Chapter 16
REMY
Today hadn’t gone at all how I had planned, and in some ways, it was so much better. My mate marked me. We’d committed to each other. He showed that he trusted me completely. He accepted my beast, despite not having met him yet. All of that was more than I could have dreamed of.
But then, on the other side, there was him having to learn about who I was from a friend because I dragged my feet for so long.
We talked a lot about that over the course of a few conversations.
He told me I shouldn’t feel guilty, that it all worked out exactly as it should.
And I wanted to be able to do that for him, to just fully let it go, but I wasn’t quite there yet.
Maybe I would be after he met my beast and understood completely what being a shifter looked like?
I wouldn’t know until that finally happened.
He wanted to meet my koala. I didn’t sense a second of hesitation with him when it came to that. If anything, he was impatient.
This cabin was closer to the next one than I wanted it to be.
The pictures on the internet had them looking very far apart, but it was the angle of the camera more than reality.
Had we been completely isolated, I’d have shifted already.
But we weren’t, and I hesitated to shift too soon.
I didn’t think they could see us, but some things weren’t worth the risk.
Having that in-between time worked out well.
It gave us time to talk, not only about all that he learned, but about our feelings and what we saw for the future.
It wasn’t a case of making plans but sharing what we wanted, and because he now understood what he was getting into, the discussion was more real to me.
We also enjoyed relaxing, cooking, and eating. The homebody in me loved being so domestic with my mate, even if this wasn’t our space. But that was the thing, right? Being home had nothing to do with the building and everything to do with the person you shared it with.
Despite the nice time we were having, the anticipation of my first shift with Hari was ever-present. My koala was itching to get out almost as much as Hari was itching to meet him.
Finally, the sun was down enough and the moon high enough that I thought it was safe for me to let my fur out. I barely opened my mouth to tell Hari my thoughts and he was racing out of the cabin.
Despite my shift being all I could think about, I had no plan when it came to the actual shifting part of the reveal. I took off my shoes first.
“I kind of have to get naked,” I explained.
“I know. Gods, I was there when Jackson shifted.” He mumbled the last part as if it might not have been said for me.
I’d have been jealous had he not sounded so annoyed at the naked part of meeting his friend’s wolf. It had me smiling, hearing him basically being all “Oh, that’s not what I wanted to see from someone I don't want to bang” kind of way.
“Well, if you don’t want to see, it’s time to turn around,” I teased.
His tongue swiped across his top lip. “As if I don’t want to see you naked.”
He raked his eyes up and down me, and what was initially going to be me throwing off my clothes so I could shift for him turned into me doing a slow strip tease, one that had me wanting to do something not shifting related when we were done.
His eyes took in the sight, and he bit his bottom lip.
It was hard not to focus on the bulge growing in his jeans.
Yeah, the strip tease hadn’t been my best idea.
Now we were both hard and horny. For him, it was kind of annoying, for me, it was going to make the shift more painful than normal.
I’d learned in my teens that an erection and shifting weren’t the best of friends.
“Can I touch you?” he asked.
“Not if you still want me to shift.” Because the second he gave me a green light, there was no holding back. Between his scent, his arousal, and the way he was soaking me in with his eyes… delicious.
He rolled his eyes. “I meant after you shifted. Can I touch your koala? They’re like so sweet and cuddly.”
“You can, but we are only sort of cute. We are also terrifying close up.”
“I can't believe that. How could something so cute be scary?”
He asked for it, and honestly, it was best for him to see all sides of me.
“Do me a favor, and after you spend some time with my beast, hose him off.” There was not much in nature as horrifying to come across than a wet koala. We weren’t inherently dangerous, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at us.
His jaw dropped. “No way. I’m not being mean to you.”
“It’s not mean, and I want you to see all of me. Okay?”
He begrudgingly agreed, and our conversation about my scary side helped keep my arousal at bay. I fell back and let my koala take over, the shift smooth and, based on the look on my mate’s face, impressive.
He squatted down in front of me. “I was right. You are adorable.”
I worked my way over, and he reached down and ran his fingers through my fur. “It’s so soft. This might be the softest fur I’ve ever felt. Can I rub my cheek against you?”
My beast nodded, and he petted me with his cheek. It was even more intimate than when we were knotted together, in a way. It was hard to interpret all of the emotions that simple action stirred up in me, but all of them were good and, at the same time, overwhelming.
“Okay, it’s time for me to see this whole tree thing in action.”
I was ready to show off, and show off I did.
I climbed up high and down low, giving him the show that he wanted.
These weren’t gum trees, there weren’t even eucalyptuses to be eaten, but it was fun.
My beast loved being admired and hearing the words of praise and admiration coming from our mate’s lips.
If he had his way, we’d stay like this all night.
I could see him curling up with our mate, taking a nap outside on a warm summer’s day. How sweet would that be?
The door of the neighboring cabin opened in the distance. My mate probably couldn’t hear it, but I did. I doubted they could see us from here, but I climbed down the tree just in case. There was no way they could see me on the ground, the trees blocking us completely.
I sat not too far from my mate, eyeing the hose. I wasn’t going to let him forget this part of the reveal.
“You were serious?”
My beast gave him a nod.
“Alright, but don’t be mad at me, because you asked for it.” He took the hose and turned it on. “Right now?”
Another nod from me.
He pressed the handle of the sprayer and released the water.
He added pressure when he saw my beast didn’t move.
At first, he looked guilty, and I hated that for him, but soon enough there was a change.
I could pinpoint the moment I went from cute to horrifying.
It was hilarious, but he wasn’t scared. Not in the slightest. Curious? Shocked? Yes, but not scared.
He turned off the hose and asked if I needed a towel. My answer came in the form of shifting into my human form, my hair instantly dry. “Nah, I got an instant towel here. I didn’t terrify you, did I?”
“No, but oh my goodness, that is terrifying. If I ran into one of you in the woods, not knowing, I’d think some creature was out to kill me.
A monster, one of those from the lore of the mountains where no one dares say their names or something.
How did I not know you all could cosplay death monsters like that? ”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. I’d heard a lot of things said about wet koalas, but never heard them referred to as a death monster.
“Maybe people are too scared to mention us?” I shrugged. “But I promise you, you’re safe. So, what do you think? You still okay being with a shifter?”
“Yeah, I’m definitely okay.” He reached out and took my hand. “But just to be sure, maybe you should take me back inside to the bedroom. You know, just to see if we really are compatible.”
“You aren’t sure from earlier?”
“It’s always best to double-check.” He nipped at my bottom lip. “Unless you’d rather talk about the economy or the latest celebrity scandal or something.”
I raced to the door, dragging him behind me by our joined hands. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”