Slowly, she got to her feet.
Kira walked toward him, so her snout was only inches from his. Everything about the situation was wrong. A wolf and a bear didn't … they couldn't … but they did. That was the part that was so crazy to him. The laws of nature, and more importantly of their clans, said they weren't supposed to be together. They were breaking all the rules. But it didn't matter. Not even a little. Now that they were each in their true forms, everything was becoming very clear.
Whatever it was that was happening, even if he could put it into words, Nash wouldn't have to explain anything because it was everything and if she felt it, she'd know.
If she was honest with herself, he knew what she'd say.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Kira nodded.
It scared the hell out of him, because as far as Nash knew, no one in his pack had ever had the experience of finding their true mate. The one that their body yearned for, that they were connected to in a primal way, the one that completed them. Fated. But that's exactly what he was feeling. And Kira felt it too. The knowledge of that propelled him forward, needing to be closer to her.
He nuzzled into her, inhaling her scent. He needed to be close with her, touching her, because he was terrified that if he wasn't, whatever was going on with them would disappear and all at once, he wasn't sure he could survive that.
Chapter Eight
For the next few weeks, the stress of the start of the season started to slip away. Kira fell into her groove as campsite manager, and even Conner stopped giving her such a hard time. The guests started coming in droves and everyone was busier than ever. But even amid their busy schedules, Kira and Nash found time to spend together. A lot of time.
Something had happened after the first time they shifted together. Kira had concentrated so completely on not trying to reach out to her brother, or utilize any form of twin connection, that she hadn't thought about any of the other things that could happen when she was in her bear form.
Not that she ever would have considered the idea that she would have such an intense experience with Nash. It was so different than how things were with Kade. As twins, they could sort of feel the other and experience generalized feelings. But with Nash, it was different. It was more acute, more tangible if that was even possible. When Nash's voice popped into her head as if he was speaking the words himself, she damn near fell over. The craziest part was that instead of freaking her out, it felt perfectly natural. As though she was always meant to be connected with Nash.
And that's what it was. A connection. Like a strand of thread joining them together. It was both terrifying and incredibly natural all at the same time. Nash felt it too and although they never talked about what had happened, it was as if they'd both come to a mutual agreement that whatever had happened-or more accurately, was happening between them-was exactly what should be.
Every few nights after that, they made a point to sneak off and go for a run. Usually under the pretense of investigating the ongoing mystery of the dead fish even though the truth was, they were too preoccupied with each other to focus on that specific situation. Which had to change, and soon.
Conner had warned her on more than one occasion that he would go to the head office if he had to deal with any more guest complaints, and she had no doubt he'd make good on the threat, which was why Kira had an entirely new plan to catch the culprit who was planting the fish. Because it had to be intentional. There was no other explanation; there were no reports of dead fish anywhere else in the park, so natural causes could be ruled out.
No, it was definitely a person. And tonight she was going to find out who it was. Which was why she hadn't told anyone what she was doing. Not even Nash. Although she had a feeling he'd figure it out pretty quickly.
Kira and her cabin mates had a rare dinner together earlier in the evening and even rarer, everyone was in a good mood. Even Conner. The whole group was settling in to play a card game and as much as she would have liked to stay and play, Kira faked a sore stomach and begged off. They'd long since given up trying to hide their relationship, so when Nash tried to insist on laying down with her, Kira made a big production of not wanting him to see her with the flu, and she'd more or less slammed the door in his face. She felt bad about lying to him, but she needed everyone to think she was alone in bed.
She'd waited until the house got quiet and the light that came from under her door, went out. Nash had knocked at one point to check on her, but she sent him away with a story about how she'd been vomiting. Finally, after what felt like forever, she stripped her clothes off and snuck out her window, where she shifted quickly into her bear.
It was risky to shift so close to humans. Very risky, but it was important.