Cassidy peeled back the handkerchief, stared at the little velvet box resting in her hand, and then opened it.
The diamonds inside caught on the intense sunshine, throwing little spangles onto Cassidy’s fingers. Her eyes widened. “What is this?”
Diego plucked the ring from the box as she held it and started to slide the ring onto her finger.
Cassidy jerked away. “My hands are dirty.”
“You won’t hurt it.” Diego gently took her hand again. “This is the human way, Cass. Instead of mate-claims, mating frenzy, and mate bonds, we say, Here’s a diamond ring. Will you marry me?”
“Marry.” She looked up at him in near panic. “But Shifters can’t marry…”
Diego slid the ring firmly onto her finger. “I don’t give a damn about human rules. We’ll do this the Shifter way if we have to. You said you wanted to reject my mate-claim, right? Well, I talked to Eric this morning, and he told me that even if a female rejects a mate-claim, the male can make it again. So I’m making it. I’ll keep on making it until you tell me yes.”
Cassidy’s breath caught. “Diego, I told you why I said no. To protect you. So you won’t have to give up your career…”
Diego took her hand and held it. “Listen to me. I talked for a long time with your brother, and then with Mamita and Xav. I can still do my job. If my captain gets bent out of shape because I’m with a Shifter and fires me, Eric has offered to let me become one of his trackers. I can help him out when he has to deal with humans. To be honest, I’ve lost faith in the human system that lets good Shifters be killed and violent drug runners escape without pursuit. Maybe I can do what I’m meant to do, but on the Shifter side instead.”
“But there’s the age difference,” Cassidy said. “I worked the underground in World War Two. Your mom wasn’t even born then.”
“And I want to hear all those great stories. Jace told me this Fionn Cillian he met can do spells or whatever that lengthen a human life to match a Shifter. Maybe I don’t have as many inches as Shifters—yeah, I heard about that—but you can have every single one of mine.”
Cassidy’s look was stunned, as though someone had smacked her between the eyes, and she didn’t yet know how to react.
Diego slid his good arm around her shoulders. “This is something you might understand better. Cassidy Warden, second of Shiftertown, I claim you as mate.”
Her lips parted, as though to deny him again, and Diego kissed her. “Say yes,” he said. “Don’t push me away, Cassidy. I’ll keep coming back until you give me the answer I want.”
Cassidy stared up at him, eyes so deeply green. He loved her eyes, loved her shapely, strong body. All of her.
“Yes,” Cassidy whispered.
She still sounded stunned. “Good.” Diego licked across her lips, her taste making his need clench. “All kinds of good, mi ja.”
Cassidy’s eyes flicked to Shifter. “Stop. If I go into mating frenzy right now, we might not come out for days.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Cassidy smiled, her face lighting up in her beautiful way. “I wish you could know what it feels like.”
“I think I do.” Diego leaned closer. “I want you so bad, it’s killing me. With you in those shorts, showing me your hot ass, how can I hold it in? I’d take you bent over this car if I didn’t know that my mom and brother were watching us from the kitchen window.”
Cassidy ran her fingers down his chest. “We need to go somewhere. Now.”
“I have a friend with a cabin up on Mount Charleston. I’ll see if we can borrow it.”
“Hurry.”
Diego laughed and kissed her again. He pulled out his cell phone and called a fellow cop who had given Diego the standing invitation to use his cabin whenever. Cassidy chewing on his earlobe while he talked was distracting, but Diego made the arrangements.
It was dusk by the time they arrived at the cabin down an isolated road off the main highway. Diego’s friend lent out his cabin a lot, so there was a fire already laid in the fireplace, and Diego only had to light the tinder.
Then he and Cassidy were on the rug, Cassidy on top of Diego because of his hurt arm, their clothes scattered all over the place.
Cassidy loved his warmth under her, the feel of Diego strong beneath her.
Mine. My mate. Firelight sparkled on the diamond on her finger, reflecting her happiness.
My mate in all ways.
“Cass.” Diego’s voice was dark, and so were his eyes as he slid inside her.
Then they were joined. Cassidy ached for him, and at the same time, her body opened and drew him inside her. The mating frenzy began.
Cassidy moved against him, and Diego pushed up into her, both of them touching, kissing, hands everywhere.
“Mi ja, I love you,” he said.
“I love you, Diego,” Cassidy said, but she couldn’t keep her voice quiet. “Querido.”
Diego’s answering smile drove heat through her. Then he started loving her as though he’d never stop.
Their joined voices rang out into the night as mating frenzy played out then wound down into solid love. The mate bond wound around Cassidy’s heart, and she opened to it, and let it come.
EPILOGUE
Under the light of the next full moon, Eric blessed Cassidy and Diego as mates in the sight of the Goddess. The sun blessing had happened that afternoon, and the Shifters were still a little drunk from that ceremony.
Now the true partying began. Shifters howled and yowled, roared and shouted. A mating. Another joining, more cubs, Shifters continuing.
The dancing began. Xavier and Lindsay found each other, soon had arms around each other’s waists, holding beers and swaying. Nell and Diego’s mother were talking loudly together and laughing, probably at all the men present.
The new Shifter cubs ran around screaming with Torey and other Shiftertown cubs, already finding their places. Peigi and Reid sat together on Nell’s porch, very close together.
Eric watched Shane lift a beer bottle to Diego and Cassidy, who were kissing. Who had been kissing for about ten minutes now.
“You’re lucky I like you, Diego,” Shane said. “Take care of her.”
Diego looked around at him and grinned, then Cassidy turned Diego’s face back to hers for more kissing.
Eric silently saluted them, glad in his heart. Diego had given Cassidy back her life. Eric would love his new brother forever for that.