Chapter Seven
Kyle
I woke before my alarm, warm and snug in bed, feeling more refreshed than I had in a long time. I’d had the weirdest dream. I’d had my beast force a shift, a dragon circled me like prey, a bear stalked me, and I was told I was their mate. Except that I wasn’t home, and it hadn’t been a dream.
I was…shit.
I opened my eyes. It was real. All of it actually happened. I was with the two alphas, and not just in their home by myself, no. They were there, one on each side of me, watching me as if I was precious or fragile. Possibly both.
“How are you feeling?” the bear, whose name I recalled was Griffith, asked.
“Okay?” It came out as a question.
Falkan, the dragon, just watched as the bear continued. “Do you remember where you are?”
“Yeah.” It would almost be easier if I hadn’t because now all I wanted to do was hide. So, I did. I pulled the covers up and over my head. “I remember everything.”
How freaking embarrassing. I shifted uncontrollably, got stuck, and they had to take me back in my fur. At least I wasn’t in a human space when it happened. Thank the goddess for the small things.
“You don’t need to be scared, little one.” This time, it was the dragon who spoke. It didn’t feel like they were teaming up on me as much as helping each other.
I tried to remember if they’d said anything about their relationship. They had said I was their mate, but were they each other’s? Why were there pockets of missing memory? Had my maned wolf taken that much control over me? He must have; otherwise, I’d never have shifted in the first place.
Little one. The words echoed in my head. They were making fun of me. Only, it didn’t feel like mocking at all. If anything, it felt like a term of endearment. Why was this so confusing? Maybe because it smelled so incredible in here.
Someone tugged down on my blanket, and I lessened my grip to allow it to be pulled until my face was revealed.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. Your beast recognized us and got a tad possessive.” Griffith smiled as if it were the best thing ever. “He recognized we are your mates.”
I ignored the mate comment. There was enough happening without that.
“Do you even know what I am?” I asked, acknowledging the elephant in the room that was my furry self.
“Ours,” they said at the same time, ignoring my beast type completely.
“You’re not mad at what I am?”
They shook their heads.
Griffith said, “Why? Why would we be mad?” He seemed legit perplexed, but they 100 percent had seen my animal. They brought me here in that form. It was hardly hidden.
“Because Fate sent you…me.” Wasn’t it obvious?
“You?” Falkan tilted his head slightly.
“Me.” I pointed to myself. “A maned wolf is hardly what you’d call fierce or adorable, or—”
“He’s magnificent,” Falkan asserted. “We hadn’t been lying when we said that yesterday. He is absolutely magnificent. And you’re ours.”
“Your beast senses it, too.” Griffith reached like he was going to take my hand and pulled his back at the last second. “That’s why you shifted.”
He was right, but that was too much for me to handle. It was already so intense without that added to it.
“This is a lot. Everything happened so fast. I-I need some time.” I closed my eyes, remembering that I’d completely blown off my work meeting. That needed to be handled, but first, I needed to get out of here and someplace where I could process this all. “Time for you to adjust your expectations?”
“Adjust them?” Griffith asked.
“Yeah. I am what I am.”
“You exceed all our expectations. Every. Last. One.” Falkan set his hand on mine. “You’re perfect for us, just as you are. If you weren’t, the goddess wouldn’t have sent you our way. And trust me when I say you exceed my expectations.”
“Mine, too.” Griffith’s hand was now on Falkan’s, which was on mine.
Could they mean it? Did they really not look at me as less than? There was nothing to indicate they wanted to get rid of me. But how could that be, when everyone else had seen who I was and laughed?
“We respect that you need time,” Griffith said. “Do you want us to take you home?”
“I don’t have one here. I’m in San Diego for work, but I have a hotel room. Except my wallet and room keys are at Animals.” That was going to be a pain in the ass. Not having a key, ID, or clothing was a quick way to a conversation with the authorities.
“We got your things for you. Not the car but everything else.” Griffith got up, crossed the room, and came back with a small pile. “Your wallet and keys are fine, but your clothes…they’re not wearable. We can give you clothes.”
I ended up with Griffith’s joggers and Falkan’s shirt, and both still scented like them. They didn’t really fit, but they didn’t need to. As long as I had something on my body, the humans of this city wouldn’t freak out.
They gave me some privacy, and I put the clothes on, loving their scent around me, cleaned up a little bit, and we left to go back to the hotel.
There were so many things I wanted to know, but first, I had to wrap my head around all that had happened. I had not one but two hot alphas who saw my beast and still claimed I was theirs. Either this was some sick joke, or my life was about to change for the better.
Please let it be the second.
Once inside, I called Zevo to face my work consequences. Shockingly, he didn’t seem to care at all. If anything, it sounded like he already knew. Weird.