Chapter 9
ELODIE
Isat there for a moment, the weight of what Garner had told me pressing in. It felt like I was standing at the edge of something that could change the shape of my life if I stepped forward.
I considered the man he’d shown me in the short time we’d known each other. The trust he’d built was strong enough for me to give in to our chemistry. To give him my virginity last night.
He had caught me when I fell, fed me when I was starving, gave me a safe place to sleep, and never once made me feel like I owed him for any of it.
All my life, I’d felt like I was slightly out of step with the world. I’d moved from house to house, place to place. Always bracing for the moment I’d be told it was time to go. Again.
Maybe there was a reason for that. One that meant good things for my future.
I stood, the blankets sliding from my lap, and crossed the short distance between us. Garner’s eyes tracked me, alert but restrained, as if he was holding himself perfectly still on purpose.
“You said I don’t owe you anything,” I murmured.
“I meant it,” he replied quietly, fisting his hands at his sides.
“But I think I owe it to myself to find out what being your fated mate means.” I flashed him a soft smile. “And that starts with you showing me.”
For a heartbeat, he didn’t move. Then his eyes filled with awe, as though I’d just handed him something priceless.
“Just know you don’t have anything to be afraid of. My cougar would never hurt you. He’d protect you with his life.”
He hadn’t given me any reason not to believe him. A fragile hope unfurled in my chest, and then all coherent thought vanished when he shoved his pajama pants down his legs.
At my shocked look, he grinned. “There’s nothing supernatural about my clothes.”
“Oh.” My cheeks heated as I tried my best not to stare at his dick…and remember how it’d felt to have him inside me. Now wasn’t the time, so I forced my gaze up again.
Garner took a slow step back and gestured toward the center of the room. “Before I do anything, I want you to know what to expect. My shift won’t be violent. It doesn’t hurt me.”
I nodded, my pulse loud in my ears. “Okay.”
He rolled his shoulders once, like he was grounding himself, then planted his bare feet firmly on the wood floor.
“I’ll still be me,” he added. “You’ll recognize my eyes, and my human side will be completely aware the whole time.”
That eased my nerves. “I’m ready.”
Garner closed his eyes. The change didn’t come with snapping bones or anything grotesque. His body folded inward and outward at the same time, his muscles reshaping and mass redistributing. His spine lengthened. His shoulders broadened. And his skin darkened beneath a ripple of tawny fur.
I sucked in a sharp breath, awed by what I was seeing. A massive cougar crouched where Garner stood moments ago. Powerful and sleek, his presence filled the room without overwhelming it.
His tail flicked once behind him. His chest rose and fell with a steady breath. And when he opened his eyes, I discovered he was right. That same amber-gold gaze met mine, alert in a way no wild animal could be.
He lowered himself slowly, until he lay on the floor with his forelegs folded beneath him. Then he waited, watching me.
My heart hammered as I moved forward until I knelt in front of him. My hand hovered for a second before I let myself reach out, my fingers sinking into impossibly soft fur. Solid muscle shifted beneath my touch.
A low rumble vibrated through him, sounding an awful lot like contentment.
“You really are you, even like this,” I breathed.
As I rested my palm against his powerful shoulder, I realized that him sharing this secret had cemented something for me. I trusted him fully, like I never had with anyone else.
After I spent some time with his cougar, Garner shifted back with the same control he’d shown before. His fur receded beneath skin until he was standing there as a man again, eyes locked on mine. He tugged his pajama pants on, then immediately crossed the room to me.
“Did I scare you?” he asked, dropping to a crouch in front of me.
I shook my head, surprised by how calm I felt. My heart was still racing, but it wasn’t fear driving it. I was surprised that it felt more like excitement.
“Not at all.”
His shoulders eased, as though he’d been holding tension in his body while he waited for my answer. Then he sat beside me on the edge of the bed, close enough that our knees brushed, but he didn’t crowd me. Just gave me space to figure out what I wanted to say.
His restraint did more to steady me than anything else.
“I never had a place where I felt like I belonged.” The words slipped out before I’d fully planned them. “I was bounced from group and foster homes ever since I was abandoned at a fire station when I was a newborn. Which meant I moved around a lot growing up, as far back as I can remember.”
“Shit, Elodie.” Only then did he reach for me, interlacing our fingers and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry.”
I shrugged. “I’ll probably never know why my parents didn’t want me. And I learned early not to get attached, because nothing ever lasted.”
He shook his head, his jaw tightening.
“I always felt like I was visiting someone else’s life,” I continued. “Like I was taking up space I wasn’t meant to stay in.”
Garner turned slightly toward me then. “You won’t ever have to feel that way again. Not with me. And not with anyone else here.”
There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice. “I’m glad you think so, but you can’t speak for your friends.”
“You don’t get it yet, but you will.” He shook his head. “The Wilderness Pack isn’t like most shifter groups. We’re small on purpose. Keane built it that way as our alpha.”
“Alpha?” I echoed, testing the unfamiliar word.
“Alpha doesn’t mean he’s an overbearing tyrant.
It means he’s responsible for making sure everyone has what they need.
And keeping everyone safe.” He searched my expression to see how I was taking his explanation before he added, “Leyton’s not just his brother.
He’s also his second in command—his beta. They balance each other.”
“And you?” I asked.
“Cougars are different from most shifter breeds. Litters, our version of packs, tend to be smaller because we’re more solitary by nature.
That’s why this place worked for me, even with bears, wolves, and a dragon mixed in.
And our numbers growing as my packmates find their fated mates and build their families.
” A corner of his mouth lifted. “I’ve always liked traveling for work.
Months at a time, moving from one project to the next.
And since I don’t have a leadership role in the pack, Keane has been fine with me continuing that way. ”
I liked the sound of that. Traveling toward a destination instead of running from the last place.
I wondered what his schedule would look like now that he’d found me. If I’d be able to go with him.
He must’ve seen the thought cross my face, because he murmured, “Nothing about your future has to be decided today, sweetheart. I’ve already given you a fuck ton to wrap your head around.”
“Knowing this about you. About me.” I pressed my palm lightly to my chest. “It explains so much. Why I never wanted anyone before you. Why this doesn’t feel wrong. And maybe even why I never felt like I belonged anywhere until you found me.”
His gaze held mine as he admitted, “I hate to know you went through all that, but I like that you think you might’ve been waiting for me.”
We sat there for a moment, our knees touching as the quiet wrapped around us. It felt peaceful.
Knowing what he was hadn’t pushed me away.
It anchored me.
And for the first time I could remember, the world didn’t feel like something I had to brace myself against.
It felt like somewhere I could stay. Finally.