Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

Mitch’s.”
    Ken wrapped his arms around him. “I heard.”
    Ryan closed his eyes and relaxed against his mate. Before he’d met Ken, he had never even looked at another man romantically. It had been the same for Ken. Now he couldn’t imagine not being able to touch his mate or feel his touch every day. Being with each other had never felt strange or weird for either of them. They simply accepted the fact that they were mates and had learned to adapt. They both agreed, though, their mating didn’t feel complete. There was a part of them still missing, and that part was the female who was meant for the both of them. They both had faith they would find her, but until then, they enjoyed being in each other’s arms.
    “She gets there in three days, so I told Mitch we would be there in two.”
    “That gives us plenty of time.”
    Ryan lifted his head and looked at Ken. He knew the answer from the tone in the man’s voice, but he still asked, “For what?”
    Ken’s answer was a growl before he leaned down and kissed him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Talia Westin cursed for what seemed like the hundredth time as she peered into the dark. She was already starting to regret her rash decision to agree to go to a perfect stranger’s home and stay for at least a month. The only reason she was doing it was because she knew Enforcer Ericson was a good man. Her mate had talked about him all the time with what seemed like hero worship to her. According to her mate, the man was trustworthy and honorable.
    Talia dashed the tears welling up in her eyes and took a breath. It had been three years since she had lost her mate, and thinking about him still brought her to tears. There were days when she couldn’t even be bothered to get out of bed because she missed him so much. That was why she’d agreed to take the job. Talia knew she faced an eternity without her mate, and if she didn’t do something about the crushing loneliness she felt, she was going to do something stupid.
    She slowed her car to a crawl and squinted at what looked like a turnoff into the woods. It was dark out, and considering she was in the middle of nowhere with no streetlights, it was hard to see anything beyond her headlights even with her enhanced vision. Talia took the turn and prayed she had finally found the house. She was already three hours late and hoped Mitch would understand.
    Bumping along the unpaved road, she reached over and pressed the lock button several times. Talia knew she was being silly, but the woods were scary, and since being introduced to a world she’d never known existed until five years ago, she knew there were truly things that went bump in the night. She saw a glow up ahead as her headlights reflected off something, and she slammed on her brakes. She knew her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t bring herself to close it. Sitting in the middle of the road was a giant grizzly bear. It was staring at her with intelligence in its glowing amber eyes, but she had no idea if it was a shifter or a real animal, and she wasn’t about to get out of the car to ask.
    The bear was huge. It was easily bigger than her small car, and its claws looked as though they could easily sink into the metal like butter. Talia hesitated before tapping on her horn. She didn’t want to scare the beast, but she needed it to move. Finally, the bear gave her one last look before turning and slowly making his way back into the trees.
    Talia sighed as she stared into the rear view mirror. Her own dull blue eyes stared back at her. They seemed to have lost their glow three years ago and she had no idea how to even begin getting it back. She was normally pale, but her pasty skin was almost sickly looking. Add that to her frizzy red hair she couldn’t be bothered with, her sunken cheek bones, and the dark circles under her eyes, and she looked something drug out of a third world country. She had the protruding ribs and hip bones to prove it. The sad thing was, Talia knew she had let herself go over the years, but she didn’t care. To her, her looks didn’t matter. Nothing had mattered from the moment she felt her bond to her mate break.
    She sighed and stepped on the gas pedal getting out of there before either the bear decided to change its mind and come back or she broke down crying on the side of the road. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the trees thinning out and lights up ahead. The house was sitting in the middle of the clearing, and she