Chapter 12 #2
Emory snarled and lurched forward, breaking out of Ronan’s hold as his claws extended and his tail sprouted in his jeans. He felt his hair thickening and his teeth getting even longer as his lion clawed his way to the surface.
“Emory, stop!” Ronan whisper-shouted, grabbing him around the waist again.
Emory’s shoulders hunched forward, and he bent over the back of the couch, claws sinking into the fabric as his lion fought to take over.
“For fuck’s sake, Em, what if Cameron comes out and sees you? You want his first encounter with your lion to be you in an alpha rage?”
Emory closed his eyes and snarled.
“I know, buddy…I know. Families can be shit. Cameron knows that first-hand, but you two have each other now. You’re each other's family, and Cameron told me how well it went with your mother. You just need to get through tomorrow, or even say fuck it and leave in the morning, but you have to get through tonight, okay?” Ronan soothed, running his hand up and down Emory’s spine.
It was a comforting gesture he’d done hundreds of times, and Emory slowly relaxed into it.
“There you go, big kitty. Now let's take our claws out of the nice furniture.”
Emory huffed, and his lion did, too, but he slowly retracted his claws. He let his hands hang limply by his side as his hair and teeth returned to normal.
“Feel better?” Ronan asked.
Emory couldn’t speak. Not yet. He was afraid that only a scream would come out. Instead, his lion had them lurching forward, wrapping Ronan up in a tight hug.
“I’ve got you, Em,” Ronan murmured. “We’ll get through this together, okay? I can stay the night. I’m sure I still have clothes in the guest quarters.”
“You can stay here. You can wear some of mine,” Emory growled, and Ronan nodded against his chest.
They stayed like that for a while, and Ronan shared a few more of his observations with Emory.
“It’s like a schoolyard. I don’t understand what her problem is with Cameron,” Emory growled.
“She’s always had a weird obsession with you. Sort of like she wanted you to like her or approve of her or something. I used to wonder if it was because she wanted an in with your company.”
“I think my grandfather offered her a position, and she said no.”
Ronan shrugged, and the overhead light accentuated the dark circles under his eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you. She definitely seems to think someone of Cameron’s ‘stature’ shouldn't end up with someone like you.”
Emory growled, but it was softer now. He felt about as tired as Ronan looked. Gods knew how tired Cameron must be. His lion paced back and forth, growling and snarling, unable to process the swirl of rage, disappointment, and pain Emory was experiencing.
Emory could feel Ronan’s agitated energy wrapping around him. He could imagine Ronan’s rabbit thumping the ground, like he did when they were bratty kids, refusing to come in from the yard when their parents called.
“Maybe we should go for a run?” Emory suggested, and his lion roared in agreement.
“That’s probably a good idea.”
“Alright. Let me tell Cameron,” Emory tried to say, but Ronan shook his head.
“I got it, big guy. I think you might give yourself away since your tail is still out and about.” Ronan affectionately patted the bulge under the back of Emory’s shirt, and he harrumphed.
Emory could hear the familiar up-and-down cadence of their voices through the door.
He wanted to curl up like a kitten in a puddle of sunshine and bask in it.
He took a step towards the room, but Ronan emerged holding two pairs of sweats, t-shirts, and sweatshirts.
They changed, and Emory managed to get his tail under control by the time they emerged into the yard.
It was still sleeting, and he wasn’t really wearing the right shoes for it, but the second his feet touched the grass, he broke into a jog.
They started by running around the perimeter of the estate, and Emory tried to keep his pace under control.
He could hear Ronan’s labored breathing next to him, though, and he knew he was putting some of his alpha strength into his legs.
Ronan began to lag behind by the third lap, and Emory’s lion pawed at the ground.
“I’m going to shift,” Emory said, ripping his sweatshirt and shirt over his head.
“Okay,” Ronan panted, yanking his off as well. A few moments later, Emory leaped into the air with his two feet and landed on four paws.
Ronan landed next to him in his Flemish Giant rabbit form.
Shifter species that were smaller than humans were often a little bigger than normal animals in their shifted form.
Likewise, shifters whose beasts were bigger than humans were typically smaller than their wild brethren.
Ronan was around the size of a medium-sized dog, while Emory was on the smaller side for a lion but still sizable due to his alpha gender.
They took off at a run, and although Emory was bigger and stronger, Ronan was lithe and quite fast. They kept pace with each other as they ran lap after lap, like they had when they were children.
Back then, Emory had so few worries. He and his lion could let their minds bleed together, honing in on the smells and sounds of the yard, forgetting everything that plagued them in their human form.
Tonight, he couldn’t get his mind to settle. Both he and his lion were aching—for their mate, for their future together, but also for their father and Jonathon. How different the week would have been if either of them had been here.
Emory was so tired. He’d been carrying so much for so long.
His mom saw it, his friends saw it, and it was obvious Cameron saw it, too.
They’d come home to get ‘permission’ for mating, but Emory knew he didn’t need permission.
What he needed was more time to dedicate to his mate.
As he ran, his lion pushed memory after memory to him of every time they had left Cameron’s side the past few days, as well as every canceled plan, delayed text message, and missed call back in the city.
This had to stop, and Emory was the only one who could stop it.
By the eighth lap, Ronan began to slow, and he finally pulled to a stop in front of their discarded clothing, twitching an ear in inquiry.
Emory trotted over and shook out his mane, letting the rush of the run slowly ease out of his muscles. Ronan hopped over to him and stood on his hind legs, pressing his head against the bottom of Emory’s jaw. They nuzzled and took turns scenting each other before they shifted back.
“Things are going to change,” Emory said, as he yanked his clothes back on. Ronan watched him, his eyes knowing but forever patient. “I’m not entirely sure how, but I swear, I’m not going to let this happen again.”
Ronan nodded, as if it were somehow as simple as that.
“I haven’t run like that in a while,” Ronan said conversationally as they made their way back to the house. “Maybe we can go to the shifter park in town sometime.”
Emory cringed internally, but he squared his shoulders and realized that this, too, had to change. “We absolutely should, and we will. I promise.”
Again, all Ronan did was nod and wrap an arm around the middle of Emory’s back. As they climbed the stairs, Ronan leaned a little of his weight on Emory, and Emory took it, just enough to lighten his steps.
They found Cameron curled up on the couch, dressed in one of Emory’s undershirts and a pair of his boxers. He’d had to roll them up several times to make them fit, and they revealed his long, gorgeous legs.
Emory was sweaty, and he had no desire to embarrass either of the two men with an elaborate display of affection, but his lion was still front and center after the run, and he needed their mate.
He walked across the room, telegraphing his intentions as he bent over and pressed a soft kiss to Cameron’s lips.
Cameron made a surprised noise in the back of his throat before reaching up and tangling his fingers in Emory’s hair. Their mouths slotted together effortlessly, and Emory did everything he could to pour his new conviction into the kiss.
“I call the bed!” Ronan shouted, bolting into the bedroom and slamming the door.
Emory choked on a laugh, and Cameron giggled before pulling him into another kiss. Emory pressed him into the couch and climbed on top of him, desperately needing more. More contact, more kisses, more of these tiny stolen moments he was frantically trying to build into a life together.
“Is everything okay?” Cameron asked several minutes later. His pupils were blown wide, and his breathing was labored, but there was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there all week.
“Yes, honey, everything’s fine now,” he squeezed Cameron tightly and pressed a few more kisses to his lips, his cheeks, and his forehead.
“Should we go reclaim our bed?” Cameron asked, kissing the tip of Emory’s nose.
Emory liked that. Their bed. He hoped that after this trip, a lot more things would become theirs...like his outrageously large apartment.
“Yes, let’s go make him so uncomfortable he gives up his claim,” Emory said with a playful growl.
They found Ronan in his rabbit form, stretched long across the top half of the bed.
Cameron had walked in on him in his shifted form a few weeks back, and since then, he’d been much freer about shifting around Cameron.
Ronan had always claimed smaller shifters needed to shift more often—something about anxious energy.
Emory suspected that might just be a rabbit thing, but he never pushed the matter.
Unwilling to remove his adorable best friend from their bed, Emory ruffled his ears and headed into the bathroom for a shower. He returned to find Ronan curled protectively against Cameron’s side. Ronan looked up when Emory walked in, but made no move to get up.
Emory climbed into bed, and the urge to shift was overwhelming, but he forced himself to lie down, curling around Cameron on the opposite side, so they had him surrounded.