Free Mating Call by Martha Bourke

seemed to snap out of it fast enough. Thank fuck.
    “You mated her?”
    He nodded.
    “Damn. Anyone else know?”
    “Hell, no. I’m hopin’ Helen will give the okay tomorrow.”
    “Then what?”
    “Talk to the big cheese and see if we can stay, but I’m not countin’ on it.”
    X nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably wise. If you’re asked to leave, Evy will be well enough to go.”
    “That’s the plan. Listen, I gotta jet. I have an errand to run.”
    “Aight. I’ll check you later for duty, dig?”
    He turned to go.
    “Hey, Troy, just so you know. When you talk to Reyn, you won’t be going alone.”
    He stopped before going out the door. “Thanks, my brother.”
    “You got it.”
     
    Evy rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. She was so glad she could take a shower by herself. She let the hot water run down her back one last time before turning it off. Mated. Mated to Troy. She could hardly believe it. But at the same time, it just felt so…right. She looked in the mirror. She didn’t look any different. The same big brown eyes stared right back. She rolled her eyes. Grow up, Evy.
    Now if she could only figure out who the hell was talking in her head. It was definitely not her own voice or thoughts. Could it be the goddess Troy had mentioned? That just seemed ridiculous. She believed what he had told her, but why would the shifters’ goddess be talking to her? As she combed out her hair, she wondered if she should tell Troy what she’d heard. Somehow she had a feeling that hearing voices was probably not the best thing to admit to shifters either. Crap. Well, for now she would keep it to herself.
    She started to brush her teeth and stopped. What was the date? She thought back to the Friday she’d been kidnapped and counted forward. “Oh, my God.”
    Tomorrow was her twentieth birthday.
    She had almost forgotten. She and Troy would be the same age. Well, for a little while, at least. For a moment she thought of her family. How would they feel when she was still missing on her birthday? An unwelcome nausea hit her stomach. In the moment she had kissed Troy, everything had changed. Now she could never go back. There had to be a way to let them know she was at least alright. She sighed, pulling on her jeans and Troy’s sweatshirt before heading back to bed. Troy had left her his book. She’d read it twice, but hell, anything was better than more TV.
    There was a knock at the door. She figured it was Helen or X. “It’s open.”
    A handsome auburn haired shifter she’d never seen before poked his head in the door. “Hi. I’m James. Do you mind if I come in?”

CHAPTER NINE
     
    James got about three steps in the door and froze. Holy shit. The female was human. It had never even occurred to him. Hanging with humans was against pretty much every law in the Order’s book.
    “It’s okay. You can come in. I’m Evy.”
    “I’m really sorry to bother you.”
    She put down her book. “You’re not, believe me. I’ve been going insane all afternoon. So, are you a New Breed?”
    “Ah…” Jesus Christ. Just how much did this human know? He nodded. “Yeah. Like Troy.”
    She smiled. “You look young. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything.”
    He leaned against the back of the side chair. “Yeah, I’m eighteen. I’m the youngest. The thing is you know how you and Troy know each other from school?”
    “Yep.”
    His heart sped up. “Well, I think you might know someone who used to be a friend of mine. My best friend, actually.”
    “Oh. What’s his name? Or is it a girl?” She grinned.
    He flushed. “Um, no. We played Varsity basketball together.”
    He wasn’t sure how to say it exactly. He didn’t want to scare her. “His name is Seth.”
    Her big brown eyes got even bigger.
    “Oh, no, it’s okay. You’re safe here. I just needed to know something.”
    “What?”
    “Did he, you know? Was he the one who stabbed you?”
    She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head slowly.
    He