It was only as they came down from the sexual high that Dominic realized it was colder than he had thought, so he hurried up pulling his cock out of his mate and quickly cleaned Ani up. There wasn’t much he could do without tissues, though.
“Baby, why don’t you shimmer us back to our room? That way you can shower.”
Ani nodded and indicated his book on the bench, making Dominic smile. His mate was definitely ready for a nap, and he wouldn’t mind one either.
Yeah, he should take breaks more often.
* * * *
Dominic was grumbling to the files he was reading on his computer, and while Ani thought it was cute, it was also disturbing him from his studies. Since it didn’t seem that Dominic would stop anytime soon, Ani closed his book—he hated math anyway—and put it down next to him on the couch. “What’s wrong?”
He might not be the ideal Alpha mate, but he could at least listen to what his mate had to say and try to help him.
“I’m trying to decide how many seats there should be on the council. I just can’t decide on the right way to have everyone feel represented.”
“Well, there’s no way every single species of shifter can be, so maybe you should go with the ones who have the most members.”
“I know that, but we’re already going to have enough problems as it is with trying to make the shifters follow the rules, and the fact that I am the one setting all this up will make it even harder. Maybe I should ask Kameron.”
“If the problem is that you’re mated to a man, then I’d say it wouldn’t change anything even if it was Kameron doing all this.”
Dominic arched a brow at him, his sexy amber eyes glittering in the sunlight coming from the window. “Why? He’s not mated to a man.”
Ani snorted. Damn, sometimes Dominic was clueless, even if he never let it show. Ani knew he made it his mission to know all there was to know on every single member of the pride and on a lot of their allies, but he did miss some things sometimes. “Because it’s obvious there’s something between him and Zach.”
Dominic frowned. “I don’t know...Zach wasn’t even there the last few times we saw them.”
“I didn’t say everything was flowers and candy in their world, just that it’s obvious they have feelings for each other. God knows we had a hard time in the beginning even if I lov—” Ani clamped his mouth shut, but he knew Dominic had picked up the slip of his tongue. It wasn’t a slip, not really, because he knew he loved the man in front of him, but Ani had never felt so insecure, so he had been waiting and waiting for the right moment to properly tell his mate. Obviously, the moment had never come, or if it had, Ani had dismissed it.
He was just scared to death that it was too soon for Dominic to love him. What if he confessed and the man didn’t say it back? What if he confessed and Dominic said it was too soon, or if he flat out ran away? In his heart Ani knew Dominic would never do anything like that, but it didn’t help his fear to ebb because it was irrational.
He watched as Dominic unfolded from his chair and prowl toward him, his lion showing in the sensuality of his movements and how light he was on his feet. He sat down beside Ani, moving the book aside before grabbing Ani’s waist and pulling him up on his knees. Ani loved when he was cradled in his lover’s arms like that. It made him feel protected and cherished.
“I know I never told you, but I’m not good with this kind of things, at least not when it’s personal. It’s so much easier when it’s not, but I should have told you before. I love you, Ani.”
Ani was sure his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He had known Dominic cared for him deeply, but he had always kept a little distance, thinking that maybe it was because they were mates, but knowing that he loved Ani the person... “I love you too.” He buried his face into his mate’s neck and let Dominic’s scent surround him. This was home. It was safe, it was love, it was intimacy. It was them.
They stayed like that for a little while, just holding each other. They didn’t need any more words to convey their feelings. Their bodies were doing all the work. It couldn’t last long, though, and Ani knew Dominic had to solve this council problem. Only when he was done could they finally relax and enjoy each other. “So, how are shifters divided? Predators and prey are the main divisions, but under that?”
“You could divide them in families like our animal counterparts, more or less. Maybe we could have one council member for felines, one for canines...”
“And you should add a seat for every other type of paranormals.”
Dominic shook his head. “I’m not even sure how many of those are real, or how to contact those we know are real.”
“You should still have a seat for them. Everyone should be represented as well as we can.”
“That’s still...” Dominic stayed silent as he did the math. “Seven seats only for shifters, plus one for the fae that we can be sure of.”
“Start with those then, but leave the option of adding more seats open. You could also set up a phone number and a website for anyone who has a complaint or needs help. It would take a little work to go through all the messages, but that way everyone would have a possibility to be heard. Having a council is a good thing, but you also need to find a way to get the shifters to talk to you.”
Dominic blinked as a slow smile spread on his lips. “You have the best ideas, baby.”
Ani blushed. “I don’t know. It just seems kind of obvious to me. I’m sure you would have thought of it if you didn’t have bigger problems to deal with.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Still, you were the one to think about it, so maybe you could lead the team who would read the messages. You have to talk to Isaiah about the website and the phone number, but I’m sure you won’t have problems.”
Ani actually kind of liked the idea. He wanted to be able to do something for the pride, but also for the Nix. They were still his people, even if he lived with shifters. “You think I can do it?”
“You can do anything you want, Ani. We’ll give you all the help you need, and we’ll have to find a way to let people know, but we’ll do it.”
“I think we should also try to register shifters.”
Dominic frowned. “I don’t think they will be happy about that.”
“Humans do it. It would be a way to keep track of all the shifters and to find out if some of them disappear, like those wolves from the Gillham pack. Three of them are still missing.”
“It’s a good idea, but it’s going to take a while.”
“The important thing is to start. How are the council members going to be chosen?”
“We’re going to form a temporary council. I have a few names in mind already, and Kameron is one of them.”
Oh, the wolf wasn’t going to be happy. Ani knew he had taken the Alpha role in the pack even if he hadn’t wanted the responsibilities, but he had thought it was the right thing to do. To be a council member even if the council didn’t have any authority yet...it was an even bigger thing.
“Once the temporary council is in place they’ll have to choose enforcers and make a list of shifter groups and laws everyone will have to follow. I was thinking that for a while we should have part of the enforcers visiting shifters groups to tell them about the council and everything else that’s happening. Only then we can have shifters voting to elect permanent members or find another way to choose them.”
“What about finances? Who’s going to pay the enforcers?”
“I thought that every member of the council could donate something in the beginning, then we can invest that and make it grow.”
Yup, Dominic had thought about everything. Almost. “I think you should also set up a shifter hospital or something like that, and a recovery house.” Ani’s brain was spouting idea after idea, and he wasn’t sure how many of those were really doable, but it looked like Dominic appreciated it.
“Another good idea, and I think this one is urgent, especially if we pla
n on taking out the Glass Research Company. We can’t keep on bringing the rescued shifters here to the mansion, even if I want to. We don’t have the space.”
“And an account. We need to help those shifters start a new life, and they will need money to do that.”
“Love, I think you should be my secretary or something. You’re awfully good at this, and I feel like we made more progress in the last half hour than in the weeks I was on my own. Nate hasn’t been that useful, but to be honest he has been handling the pride every day’s business in my place while I’m doing this. I can’t wait to get the council up and working and go back to my Alpha job.”
“Oh, no. I might have the ideas, but I don’t think I could deal that well with people. Keenan would be a much better assistant for you.”
Dominic tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. “You think he would accept?”
Ani shrugged. “You won’t know if you don’t ask.”
“I’ll do it as soon as I see him.”
It seemed that they had a plan.
* * * *
They were finally moving forward. Dominic had called all the Alphas who had agreed to help him plus a long list of Alphas he could reach only by phone due to the distance. He had explained to every single one of them what he was trying to do, and the reactions had gone from reluctance to acceptance—when they hadn’t simply hung up on him. Either way, he had spent what seemed like years but really was only hours on the phone, but they were finally done, at least for the first part.
There had also been a lot of exchanged emails, since he had sent every Alpha he had been able to contact a detailed plan of what he was doing, and he was grateful to those who had forwarded it to other Alphas. The more of them they managed to reach and convince, the better the council would end up to be. It had been a bitch to try to be a peacemaker with those who had ranted and yelled at him, but they finally had a list of nearly all the first council members.
Kameron would be the canine representative, and as Dominic and Ani had expected, he hadn’t been happy about it. It had taken a while to coax him into accepting the role, but he had, even if grudgingly.
Dominic looked around the table of the mansion’s new conference room, taking in the sight of the first council. The birds were represented by an eagle shifter. Quincy Wallace had been one of Dominic’s friends for the last thirty years, and they shared the same ideals. The man was blond and blue eyed, his angelic looks making him look defenseless, but he was far from it. He was small but lethal, and he was fiercely protective of those he viewed as his, so Dominic knew he would do a good job in the council. Plus, he was glad to be on the bird’s good side. Quincy wasn’t an Alpha per se, but he was the leader of a small mismatched group of shifters, much like Dominic.
The herbivore council member was Neil Andrews, the Alpha of the elk herd Sebastian and Oliver had gone to visit. The man had agreed to help them from the beginning, even if he had just become a father, and he had helped Dominic contact a lot of his friends, bringing several Alphas to talk with him. Dominic had talked with a lot of them in private and most had indicated Neil as the better choice.
After him came a snake shifter to represent the reptiles. Dominic didn’t personally know the woman, but from what he had found out when he had investigated Celina Barrera, she was a good Alpha for her nest. He had been able to contact her through Denver. The tiger had apparently worked with her for a while, and Dominic trusted the man’s opinion
He knew Cole Hunter, the ursine member, but not that well. He had always found the man amusing, though. He looked like a badass biker, pierced and tattooed, only wearing leather, and he was if he needed to be, but the man was usually very laid back and relaxed. He wasn’t an Alpha, the opposite actually. Dominic knew a lot of shifters wouldn’t be okay with having a lone bear shifter as their spokesman, but honestly he couldn’t have cared less. Cole was a good man, and no one else had wanted the seat on the council. Cole could have refused, since he didn’t have a sleuth to protect, but the fact that he had accepted even being a lone shifter was a good sign of his character.
The last man was the water shifters spokesman, Malik Ayodele. The shark shifter’s skin was the darkest brown Dominic had ever seen, and it contrasted with his white teeth every time the man laughed or smiled, which was very often. He had chatted with everyone in the room as if they had known each other for years rather than minutes, making all of them feel more relaxed, and for that Dominic was immensely grateful.
Dominic had had a hard time contacting the water shifters since they tended to remain near the oceans and he lived in Wyoming, but luckily for him he had a lot of friends and acquaintances. It had taken some time investigating, but in the end Malik had been an obvious choice. His school of sharks lived by the sea in South Africa, and while Malik was a great white shark, Dominic had found out that his school was a mixed one. They even had a dolphin shifter living with them.
That left out the feline representative and the Nix’s one. He hadn’t been able to have anyone agree to take the seat for the felines, and he was still trying to contact the Nix, but they weren’t answering. He was keeping Finn and Ani as the last resort to help him convince them to step up, because Ani was right. This was something that was of every paranormal’s interest. The problem was that the different types of paranormals usually kept to themselves, so he didn’t know how to convince them or even contact them in most cases.
The last person sitting at the table was Keenan. He had accepted being Dominic’s assistant, thank god. He had left his job as a barman and was there to record the meeting.
Ani was also there, but he had refused to sit at the table with them. He had said that it wasn’t his place, so he was standing behind Dominic, his hands on Dominic’s shoulders as they explained to the people around the table what was expected of them and the reason why it was so important to start communicating.
“When are you thinking of dealing with that man, uh, Rayford Glass?” Celina asked, and Dominic had to admit that she was beautiful. Sure, now he was a one man’s man, but he wasn’t blind either, and her long, black, luscious hair and dark eyes were easy on the eyes.
“The council can start planning that as soon as all the temporary members are decided, except for the Nix. I don’t know how to reach them yet, but if you have a name in mind for the feline representative, we can get in touch with him or her and see if they’ll accept. I’m afraid everyone I got in touch with has declined.”
“Too many responsibilities,” Quincy pointed out.
“True, but someone has to take them, unfortunately.”
Dominic felt Ani’s hands tighten on his shoulders before the Nix spoke. “I have a suggestion.”
“Tell us, little one,” Quincy said with a smirk, making Dominic smile. He knew his height was a sore spot for Ani, especially since the difference between them was so big, but he also knew that Quincy was only teasing. He heard Ani mutter under his breath as he commented that Quincy wasn’t that much taller than him, and from Quincy’s broad smile the eagle had heard him too. Ani tended to forget that shifters had a highly developed sense of hearing even in human form.
“Dominic.”
Dominic turned around to face his mate. “What?”
Ani gestured to the members of the council. “That’s my suggestion. You’re the one who thought about this, you contacted everyone. You took all the insults and menaces. You should be part of the council.”
Dominic blanched. Oh no, his mate had not just done what he thought he had.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Quincy quipped, and Dominic scowled at his friend. Before he could decline the invite, every shifter around the table agreed with Ani, and he was trapped. Shit.
“I don’t know if I should thank you all or threaten you.”
Everyone laughed and Kameron punched his shoulder from his seat beside Dominic’s. “That way you understand what you did to me, man.”
Ani was
so going to pay for this when they were alone.
Before he could say anything more, the air shimmered near the door. He stood up, ready to defend his pride and his mate, and he saw the other council members getting ready too. The man who appeared in the room was so peculiar that he had to take a double take.
The guy’s hair was short, spiky and pink. Hot pink. His elegant face was full of metal, but it was strangely appealing. Dominic counted four lip piercings, one in the nose and one on the eyebrow, plus a number of them on each ear. He could also see tattoos. A lot of them. A stylized branch with leaves started from one of his wrist and climbed along his arm to disappear under his shirt. He had a series of drops beneath his left ear and swirls on the other side of his neck.
His green eyes took in every person in the room before settling on Ani, obviously recognizing one of his kind. Dominic knew the guy was a Nix since his ears were pointed, although he could have been another type of fae as far as he knew.
“Hi. You’re the council?”
“Yes, and you are?” Dominic asked.
“Nysys Adim. You needed someone to represent the fae, right? Well, here I am.” He opened his arms wide and did a little twirl on himself.
Oh yeah, that one was going to be trouble with a capital T.
Chapter Six
Nysys was...interesting. Ani had never met someone who was so blatant in his sexuality or so outstanding. He actually kind of liked the tattoos, but he wasn’t too sure about the piercings, and the hair...yeah, pink was not Ani’s color. It did suit Nysys, though.
“So, how did you find out Dominic was looking for a Nix? And exactly who decided you were the right person to fill the council seat?” Wow, Ani had never heard his cousin being so aggressive without a good reason, but it seemed that Finn had a problem with Nysys. Luckily for them no one was around the kitchen right now, so they wouldn’t scold Finn for nearly insulting a council member.
Ani [Whitedell Pride: 7] Page 9
