Page 16 of Night Grove Falls, Midnight Haven Volume Two

“I don’t know what to expect, I guess. I mean, I’ve never dated or anything, so when he explains things like the mating heat or how he can feel this connection, I’m not sure if that’s what I’m feeling.”

“The mating heat. You’ll feel it,” Roxie states, and the other women exchange knowing grins.

“Yeah, tomorrow morning when you wake up, it will be there. You’ll feel it all day. It will be stronger as it gets closer to the full moon rising,” Fern adds.

“What will it feel like?” I ask.

“Pure lust,” Vivian says.

“Yeah, this intense need. All you’ll want is your mate. All you’ll think about is sex.”

“Oh,” I whisper.

“It’s full on, but it’s good,” Quinn promises me.

“And the connection thing?” I ask.

“That’s harder. For shifters, they only ever fall for their fated mate. They don’t think about dating or falling in love or any of that. They understand that when they find their mate, they’ll know. For them, it’s a complete certainty. For us, it’s not quite like that,” Quinn explains.

“For me, it was an attraction at first. I was never interested in anyone, but when I met Jameson, I wanted him instantly,” Fern says. “The more I learned about him and the more he proved how he would love and care for me… well, it was impossible to resist, and I fell for him hard.”

“Same,” Vivian murmurs with a faraway look. “Being the center of someone’s whole world is an incredible thing. Knowing that they’ll never cheat or leave you also made me feel safer and helped me to trust Logan.”

I nod. What they’re saying makes sense and is exactly how I feel.

“So resisting is futile?” I ask with a laugh.

“You can, but it’s hard. Why would anyone give up being treated like a princess by their partner for a chance to be loved half as much by anyone else?” Quinn asks.

The door opens, and my eyes lock with Knox as he walks in.

“Hey,” he says, making a beeline for me. He kneels next to my chair and smiles at me. “All good?”

I nod, feeling the pull between us more now. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m falling for Knox, or if I’m more in tune with my body after hearing from these women.

“We’ll get out of your hair,” Fern says, pushing to her feet. “I’m sure our mates are looking for us.”

“But we’ll be around! Call if you need anything or if you want to hang out,” Vivian adds.

“Thanks. I will,” I promise.

I turn to Knox once they’ve left. “So, how was your day?”

He leans back on his heels. “I found something on Joe.”

SEVEN

Knox

I can see the hopefulness in Daisy’s golden eyes as I take a deep breath and tell her what we found out about Joe.

“I have a friend, Abe. He’s Roxie’s mate,” I explain, taking her hands in mine. “He used to work for the CIA and still has some contacts. With his skills, he was able to access some security cameras of the street behind the house Joe claimed was robbed.”

“Really?”

I nod. “It clearly shows Joe going into the place. He’s dressed in all black, looking sketchy. It showed him sneaking up to one of the windows and breaking in.”

Daisy leaps to her feet and wraps her arms around my neck. “We have to show that to the police. Then they can drop the charges.”