FENN DRAX #2
When he’s apparently had enough, he suddenly jumps off the bed, slipping away from my touch.
"Hey, don’t run off yet… I promised you ham, but—"
And then the strangest thing I’ve ever seen happens.
The cat starts to grow.
It begins to change.
As it stares at me, its minty green-silver eyes stay the same color, but the pupils round out. The ears shift down and to the sides of the head. The muzzle reshapes, the nose elongates, and the fur seems to sink into the skin.
A moment later, a naked young alpha is kneeling in front of me.
Marlow.
"Oh. My. Fucking. Fate."
The words slip out in shock, but my mind works fast. I’m well aware of how important those first words can be when someone reveals their secret form. I know all too well how people reacted to mine.
But here all I feel is immense joy because, wow, he’s a shifter like me! I even clap my hands spontaneously.
"Well. I’m not a fan of ham. I prefer delicacies like paté," he says, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh! Sorry! I’ll remember!"
Marlow studies me carefully.
"You’re not… shocked? I always heard that when a shapeshifter reveals themselves, people freak out."
I shrug. "Maybe. But not from a cute cat!"
Marlow tilts his head.
"No surprise, no other reaction at all?"
"Only a happy one! Why would I be surprised? I'm also a shifter. The form I can shift into doesn’t have much to do with how I look right now either… and it’s definitely a lot less attractive than yours." I grin.
I stand up and walk around him, giving him an appreciative once-over. He blushes slightly.
"And you? Wow. You’re super cute as a cat and insanely hot as a human…"
Marlow is still on all fours, slightly hunched, one knee bent to cover his groin.
"Want a T-shirt?" I ask reluctantly, because I’d rather he stayed naked. What I see is already very encouraging. His arms are beautiful, muscular but not overly bulky, his back lean and strong. But the rest is hidden.
"Okay…" he whispers.
"Sorry about the chunky boy thing. Clearly you’re not chunky at all, more like svelte."
Marlow’s soft lips part into a small smile. "No problem. They’re two completely different forms. I can be chunky as a cat. I don’t mind."
I get up and grab my T-shirt, handing it to him. I catch a brief hesitation from him when he takes it and pulls it on. It hangs well below mid-thigh on him, and it’s one of my tightest shirts. At 7’6", I tower over everyone.
Marlow sits on the edge of my bed. A tense silence stretches between us. His body is like a drawn string. I can tell he’s building up to something.
"I’m on the verge of deciding to leave the program," he says quietly, fingers interlacing on his knees, fingertips moving slightly.
"Why?" I ask, unease hitting me hard.
Marlow bites his lip, then exhales deeply. "Rupert."
"Ah… the vector guy. Can't say I'm a fan." My face probably confirms it.
"He and I don’t operate on the same wavelength."
"I’m sorry," I say, though I can’t really summon genuine emotion for that particular case.
"There’s also the whole sex thing."
Fuck. I clench my jaw slightly. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want details. I understand why Marlow is here and what this program is, but I still feel resistance.
Marlow seems to read me perfectly. "We’re not sleeping together. Nothing ever happened because Rupert isn’t the type to initiate that kind of thing, evidently. At least not with me, because he very aggressively initiated it with a beta who works for this program… Caspian."
I blink, gaping.
"Fuck… really? Having you in the same room, and he goes for Caspian?"
Marlow shrugs.
"Apparently."
I bite my lip. "Though Caspian does have his ways of drawing attention. He’s a beta with omega characteristics."
Marlow snaps his head up. "Really? Uh… how do you know that?"
I hesitate. I can see it in him, inside him, in his glands, but how do I put it into words?
Maybe like this: "I’ve got a very good sense of smell. I can pick up pheromones and hormonal compatibility. His scent is barely noticeable to a normal alpha, but to me it’s obvious. No wonder it pulls alphas in without them even knowing why."
Marlow takes a deep breath and lets it out.
"Well it works; Rupert got interested in him.
And not just him. All the alphas are always like ‘Hi, Caspian!’ From the look of it his secret omega nature pays off, because both Juan and Rupert are fucking him.
Juan is another alpha from the program, also a vector.
On top of that, Rupert also takes a dick from Juan.
It's all complicated and, quite frankly… pointless. Ugh."
I shift closer. I want to touch him, but I hold back, because once I start, I’m not sure I’d be able to stop.
"Seriously? That bastard… I’m sorry this situation is disappointing for you, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel some relief. Selfish relief, but still…"
Seeing Marlow’s pale face, I give in. I slide off the bed and kneel by his knees, gently taking his hands.
"Marlow… I don’t want you to leave this program. I know I shouldn’t say that. I know it’s not fair to you or what you aim to achieve here, but… I don’t want to… never see you again."
Marlow’s eyes lock onto mine with strange intensity.
This is the moment.
Everything or nothing. Either I lose him, or I reach for him.
So I take the risk, and go all in.
"I know I’m just a monster, someone who can’t be shown to the outside world. I don’t have much to offer except my loyalty, my admiration, my dedication. Please, I beg you, Marlow, don’t leave the program. I need you… close."
In the absolute silence, I can hear only his heartbeat.
Did it work?
Will he give me a chance?
Slowly, he lifts his hands and cups my face. My heart speeds up as he leans in, very slowly, and his lips finally meet mine.
I shiver, as if a breeze has found me, a warm gust carrying the scent of cherry blossoms and beautiful mornings when the sunrise paints the sky pink.
It’s my first kiss, hard to believe. I’ve had sex before, but I’ve never kissed anyone on the mouth. The feeling is sweet and dizzying, like countless petals drifting across my skin.
His lips are warm, sweet and impossibly velvety.
I gently draw his plump lower lip between mine, then part my mouth a little wider and feel the faint, curious brush of his tongue against my own.
That soft, tender touch sparks something fierce inside me, a craving to grab him, push him onto the bed, and breed him, but that part of me, the one tied to my primal side’s libido, is something I have to keep firmly under control around him.
The whole time Marlow is touching me, it writhes inside me, sensing its chance, an opening, a signal of readiness.
He's willing to be bred. Go for it!
No, stop. He's different…
Yes, different. He's ours. Ours!
Shut up. He's special. He deserves more, and I'm going to give him more, so back off!
In the meantime, as I struggle to hold myself, Marlow’s hands slide along the sides of my face before landing lightly against the scent glands at my neck, the teasingly affectionate gesture draws a quiet gasp from me.
I make sure that the kiss remains sweet and unhurried, all slow brushes of lips and the lazy, sensual glide of tongues. I don't want this to be what I had before, a meaningless five minutes. My other side was taking care of that, yet my human side… suffered.
But now it's in charge.
Without thinking any more, my hands rise and settle on his waist.
His body feels lean and supple beneath my fingers. Even through his T-shirt, I can feel the heat of his skin, the strength hidden beneath that graceful frame.
And that scent. He uses blockers, but my senses are stronger than those of ordinary people, and now I can finally inhale him, and… I know.
I begin to understand.
A rich scent of spring cherry blossoms, lush and sweet, carried on the wind through a bright, crystal-clear morning when white clouds glide nimbly across the sky.
There it is, washing over me.
An astonishing discovery.
The awareness is here.
Marlow…
He's my fated mate!
I've found him.
Really? Incredible.
Everyone says mutants don't have perfect matches. A lie. A complete lie. He exists, and I can touch him.
It dawns on me in the cherry-sweet taste of his kisses, in the way I'm surrounded by his scent, imperceptible to everyone else yet still unmistakable to me, while I'm this close to Marlow's skin.
Sure, blockers dull most of his pheromones, but nothing can be fully hidden from my special sense.
So what to do?
I stay silent; I can't tell him now. I don't want to frighten him with the idea that his fated mate could be a monster, someone accused of terrible crimes by the rest of the world. I'm not worthy of him, so I keep it to myself, leaving it in the hands of Fate.
That doesn't mean I can't reach for this sweetness, though, just for a moment. My hands tighten around his waist, and I pull him closer until I'm sitting on the floor between his knees.
Almost instinctively, or maybe on purpose, Marlow presses his groin against me, and I can feel how hard he is.
I think he wants me to feel it, like a silent suggestion.
As we snuggle like this for a minute, his breathing turns ragged, and my pulse spikes; my throat goes dry at the thrilling prospect of finally touching him in a more intimate way.
My hand slides down from his waist and to the front, my thumb brushing against the hard head of his cock, hidden just beneath the fabric of the T-shirt.
Marlow exhales directly into my mouth, but he doesn't break the kiss. I reach lower, gently lifting the shirt in a slow movement so I don’t spook him.
The tips of my fingers graze the hot, silky skin of his cock.
He’s rock hard. Fuck, it feels amazing—I know he wants this too; he feels it just as much as I do.
With that same unhurried motion, I wrap my fingers around his shaft. I feel a thin trail of moisture and gently rub it in, slowly starting to slide my hand up and down.