Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Mhm,” she says, cuddling closer.
“It is not easy to make the first shifts,” I say. “It is easier for males. Having it happen younger, to tissue that is still growing, means that the body adapts more easily. In your case, your body thinks it’s done changing, at least, in the sense of growing. But it will adapt and adjust. The pain you feel when shifting at the moment is temporary and completely normal.”
“Oh,” she mumbles. “Okay.”
She’s far too tired to listen, adorable, precious thing.
Kira sleeps for several hours. The day is slipping by, and I know we are supposed to be somewhere very soon, but I am not going to rush her. I will happily go to the conclave late, and Abel can learn what happens when he makes plans without consulting me.
I think she is having a beast type dream, judging by the little whimpers, yelps, and gasps she’s making in her sleep. I watch her rest indulgently, very much enjoying how it feels to love someone this deeply and this swiftly. I am looking forward to getting to know her.
While still half-asleep, she growls and nips at me. It’s not uncommon for shifters to exhibit behaviors in their human form that cross over with their animal body, especially in the early days. This is actually a good sign, though of course it is also an impudent act I will not tolerate for too long. For now, however, I will encourage it. Because it is fucking adorable.
I feel her blunt little teeth on my arm, gnawing lightly, her tongue lapping at me in between. She is having wild impulses, and it is my job to encourage them. In so many ways she clearly has not had any time to play, to explore herself, to learn what it means to be her.
It might be time for that second shift. And this time, perhaps she’ll be able to do it on her own, without a sexual prompting. It is very dangerous for one of our kind not to be able to control themselves, including the taking and shedding of forms. I had not planned on encouraging any shifting in the short term, but Abel’s eagerness has rather shortened the time frames at play here, and while I do not wish to rush my mate or exhaust her potentially limited capacity, she was made to do this.
Kira
I wake up with something firm and muscular in my mouth. For a moment, I don’t know what I am doing. Then I realize that it feels good to close my jaw and feel the way my teeth just slightly sink in…
“Easy,” a rough voice drawls.
I open my eyes and look into Cain Lupin’s flinty yet amused eyes.
“I don’t want an actual wound,” he says. He doesn’t move his arm, though.
I look down at the place I’ve been biting. It is reddened, but I haven’t done any real damage. Which is good, because in my dream I was doing a lot more than gumming a man’s arm. I was tearing prey apart. I can still hear the screams.
It felt good to kill, in my dreams. I didn’t feel sorry for what I was doing. I was following my instincts, which now feel completely wrong in the light of human consciousness.
But I still have an urge to gnaw. Chewing feels good. Seems to relax tension. And he didn’t actually tell me to stop, so although it feels like a very feral sort of thing to do… I return consciously to the activity I began in my sleep.
He chuckles and moves me up his body slightly so he can kiss me.
“We are supposed to be traveling,” he says. “But I don’t want to get out of bed, and I don’t think you should. We will go tomorrow.”
I don’t much care about going anywhere. I only care about the immediate pleasure of being in bed with him. His smell is intoxicating, and my body is responding with the kind of desire that got me into trouble in the first place.
I nip him again, this time on the shoulder. If I had my proper teeth, I might be drawing blood. As it is, I am just making some reddish marks.
He nuzzles me and emits a low growl. Nothing overtly aggressive, not a threat, but enough to make those delicious submissive chemicals rush through me. I feel my entire body relaxing, and some of the ache of the recent shift melting away.
Being a little bit naughty with him feels a lot good. I don’t know that I am going to be able to keep my promise to behave myself when disobeying him makes me feel as though I’m made of marshmallow.
I bite again. This time it is not a nip. It is a proper chomp.
That earns me much more than a nuzzle. He flips me over, and I find myself pinned to the bed, his jaws on the back of my neck, a stern snarl running down my spine. I feel as though he and I are connected by animal resonance. I also feel as though I am in trouble.