Shifting Changes (The First Shift)

by Marlowe, Sage

  To Shayonn’s surprise, Faolan twitched his shoulders. “Tell her that if you like but she already knows.”

  “What? How?”

  “I told her.”

  Shayonn was flabbergasted. “Why?” The question came out as a feeble squeak and he hated it, so he tried to make up for it by scowling even more fiercely.

  Faolan didn’t seem too impressed. “I told her so there would be nothing you could use against me,” he explained in a bored tone. “Just so we’re clear, whatever happened between us doesn’t matter. This job is a great opportunity for me but that’s all it is—a job. Don’t fool yourself thinking you’d get slack just because I let you spill your spunk on me. It’s not gonna happen. In fact your mother and I agreed that it’s time you be kept on a very short leash.”

  Shayonn’s head pounded and he was dizzy with rage. “You arrogant son of a bitch!” he growled but again, Faolan just shrugged off the comment. “Even if I cared about my mother, which I don’t, this wouldn’t be an insult because you see, technically she is a bitch. Now go get changed, your mother wants to see you for dinner.”

  Every fibre, every cell of Shayonn’s being vibrated with indignity. None of his previous guards had dared speak to him like that. They had all respected him for his status. Even Tjiann, his long-time guard who hadn’t been able to resist his attraction to Shayonn in the end and had become his first lover, had always been aware of his position as a minion. Shayonn was mad with rage, and yet, the wolf’s tough determination fascinated him. Lowering his head, he turned away and went to get changed for the first formal dinner with his mother in four years.

  Chapter 6

  During the weeks that followed, Shayonn tried to keep his distance from Faolan as much as he could but since it was Faolan’s job to keep an eye on him, he was never far away. He had become an almost constant presence, a persistent irritation but also a never ending temptation. Shayonn was no longer allowed to leave the grounds the palace was built on. The beautiful gardens with their brightly coloured flower beds, lush green bushes and sweet scents had become his prison. He’d succeeded in escaping once, and now his mother made sure he didn’t get another chance. Still, it was nice to be outside and move and the sound of the waves crashing on the rock a few hundred feet below them turned the exercise into an unexpected journey back into his childhood, when he’d been a scrawny cub roaming the bushes and his mother’s beloved rose garden.

  Shayonn let out a heartfelt groan as he walked past a patch of particularly thick-growing shrubs. He longed for a partner. Ever since those quick, exciting moments he’d shared with Faolan in the hotel room almost two months ago, it had just been him and his hand, but Shayonn wanted more. He was only twenty-one, and at his prime sexually. It was even worse in his tiger shape. His instincts and hormones seemed to run havoc and left him in a state of constant semi-arousal, so he rarely trailed the grounds in animal form although he had spent too long with his human body and longed to feel his other self.

  The tiger in him felt Faolan’s presence before his weak human senses could see or even smell him. “What do you want?” he grumbled. “I’m not acting against orders, so you can bloody well leave me alone.”

  “No need to get bitchy,” Faolan replied levelly as he emerged from behind a large rhododendron and fell into step with Shayonn. “I just thought you might appreciate a chat.”

  Shayonn stared at his guard. His initial anger at the betrayal had developed into a strange combination of resignation and fondness. Faolan did his job well, there was no denying that, and Shayonn was beginning to grow tired of trying to pick fights he never won, so he had decided to accept his fate for now. Although, his lack of defiance was probably mostly due to the fact that he had a bigger worry on his mind.

  Shayonn hadn’t treated his bodyguard to more than a casual glance in the weeks that had passed, but now that he saw him, walking in the bright sunlight amidst a fireworks of multi-coloured flowers, his simmering arousal became more substantial. The sight made him prickle. Faolan was a handsome man with movements that revealed his strength and endurance. He wouldn’t have trouble going all night, Shayonn observed idly.

  “Probably not,” Faolan agreed, correctly reading Shayonn’s thoughts as he did so often. He sounded amused. “But it depends on who I’m with. I need a partner who can keep up and those are rare to find. Not many humans are ready for what I have to offer.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought so,” Shayonn grumbled but his grumpiness was just a mask for his burning desire. Two months, and he hadn’t been touched by another being, human or shifter.

  “What’s wrong?” Faolan asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “You sure seem grouchy for nothing.”

  “Well, nothing I have any desire to talk about with you of all people,” Shayonn snapped.

  Faolan shrugged. “Fine. Suit yourself. I just thought you might want to talk. I didn’t realise there were so many people around you who are willing to listen to your complaints.”

  Turning his head to glare at Faolan, Shayonn tripped on a root but he covered up his stumble and walked on, shoulder by shoulder with the big wolf shifter. He’d promised himself not to show any signs of weakness, but that comment stung and of course, Faolan was right. There was no one Shayonn could talk to about the weight that crunched his heart. He didn’t have friends, had never really had any. He’d been surrounded by servants for most of his life. His half-sisters had left a long time ago to lead their quiet, peaceful lives as mothers of half a dozen yellow cubs and his own mother… Well, she defended her position vehemently.

  “I can’t do it!” he blurted out. “I can’t help it. I’m just not attracted to women.”

  Faolan didn’t seem surprised by the topic. His response was prompt. “Aren’t you? Not even a little bit?”

  “Nn-nn.”

  “Not even in shifted form?”

  Shayonn cast a sideways glance at his companion and shook his head. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Why, what difference does it make?”

  “Ah, Shayonn.” Faolan chuckled. “You haven’t spent much time in shifted form, have you? Your body is different, have you never noticed that?”

  “Well, I seem to be a lot furrier, that’s for sure,” Shayonn grumbled.

  “Yes. And you act on instincts rather than common sense.”

  “So?”

  “So, your body is programmed to reproduce. It’s as simple as that. We all are different when we’re in shifted form. Our primal instincts take over and we do things we might not do when in human shape.”

  “Huh. Right. Like what?”

  “Run around without clothes.”

  Shayonn couldn’t suppress his chuckle and ended up making a strange snorting sound.

  “Okay, okay,” Faolan soothed. “Eat raw meat. Take a pee in public. Whatever. The fact is, you’re different when shifted. So why not give it a try? See how you like being around a female when you’re in tiger shape. You might be surprised.”

  “Is that how it works for you?”

  “What?”

  “Mating. Sex.”

  Faolan pursed his lips. “Well, not really. I enjoy sex in either shape.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Shayonn sighed. “You said you weren’t really into men. You said you fucked men only because you weren’t allowed around the females.”

  “You said that, actually,” Faolan replied. “I happen to be attracted to men and women alike. It’s right that I’m not allowed to reproduce with females of my own kind, but there is no law against me fucking human women or the females of any other species.”

  Shayonn tilted his head. “I see. And you’re making use of that, right?”

  “Sure.” Faolan sounded amused.

  “Good for you. Is it different when you’re in shifted form?”

  Faolan watched him for a moment. “It’s fluffier when we’re shifted but I like it either way. As a wolf it’s more… Unrestrained, I think you could say, bu
t as a human you have hands. Big advantage.”

  Shayonn was astounded. Faolan grinned at him. He flashed his teeth in return but he wasn’t convinced. “So you’re saying that if I’m in tiger form I might actually enjoy it?”

  “Yes.” Faolan stopped. “What is it?”

  Shayonn sighed. He had to get it out or it would just eat him up. “My mother will make me attend a mating ceremony next week.”

  “I know. So?”

  Shayonn stopped dead. “So? Are you kidding me?”

  “Well, it makes sense.”

  “It makes sense,” Shayonn repeated with an angry snort. “I should have known you were on her side!”

  Faolan shrugged. “I’m not on anyone’s side but I know about the problems your species have, so yes, it makes sense. The main point about mating for you is to be able to make lots of healthy and preferably white babies. The biggest problem for you is to find the girl you can have those white babies with.”

  “The biggest problem for me is that I’ll have to fuck her to make those babies!” Shayonn snarled. “And I don’t think I’m interested in that.”

  Head tilted to the side, Faolan watched him with an expression of patience in his warm brown eyes. “Look, Shayonn. It’s not that big an issue as you make it seem so don’t stir up a storm in a water cup. Fucking her is the obvious way but you can always talk to her and tell her how you feel about women. She’s your mate. She shares your interest and she will have a special connection with you. See if you can find a way with that. Try it in tiger shape. And if you really don’t want to do it, well, then there are other ways.”

  Shayonn flinched. “What other ways?”

  Faolan smirked. “Well, quite simple. All she needs to get pregnant is your spunk. No one says you have to be the one who puts it into her. If you really don’t want to do it then well, I suggest you have a wank and give her what you come up with.”

  “Eouw!” Shayonn made a face. “Are you serious?”

  Faolan shrugged. “It’s an option. It’s not ideal, and I don’t think your chosen one would be too pleased, but it would allow you to do what is required of you without sexual intimacy involved.”

  “Hmm. Well, it’s a thought,” Shayonn admitted. “But you’re right. First I have to find my mate.”

  “Shayonn?” Faolan asked into the pensive silence that followed.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you still mad at me? For bringing you back here?”

  Shayonn considered the question for a moment, then he shook his head. “Not really. I was mad, but I never stood a chance to get away from all of this. I don’t even know why I bothered to run away in the first place. It was only a matter of time until my mother would come up with a plan to get me back. I should’ve known that.”

  “Okay. So you forgive me?”

  Shayonn smiled. “Yes.”

  Faolan seemed honestly relieved. “Good. Thank you. Oh, one more thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Your mother told me you chased away your personal servants again. Why?”

  The direct question surprised Shayonn, but he covered it with an irritated snicker. “You mean the ones who were ordered to help me with my bath? Of course I chased them away. My dear mother seized the chance to send potential partners my way again.”

  Faolan frowned. “Potential partners?”

  “Yes. In case you didn’t notice, those servants were all young and beautiful, and all female. Not one of them had any idea how to even address me correctly.”

  “I’m sure that’s not quite true,” Faolan replied.

  Shayonn narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying I lie?”

  “No, I just think you’re more interested in them than you’re letting on.”

  Shayonn froze. “How dare you say that after everything I just told you?”

  “Oh, come on, Shayonn.” Faolan sighed. “It’s a nice story. But I found some magazines last time I checked your room. You’re not as exclusively gay as you pretend to be, are you?”

  Shayonn stared at him, chewing his lip as he mulled over the best possible answer. Faolan was right. If truth be told, he wasn’t as immune to their creamy skin and luscious curves as he claimed he was. “I’ve never been serious with a woman,” he said reluctantly.

  Faolan nodded, slowly and as if to himself. “Well, perhaps not, but I bet you’ve spent more than one night jerking off over a magazine that featured naked girls instead of the ones filled with guys you leave lying around everywhere. What’s the point of those, anyway? Are you just trying to annoy your mother?”

  Shayonn groaned. “You don’t understand. It’s not as simple as you think it is.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me? Come on, get it out.”

  Shayonn heaved a sigh and pushed back his too long fringe. “You see, I appreciate female beauty and…they smell nice and have such gorgeous, soft bodies, but giving in to that means giving up my freedom. If I allow myself to be with a woman, I’ll lose the last chance I have to…” He bit his lip. “Leading my mother to believe that I’m gay is the only way I have to keep her from making me find my mate.”

  Faolan frowned. “What’s so bad about finding your mate? It’s the best thing that can possibly happen to a shifter.”

  Shayonn shook his head impatiently. “If I have a mate, the future queen of Atraya, I will have to become king and I’m not ready for that, Faolan. I’m only twenty-one. There is more I want to do with my life than sit through meetings and talk about my country’s economy or ways to increase the growth rate of our population. There are so many things I haven’t done yet, so many places I still want to see. I don’t want to get tied down just yet. And…those babies. I’m not ready for babies.”

  “I know.” For the first time, Faolan looked at him with sympathy. “That’s the real reason you ran away, isn’t it? It’s a lot of responsibility for someone so young. I understand that. But it’s your duty. You were born into this position, and you have to take the bad parts with the good parts. You grew up in a beautiful home, with dozens of servants just waiting to fulfil your every wish. Maybe it’s time for you to pay some of that back.”

  Shayonn rubbed his forehead. He felt tired all of a sudden. Tired and emotionally exhausted, but most of all he longed for affection, now more than ever. What he’d assumed to be merely pent-up sexual tension turned out to be a craving for something deeper.

  He took a step toward Faolan and lowered his head as he stopped in front of him. “Can you…” He couldn’t make himself say it, so he just looked up and hoped that his eyes would transmit the message. Faolan understood his wordless plea. He reached out and folded his bulky arms around Shayonn, pulling him into a tight bear hug. Shayonn hesitated briefly, then let his head sink on Faolan’s massive shoulder.

  It felt so good to simply be held like this. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had just embraced him. His mother had never been one for cuddles and the few sex partners he’d had in uni hadn’t been around to stay after the quick stolen moments in each other’s bedrooms or outside. The hold of Faolan’s arms tightened and Shayonn was reminded of the other man’s immense, feral strength. His earlier arousal returned, going from the barely noticeable buzz in the pit of his stomach to a burning need in his groin within seconds.

  His cock filled and it was all Shayonn could do to not just start humping Faolan’s thigh. A gasp slipped from his lips and he rearranged his position, bringing his lips to Faolan’s neck and the bare patch of skin. He kissed it, licked it with the tip of his tongue, savouring the flavours he remembered so well. Faolan responded with a low growl and a tilt of his hips that brought the hard ridge of his own erection in line with Shayonn’s.

  Breaking the tight embrace, Shayonn leaned back a bit so he could undo the buttons on Faolan’s shirt. Faolan chuckled. “Easy, kid. We’re outside, remember?”

  “Yes,” Shayonn panted, impatiently tugging at the reluctant buttons. “But this corner can’t be seen from the palace and no one ever
comes here, apart from the gardener. He was here only yesterday, so we’re safe.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “What about her?”

  “I don’t think she’d be too pleased if I fucked her son in her own back yard.”

  Shayonn snorted. “With everything that you know about my mother, do you honestly think she’d give a toss? She’s going to marry me off as soon as she can with the sole aim for me to have children.” He shot Faolan a wink. “Besides, what makes you think you get to fuck her son in her back yard?”

  Faolan seemed indecisive for a moment longer, then he smiled and reached for Shayonn’s shirt. “Indeed, I don’t think she’d care. And as to that other question of yours… I think you’re dying for me to slam my dick into your sweet little hole and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He plucked at the first button, then, when it didn’t give, he simply grabbed the shirt and ripped it open, sending buttons flying everywhere. In a motion that was too fast for Shayonn to follow, he had pulled the garment over Shayonn’s shoulders and put a knot in it, securing it in a way that left Shayonn effectively tied up.

  “What…” Shayonn started but Faolan silenced him with a quick, scorching kiss.

  “You’re a spoiled brat, Prince Shayonn,” he whispered against Shayonn’s mouth. “You’re young, selfish and irresponsible. You use people and manipulate them for your own purposes. You deserve a good spanking for all your lies and schemes, and that is exactly what I’m going to give you—before I fuck you so hard you won’t remember your own name. I’ve been waiting for this since the first time I met you.”

  Shayonn hadn’t put up the least resistance during Faolan’s short speech. It seemed his brain had lost all ability to control his tongue. Rage and indignity had flared up in him, but those feelings were easily overpowered by arousal. Shayonn’s cock was hard enough to drill a hole into the ground and aching with the need to be touched. Tilting his hips, Shayonn tried to rub himself on Faolan’s leg, but Faolan escaped him. “Nn-nn,” he scolded softly. “None of that, I’m afraid. If you want to come, you’ll have to earn it.”