Tane's Mate: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Shifter's on the Run Book 1) by Serena Simpson

jobs they haven’t been trained for.”
    “How much training does it take to pick up some dead sticks?”
    “You shouldn’t have let her walk off alone.” Tane turned to find her watching him with a smile on her face. A look of relief stole over his face before his shoulders squared before he gave her an accusing look.
    “Did you miss me?” she asked as she stood and dragged the branch over to them. “Is this big enough? I figured we could cut it down and have fire for days.”
    “I’ll take care of that since Tane hasn’t trained you how to use a knife yet,” Jay said trying not to laugh.
    Dai on the other hand didn’t care and wiped a tear from his eye.
    “Leza, you did good with the fire wood but tomorrow we will have a class on how to spot the best wood for fire and return to camp without mishaps. Just to make Tane feel better,” Dai said before he went to help Jay cut the branch up into smaller pieces.
    Tane muttered something low before walking over to her.
    “You can’t just wander off, Leza. I know it feels like we are safe here but the government and the military can be anywhere.”
    “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just wanted to contribute. There’s a nice lake not too far from here. I went down there. Met a sweet teen and spent some time talking to her before I got the wood. I’ll let you or someone know where I’m going next time.” She may also be in trouble, but Leza would check that out before she called in the cavalry.
    “Ok,” he reached out and took her hand.
    She smiled at him and followed him back into the camper where they raided the fridge and freezer putting together a meal.
    Tane took out some meat to be cooked over an open fire and she made a salad and a few side dishes to go with it.
    “Hope you guys are hungry.” She came out with an arm full of food and placed it on the card table that one of them set up.
    She sat down as the meat finished cooking and looked at Tane. Every so often he would look at her as if he couldn’t help himself. She wondered if he was feeling what she was.
    There was a draw to him she couldn’t shake, but it was more than that. Her heart latched on to him as if he were the last male on the planet. She knew with a surety that shocked her with its intensity—if something happened to him she would mourn. Maybe forever.
    His smile was already under her skin and his touch ignited a flame deep within her. She would want him even if the government hadn’t made her a secret weapon to capture him. If she had seen him walking down the street she would have turned around to follow him.
    He stood making a plate before he brought it over to her.
    “You’re going to spoil me, if you keep serving me.” Her voice was breathy.
    “My mom used to say ‘One day, Tane, you’ll meet the right one and you’ll do anything for her.’ My mom was one smart lady.”
    “She had to be to have a son like you.”
    “Hey, we’re twins, just remember that,” Dai called out.
    Leza gave a small laugh. “What was I thinking? I meant to have sons like the two of you.”
    “Much better,” Dai said, smiling at her.
    “I think she always wished she only had one,” Tane grumbled while he made a plate and sat by Leza.
    “She told me that once, but then she said since I was second she had no other choice than to have both of us.” There was laughter buried in Dai’s voice.
    Leza bit her lip to keep from laughing. Jay just rolled his eyes and ignored them.
    “Do the two of you do this a lot?” she asked Tane.
    “No, only when Dai feels left out.”
    “I never feel left out. It’s Tane’s job to keep me company because he is the older, less refined model.”
    “No worries, I like older guys.” She leaned over and kissed Tane on the cheek.
    He hugged her and gave Dai a ‘what do you think about that’ look. Dai simply sighed and finished his meal.
    “I can’t wait for Dai to find his mate. That way we can see who becomes a father first,” Jay said idly.
    All