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Chapter Ninety-One: Stubborn mate
Jason
Tillie was tucked against Ryan’s side as we made our way down the stairs and into the foyer. I knew she had to be exhausted
despite the sleep she had gotten. Her legs trembled and I bit back a laugh. She was so stubborn.
When I had offered to carry her down the flights of stairs, she had scoffed at me before stomping off in front of Ryan and I.
It was cute and I had been unable to tear my eyes away from the swell of her shapely ass and hips as she made her way down
the hallway. She stopped in front of the stairs, worrying her lower lip as she looked back at us.
Ryan smirked back at me, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter. He knew that she was rethinking her decision, too. “She’s still
got her fire.”
“She’s feisty. I think it will take a lot to tame our mate.” I said, watching him turn away from me to stroll over to Tillie. He looped
an arm around her waist, steadying her as they made their way down the steps.
Ryan’s smirk turned to a grin as she leaned her body against him, letting him help her.
I wanted that. I wanted her to trust me the same way she did Ryan. It was a jealous thought and I knew it, but I couldn’t help it. I
wanted her to be able to trust me to take care of her. I had hoped that this morning would show her that. Or at least let her know
that I was worthy of her love.
show Tillie that I could do soft and sweet. That I wasn’t always hard and demanding. That she could trust me to take care of her
needs.
“You coming?” She asked as they stopped at the first landing, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Nodding, I jogged down the steps. Joining them as we made our way downstairs. The house was abuzz with life. Members of the
pack passed us, many of them stopping to wish us a good morning or giving Tillie a once over. I knew that we must have been a
sight for them. Tillie was coated in our scent. She bore our marks around her pretty little throat. They knew that she was mine.
Later, I would formally announce it to the pack and they would meet her as my mate. For now, though, I was going to let her
warm up to the idea of being ours.
A group of female shifters passed us, hungry eyes moving over Ryan and I. Landing on Tillie, with darkened
eyes. Jealousy and anger were clear on their faces. A growl slipped from my lips and they scurried away.
I had never seen this many women in the hallways this early and I knew that word must have spread about our mate fast. That,
combined with the fact that Ryan, Travis, and I were sharing a mate, would drive the gossip faster.
It wasn’t common to share a mate, yes it happened. Mostly in dragon thralls, but no one had expected that when I found my
mate that I would have to share her. I doubted that Ryan and Travis had thought they would have to share, either.
But the other option was going feral. That wasn’t really an option that worked for any of us.
I had worried that seeing her with the others would make me jealous and it did. But not as much as I thought that it would.
Mostly, it made me want to join them.
She didn’t look at him, her eyes were pinned on the per
son in front of her. Her back went ramrod straight and I looked up at the man in front of her.
“Jake.” She gasped and I felt nervousness swirl into me through the bond. That and the painful tug at my heart. “What are you...
What are you doing here?” She stammered out the feeling of anxiety grew stronger along with the pain.
Ryan’s fingers tightened around her waist and I moved closer to the two of them.
Fuck, I had fucked up again. I should have told her about him being mated to my sister, but I had forgotten about it this morning.
Now, she was having that bomb dropped in front of her.
“Tillie, hey,” Jake said, moving a hand up to grip the back of his neck. He looked down at the hardwood floor be fore glancing up
again at my mate. His eyes went to the marks on her neck as he swallowed hard. “I um, I spent the night here last night.”
“Me too,” Tillie said. The tops of her ears turned red and she shook her head. “I thought that you would be with-”
“Nicole, yeah. This is her pack.” Jake said, his eyes mov ing over to me.
| stepped closer to my mate, taking her hand in mine. Threading our fingers together, I tried to lend her some of my strength and
soothe her frayed nerves.
“Her pack?” Tillie asked, her voice growing strangely quiet.
“Yes, Jake mated to my sister.”
Tillie looked over at me, hurt flashing in her blue eyes. It was so quick that if I hadn’t been watching her so closely, I would have
missed it. She looked back at Jake and I knew that I had fucked up with her.
She pulled her fingers from mine and I wanted to grab her hand back. To not let her pull away from me anymore.
I wanted to demand things from her that I knew | couldn’t. She wasn’t a shifter. She didn’t know how things worked for us. That
Jake wouldn’t have been able to avoid the pull to my sister any better than I would have been able to stay away from her.
Tillie was mine and so was her pain.