Chapter 20
Reif could feel his mate’s bond grow stronger the closer he got to the marina, forcing him to speed up as the need to be claimed grew stronger until his beast was roaring in frustration.
I hear you buddy but I’m going as fast as I can.
Struggling to keep from shifting, Reif frantically looked around, hoping to find a private place where he could let his beast loose as his hold on him began to fail.
Just in time, he felt a hand on his back, calming his beast with love.
“Hold on a little longer,” Kieran murmured. “We’re almost there. Don’t worry, Brian is waiting for you.”
Reif nodded, afraid if he spoke, he’d lose his concentration now focused on keeping his beast inside him.
Rounding the corner of the street leading to the marina, he saw his mate, standing with two shifters who’d been at his house, hugging one of them.
White hot jealousy seared his heart, the pain cutting deep causing Reif to stumble before catching himself.
Seeing pain and doubt reflected in Brian’s eyes, a heart-rending sound broke from Reif’s throat.
Needing to reassure his mate, he broke into a run, wanting to surround Brian with his love.
Zane glanced over his shoulder, eyes widening as he saw Reif barreling toward them. Quickly taking David’s arm, he pulled him away from Brian and into his arms, protecting his mate from the jealousy radiating from Reif. “C’mon babe, time for us to leave,” Zane murmured to his mate.
“But Brian…” protested David.
“He’ll be fine, Reif’s here and they need to talk,” Zane whispered, leading David over to Logan, Kieran, and Fionn who had arrived.
Skidding on some lose gravel, Reif nearly fell until he felt his mate’s hands grab him before letting him go after he’d steadied himself.
Facing Brian for the first time, he watched his mate’s eyes travel the length of his body, stopping at the bulge in his pants.
Then they resumed their journey downward before returning to meet his.
Seeing the interest in Brian’s eyes, Reif let out the breath he was holding, relieved his gorgeous mate hadn’t rejected him.
“Brian, thank you for giving me a chance to explain…I’m sorry I…hurt you, it…”
Holding up his hand, Brian said, “Nae here. Too many ears. We can talk on my boat or if ye rather, at my cottage.”
“Wherever you want.”
“Ay, then, tis my cottage. We won’t be interrupted there.
” Turning, Brian forced himself to walk towards his friend’s waiting helicopter.
Letting out his breath silently when he heard his mate following him, his trust in Reif was still lacking.
His serpent, though, had no such misgivings, coiling, and uncoiling in a sensuous mating dance, enticing its mate to come closer for claiming.
Mumbling to himself about the salacious behavior of his sea serpent, he opened the chopper door, hefting himself up into a seat behind the pilot.
Buckling up, Brian ignored his mate sitting next to him, still angry about his behavior.
As they lifted off, only one thought ran through his mind; Reif better have a damn good reason for kissing and then running away.
~/~/~/~/~
Engulfed by the chilly night air after climbing out of the helicopter, Reif realized he hadn’t taken the time to pack a bag; all he had was the clothes he wore.
Of course, if we can patch things up it won’t matter because we’ll be spending most of our time naked, anyway.
But considering the cold shoulder he received from Brian in the chopper, Reif had a feeling Kieran was right about him having to grovel before anything else would happen.
Once inside, he leaned against the front door, watching his mate start a fire, after which he disappeared into another room which he was guessing was the bedroom.
Reif waited, but other than hearing some slamming of drawers, there was no indication his mate was even there with him.
Sighing, he walked over to the chair near the fire, flopping down, wondering what to do next.
It seemed his mate’s silence was going to continue.
Reif’s previous efforts to apologize while they were in flight to the cottage had been met with grunts, at best, until he finally fell quiet hoping Brian would be more receptive after they landed, but his offers to help had been ignored.
Now, sitting alone, he was unsure what he should do to convince his mate he’d made a mistake when he left after the kiss, that it was ignorance, and nothing else.
The problem was it didn’t explain why he rejected Brian when he spoke with Kieran.
And when he found out his mate loved him, he suddenly understood the emotional turmoil he’d been suffering ever since the kiss.
How could he ever explain his stupidity when he should’ve known better at his age? It was just a muddled mess.
“Are ye hungry?” Brian asked.
Lost in his musing, it took Reif a moment to realize his mate was standing in front of the fireplace, waiting for an answer to a question he hadn’t heard. Shit! “Uh…”
“I asked if yer hungry.”
“Yes, food’d be great. Can I help?”
“Naw, I’m guid,” Brian said, walking to the kitchen.
Staring at his mate walking away from him yet again, Reif was pissed off; he decided it was time to put an end to the silence. Following Brian, he sat at the island, watching his mate as he moved around the small kitchen. “Come here, much?” Reif asked.
“When I can,” replied Brian.
At least he’s talking to me. But considering the short answers, he was betting his mate was still angry. Fuck this. “I didn’t know my kiss would claim you…had I known, I’d never have done it.”
Whipping around with the frying pan in his hand, Brian spat, “Guid to know ye did nae want me.”
“What? I didn’t say that!”
“Ay, ye did. What I canna understand is, if ye did nae want me, why were ye on my boat?”
“I do want you!”
Banging the frying pan down on the stone countertop, Brian spat, “That’s a lie. Ye kissed me and then, without a how-do-ye do, ye left me…to DIE!”
Reif’s jaw dropped when Brian shouted at him.
Then, shutting his mouth, he was at a loss at how to apologize for something he never knew would hurt his mate.
If he had only understood what it meant when he kissed Brian, he wouldn’t have left—but his mate thought otherwise.
Remembering Kieran’s advice, Reif began again.
“I live on an island called Angelopoulos. It was given to my people by the gods in exchange for our promise never to steal again.”
When he saw Brian’s eyes narrow, Reif continued, “You see, we were created by a god who wanted his own private band of thieves who would do his bidding…which mostly meant our job was to steal from other gods. Sometimes it was done by trickery, but usually we just concealed ourselves.”
“Ye can become invisible?” asked Brian, curious in spite of his anger and hurt.
“Yes…well, not exactly. The god gave us the ability of camouflage; I can blend into my surroundings. Someone could walk right by me and never know I was there,” Reif explained.
“What about yer scent? Can ye hide that, too?”
“If I want to…only on land, not in the water” said Reif. “I can also conceal my footprints.”
“What magic do ye use for that?” growled Brian.
“The god gave my people other attributes…like anti-tracking.”
“Ye have that?” Brian asked, skepticism in his voice.
“Yes,” Reif snorted in disgust, “we’re perfect thieves.
We can blend in even while moving and avoid anyone who tries to track us.
I know it sounds great, but let me tell you, it was a miserable existence because the god played a cruel joke on us…
he gave us a strong sense of guilt. So every time we stole something, there was always an internal fight with our conscience.
As you can imagine, it tore us up so one of my ancestors decided enough was enough and he got himself caught, exposing us to the rest of the gods. ”
“Ay, strange. So what happened?” Brian asked, now fascinated.
Snorting, Reif said, “Huh! There was hell to pay and, at first most of the gods wanted us destroyed, but then one spoke in our defense, saying we were the victims of the god who had created us and should not be punished for what he did. For several days our existence hung in the balance, but, finally, the gods decided to let us live, only if we swore never to steal again. In exchange for our word, we were given Angelopoulos where we were supposed to live in peace.”
“I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” said Brian.
Nodding, Reif said, “The gods wanted to make sure no one could ever use us for thieving again, so Angelopoulos is hidden from the world by the same camouflage the god gave us. Our island is a thriving community with over a thousand shifters but if someone flew over it or passed it on a boat, they’d never see it. ”
“What kind of shifter are ye? The Shaman claims yer a serpent,” Brian said.
“The Shaman?”
“Ye know…Kieran. He’s a powerful Shaman. Tis he I asked for help to find ye.”
“Ahh, Kieran. A powerful Shaman…mmmm…maybe that explains why he has the power of the gods in him. Well, yes, he’s right…sorta. My people and I are sea dragons, creatures with the ability to breathe underwater and fly.”
“I dinna know what that is as I never heard of it,” Brian said.
“I’m not surprised. We are ancient shifters, long thought to be extinct…which is exactly the way we like it,” replied Reif.
“Then why are ye here?” Brian asked.
“Before I answer that, I want to explain more about my world so you can understand why I did what I did. When we were first created, we didn’t have mates because no one knew of us except the god who created us.
After the other gods found out about us, the Fates decided we should have mates…
so many of my ancestors were able to find one.
But that stopped a very long time ago and, as far as I can remember, no one in Angelopoulos has found, much less claimed, a Fated Mate for at least the last thousand years. ”
“Why?” asked Brian.
“I’ll get to that in a minute,” Reif said.
“The reason I’m telling you this is that all knowledge of our claiming rituals for Fated Mates has been lost, so I honestly didn’t know the significance of kissing you.
To me, it was just a kiss.” Then seeing anger flash in his mate’s face, Reif quickly said, “Brian, I’m sorry.
I have a habit of putting my foot in my mouth.
It wasn’t just a kiss because when I saw you sleeping, I needed to touch you, to taste you…
to feel my lips on yours. It was a hunger I’ve never felt before and as soon as my lips touched yours, I knew one time would never be enough.
But then, I was knocked on my ass from the shock of the bond.
To be honest, I was freaked out. I didn’t know what I’d done and was panicked that I might have put my people at risk.
I knew my father would be furious at me for breaking the order he gave me about revealing my identity so I fled.
” Reif paused to gain control of his emotions which had overwhelmed him. Then he continued.
“If I’d known what would happen to you because I kissed you, you have to believe me when I say I would’ve stayed with you.
I know it appears I rejected you, especially after what you heard me say to Kieran, but I didn’t, really.
It’s just I was so afraid of what would happen to my people if I didn’t find…
” Reif’s voice trailed off as he realized he was about to tell his mate something he had sworn to keep secret.
Brian saw the fear in Reif’s eyes when his mate suddenly clammed up.
Sensing he was close to discovering the danger he sensed his mate was in, Brian remained silent, thinking about how to get the entire story so he could help.
Deciding to give Reif some space, he picked up the frying pan and said, “How many eggs do ye want? Is scrambled okay?” Turning around, he grabbed some eggs from a carton, breaking them into a bowl.
Stunned at his mate’s reaction, Reif wasn’t sure what to make of it but mumbled, “Three, and scrambled is fine.” He was grateful Brian didn’t push him, but confused as to why his mate didn’t push him to finish his thought.
Dammit! I wish I knew more about having a Fated Mate.
My gut tells me to trust him but if I’m wrong, my people could pay the ultimate price for my weakness.
Reif finally turned to his beast, seeking his counsel since what he said could negatively affect both of them.
Fucking hell! His beast told him in no uncertain terms what he was planning to do if Reif didn’t get his act together. Well, that answers that!
Dividing the eggs and bacon onto two plates, Brian set one in front of his mate who appeared to be deep in thought.
Sitting across from Reif, he picked up his fork and began eating, sneaking glances at him.
Not seeing Reif eating, he tapped his fork on his mate’s dish and asked, “Did ye change yer mind?”
“Huh? What?” Reif looked down at the food, then sheepishly glanced at Brian as he picked up a piece of bacon.
“Oh…no, sorry. I was just distracted. Thanks.” Chewing on it, he considered how best to tell his secret; he was pretty sure his mate wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
Even in the short time he’d known Brian, Reif was sure his mate was honest and good to the core but finding out the truth about the mate who kissed and ran away wasn’t going to be pleasant—for either of them.
“For fuck’s sake, just tell me,” Brian said. “I can hear ye thinkin’ way over here.”
Sighing, Reif said, “I’m still a fucking thief…
not that I want to be, but it goes back to the deal my ancestors made with the gods.
They agreed we’d be hidden from all other paranormals as long as we kept our word.
But then, a group of witches and vampires found out about us and we’ve been under their control ever since. ”
“For how long has this been goin’ on?” asked Brian, horrified at what his mate was telling him.
“About a thousand years.”