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know, we’re mated and all.” He didn’t sound like he was teasing, and his expression was stoic.
    She swallowed, knowing that if this male was willing to give her the time she needed to sort through her emotions and the death of Brenna, she had no right to push him aside. Besides, she knew she couldn’t just ignore this between them, couldn’t just stop the fact she was mated. It was a forever kind of thing, and if they could start out being friends, even if only until she was ready to take it to that next level, then she was willing to give this a shot.
    “I’m Jessie.” Stepping aside, she dropped her hand to her side and allowed him entrance. “If you’d like to come in, please do. It’s messy though. I’m going through … things.” She knew if they were going to take this whole mated and claimed thing to the next level they’d have to be honest with each other.
    He smiled, and it was genuine, sincere. The act changed the entire way he looked, made that hardness in him change into something softer. Jessie knew, for some reason, that the smile really had just been for her, and that he wasn’t the type of male to show a whole lot of emotion.
    Easton stepped inside, his arm brushing along hers, and this shiver worked its way through her entire body. Her serval had been at the surface of her body since the moment she’d seen him stepping out of that huge vehicle, but having him so close now, scenting him, feeling the pull of being his mate, was enough to have her nails lengthening, her teeth elongating into fangs, and her animal taking control.
    No. I can’t do this now, no matter how much you want to be claimed.
    She was talking to herself and her cat, because even if she did want this, her life was chaotic right now.
    Shutting the door and turning around, Jessie took in the sight of him for a suspended second. He had his back to her, his massively huge body taking up the small entryway. He was a big male, his moose genetics making him one of the biggest shifters she’d ever seen. He was looking at the pictures on the wall, the ones of her and Brenna when Jessie was younger. She was sure he had questions, probably smelled the despair and sadness in the air, but he didn’t say anything, and she was thankful for that.
    Right now Jessie just wanted to focus on this situation. After he was gone she could go back to sorting through Brenna’s things, letting her emotions control her, and then figuring out what in the hell she was going to do with her life, mated or not.

Chapter Seven
     
    Easton stared at the pictures on the wall, recognizing Jessie when she was younger right away, and he felt like an even bigger ass for showing up. He scented the death that lingered in the air, his mate’s sadness, and her pain. She was hurting, and he could assume by the scent and taking in the disarray of the house, the boxes by the door, that someone close to her had died. He’d never push her, never question what was wrong, even if he had a feeling he already knew. She would tell him when she was ready, and until then he’d just be here for support. This mating was new to him, too, and he was just trying to figure out how to go about it. Pushing her was not what he wanted to do, and it was clear he’d have to learn to be understanding with her and how she felt.
    Easton turned around and faced her. Jessie was pressed against the door, staring at him, watching him, and trying to hide her emotions. But he could pick them up as easily as if they were written along the walls. Even if he hadn’t gotten her address from Maverick, if he’d somehow managed to scent her out, Easton would have known right away this was her place. The scent of her surrounded it, filled his head, and had every animal instinct in him rising up to protect it … her, at all costs.
    And then he’d felt her watching him, sensed her gaze on him as he stood there. It had made him feel good, in a way. Having a mate was something that changed a