by Riley Storm
The big man cocked his head at her. “So, you’re saying that being naked with me would be fun?” He flipped his boxers off as he finished speaking.
Natalia slowly gave him an elevator stare, from feet, to…what was between his legs, over his abs and past his broad shoulders. “Yes, probably,” she clarified. “But it’s not happening, even if you know how to use that.” She pointed right at his dick, carefully staring for only a few seconds and no longer.
Rolling his eyes, Kirell stepped back another few steps. “I want you to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“You won’t run away this time. Or scream. Please, really don’t scream. You’re perfectly safe, okay? Can you trust me on that?”
Shifting her weight back and forth, she looked around nervously, trying to understand just what he meant. “I guess? I’ll try, how’s that?”
“Good enough,” he said, taking a deep breath that inflated his chest to its fullest. “Now please, just watch.”
Natalia started to give him an exasperated okay, but what she saw next stole the breath and words from her.
Kirell started to morph. There was no other word for it. His body jerked awkwardly, and she thought she could hear bones breaking and changing. His size grew, and he eventually fell over onto all fours. Bit by bit, his limbs re-arranged themselves in a painful-looking process, but he still looked mostly human to her.
That was when the dark brown fur sprouted, first in patches, then eventually spreading to cover his entire body, finishing with his face as it rippled and began to jut forward. Bone-white teeth as long as her fingers emerged from his growing muzzle, those and the reddened eyes combining to give the creature a ferocious look.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, taking a step back, then another. “Kirell? What’s going on? Where did you go? Please.” Her feet shuffled back some more as the bear shook itself, before plopping lazily onto its rear.
This wasn’t some sort of angry, ferocious beast, she knew that much. But where the hell was Kirell? He’d left her, pulling another magic trick. “You said it wasn’t smoke or mirrors! Stop lying to me!”
The bear cocked its head to the side, and made a chuffing noise that, for all the world, made the huge killing machine sound exasperated, like it was frustrated with her. Then it stood up and started waving its paw, pointing at her, then at itself, shaking its head.
“No,” she whispered, her brain coming up with a completely implausible answer to what was going on. “That’s impossible.”
The bear shook its head again.
Natalia stopped moving. “Can you understand me?”
The head bobbed up and down.
“Where is Kirell?”
There was a pause, then the bear pointed to itself. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. The bear pointed upward. She followed the massive paw up…to the stars. The constellation.
“Are you Kirell?” she asked in the tiniest whisper imaginable.
There was a longer pause this time. Then the bear nodded.
“Holy shit.” She took a step back.
Except there was no more ground.
14
He was already forcing himself to change back before Natalia hit the water, and shortly after she surfaced gasping for air, he dove in next to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight, legs firmly planted on the ground below.
“It’s okay,” he said, not letting go as she struggled. “You’re fine now.”
“My phone!” she sputtered, reaching for her pocket and pulling it out of the waterlogged pants, then putting it on the ledge.
She struggled to get out, but he pulled her back. The water was warm, and they needed to talk about what she’d just seen. Now. He couldn’t risk her running away on him. Not now. Kirell had already taken a massive risk by revealing his secret, and the secret of his entire family, to a woman he barely knew. He’d been operating on instinct, going with his gut, which had told him it would be okay to share this. But now he was wondering if it had been a mistake? Perhaps he should have done more preparation before levelling such a bombshell at her?
“Natalia, talk to me,” he said. “Please. Talk. It’ll be easier that way.”
“Easier?” she yelped, sounding slightly hysterical. “What’s easier about you trying to convince me that you can morph into a bear? Not just any bear, either. That thing is huge, and far more muscled than any earth bear.”
“You saw what you saw,” he said. “No magic, as you might call it, no tricks.”
“No tricks. You’re able to morph.”
“Shift.”
She blinked. “Pardon?”
“The term is shifting. We’re shifters. Short for shapeshifters.”
“I know what it’s short for,” she said tartly, then relented. “Sorry. I’m not exactly thinking straight.”
“I don’t blame you. This is a pretty big revelation. You just had your entire world changed.” He squeezed her ever so much tighter, trying to help her relax.
And maybe, just maybe, enjoying the way she feels pressed against you? Trying to cop another feel?
He’d realized earlier that when she’d tried to slip out of her shirt, it had taken her bra with it and he’d fully been cupping her exposed breast, but it hadn’t been sexual. Kirell had simply been attempting to ensure she didn’t flee. He hadn’t taken any sort of perverse pleasure from groping her that way; it just wasn’t his style.
That didn’t mean the idea of touching her in a sexual manner wasn’t beginning to appeal to him the more he talked to her, but that wasn’t something he could act on.
Or think about. You’re vulnerable; she’ll know.
He carefully flexed his legs and abs, draining blood away from a potentially embarrassing situation.
“Are you flexing?” Natalia turned around in his arms to be able to look him in the eye.
“Uh.” His efforts to keep everything down failed. Miserably.
“So, you’re still naked.”
He nodded.
“And, um,” she looked into the water between them. “Fired up.”
Kirell bit his lip uncomfortably. “Yeah. That’s your fault. For being so attractive.”
“My fault,” she said quietly.
“Listen, if I let you go, will you stay? Without running?”
Natalia thought about it, then nodded. “Sure, whatever. You’re still naked and I’m covered in wet clothing. Can we get out now at least?”
Laughing, he agreed, lifting her into his arms without thinking and carrying her to the stairs and out of the water. “More sweats are over there.” He pointed at the chests containing various outfits.
“I see now why you have them all. I take it that clothes don’t make the change with you?”
“Precisely. Sweats are easy to slip into and out of.”
“Unless they’re soaked and stuck to you,” she complained.
He reached over and helped pull the shirt over her head. This time, her bra stayed in place. Wistfully he turned around, wishing he could have glimpsed more of a peek at what she had on underneath, but he respectfully looked away instead, pulling on his own set of clothes after a quick dry off with a spare pair of pants. Then he awkwardly tucked away his erection under the waistband and waited for her to be done changing.
Just go away. There’s no need right now. She’s not here to sleep with me. I need her. The Queen needs her. Don’t fuck this up by trying to fuck her.
Kirell was growing irritated with himself over the whole situation. Always before, he’d been able to control himself, to keep reactions like this under control. Why was he struggling so much with Natalia?
“Do you have anything to drink? Preferably with alcohol,” she asked, flopping down into one of the chairs near the fire.
Kirell very carefully did not stare at the bra and underwear draped over the back of another chair. She was naked under the clothes now, completely naked. His eyes roamed over her, imagination filli
ng in the blanks.
Enough.
“Yes,” he said abruptly. The nearby grilling area was fully stocked with multiple barbecues, countertops, a smoker, roasting pit and—most importantly—three very large and well-supplied beer fridges and a large wine cooler. “Wine or beer?
“Wine, if you have it,” she said gratefully. “Red, if there’s a choice, but right now I’ll drink anything.”
He casually ripped the cork from a bottle and poured her a healthy glassful. Snatching up a pair of beers, he joined her in a nearby seat.
“Cheers to…learning new shit,” she said with a laugh, holding out her glass.
He clinked his beer bottle against it and took a big sip. Then another. Before he could arrange his thoughts, Natalia spoke again.
“I guess the million-dollar question, Kirell, is why the fuck did you show me that? Assuming it’s not actually a magic trick, despite what you’ve been saying.”
Smiling into his beer, he took another long sip. Unceasingly she continued to surprise him with her mental fortitude and ability to adapt to new and unusual situations. So far, he hadn’t regretted letting her approach him the night before, and he was beginning to suspect she was exactly the sort of person he needed to pull his little charade off.
“I told you—because it’s a necessary thing to know if you’re going to help me out.”
Natalia drank deep. “And what if I go blabbing to everyone?”
Snorting, he raised his bottle in her direction again. “You are welcome to it. You have no proof. Everyone would call you crazy and you’d be committed to a psych ward.” He almost stopped there, but then continued after a moment. “Plus, I get a good vibe about you. I believe you’ll keep quiet.”
“And,” she prompted quietly.
Kirell hadn’t wanted to say the words, but if she needed to hear them, then so be it. “And if you don’t, you go back to your homeland.”
15
It wasn’t spoken as a threat, but that didn’t change a thing. He had her backed into a corner—and they both knew it.
Buying herself some time, she took another sip of the wine. It helped that it was extremely pleasant and had a full-bodied taste to it. She suspected in any other environment she’d get drunk off it far too easily. The hangover would be brutal, I’m sure.
“Is this real? Can you really do that? Shift, I mean.”
“Yes.”
Finally, she tore her gaze away from the fire and levelled it at him, watching his eyes for any sign of deceit or trickery. But the cobalt irises stayed locked firmly on her, never wavering. He was telling the truth.
“How the hell does nobody know about this? I mean…look at this place? How do you stay under the radar? Does the government know?”
Kirell shook his head. “No. Not to our knowledge at least. As to how? We keep the people who aren’t shifters but who know about us, very very small. We take extreme measures to keep it that way.”
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. This time, the threat had been very visible. Natalia didn’t need to ask what he’d meant by that; there was no need. She’d heard death threats before, back in her homeland. They were never phrased as such, but one learned to know what certain statements actually meant.
“I still don’t understand what this all has to do with me? Why do you need me to know about all this?”
She watched him drain the last of his beer, realizing it was actually his second.
“That’s where it gets more complicated. Refill?”
Nodding, she gave him her glass, waiting as patiently as possible while he topped it off, albeit with a smaller portion this time around. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who recognized that if she kept drinking at the same pace, she’d be wasted in short order. Right now, being impaired was a bad idea. She made a note to ensure this glass lasted twice as long.
“What you need to know, is that when I refer to my House, I’m not talking about the building. I’m talking about the people.”
Leaning forward, she listened intently; this was probably the most information anyone who wasn’t a shifter had received about the Ursa family in who knew how long. Natalia couldn’t deny the fact she was somewhat thrilled and excited to be given a deep look into this supposedly secret society. What other secrets was she going to learn along the way?
“The people?”
“Yes. The Ursa family is not related by blood, in the traditional sense that you would think. There are multiple families as you know them, all bound by one thing.”
Natalia nodded in understanding now. “You’re all shifters. Hence Ursa, the bear constellation. But you’re not all directly related.”
“Precisely. The House is controlled by—I guess you’d call it a hierarchy. You can see how massive it is. We need people to oversee various aspects. The exact specifics of all of them don’t really matter. What does matter, is that I’ve been nominated to the position of Captain. I’m in charge of the security of the House, the guards who maintain the safety of it and the people inside.” He paused. “Or at least, I will be if I’m appointed to the position.”
She recognized her cue. “Why wouldn’t you be?”
“Technically, to be eligible, you need to have a mate.”
“Which is where I come in.”
Kirell snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Exactly.”
“Right. Okay. I understand that. Sort of. I just have one question.”
Leaning back into his chair he invited her to continue with a hand wave. “Ask it. Anything.”
“What the hell is a mate?”
The big man laughed, deep chuckles vying with the crackle of the fire. “It’s kind of complicated to explain in exact detail. There’s some science to it, not some sort of magical arm-wavy stuff, though that also plays a factor. What it means, however, is that a mate is the one person that a shifter will spend the rest of their life with.”
She worked her jaw slowly as understanding sank in. “Like a wife. A marriage, you mean. Just with different terms?”
“There’s more to it than that. This is more permanent. Divorce isn’t really an option.”
“It’s not? I thought I was just here to—”
He held up a hand sharply, looking around. Then he lifted a finger to his lips and came over to her. “Remember. You have to pretend like we’re together. We should be safe out here, but I’d rather not take chances. Not everyone is my best friend.”
Politics. She hated politics. Of course, a House like this would have them.
“Am I in any danger?” she more mouthed than spoke.
He shook his head. “No, darling, you’ll be fine.” He spoke in a normal voice, giving her head a gentle stroke before taking his seat again.
“You trust me with all this information?”
“You’re my mate,” he said, just a tad forcefully, emphasizing that he knew it wasn’t the truth. “You have to find out sooner or later. May as well bring you into the mix now, instead of trying to keep secrets from you.”
“As you say, darling.” She relaxed into her chair as much as possible, eyes darting around outside the firelight.
Kirell seemed embarrassed about having spoken so freely before that he was trying to make up for it now, but she had questions. Questions that had to do with their deal, not what he wanted everyone to believe.
“I’m cold.” She got up abruptly, making a decision. There was no time to rethink it.
“Oh. I can help with that,” Kirell replied as she climbed into his lap, resting her head so she could speak directly into his ear.
“I’m sure you can.” Tentatively, she reached out and kissed him on the cheek, for the benefit of everyone watching. “Don’t get any ideas,” she whispered. “How long do I need to keep this up?”
He chewed on his lip, thinking it over while she waited for an answer. “Officially, the ceremony is in a little less than two days.”
Tingles ran down her neck as he spoke into her ear from so close
. Dammit, why did he have to feel so comfortable to sit upon? She had snuggled up into his arms as if it was something they’d done hundreds of times before, immediately finding a spot that she could curl up in. Now he was giving her chills just from talking.
“I sense a but in there.”
He smiled. “A few weeks would be best.”
A few weeks of acting like he was her life partner wasn’t a huge ask, especially not for what she was getting out of it. Money and a means to stay in-country.
“What do you need from me?
“To stay here. With me, at the House.”
She stiffened. “That wasn’t a request.”
“I won’t kill you if you decline,” he said just as quietly, but without humor. “You will, however, sign a legal document before you go that will ruin you if you speak about what you saw here or what we agreed to.”
“Right.”
Natalia looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath as she tried to process everything that had just happened.
The stars above her were spinning rapidly across the sky. In fact, her entire world was turning. “I need to stand up,” she said, abruptly squirming to her feet.
But the spinning only got worse. Her brain was having a hard time accepting all she’d just been told, and the wine was making it worse.
“Kirell?” She was shocked at how weak and distant her voice sounded. “I think I need to lie down somewhere.”
He was there immediately, arm around her upper back, holding her steady. “Natalia? Natalia?”
“Goodnight,” she said as the world faded to black and she passed out.
16
Less than thirty-six hours to go.
He swore silently at the internal clock that wouldn’t let him forget how the time was ticking down; he still wasn’t sure Natalia would be able to hold up her end of the bargain. Things had been going well, he’d thought, but all at once it had caught up to her and she’d passed out in his arms.
It was now eight in the morning and she hadn’t shown any sign of stirring. Lying on his stomach on the ground next to his bed, Kirell tried not to fidget. The last thing he wanted was to wake her.
