Mate Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #3)(37)

Tobias was grinning from ear to ear now, looking like a tall glass of water on a hot day with those straight white teeth and faint dimples bracketing his lips. He’d shaved this morning, so she could see every glorious angle of his face, and his eyes were a vibrant, happy green. “Damn, Thistle, it’s good to see you again. Three days!” He looked so damned proud, her cheeks flushed all over again.

With an excited noise, she flutter-kicked her feet, leaned down, and kissed him thoroughly.

“Tobias?” a woman’s voice asked from faraway.

Vera giggled and nipped his bottom lip, then shimmed down until her boots made a hollow sound on the storefront porch.

Tobias waved to his approaching family and wrapped his giant hand around Vera’s, then grinned down at her as he pulled her toward the others. “Are you excited?”

“Mmm hmmm,” she said, nodding vigorously.

“One thing, though,” he said, worry slashing through his eyes. “Don’t judge me and Ian.”

“Why would I judge—”

Tobias locked his legs at the same time Ian did, too far away from each other, and too formal. A low rumble blasted from both of the men as Tobias and Ian bent at the waist and reached out for a faraway handshake.

“Ooooh,” she murmured sympathetically. She recalled this from her research. Male grizzly shifters didn’t do well in the same territory.

Tobias cleared his throat and yanked his hand out of Ian’s grasp, then gestured to the two women. “Elyse,” he murmured, side-hugging the woman with honey colored hair, a stark scar down her cheek bone and strange gold-green eyes. “Lena,” he said, giving the same greeting to the dark-haired woman who wore a camera around her neck.

Link was looking much better and was rocking his weight from front to back with a smirk on his face.

Tobias cleared his throat. “This is Vera Masterson.”

Too excited to hold it in any longer, Vera pulled up her hand and showed them her ring. “Soon to be Vera Silver,” she said, barely avoiding a squeak of excitement. “And I’ve heard so much about you two I feel like I know you, and I’m so excited to finally meet you, and oh my gosh, I love your hair,” she said, lifting a tress of Lena’s dark hair dyed auburn on the ends.

Both of the women were still staring at her ring finger with matching shocked faces, and Ian was looking at Tobias like he’d never seen him before.

“But you’re so grumpy,” Elyse said on a soft breath, dragging a slow blink up to Tobias.

A soft snarl rattled Vera’s throat, and she allowed it. Fox was right. “He’s not grumpy with me,” she said, defending her mate.

Lena’s mouth fell open. “Did you just growl?”

“Lena,” Ian warned, looking around.

“Are you a shifter?” Lena whisper-screamed.

Great, she’d been going for normal, and already the other two Silver mates were looking at her like she was an exotic bug. “Yes?”

“Holy shit on a stick,” Elyse said, eyes round as the full moon. “Wait, what are you two doing in Galena?”

“They’re staying with me,” Link said. His half-crazy growl was gone, and his eyes looked clear and focused again. Huh.

“You knew about her?” Elyse asked, sounding hurt.

Link lifted up his arm, covered in tiny, pink, healed puncture wounds. “We are acquainted.”

“You bit him?” Lena asked.

“Not on purpose. Or maybe on purpose, but it wasn’t me. It was my animal, but I haven’t done that in three days, and I already apologized—”

“Hey,” Tobias crooned, hugging her shoulders against his side. “She doesn’t have control over her animal. That’s why we have been quiet about her. I asked Link not to say anything.” Half-truths, and now Ian was staring at his brother with narrowed eyes like he smelled a rat.

“Are you crying?” Elyse asked.

“No?” Vera lied, her voice pitched up an octave. “I have pollen in both my eyes.”

“Oh, my gosh,” Elyse said, approaching with her arms outstretched. She hugged her up tight, and Vera caved against her with how damned good it felt to be hugged. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just so excited to meet you all, and I’ve been imagining how this would go, and I’d planned on being so cool, you know? And then I get here and I’m a total freak and I’m going to go home so embarrassed, and Tobias will be really nice and tell me I did good, but I’ll replay this over and over in my head and—”

“You aren’t a freak,” Elyse murmured as Lena wrapped her arms around them. “We were just shocked senseless because your mate is a bit of a beast, and no one could’ve ever called him making out with a tiny woman in public, must less introducing her as his fiancé. I’m sorry we took a second, but Tobias just legitimately smiled at me, and I’m confused on where that came from.”

Lena squeezed them tighter. “Apparently, it’s from you.” She released her and pulled her hand up again, studying the ring. Her full lips were turned up in a genuine smile as she whispered, “It’s so pretty. Tobias did good.”

“Link told me you are engaged to Jenner,” Vera said, trying to steady her shaking voice. “Congratulations! And to you, too,” she said, turning to Elyse. “On your wedding to Ian.”