11. Adan
ELEVEN
ADAN
The seconds ticked by and became minutes, each one stretching into a future with no end. If Excellency didn’t approve, I’d have to tell Braylon I had a pet wolf and somehow twist that into talking about shifters.
“I’m curious about who you texted. Your folks?”
I shook my head, not trusting myself to seek. My wolf was itching to take his fur and end the shenanigans. He wasn’t a fan of the tats, saying the wolf looked nothing like him.
“Just tell me you’re not part of a cult.” He grabbed my face and our eyes locked on one another.
The phone rang, and I avoided answering Braylon. A pack was nothing like a cult. Though looking at it from the outside, especially the ones that adhered to rules formed centuries ago, it might look that way, with shifters having to obey their Alpha, with no questions allowed.
Excellency’s face appeared on the screen and Braylon yelled, “I knew you were related. Is this your grandfather?”
Excellency scowled, and Braylon muttered, “Favorite uncle, perhaps? Much too young to be a grandfather unless you had kids when you were ten.” He gulped, his face reddened, and he continued to talk. “Not that you would have because that would be bad. So bad.”
He ran a hand over his face. “Gods, I’m digging myself in deeper.” But he didn’t stop. “I’m so glad you’re not a cult. Adan said you weren’t, and I don’t think I could marry into a cult. Maybe.”
He finally took a breath. “Okay, I’ll stop talking now.”
Apart from my mate’s ragged breathing, silence filled the car.
“Did you?—?”
I’d never cut off Excellency before, and I probably never would again, but the tension was excruciating. I was wobbling on a tightrope with hundreds of feet of empty space below, and the man on the screen was standing opposite me on that tightrope, refusing to let me pass to Braylon who was waiting on the other side.
“No. I did everything you asked.”
I dared not look at my mate because we were sounding more like a cult every second, or a dysfunctional family. Instead, I squeezed his hand, the one without the tattoo because that was hurty.
“Braylon, tell me about Adan. His good and bad qualities.”
I couldn’t avoid my mate’s gaze, and I gave him the phone.
“He embraces nature and all the creatures of the forest. He’s curious and notices things I would ignore. Dogs love him, he’s not ashamed of his own body, and he’s very protective of me.”
“Sounds like the perfect mate.”
Braylon drew in a sharp breath. “Not a mate, no. Yes, he’s my friend, but he’s also so much more. He’s my life partner.” He gulped. “I can’t believe I said that but it’s what’s in here.” He patted his chest.
Excellency turned his attention to me. “You did well, Adan. You may not have marked him but he has your mark. I give you permission to show him all of you.”
“I’ve already seen his cock, and I have to say it is impressive!” Braylon blurted out.
“And on that note, I’ll say goodbye. I’d look forward to seeing you soon.” Shifters weren’t weirded out by nudity, but Excellency’s face suggested he wasn’t interested in hearing my dimensions.
“Can we please have sex now?” Braylon groped me, and my dick engorged. “And afterward you can explain the secret.” He giggled. “Unless this was it.” He stroked my jeans covering my bulge. “The very big secret.”
My hands resting on the steering wheel were telling me to drive straight to a hotel. But I owed Braylon an explanation first. If he knew just how big the reveal was, he would agree. Though how he was stroking me and attempting to lower my zipper, he might disagree.
“I’ll tell you my secret.”
He paused his fondling. “Now? Here?”
“Just outside of town.” On the Rosedale road, there was some wooded land a couple of miles outside the city. I could shift there. My beast wouldn’t be hunting. He’d take his fur, Braylon might faint, I’d be me again and catch him. I couldn’t predict any more than that.
“I’m going to be blunt, Adan. I’m offering you my heart and my hole and you want to galavant in the great outdoors?”
“There’ll be no roaming. It’ll be quick, I promise.” He might run and never look back, but if I couldn’t be honest, there was no point in us mating. “Trust me?”
He hesitated and took my hand. “Okay,” he sighed.
I put my foot down, needing to get the shift over. Yes, I wanted to have sex, but my mate had to know he was my mate and we’d be bound together until one of us went to the goddess.
“You might want to stay in the car.” I leaned in the car window.
“No way. You have built this up for days. I want the full show. Do you provide popcorn?”
He wasn’t taking this seriously, but he had nothing similar to compare it to. And joking was often used as a barrier to hide behind.
“Remember all the qualities you listed: protective, dog whisperer, at one with nature.”
He folded his arms. “I’m considering adding to the list: prankster.”
Time was ticking on and my belly roiled. The moment was now, and I was terrified of his reaction. No shifter could imagine how a human would react to seeing his beast. Nothing that I came up with could be as drastic and possibly traumatic. I just had to push through and help my mate deal with whatever came next.
I undressed quickly and stood aways away from Braylon. “Remember, no matter what you see, I will always be me.” The last word was almost lost in the wind as my beast took his fur.
I told him to not make any sudden moves but to stay still, allowing Braylon to see and smell me. Perhaps if he gathered his courage, he might run his fingertips over my wolf’s fur.
Like my wolf, Braylon didn’t move. He blinked, so he wasn’t in a trance. His hands curled and fisted, even the owie one with the tat. His staccato breathing reminded me of a high-pitched tune played on a violin. He gulped and bit down hard on his bottom lip.
And when his mouth parted, he uttered one word: “Adan.”
That was my signal to return as me. Taking him in my arms, he rested his head on my bare shoulder but pulled away and ran his hands over my face, as a blind person would do, feeling the dips and curves of my mouth, nose, cheeks, and chin.
He sagged against me, and I carried him to the car and offered him water before I pulled on my pants. He didn’t say anything, just sipped the water and studied the tat on his hand.
“Tell me what I just saw.”
Kneeling on the grass in front of him, I explained the history of shifters and how we kept our beasts hidden from humans but that shifters had lived on earth for centuries.
“And the guy you spoke to earlier? Is he the big boss?”
“Basically.” I added that shifters were not allowed to reveal their beasts to humans unless they were their one true mate.
Braylon stood up, his lips trembling. “And I’m not your… m-mate?”
“You are, but Excellency changed the rules because some people fucked up, and he wouldn’t let me reveal my wolf. I had to get creative.”
He leaped up and flung his arms around me. “You could have taken me to bed and promised me the world.” He placed a hand on my heart. “But you refused, wanting me to see all of you.” He stifled a giggle. “Did I interrupt you… changing into a wolf in the woods yesterday?”
“Yeah.” It would have been simpler if I’d shifted, and I could have explained to Excellency it was a mistake.
“I love you, Adan.” We kissed, and he mumbled into my mouth. “I have so many questions, but they can wait.” He leaned back, his eyes studying mine. “Unless you have something else to show me.”
“My cock is eager to escape my pants, but that’s it.”
“Let’s get a room.”
“Wait. I need to mark you properly or my wolf does. And once we bond, it’s for life. There are no take-backsies.”
“Do what you gotta do. Not on the hand, though.”
My wolf extended his claws and scratched Braylon’s shoulder. He pressed his lips together and squeezed his eyes shut but didn’t whimper or cry. I mopped the trickle of blood with my shirt.
“Can I mark you too?”
He could have chosen any part of me, but he used his nails to break the skin on my chest, over my heart. A tiny scar would form, a permanent reminder that I was his.
“Now put your foot on the accelerator and get us to a hotel.” He tapped a message on his phone. “Telling my aunt and uncle not to expect us until tomorrow.”
The phone beeped.
“What did they say?”
He turned the phone around, revealing a big red heart emoji.