He paused, taking another sip of tea. "The feelings are real, but they aren't true."

She was about to ask him what he meant when he held up a finger smiling.

"What you feel, the impatience, the desire, those feelings are real, however, they aren't manifestations of a true love, that takes time. However, by the time the first flushes of the mating heat subside, you are truly in love with your mate. That is when the true heat begins. What you feel for them will intensify a thousand fold over the years, before the two of you move on to the next world."

"So what you feel is real, but it isn't love, not yet. For those who don't fight the mating heat at all, love can develop quickly. But for someone like you, someone who is used to working with facts and science, I have a feeling that it will be a defining moment. Now, if I can offer two pieces of advice?" he asked. Rheia nodded spinning her teacup in her hands.

"Don't doubt Colton's feelings for you. He didn't fight the mating at all and I am almost one hundred percent certain that he is head over heels in love with you and your child already, that's just how is he."

Rheia took a deep breath. She had suspected as much; his sincerity and intensity was hard to fake. "What's the other piece of advice?"

Ryuu set his cup of tea down and allowed himself to relax against the back of the chair. "Don't doubt yourself. You're a very intelligent woman; don't doubt your inner voice. Your biggest battle won't be falling in love with Colton; I think that battle is half lost as it is."

Rheia snorted in agreement.

Ryuu chuckled, then sobered. "No, the biggest battle you will face will be admitting it to yourself that you do love him."

"Well damn." She set her cup down and sighed.

Ryuu took one final sip of tea and stood. "It's time for me to start dinner. Please, don't feel like I am expelling you from the kitchen. Quite the contrary, I find that I have enjoyed having tea with you." Smiling he gave her a half bow. "Thank you, Rheia."

Rheia stood and gathered up her teacup. "So you won't mind if I invade your kitchen every once in a while? At home, it was my place of solace." She carried the cup to the sink and set it down carefully.

"I will even save you a dish or two to wash," Ryuu teased.

"Speaking of dishes, I have a tea set that's very precious to me, it was my mother's. If I'm to live here, I'd like to find a safe place for it."

"Bring it down and I will care for it personally," Ryuu promised.

"Thank you, Ryuu."

"Anytime."

She walked out of the kitchen feeling better, but she knew she still had some things to work out for herself before she could give Colton any kind of definitive answer. She walked upstairs and went to Colton's room. She opened the door and closed it behind her. Fighting a wave of homesickness she grabbed the cream knit throw from the bench at the end of the bed and wrapped herself in it. Padding over to the soft, light brown wingback chair that was by the window, she sat down and stared out.

What was she going to do?

*****

Colton scoured every inch of the clinic with Aiden; they had determined the ferals had entered through the opened windows of the morgue. The more they found out about this convoluted mess, the less they knew what was happening.

His wolf was constantly at the surface now. He would never tell Rheia how desperate he was to claim her. She was having a hard enough time accepting the fact they were mates. Even now, his wolf was torn between wanting to track down the threat to his family and his overwhelming desire to return to the estate to claim Rheia as his. He knew Aiden would never allow him to hunt alone and he had only known Rheia for a day, looked like he wasn't going to be able to do either.

"Colton, why don't you head home? There's not much else to do here. We'll wrap up and be right behind you," Aiden said walking up behind him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes. Go to your mate, you haven't had a lot of time together, go get to know her." Aiden gave him a not so gentle push towards the exit.

"See you at dinner." Colton gave him a salute and practically ran for the door.

The entire drive home all he could think about was Rheia. The kiss earlier had relaxed her quite a bit and her true, teasing personality has started to shine through. Colton wanted to peel away the layers until he found the Rheia she kept hidden.

Once at the house he parked her car out front where she could see it later. When he walked through the front door he looked around and listened carefully. He could hear Meryn, Beth, Jaxon and Noah in the office. The question now, was Penny with them or her mother?

Colton peeked his head into the office and saw Penny hard at work decorating Aiden's wall. If he had his way, Aiden would never paint over her drawings. He wanted to keep them forever. She looked adorable sitting cross-legged on the floor, her tongue sticking out as she concentrated on her artwork.

"Hey, Colton, if you're looking for Rheia I think she went upstairs," Noah said looking up from his laptop.

"Thanks, Noah." He turned and was about to leave when Jaxon called out to him.

"Hey, Colton. We know you haven't had, umm, time alone with your mate. So if Rheia's comfortable with it, Penny can have a sleepover with Noah and me tonight," Jaxon offered.

Colton felt his heart skip a beat; these two might be his new best friends. Colton looked over to Penny. "What do you think princess? Would you like to have a sleepover with Jaxon and Noah?" Penny looked at the two young men who were smiling at her and nodded. Colton wanted to jump up in the air and click his heels. "Okay, darling, I'll let your mother know." He turned to Jaxon. "Thank you."