Page 11 of Highland Heat

I chuckled. “They are, but don’t let them hear you call them that. They’re just wolf shifters.”

“Shifters, okay.” He took a sip of his coffee and set the mug down. The guardian dog sauntered up to the porch and laid at our feet. The thing was still giving me side-eye, like he wasn’t quite sure what to think of me still. He was friendly enough, though, which was good. The thing was huge.

We were quiet for a moment. Graham took all this new information in so easily. I guess it helped that we had just spent the last two days in bed together.

“I own about a hundred acres,” Graham said. “I farm a little bit of it. Obviously, I’ve got my goats—that’s kind of a new project. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the rest of it. I’ve got a big garden, chickens. I’ve kept pigs a few times, but I don’t have any right now.”

“Were you looking for a Highland?” For some reason that mattered more than it should. I wanted him to have wanted me specifically, and not a random livestock acquisition.

He laughed. “No, but I couldn’t stop myself from, um, purchasing you.”

Graham cringed, and I got it. There was nothing comfortable about buying your mate. A bachelor auction? Sure. But not actual ownership.

I nodded. “The mate bond, I suppose.”

He took a long sip of his coffee. “That makes sense.”

“I sensed you right away. Of course, I was mostly focused on how the heck I was going to get out of there, so I felt the draw but didn’t piece it together until we got here. Speaking of here, where are we?”

He named the city we were in, and I did a double take.

“Are we near the lot that was for sale out here?” I pointed to the fence post that had caught my eye. “Is that…” What were the odds? That was what I got for being too lazy to check.

“Yeah, right there. The owners listed it a couple of days ago. I wanted to buy it but couldn’t quite swing the cost right now. It would make perfect pasture for a sheep or cows or—”

“Highland cattle?” I laughed, but then said, “My cousins and I are looking for a place to settle where we can graze without being too obvious. That’s where I was caught, I was testing out the hay field.”

He raised a brow. “And was it to your liking?”

“Yeah, it definitely was. Especially now.” I hopped to my feet and grabbed my mate’s hand, tugging him with me.

“Where are we going?”

“If I can find my clothes with my phone, which should be in the bag on the fence post if I’m right, then I can see if my cousin was able to finalize the sale. We’re going to be neighbors, Graham.” I didn’t want to be neighbors. I wanted to live here with him. But also, living next door to my cousins sounded pretty freaking fantastic.

He let out a low growl and pulled me into his arms until his arms were wrapped around my waist. “Your cousin can live next door, but I hope you’ll be with me.”

And we were on the same page.

I smiled up at him, my grin turning wicked. “Yeah, I’ll be with you.”

Chapter 9

Graham

I always thought that I enjoyed the solitude that was my life. I would talk to the animals and plants and didn’t mind that the conversation was one-sided. I hadn’t ever noticed feeling lonely despite only interacting with people if I bothered to go into town, and even then, it was few and far between. The most interaction I had was with the people at the feed store or the hardware store, and that was all usually on the same day, since I kept my trips to town to a minimum.

If someone had told me that was what my entire life would be like, I’d have told them that was perfect. I liked my life. I truly did. It wasn’t until I met my mate that I understood what I’d been missing. People talked about how much better their lives were with a partner and actively sought them out. I was the odd man out, not wanting that. It wasn’t that no one showed interest. They did, but I didn’t see a point if I wanted my life to continue how it was.

Then I got the highest bid and everything I thought I knew about myself had been proven false. I hadn’t wanted to be alone. I was waiting for the right person to arrive. I just hadn’t known it yet.

My life had changed and all for the better thanks to some poison ivy and a quest to find a goat herd.

I loved having my mate working by my side and in my bed every night. And as a bonus, he was a package deal and came with a whole herd of cousins. Literally. Many of them lived in the city, but once they found out about our pasture, they came and visited often. They hung out in their animal form, munching away on the clover. Then they’d shift back, help with a few chores, and then stay for dinner or not. Either way, we seemed to have a revolving door of people visiting.

Ewan’s cousin, Micah, was already putting plans together for building a few cabins on the land next to us. For now, we had two campers set out there, and as soon as the right permits were approved, we’d break ground on the cabins. I couldn’t ask for better neighbors.

You would think that two hands would make the workday shorter. And it might’ve… if we could focus long enough to actually get all of our chores done. Of course, we got the necessary tasks accomplished—animals fed, fences mended, that kind of thing. But if I had a choice to start the less needed items on my to-do list or to smooch my mate, smooching would win every single time.