Perfect Tales of the Were - Bianca D'Arc Page 0,25

she thought.

It might just mean that he was thinking about the future. A future…possibly…shared between them?

The more she was around him, the more Cassandra wanted him around. Cody the cowboy or C.T. the business mogul, it didn’t matter. The man who wore both names with ease was the man who fascinated her more than any other ever had. She realized she was well and truly falling in love with him.

Dear Lord in heaven. She was falling in love with Cody.

She should have realized it before now. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. He was such a fascinating man, and as a lover… Well, there was really no comparison.

Cody thought the evening was going well. Cassie seemed okay with all the revelations. He hadn’t really wanted to bombard her with everything all at once, but the fact that she was his mate kept pushing at him, making him want to just get it all over with and see what she said. His inner wolf wanted to howl in frustration that she still didn’t know that the wolf existed.

He had to tell her about his other half. He had to let her in on the shifter secret. She was his mate. She not only deserved to but needed to know the truth.

Still, he’d probably hit her with enough for one day. He’d gone from poor ranch hand to eccentric tycoon. That was probably jarring enough, for now.

He was glad to see the way Cassandra hit it off with Megan. His baby sister was one of the bright spots in his life. Since their parents’ passing, Megan had been his responsibility, and he loved her deeply. He’d been so proud of the way she’d conquered her fears and gone out in the world to get her degrees, then come back, as he had, to make her home here, where they’d both grown up.

Cody had been concerned about how Megan would accept Cassandra, but it seemed like all his misgivings had been for naught. He was glad. It was important to him that the two most important women left in his life get along with each other. It would be good for Megan to have a sister-in-law who could also be a friend, and Cody was counting on Megan to help Cassie get used to the whole shifter thing.

His wolf would probably be intimidating, but Megan was a cute little wolf. Dainty and petite. She could help Megan through the transition from not knowing there were shifters in the world to being…awakened.

Cody was also making a statement by bringing Cassie here, into the heart of Pack territory. Joe’s appearance was welcome. A subtle indication to everyone present—and everyone who would hear about it through the grapevine—that Cassie was welcome. That had been a nice touch. Cody would make a point to thank Joe for that silent vote of confidence the next time they spoke.

Cassie didn’t realize it yet, but she was being welcomed into the Pack. Subtly, for right now, of course, since she still didn’t know about them, but it was definitely a welcome. Wolf Packs were notoriously close-knit. By tomorrow, almost everyone in town would know that Cody had staked a public claim on Cassie.

She was under his protection, now—and, by extension, the protection of the Pack. If something happened to Cody, they would look out for her. Just knowing that gave him a good feeling. Of course, he didn’t plan for anything to happen to him, but even so, life was uncertain. It was best to be prepared for all contingencies.

Cody was proud to walk through that restaurant with Cassie on his arm. They had shared a lovely meal, but all too soon, dinner was over, and there wasn’t any further reason to linger. Cody escorted his sister and his mate—Goddess, how he loved just thinking that word—out of the restaurant.

He noted the interested glances and the way the shifters at the tables they passed sniffed at Cassie, their eyes widening at their mingled scents. That would make it clearer than anything to this particular audience that they were a couple.

Chapter Eight

They dropped Megan and the luxury car back at the house, and then, Cody and Cassandra got back in his pickup truck and headed home. Cassie still seemed a little dazed from information overload, but he was glad to have jumped that hurdle. Megan had seemed genuinely happy to see him involved with Cassie, and joked that she wanted in on the taste testing of new pastry recipes from now