Bear the Burden: McMahon Clan 3 (Fated Mates Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

I found myself hoping it was true and prayed to the Goddess that I’d walk through that door and find the man from my vision. Shifter or not, I wanted him. Wanted the connection I’d felt when I’d seen him while I’d been meditating. Even with all the challenges I knew we’d face as a couple, I yearned for him.
    I was silent during the drive, half listening to my mom and her second talk about how to handle the meeting while I traced the bear imprinted on my wrist. I felt my mom’s gaze as it landed on me. I knew she was worried, but she gave me the space I needed without pressuring me to add to the conversation. Not that I had much to offer. If what I was hoping for came to pass, any plans they made would be blown out of the water. If one of the shifters at the meeting truly was my consort, his clan would be my family. As such, I would offer him all my support in his upcoming battle with the dark practitioners. I fully expected my mom to do the same, which meant his clan would have the backing of my entire coven.
    After what seemed like hours, but was only about twenty minutes, the limo turned into a driveway. I took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm my nerves while the driver parked the car and walked around to open the door, but it didn’t help. By the time it was my turn to climb out of the car, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest.
    As my hand grasped the chauffeur’s, I slowly straightened until I could see over his shoulder to the front door of the house. It swung open and three men stepped out. The first was a dragon shifter I recognized. Damien, a behemoth of a man in his human form, was the council enforcer my mom called to set up this meeting. The next man was slightly shorter, much less built, and looked older than the dragon, with a hint of silver in his dark hair. But he was only slightly less imposing as his gaze swept over my mom, her second, and finally rested on me. I wasn’t sure what to make of the look he gave me, but I didn’t spend long wondering about it because my gaze locked with the third man as he joined the other two on the porch.
    The setting might have been entirely different, but the arc of lightning that raced from my fingertips to his chest was the same. So was the shocked recognition in his whiskey-colored eyes as he looked at me. The mark on my wrist heated, the wind started to whip around us, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his. It felt like we were the only two people in the world; everything else fell away. And then, I didn’t see anything but the ground as a current of air lifted me off my feet and dropped me down on the porch next to him.
    “Mate,” he growled.
    “Consort.” My response was a startled gasp as he tossed me over his shoulder, stormed into the house, and raced up the stairs. A door slammed shut as he threw me onto the mattress, following me down until he braced over me.
    “What’s your name?” His question was a husky demand, startling me. I hadn’t even thought to ask for his.
    “Selene.”
    “Selene,” he repeated softly, a huge grin splitting his face as joy filled his eyes. “I’m Camden.”
    “Camden McMahon?”
    He nodded in agreement, his fingers tracing my lips before moving to cup my cheek as he leaned closer. I licked my lips in response, drawing his gaze down to them. I watched helplessly as his eyes lit with hunger, the same desire I felt rising within myself. My magic swirled around us, wrapping us in a cocoon of safety as I discovered my other half—a missing puzzle piece I would have searched for endlessly if only I’d known how much I needed it—needed him. Camden, my consort. I reached out and traced the mark around his bicep in wonder. The unmistakable evidence that he was the man the Goddess intended for me. But even without it, I felt like I would have still known he was mine.
    Camden lowered his head those final couple inches, until our lips were almost touching. “Tell me you want this