was leading him to a trap? What if she wasn’t from around here? Still, he chased relentlessly. He could smell her, smell her wolf tendencies.

It was intoxicating, blinding him even with his near perfect sight.

He quickened his pace, leaping through the foliage, moving as silently as possible. He weaved through the grass, catching a scent and following the trails his target left behind.

A waft of air drew his attention. He managed to partially turn before a body hit him square of the chest. They tumbled, both rolling through the long, dry grass and fallen leaves. They finally came to a halt, landing in an open clearing.

Immediately shifting back to human form, he enjoyed a brief sensation of silky fur against his skin before she too morphed. Now laying skin to skin, he couldn’t have asked for anything more. Even better, he ended up on his back with her straddling him, completely naked.

Fuck yes! If Kade still wore his tail, he would have wagged it.

Lips curved into a teasing smile, she regarded him with dark eyes. Her long dark curly hair hung over her shoulders, a tempting curtain covering her breasts. But he could imagine them. Small, soft and perky.

He longed to see all of her. Not just her succulent body, but face too.

The moonlight shone directing above him, hiding most of her visual. But he could tell she was pretty. She had to be. With the most amazing smell.

“Caught you,” she murmured, flattening her hands on his chest to lean into him.

“You sure did,” he replied with a smile, mesmerized by the softness of her voice.

“What now?” she cooed, burying her head into his neck.

Kade almost went crazy, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. He’d gotten with a million girls, but none of them compared to the dame sitting on top of him. He was convinced she was an angel, or perhaps, a figment of his imagination.

“I want to look at you,” he found himself saying, running his hands through her bare back.

“You want to look at my body?” she asked.

“No,” he breathed. “I want to see your face.”

The slight giggle she made before attempting to seat up straight had Kade tingling all over. He prepared himself to take in her beauty. To take in her…

“Hey, asshat, wake up!”

Kade grumbled as the familiar voice of his brother yanked him from his dream to reality. “Screw off,” he mumbled, not making any attempt to climb out of bed.

“Hey, loser!”

Kade groaned, dragging the pillow over his head. “f**k off, Harris.”

He barely had time to breathe before the bed dipped hard, and something heavy crashed right on top of him.

Kade let out a muffled yell as his older brother’s elbow jammed into his ribs. “Get off, man! You weigh a freaking ton!”

“Good to know you’re alive,” Harris chuckled, shoving at him.

“Barely,” Kade grunted, finally kicking his brother off. He sat up, hair tousled and chest bare, glaring halfheartedly. “You’re a f*****g douchebag, you know that?”

“And you’re lazy,” Harris countered with a grin. “Sleeping through half the day again?”

“It’s Saturday.”

“It’s noon.”

“Exactly,” Kade shot back, stretching and rubbing the back of his neck. “My day’s just getting started.”

“Right,” Harris said in a dry tone. “Because your day usually starts with nursing a hangover or a one-night stand.”

Kade smirked, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You sound jealous.”

“Yeah, jealous that my little brother’s competing for the title of ‘most directionless adult in Whisperden.’ Or should I say ‘fuckboy you most definitely cannot trust your daughters or sisters with’?”

That earned him a pillow to the face. “You done?”

“Not even close.” Harris tossed the pillow back, laughter in his voice.

Without warning, His brother reached for him, holding him down by the neck. They play wrestled like they were kids again—grunting, shoving, both trying to one up the other. Kade managed to pin him down at one point, grinning triumphantly before Harris twisted free, throwing him off balance and shoving him flat onto the bed again.

When they finally collapsed side by side, breathing hard, Harris spoke first. “You’re out of practice.”

“Just didn’t want to hurt you,” Kade muttered, earning himself another jab in the ribs.

“Still got the attitude.”

“Still got the abs,” Kade said, smirking and running a hand down his stomach. “Some things never change.”

“Yeah, your arrogance is definitely one of them.” Harris sat up, brushing off his shirt. “Seriously, though, what’s going on with you? You’ve missed the last three family dinners. Mum’s starting to think you joined a cult.”

Kade scoffed. “I’m in no rush to have everyone judge me for the way I live.”

“They don’t judge you.”

Kade laughed without humor. “Please. I see it in their eyes. Dad looks at me like I’m one bad decision away from ruining the family name, and mum no longer bothers to hide her disappointed expression when I walk into a room. I don’t need it.”

Harris frowned. “You’re overthinking it. They just worry about you.”

“Yeah, well, they shouldn’t.” Kade stood, walking to the window. “I’m fine.”

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the faint rustle of leaves outside. Then Harris spoke again. “You’re my brother, Kade. You screw up, we fix it. You run, I’ll chase you. No matter what, you’ve got me. Always.”

Kade’s chest tightened. He didn’t look back, only nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

“Good.” Harris got up, clapped him on the shoulder, and headed toward the door. “Now get dressed. You smell like old whiskey and regret.”

Kade snorted. “Love you too, man.”

When the door clicked shut, Kade let out a long sigh and ran his hand down his face. His dream returning to the top of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he could swear he sensed her presence. Her touch, her laugh, the warmth of her skin. He couldn’t shake it.

It wasn’t the kind of dream you just forget. It was the kind that made you wonder if it was really a dream in the first place.

“Who the hell was she?” he muttered.

He couldn’t remember her face. He hadn’t seen it. But he remebered the way she smelled—wild, sweet, dangerous. Like rain and earth and everything forbidden.

By the time he got dressed and opened the door, the faint hum of voices floated from the kitchen. He paused when he heard his name.

“He’s just… stuck, Harris,” Esther was saying. “All he does is sleep around and get drunk. I’ve tried to help him. I had to drag his ass down to town hall a couple days ago to get him a list of jobs. Know what he did? He left it on the counter. Didn’t even glance at it.”

Kade’s hand froze on the doorframe.

“Esther—” Harris began.

“No, I’m serious,” she continued, her tone filled with frustration. “He’s wasting his life. We both know he’s not dumb. He’s always been smart. But it’s like he doesn’t want to move forward. I don’t know what’s holding him back anymore. I don’t know what he’s afraid of.”

“You know when all this started though,” Harris said softly. “Our parents—”

“Stop it!” Esther almost yelled. “Quit making excuses for him. That happened years ago. He has to move past it. You have. The rest of your family has.”

“I know, Esther. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I really need you to watch over him.”

“I will always protect Kade the best I can. He’s my best friend and I freaking adore that dude, but if he keeps doing this, I’m going to have to show some tough love eventually.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Kade’s stomach twisted, shame creeping up his throat like bile. He leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes tight.

He hated that she was right. He hated that he was letting the two people he loved most in the world down.

Esther had always been his safe place—the one person who didn’t treat him like a screw up. But hearing her say it out loud… it stung more than he wanted to admit.

“Maybe he just needs time,” Harris finally said. “You know how Kade is. He’ll crash a dozen times before he figures out what he wants.”

Esther sighed. “Let’s just hope he figures it out before he burns everything down.”

Kade swallowed hard, forcing a smirk that no one could see. “Too late for that,” he whispered under his breath.

He turned and headed back down the hall quietly, his pulse thudding in his ears. The dream replayed again in flashes—the feel of her on top of him, her voice whispering ‘caught you’, the heat that pooled in his gut every time he thought about it.

And the worst part? He didn’t even know who she was.

Talk about adding to his list of problems. Was it just a dream, or something more?

He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands. “Get it together, man,” he muttered. But his voice sounded hollow even to himself.

Deep down, he knew something had shifted. Something in him was restless. And no matter how hard he tried to shake it, that scent—her scent—even beyond the dreamscape, wouldn’t leave his mind.