by Amanda Perry
“You literally just stole honey from a bear.” Todd shook his head at her. Remy knew the shifter she was speaking to was a bear. They had specific features that set them apart from other shifters. Barreled chest, heavy eyebrows and a boned ridge that ran across their forehead made a bear shifter unmistakable.
Remy shrugged. “He’ll live. Now, go grab some milk if you want your cereal in the morning.”
Todd hurried away without complaint. His morning cereal meant as much to him as her morning coffee meant to her. If they didn’t get their daily dose, they were not pleasant to be around. Without waiting for Todd, Remy continued up and down the aisles, pausing occasionally to grab something else from the shelves.
As she shopped, a dull ache started in Remy’s lower stomach and kept her distracted. It was that time of month again, but normally her cramps weren’t too noticeable. Deciding to push past the discomfort, she continued on her mission.
She found the spaghetti sauce she knew her dad loved and picked up a few jars. Standing on her tiptoes to reach the top shelf, movement to her left caught her eye. A tall, lean man rounded the corner, leaving the aisle she was in. Just before he disappeared from sight, something dropped behind him. She realized quickly it was a wallet. Tossing the jars of sauce into her cart, she moved to scoop up the lost item and followed after the guy.
“Hey!” she called out when she found him in the next aisle over.
Being the only one around, the guy turned towards her. Remy’s steps faltered, struck dumb by the man’s piercing blue eyes. Two small hoop rings decorated his eyebrow, the colors matching the silver and blue streaks that ran through his long, jet black hair, currently tied back at the nape of his neck.
“Did you need something?” The man’s eyes twinkled in merriment as he watched her.
Her own eyes darted down, trying to break the trance he somehow had her in. “Yeah. You dropped this.” She held out a hand with the wallet clutched tightly in her fist.
He stepped toward Remy and her gaze darted back to his. “I didn’t even notice. Thank you…?”
“Remy,” she offered, still holding the wallet out. It took her a moment to realize he had his arms full of groceries and no way to grab the item from her. With her eyes zoned in on his arms, she noticed how well developed his biceps were. He had a runner’s body, lean around the hips, but he appeared more muscular than a typical runner.
“Well, thank you, Remy.” He nodded to the top of his grocery pile. “I’m all out of hands; would you mind?” He shifted his stance, jutting his hip out to her, silently asking her to put it in his pocket.
She did as he asked, still trying to form an intelligent thought. Would this be considered touching his butt? Why did she want to giggle like a twelve-year-old at the thought? And why the hell did he have to have such a firm ass? She’d seen her share of hot men, even flirted with a few but she’d never had the urge to giggle before. What was it about this guy that had her acting irrationally? She’d never been the type to swoon.
As her hand left his backside, she glanced over his shoulder to find the honey bandit from earlier turning down the aisle. His eyes zeroed in on Remy’s frozen hand barely an inch from the sexy man’s ass. He glared harder at her, if that was even possible, making Remy fight the need to groan. Could this get more embarrassing?
Thankfully, the man turned back around and left the same way he'd come. Remy straightened up, and the hot, twinkle-eyed, mystery man winked at her and then turned on his heel as well. As he reached the end of the aisle, he called over his shoulder to her. "Thanks again. See you around, Remy."
Remy shook her head, trying to dispel the mental image of his ass. She didn’t have time to dwell on the mysterious sexy man, even if she was upset with herself for not asking his name.
When Todd caught up with her, she still stood in the same spot, replaying the incident over and over again. “Come on. I’m ready to get out of here. Are you done yet?”
Startled, Remy shook herself. “Yeah, I’m all set. Let’s go check out and head home.”
The register line was short and within minutes they paid and loaded up the cargo hold of the ATV. Todd even helped without complaint, which was unusual for him. Remy was thankful for the extra hand. Her cramps had worsened and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never move again. When Todd took his help one step further by pushing the cart across the lot to return it, she almost embarrassed herself by crying in relief. She took a deep breath, getting ready to yell at him to hurry when he stopped and gave the cart a hard push, sending it careening across the asphalt. The brother she knew and loved had resurfaced.
“Damn it, Todd!” Remy shouted, and took off running, attempting to chase after the cart as it weaved back and forth. Shooting pains ran down her side as she sprinted, but she couldn’t let the cart go. She continued her chase, hoping to catch it before it hit someone or something. Luck wasn’t on her side and Remy knew she was in for some trouble when she watched the cart ram into a pale pink, sparkly ATV. She cringed as the sound of the impact reverberated across the parking lot. Stopping next to the vehicle, she said a silent prayer as she pulled the cart away from the metal. The cart had left a teeny-tiny dent in the rear quarter panel so small Remy would have missed it if she wasn’t looking so closely.
The driver side door swung open, expelling a Barbie look-a-like. Anger clearly visible on her face, the woman walked stiffly over to where she stood. Remy allowed the Barbie to push the cart further away from her ATV before attempting to apologize. “I’m really sorry. My bro—”
“My baby! My beautiful baby!” The woman bent over at the waist, inspecting the damage. For a moment Remy worried the cart had done more extensive damage. The way the girl was losing her bleach blonde mind over the incident, surely it was something more important than a tiny dent. Another quick look confirmed her original assessment; only one slight imperfection was visible. “Hey, it was an acci—”
Again, the woman cut her off, screaming in rage. "You are going to pay for the damages! I can't believe this! You stupid, useless parasite! They should've never let your kind on our land. Now, look what you've done!"
Remy blinked repeatedly while simultaneously taking deep breaths. Her temper already caused trouble with the Beta so she was trying to be on her best behavior. Punching the drama queen in her fake nose wouldn’t help the situation. The idea of shifters having plastic surgery brought a snort to the surface before Remy could push it down. Little miss priss must have thought Remy was laughing at her by the way her face turned a dark red, then purple color.
“You can bet your ass the Alpha will hear about this. He won’t be happy you’ve upset me. He worships the ground I walk on.” Without allowing Remy to get another word in, the Barbie imposter hopped into her sparkly Barbie ATV and peeled out of her parking spot, narrowly missing Remy’s foot when she backed out.
Rubbing her forehead, Remy made her way back to her own ATV and her asshat of a brother who caused the drama in the first place. “Thanks a lot, shithead.”
“Sorry.” Todd’s attention was on his phone as he scrolled through social media. He wasn’t even a little bit sorry for his actions. Sometimes, Remy wondered if she could convince their father to send the twerp to boot camp.
The ride home was mostly silent while Remy listened to the GPS and Todd continued to scroll through his phone. When they neared their cabin, Remy couldn't hold it in anymore. She had to ask the question that kept on bugging her since the run-in with Barbie. “Hey, Todd?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think if a shifter gets plastic surgery, their animal’s features change, too?”
Todd’s head shot up from his phone and he gaped at his sister. “What?”
“I’m just saying,” Remy continued, her analytical mind refusing to stop. “If a shifter gets a nose job, would their animal’s nose change, too?”
Todd was quiet for a long time and Remy glanced his way briefly to check if he was paying attention to
her or if he’d decided to ignore her question. Her eyes locked with his and the two of them burst into simultaneous laughter. She had to admit, Todd was kind of okay on rare occasions.
4
Reid
“…and then she just walked away. Like she hadn’t just damaged my car. You need to do something, Reid! She ruined my baby.” The loud whine screeched through his phone, making him wince. Sometimes, he despised his shifter abilities.
“Lorelei, calm down. The human girl's father is due here shortly for a meeting. I’ll talk to him about the incident.” Reid glanced at his watch. He expected the human council member to arrive any moment. He needed to get the female off the phone. “I’ve noted your complaint and will have Brody investigate. Someone will be in touch with you within a few days. And for the last time, it’s Alpha to you. You do not have permission or authority to call me by name.”
“Bu—”
Reid slammed the phone back into its cradle hastily before she tried to keep him on the line longer. The humans hadn’t even been here for one full day and already complaints were coming in. Between all the problems he’d dealt with since the possible security threat was exposed, a scratched ATV was the least of his worries. But still, for appearance's sake, he would order Brody to look into it. Otherwise, Lorelei would keep calling him. He had a sneaking suspicion the security cameras in the grocery store parking lot would show a different version of Lorelei's story. She had a tendency to over exaggerate.
A heavy knock sounded at his door, announcing the human’s arrival. Swiping the scattered papers on his desk, he piled them neatly in an unused corner. Relaxing, he leaned back in his chair, calling out a command to enter.
His Gamma, Brody, entered first. A tall, older human male came in behind him. The council member’s appearance surprised Reid. He’d expected more of the slick politician type, something this man clearly was not. The man’s dossier listed him in his late forties. Retired military, he served as a liaison for the past four years between the human and Fae communities. Clive Stevens hadn’t let civilian life soften him. He still held the rigid appearance of a man in full uniform. Reid would bet his nonexistent paycheck that the human still starched his collars.
Standing up from behind his desk, he offered his hand in the customary greeting of humans. “Mr. Stevens. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Alpha Matthews. The pleasure is all mine.”
Reid sniffed the air, analyzing the new scents in the room. Light citrus tangled with the smell of aftershave. A third scent clung to the man in front of him. A hint of lavender and vanilla, sweet and subtle. Reid almost dismissed it, but something about it held him entranced. It warmed his skin and teased his senses. Leaning forward slightly, he tried to draw in more of the scent. The human, aware of shifter customs, stood still, allowing the Alpha to sniff him. Whatever the scent, it was too light for Reid to identify the origin. All he could tell from the slight whiff was that he wanted to smell more of it.
Rattled, he shook himself, trying to remember the reason he called for the meeting in the first place. He leaned farther back, distancing himself from the overwhelming scent. Raising a hand, he waved at the human to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Taking his own, safely settled behind the large piece of wood, Reid took a few additional deep breaths in a feeble attempt to control his body.
Unaware of the struggle for control Reid battled, the human got right down to business. “Your Beta, Bruce, gave me a bit of information last night,” Clive started as Reid shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “He mentioned the prophecy and explained some of the reasoning behind why I was selected for this position.”
"Good," Reid nodded, gaining a tiny ounce of control. "I'm sure it's confusing to you, being thrown into our world so suddenly. I've heard great things about you from the other councils. Your work as acting liaison between the Fae and the humans drew a lot of attention. It made you the front-runner for the human council position."
“I appreciate that. My kids weren’t entirely thrilled about leaving their friends behind, especially my son, Todd. He’s a bit of a grump right now. My baby girl, Remy, has been a trooper through the whole process. The two of them should adjust well. I know I will.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“There is one thing I’m confused about, though. I’m hoping you can fill me in on more of the details. I realize it may be a sensitive issue, but without some background information, I don’t know how I can be of any help.” Clive remained relaxed in his seat, never breaking eye contact with Reid.
Reid shifted forward in his chair and leaned on his forearms on his desk. He made sure to breathe through his mouth the whole time. He didn't want to take a chance of inhaling any more of the mystery scent. "Please. Ask your questions. I'll try to answer them if possible."
The human nodded and begun. “The Triad bond. I’m privy to the supernatural worlds to an extent, so I know bonds between species don’t exist. At least, they didn’t before now. Why the change? Being three males, you’ll never be able to procreate. Your bloodline will die out with your death. What about the next generation? Who will lead then?”
Clive’s hand lifted as he spoke, sending more of the lavender and vanilla scent directly into Reid’s nose. Once again, he shifted in his seat as his body hardened. Something had to be seriously wrong with him for his lower extremities to be reacting in such a way. He shook himself, willing the blood to rush back to the head on his shoulders. “Bonded mates normally aren’t so complex,” he began, hoping he made sense while only half-assing his explanation as he tried to rid himself of his growing problem. “Normally, a male Shifter, Fae, or Vampire will bond with a female of their species. Soul mates is a term I’ve heard humans often use. Where we differ from humans is that a female can have more than one mate. If that happens, a bond is formed between the males of the group as well. Until the three of us bonded, bond mates were believed to always be from the same species. In a bonded group, the males are all sexually involved with the female but that same sexual bond most often doesn’t exist between the males. The males are bonded together like brothers. Of course, there are exceptions but those aren’t as common. In our case, since the three of us are from a different species, we are not sure if we will share a female mate.”
Clive appeared thoughtful as he asked his next question. “Is it true that there’s magic involved in identifying your mate?”
Reid had been expecting the question. “Sort of. For a Shifter, we sense our mate or mates by scent alone. Fae know by a simple kiss on the lips, and Vampires by the taste of their blood.”
“So, since you’re a Shifter, you knew those two men were your mates by their scent?”
“Yes, exactly.” Reid smiled, happy with Clive's understanding so far.
Brows furrowed, the human hedged. “What about the Fae and Vampire?”
“What about them? I’m not sure I understand your question.”
Clive looked uncomfortable for the first time. “If it takes a kiss…”
“Ahhh. I see where you’re going with this. To answer your question, yes, Noah and I had to exchange a small kiss with Elijah in order for him to recognize the bond. As for Noah, Elijah and I had to offer him a small sip of our blood. The only reason we all agreed to participate was because I knew the bond to be true as soon as I scented them.”
“So, are the three of you,” Clive used air quotes, “one of the special bonded units?”
Reid smiled at the obvious discomfort the human suffered from. “No, we aren’t sexually involved with each other. Our bond feels more like the brotherly type.”
“So, do you think you’ll share a female mate? One queen to help unite the species in peace?”
“That’s what we’re hoping for but nothing about our bond has been natural so far. We could all share a mate or we could each have our own. It’s even possible we weren’t given a female at all. Nothing in the prophecy mentioned a female. Thinking about that last p
ossibility rips my heart apart. Maybe, if I never experienced being with a female, it would be different. I would have no problems remaining celibate or taking on a male mate sexually. As it is, I can’t fathom going through life without a female. It feels as if something would be missing.”
“I can understand that.” Clive nodded, leaning back in his chair and giving Reid a slight reprieve from the heady scent assaulting him. “Women are special. I loved my wife with my entire being. When she died, a large piece of me went with her. It took me years to start dating again but no one has come close to claiming my heart. I don’t think anyone ever will. I hope you find your female, Reid.”
“Thank you, Clive. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
“So, I now know more about how bonds normally happen within each species. Has anyone formed any hypotheses on how your new bond is possible?”
“I have our best scientists and even our scholars working on it. So far, they’ve come up with nothing concrete. They’re blaming evolution.” Reid frowned deeply. “The other species’ have their own experts. None of them have agreed on any single cause either. Right now, we’re in the dark. We have to let the cards fall where they may and see what comes of it. For all we know, it’s the will of the Gods.”
“I’ll leave the reasons why up to the experts. What I need to figure out is how I’ll best serve humans and supernaturals alike.” While Clive seemed appeased with the new information, Reid could still see unspoken questions in his eyes.
Reid smirked. “Agreed. The prophecy demanded we bring humans into our world. We don’t know why, but we must figure out the best way to proceed. We’ll have to take it a day at a time. Make sure we communicate openly and go from there.”
Clive’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “That works for me. It was mentioned that I would be leading a human council but at this time, my family are the only humans here. Are there others coming?”
