Chapter Nine

 

“What shifter animal are you?” Tristan asked him as they made their way outside.

“Care to take a guess?”

Not many guessed right about him.

“You walk like a wolf,” the omega said. “And there’s something bearlike in your eyes.”

“But…” he encouraged.

“But there’s something very familiar in your touch.”

Tristan wasn’t the first to say that, that he gave away his shifter form through his hands.

“I’m a lion,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh,” Tristan breathed, slowing to a stop and just staring at him. “Wow, really?”

“Really.” It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten that reaction, but they usually weren’t so awed about the whole thing. “Surprised, huh?”

“Our pack hasn’t had a lion since my grandfather. My dad was sure I was going to be one… but he was also sure I was going to be an alpha. Failed on both fronts.” The omega grinned at him, the grin fading to another look of awe.

“You’ll shift too, won’t you?”

Quinn hadn’t planned on it, but with the looks Tristan was giving him on just hearing he was a lion, he really wanted to see the omega’s reaction to the real thing.

“Sure. We can play hide and go seek.”

When they reached the back door, he opened it and walked right out, Tristan following him.

“Better close the door or we’ll be in the bad books for letting the cold air in.”

When he turned back to Tristan, the omega was flushing a little.

“There’s a shed over there if you want some privacy to change. Or you could hide behind a tree.”

Tristan rolled his eyes, glancing around them. “I’m not that shy. Just… it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it can be tough to shift after a long break. It can hurt a bit, too. Do you want some help?”

That got the omega’s full attention. “What kind of help?”

“Sometimes, the touch of a compatible shifter can… ease things along.” Just like the way it had soothed Tristan’s earlier panic.

“Oh, I guess we could try that,” the omega said doubtfully.

“It can’t do any harm,” he promised. “Turn around.”

Tristan did, moving to face the woods ahead of them.

“Just take nice, slow breaths, okay?” he encouraged, reaching out to place his hand on the back of Tristan’s neck. The omega jumped at the touch before settling into it.

Tristan bowed his head a little, increasing the skin-to-skin contact between his neck and Quinn’s palm.

“Whenever you’re ready, focus on the change. Move however you want, I’ll move with you.”

Tristan’s hands were by his sides, clenched into fists.

“Don’t force it,” Quinn urged softly. “Just breathe and let it come.”

The omega sank to his knees, and Quinn moved with him, crouching behind him. Tristan’s breaths became soft pants before he whined, a wave of motion running through his body as the tension eased and the change took over. Quinn pulled away at the last second, taking a few hasty steps backward as he watched the tiger that appeared in the snow, its black and orange stripes standing out amongst the sea of white.

At first, Tristan didn’t move, standing stock-still in the snow, then he flicked his tail and turned his head to look at Quinn.

“How’s that?” Quinn asked. “Feels good, huh?”

He stayed still, giving Tristan a moment to get used to his body and the environment. The omega padded over to him, sniffing cautiously.

“You remember me, ri—”

Tristan stood up on his back paws, his front paws on Quinn’s shoulders. Quinn felt a flash of worry as Tristan opened his mouth, rows of sharp teeth visible, but then the tiger’s warm, wet tongue was licking his cheek.

He laughed, pushing Tristan gently away and wiping a hand across his face. “You’re welcome. Give me a minute to change, and we’ll go exploring.”

The omega padded away toward the woods while Quinn quickly shifted. When he looked up again, Tristan was crouched on the ground, head low, ears perked up, eyes fixed on a snow drift. He pounced suddenly, his body sinking into the mound of snow and disappearing from sight before he leaped out again, shaking off the bits of white that clung to his fur. He was very beautiful. There was no denying it. His human form, his shifter form. His scent—

Quinn forced himself to stop there and focus his attention on something else. Tristan had made it very clear that when all was said and done, he was going home. And circus shifters tended to keep to their own, mating between their own packs. The kind of life Quinn lived wouldn’t appeal to an omega like Tristan.

Something nudged his side. He glanced over to see Tristan watching him expectantly. Pushing closer, he scented, enjoying the mix of tiger amongst the omega’s sweet scent. He moved away, pacing toward the woods, knowing Tristan would follow. After a few feet, he started to run, his paws pounding against the ground, sending snow spraying into the air every time he touched down. He could hear Tristan racing behind him and lead the omega around in a large, sweeping circle across the grounds. They dodged trees, circled around the sheds, splashed across a shallow stream and raced alongside the wall. He saw Tristan slow out of the corner of his eye, watching the wall, but he sped up again after a moment.

Their starting point came into view, and Quinn slowed down to a walk. Tristan raced passed him then turned around and came to a sudden stop, plunking himself down into the snow, his dark eyes watching Quinn, his tail flicking dangerously.

Quinn strode toward him, undaunted by the tiger who looked seconds from pouncing at him. Tristan stilled, and then he did pounce, launching himself at Quinn. The alpha went with the movement, and they both rolled over and over, coming to a stop with Tristan’s tiger lying on his back in the snow, Quinn towering over him. There was no fear in the omega’s eyes, just a playfulness that had Quinn spellbound. Tristan batted him with a paw, and Quinn mock growled, leaning down and baring his teeth, close enough that his mane brushed the omega’s fur.

Tristan’s paw batted at him again, but the touch was light, almost gentle. Curiosity rather than animosity. They stared at one another, drinking in each other’s scents, each other’s form. Quinn was struck again by the beauty and power in Tristan’s tiger. Leaning in, he nuzzled against the fur of Tristan’s neck and face. The omega made a sound of contentment, a low purr, and rolled onto his side, a shiver running through the tiger’s body. Quinn lay down next to him, lending the omega his body heat. The omega curled into him and everything, the chill in the air, the cold of the snow, faded away.

“Quinn!”

A voice calling his name in the distance broke the spell. He lifted his head, spying Griffin standing by the door.

Getting to his feet, he nudged Tristan until the omega got up too, making a sound of discontentment. Quinn led him back to the house, where Griffin was waiting.

The omega’s eyes went wide when he caught sight of the two of them. He raised one eyebrow but didn’t comment.

“We need to talk. How about you two go in and warm up. I’ll meet you in the guest wing in ten.”

He held the door open for them, and they headed inside. Mark met them at the entrance to the guest wing, letting them inside.

“Did you two have fun?” he asked with a knowing look in his eyes.

Quinn gave a low growl and stalked through the door, Tristan trailing behind him. He went into the living room and changed back in front of the fire. Tristan didn’t follow him but arrived in the room a few minutes later, toweling his hair dry.

“Feeling better?”

He got a beaming smile in answer and couldn’t help but grin at the omega’s happiness.

“It’s like I can move again. I felt like I was seizing up, like an old man.”

“And now you feel young again?”

“I could swing from the rafters,” Tristan joked. “If you had rafters.”

Then he crouched and did a backflip, landing with a thud on the carpet.

“Huh.” Quinn hadn’t been expecting that. “Impressive. And here I thought knife-throwing was your specialty.”

He was joking but Tristan gave a serious answer. “I can throw knives. My aim’s pretty good. But I’m an acrobat, first and foremost. I can tightrope walk, do all sorts of aerial tricks. My pièce de résistance is a midair shift.”

Quinn thought he’d heard wrong. “Wait, what?”

“It’s part of my act. I swing from one side of the tent to the middle and instead of catching the second swing, I flip into the air, shift, and land in my tiger form.”

“You can do that?” Quinn had seen a few shifter circus acts, but he’d never seen that. “Don’t the humans see the transformation?”

“Of course not. Smoke and mirrors. They see what we want them to see.”

Which, apparently, was a tiger appearing out of midair.

“That’s a sight I’d pay money to see,” he said.

Tristan grinned and looked away, a blush appearing on his cheeks. Quinn had just taken a step toward the omega, about to reach a hand out to cup his cheek, when he heard Griffin approach. Just as well, he was getting far too caught up in all this.