Chapter 15 #2
Coming out of my thoughts, I blinked when I realized that Alaric was quietly watching me, and that the room was conspicuously absent of bear shifters.
How long had I been lost in my thoughts?
Alaric’s eyes were burning with Elandor’s presence. He tucked a bit of my dark hair behind my ear, then rested a large hand against the back of my neck, his fingers threading through the hair at my nape.
“May I kiss you?” he hoarsely whispered.
I knew what he was asking. I also knew that he wouldn’t force anything I wasn’t ready for. That he and Elandor would understand if my answer was no. They’d be disappointed, but they’d understand.
I didn’t pull away though.
Instead, I drew in a deep breath for courage, drew strength from the heated tenderness in Alaric’s eyes, and nodded.
He moved cautiously, and carefully. Not like I was fragile, but like I was precious. When his warm lips covered mine, I melted into him, wrapping my arms as far around his shoulders as I could.
One of his hands rested against the back of my neck as he guided our mouths together, again and again, gently nipping my lip then soothing it in equal measure until the kiss deepened and I lost all sense of where I was. Almost of who I was.
I’d never thought a kiss could be so tender, and yet so powerful.
When Alaric eased back, Elandor’s presence was shining so brightly from Alaric’s eyes that it was almost physically painful, and I could literally feel him in the room with us. My heart warmed with their presence and their love for me.
Was this the shifter bond? A merging so deep that I could feel it all the way to my soul? I didn’t know. We weren’t bonded yet. But as Alaric kissed me again, I knew I wouldn’t change my mind.
Whatever came next, I was ready for it. And I was all in.
“Thank you,” Alaric whispered. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine, his chest shuddering with his deep emotions.
“Thank you. You have no idea the joy you’ve given us.
The days ahead might be overwhelming for you.
But whatever happens, I will be by your side, sharing your burdens, and lightening your load whenever and wherever I can.
You are my priority. I would make a rubbish Prime without you.
” He swallowed thickly, too emotional to speak for a few moments.
“I don’t want you to ever regret us,” he finally whispered, his glowing green eyes looking wounded at the thought.
“I can’t see the future, but I don’t believe I’ll ever regret you, Alaric.”
I remembered the woman at Alaric’s house and the conversation I’d had with Elandor about others wanting them for their wealth and power.
I’d sensed it that night at Alaric’s cabin, but now I was really starting to see how deeply it had affected them.
To be valued for what you were, not who you were.
.. it still haunted them, and it made my heart ache.
I vowed in that moment never to make them feel that way—and to keep people like that as far from them as I could.
Elandor chuckled. His telepathic voice was warm and full of deep emotion when he said, We can take care of ourselves, treasure, but we do appreciate the thought.
I frowned. Are you asking me not to protect you both?
He thrummed at me, and my tension eased. We would never ask that of you. We’re honored that you want to.
I nodded, decided on my course, and Alaric chuckled low as he pulled me to him again and kissed me.
Later that evening, after a wonderful spaghetti and garlic bread dinner with some of the Clan, I sat with Alaric on a comfy couch in a living room on the second level, away from the noise of the first floor, with Roarke, Emrie, and Alpha Riggs.
Emrie had made us horchata to sip, but there was also a pitcher of ice water on a side table, along with some snacks. Always hungry, I grabbed a few spicy nacho Doritos and a serving of Roarke’s homemade queso.
I closed my eyes. Yum. Roarke had really outdone himself with this queso—I’d have to talk Alaric into making a reservation at one of his restaurants tomorrow evening.
A girl needed junk food every once in a while, especially with how many calories I was burning as a shifter.
That was something I’d never seen in any of the paranormal books I’d read.
They always talked about the insatiable hunger of newborn vampires, but a shifter’s metabolism beat theirs by a mile.
I was constantly hungry, and whatever I ate seemed to barely scratch the surface.
Case in point: we’d just finished dinner, and I was already starving.
Emrie held Roarke’s hand on the couch opposite ours, while Alpha Riggs sat nearby in a recliner.
The room was cozy, and I could tell it had been soundproofed because I couldn’t hear the rest of the Clan below shouting at a TV show, where, from my brief glimpse, it looked like people were doing crazy things to earn money.
“Prime,” Alpha Riggs said in his soft, rumbly voice, “is there anything we can do to help with the succession?”
Alaric shook his head. “Not for you, thank you, though. You’re needed here.” He smiled to soften his next words. “Some of your Clan probably needs constant looking after.”
“He means Taco,” Emrie said with a snort, sipping her horchata.
Alpha Riggs grimaced and sighed. “I try. Taco is a force of nature. He doesn’t take to corralling very well, but if you earn his loyalty, he’ll serve you until his last breath.”
“My dragon got that sense about him,” Alaric said.
“Taco is a spaz, but he’s a good spaz,” Roarke agreed quietly.
He’d been keeping Emrie close. I didn’t think he was worried that Alaric would hurt her; it just seemed dragon-shifter nature to be overly protective.
I was learning to deal with that particular dragon-shifter trait myself.
I had no illusions it would suddenly disappear now that Alaric and I were official.
If anything, it might get worse. I wasn’t bothered too much by it, though.
And if it ever did bother me, I knew I could just talk to Alaric about it.
I finished my queso and reached for the vegetable tray with the homemade dip, helping myself again. The horchata was cool and sweet on my tongue, a nice contrast to the spicy nachos.
Emrie looked at me, wide-eyed, when I sat back down. “I know this is totally rude, but… girl, where are you putting all that food?”
I finished crunching a carrot dipped in herby ranch and took a sip of water before responding.
“Aren’t you constantly hungry as a shifter?
I’m constantly hungry.” I bit into a celery stick filled with creamy, honey-flavored peanut butter and hummed softly under my breath.
I should’ve guessed about the honey. This was a bear-shifter clan, after all.
The peanut butter was really good, but the celery was kinda bland and didn’t really hit the spot.
I set my plate full of crudites down and got up to rummage around on the side table for something different.
I was craving something sweet, something like chocolate cake, but there was nothing sweet on the table other than a tea kettle full of horchata.
“I remember those days,” Roarke said, in answer to my remark about being constantly hungry. “For most shifters it happens in our teen years.”
Emrie nodded, still looking at me with wide-eyed fascination. “Yeah, I went through it as a teen, too.”
“It’s probably because you became a shifter in your adult years. I can make you something else to eat,” Roarke offered, moving to the edge of the couch as if to get up. “Or I can get something delivered from one of my restaurants for you? Anything you want.”
“Ooooh, take that offer, Everly. The food at his restaurants is divine!” Emrie said in sweet appreciation of her mate’s restaurants.
She pulled out her phone, frowned at the dead screen, then stole her mate’s phone from his pocket and looked up at me, waiting for me to give her the go-ahead to dial.
Instead, I sat down again, feeling suddenly awkward to be the main focus of the room.
“Uhh, I think…” I stammered, but Alaric saved me from what I’m sure would have been an embarrassing fumble of words by leaning in and kissing my forehead.
“I’ll go get you something,” he whispered. As he rose and left, he shot a hard glance toward Alpha Riggs and Roarke—one I thought meant stay away from my mate until I get back—but Elandor corrected my misconception, telling me it actually meant: Protect my mate with your life, or I will end yours.
Dragon shifters were really intense.
I could see that same intensity in Roarke, and I, not at all scientifically, concluded that it must be a universal dragon-shifter trait.
After Alaric left, the room grew quiet again.
I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, trying desperately to come up with a topic of conversation that wasn’t Everly-themed.
“So, Emrie, you fix things for a living? I saw you’re working on King Draven and Consort Mia’s library.
I peeked inside, and it looks like it’s coming along really nicely. ”
Emrie lit up and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I do. I normally make things in my shop attached to our house, but I had to take a break from that to focus full-time on the library.”
“It’s massive. I don’t know how you’re doing all of that yourself.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I don’t. I have a few people I’ve hired to work with me. I couldn’t have gotten that massive chandelier up by myself,” she said with a laugh.
Yeah, probably not. That thing had been huge.
“And you, Roarke. How many restaurants do you own?”
“Four—all love letters to Emrie, although it took her forever to realize it,” he teased.
I laughed when she blushed and leaned into him, hiding her cheeks. I’d been right—Emrie was really shy. My heart warmed again. She was trying so hard to make me feel comfortable when she was probably struggling just as much as I was.
I tilted my head in confusion. “Love letters?”