Chapter 13 #4
Emory settled down on top of him, not too dissimilarly from how he had laid on top of him earlier in bed.
He continued to groom Cameron, alternating licking his face and hair with licking his own paws.
Once he’d gotten his paws wet enough, he began to bathe Cameron’s shoulders, rubbing his wet fur up and down Cameron’s skin.
His fur wasn’t soft like a cat’s, but it wasn’t coarse like a horse’s pelt either. It was some sort of blissful in between that felt like a warm quilt.
Emory’s tail flicked absently, brushing across Cameron’s feet with every few swipes.
Cameron wiggled a little until Emory shifted his paws to free Cameron’s arms. Having full use of his hands, he ran them back through Emory’s mane until he could grip the back of his head.
He slowly pulled Emory’s huge face down until they could press their foreheads together.
Emory’s big, amber eyes blinked at him and then closed.
Even though he had an apex predator sitting on top of him, Cameron allowed his eyes to close as well, and the apartment fell peacefully still.
His octopus swam up to the surface, but there were no competing emotions or conflicting desires. There was nowhere else on earth they would rather be right now than here, surrounded by their fated mate.
Absently, Cameron thought that this was better than any meditation app or grounding technique he had ever tried. Who knew all he needed was a four-hundred-pound feline to lie on top of him?
The silence stretched, and every muscle in Cameron’s body relaxed until he was no better than a beached jellyfish.
Slowly, something began to shift around him, and the silence was interrupted by a low rumbling noise. It took Cameron a second to realize it was purring.
The vibrations were like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It wasn’t just the sound waves and the movement of muscles against Cameron's body. It was like Emory was transmitting his contentment straight into Cameron and his octopus.
This was a different kind of centered, somehow more active, as Cameron’s skin buzzed everywhere Emory was touching him. He felt alive and safe and—
Emory’s purring ceased, and he flopped over onto his side like he was a house cat.
Shocked out of his reverie and unsure what this change meant, Cameron pushed himself up into a sitting position.
Emory gazed up at him, lazily swishing his tail, and then he tilted his body, raising his top paw up against his chest and extending his hind legs, exposing his long, muscular belly.
It wasn’t a typical pose for an alpha. Cameron froze, not wanting to somehow squander or insult this clear display of openness and vulnerability.
They’d had moments over the past several weeks where Emory had opened up to him, showing him how taxing the past few years had been.
Then he’d cried with Cameron in his closet, and it was like the final wall between them crumbled down.
They’d had several vulnerable conversations the past few days, and it seemed like there would be more to come once Jonathon arrived.
Cameron didn’t take a single one for granted, and he didn’t want to take this moment for granted either. He just wasn’t sure what to do.
Emory watched him carefully, and then he let out a subdued roar. If he’d let loose a real roar, the entire building probably would have shaken. Even so, Cameron’s octopus rolled over, showing his own belly.
Figuring that probably wasn’t helpful for his human self to do, he followed his instincts and scrambled forward onto his knees. Ever so slowly, he reached out a hand and began stroking Emory’s long belly. He purred happily, shaking out his mane in pleasure.
Cameron would have happily continued petting him for the rest of the evening, getting lost in the musculature of his sides and the silkiness of his underbelly fur, except it dawned on him that he was doing all this in silence.
Emory had talked to him the entire time he’d been an octopus, and he’d loved it.
“You’re stunning, Emory,” Cameron whispered, his voice slowly rising to the surface. “Truly, you’re so beautiful. I love you so much, I can’t even describe it.”
Emory stared at him with gorgeous eyes, wiser than those of a beast. His tail swished across the rug, making a soft whooshing noise.
“I’m so thankful I finally get to meet your lion and get to know this side of you. I honestly never believed I would find my fated mate, and if I did, I had no idea it would be like this.”
Emory made a rumbling sound in his chest and closed his eyes. Cameron continued stroking his fur, the significance of the moment pressing in on him until he could barely stand it.
“Oh, Emory… I’m so happy.”
He shocked himself by bursting into tears. He hadn’t cried this much since he was a child, but it felt cathartic. A final release after spending decades recovering from his abusive bio parents and then from Thomas.
Emory startled out of his relaxed position and rolled over into a crouch, all four paws tucked under his body and ready to pounce.
He tilted his head at Cameron and slowly leaned his head forward to sniff at Cameron’s face.
Hesitantly, he licked his cheek, and then, more forcefully, began to lick the tears away.
Cameron tried to push his big head away, but he crawled forward on his belly, pressing Cameron backward until he fell on his butt.
Emory immediately climbed on top of him again, pinning him to the floor and licking his face clean until Cameron wasn’t sure if he was laughing or crying anymore.
“Can…can I shift?” he asked, realizing only after he said it that Emory probably couldn’t understand him.
To his surprise, though, Emory rolled over and shaped his body into a crescent shape, giving him a place to curl up in.
Cameron rotated onto his stomach, staring intently into Emory’s eyes.
“I’m going to shift. Be. Octopus. Yes?”
Emory huffed, and Cameron took that as permission enough.
Cameron pulled off his underwear and chucked them onto the couch.
He crawled forward and curled up against Emory’s flank.
It felt so good against his human skin, he almost wanted to stay human, but his octopus was bouncing up and down with excitement, and he didn’t want to disturb the calm energy of Emory’s lion.
He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, finding a moment’s stillness to shift. As the world shrank and warped around him, he fanned out his tentacles and slid them into Emory’s fur.
The lion let out a happy roar and nuzzled his nose right up under one of Cameron’s tentacles, somehow immediately finding his ink gland. Cameron batted at his nose, not wanting to ruin the nice rug like they’d defiled much of the other furniture in the apartment.
Not deterred in the slightest, Emory tried to lick his ink gland again.
Cameron grabbed a magazine off the couch and haphazardly booped him on the nose.
Emory let out a pitiful mewing noise, raising a paw to cover his face, one big eye peering down at Cameron like he wanted to make sure Cameron was looking.
While Cameron’s human side laughed at the very kitty-like dramatics, his octopus panicked, quickly dropping the magazine and wrapping four tentacles around his paw. He pulled until Emory dropped his paw and scooched his body into a tighter crescent, enveloping Cameron in his warmth.
Cameron wiggled his tentacles happily, settling into the soft rug and his even softer alpha.
Although neither Cameron nor his octopus would have been able to put words to this feeling, they knew that they had finally come home.
This had been all they’d ever wanted: someone to see them, love them, and want to keep them for exactly who they were.
Time seemed to ooze and shift around them. Their animals had no need to keep a close eye on the clock. One of their urges would surely rouse them if they needed to get up. For now, Cameron was safe, warm, and unbelievably happy.
Some time later, it could have been minutes or even hours, Emory’s stomach growled, and he lifted his head. He nudged Cameron with a paw and rumbled at him. Cameron refused to move, turning his head into Emory’s flank.
The texture of Emory’s fur changed, softening into smooth skin. Cameron opened his eyes to see his tall, gorgeous man holding him against his chest.
“Oh, my beautiful love,” he murmured, kissing Cameron’s head.
Cameron wanted to fall back into his semi-dream state, but he was waking up now.
“You can…long as you want. I’m pretty…some soup?”
Cameron’s stomach growled, and he tried to nod but wasn’t sure if that would communicate well across species. He groaned internally and gave up all hopes of a nap. It was much easier to find stillness when his octopus was groggy, and he didn’t even need to close his eyes to shift back.
He ended up awkwardly half on and half off Emory’s chest, and he blamed his octopus for their lack of coordination.
Similar to the last time, Emory crushed their lips together, pressing his tongue into Cameron’s mouth and lapping at him like an ice cream cone.
“Gods, you taste so good. Like salt and brine, but also sweet. Like you.”
Cameron buried his face in Emory’s chest. His octopus was sad they hadn’t gotten to play with his coconut again, but he’d enjoyed having his focus solely on Emory, in both his human and lion form.
“Cameron,” Emory said, and he waited until Cameron looked up at him.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on you whatsoever, but I really like being a lion.
I forgot how much I missed it until we went back to my parents’ house and I ran around with Ronan.
Would it be alright if I shifted more often moving forward? ”
A shadow, or maybe more like a memory, of that prickling sensation ghosted across Cameron’s neck.
“Of course. I’m so sorry I kept that from you for so long.
I’ve always felt extra vulnerable in my shifted form…
probably because it wasn’t safe to shift for most of my formative years, but of course, I know that’s not the case for most shifters.
Ronan shifts almost every time we hang out.
I want you to be able to shift whenever you want. ”
Emory sat up and arranged Cameron in his lap, so he was still tightly held in his arms. “No, honey, it’s alright. I’m glad we waited. This meant so much more to me because we’re in love. I’ve actually been thinking…”
Emory averted his gaze, and his energy shifted. Cameron tried to pinpoint it, reaching out with his octopus, but it was like Emory’s lion was hiding.
“You’ve…been thinking?” Cameron prompted.
Emory’s grip tightened around his back, and he worried his lip between his large teeth.
That prickling feeling came back full force.
Cameron fought the urge to push out of Emory’s arms. His fated mate was very rarely shy.
If something was bothering him, he would tell Cameron.
He wouldn’t make him wonder or guess. The days of mind games and silent treatments were over, even if the adrenaline coursing through him made that hard to believe.
He trusted Emory. He and his octopus trusted Emory, so he forced himself to remain still as Emory fought to find the right words.
“I’m…not upset that we waited,” Emory said slowly, continuing to avoid Cameron’s eyes.
“I know we wanted to wait until the time was right, and it’s so clear to me now that this was the perfect time for us.
But we’re in love now, and we’ve shifted together, and I know we have to discuss it more, but we’re going to mate sometime soon, so… ”
Cameron tried not to squirm, abysmally aware of his nakedness right now. Emory finally looked at him, and his eyes widened as he took in Cameron’s clear discomfort.
His irises flashed amber as his lion growled out the words he’d been trying to say. “Will you move in with me?”
Cameron shouldn’t have been surprised, given that he had been having similar thoughts, but he couldn’t catch himself before his jaw dropped open.
Emory cringed and ducked his head. “I’m sorry. That was probably not the right time or the right way to ask it, but—”
“Yes.”
This time, Emory was the one who failed to hide his surprise. His mouth was frozen in a shocked “o” before his lips turned up into a bashful smile. “Yes?”
Cameron rolled his eyes and squeezed his ridiculous fated mate.
“Yes, of course I’ll move in with you. It’s the obvious next step, and now that we’ve shifted with each other, we can shift more freely around the apartment.
We could even invite Ronan over sometime, and we can all cuddle up together—like at your parents’ house, but even better. ”
That water was back in Emory’s eyes again. “You…would shift with us together?”
Cameron’s octopus nodded for him. “Only if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Emory blinked, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “I’m not your keeper, love. You can shift with whoever you feel comfortable with. If that includes Ronan, or Christopher when you get to that point in your friendship, that’s not just okay with me, it’s…fantastic.”
Cameron’s cheeks ached from how hard he was grinning.
“I love you,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to Emory’s lips.
“I love you, too.”