“You’re awake.” Rowan ran into the room and plopped on the bed next to her.
El looked at her and tried to decide if she could change form like Brogan. Her friend didn’t look any different than she always had and nothing about her pointed to her not being human. Of course Brogan looked completely normal too.
“I was so worried. You scared us all half to death. Don’t ever do that again,” Rowan admonished.
“Can you…” Again the words stuck in El’s throat.
Rowan grabbed both her hands and squeezed her fingers. “I’m sorry I never told you, but it’s not exactly something that comes up in everyday conversation.” She shrugged.
El had to agree with her. In fact she couldn’t think of how it would ever come up in a conversation.
“El, I need you to hear me out. When I’m finished you can ask any questions you want and I’ll answer them,” Brogan said as he sat back on the bed.
Quinn stood behind Rowan. She scrutinized both of them closely but couldn’t see anything to raise her suspicions. She turned back to look at Brogan. Nothing made her think they were anything but human.
With a nod she said, “Okay, I’ll listen.”
“We’re what are called shapeshifters. We can change from human form to coyote. We’re not the only kind of shifter but for now I’ll just explain about us.” His hand waved to indicate Rowan, Quinn and himself, which answered her earlier question. They could all change shape.
“There are two ways to become one. You’re either born with the ability to shift or turned by a shifter. We were all born shifters but there are those in our community that have been turned. Once a human is turned they are able to shift form with practice but they’re still considered non-bloods by our pack and inferior by some.
“Some shifters are referred to as half-bloods and others full-bloods. Some believe that half-bloods are as inferior as non-bloods, but those are feelings I aim to change. As sovereign, I’m working toward bringing our people together and forming a stronger connection that will enable us to continue to live among humans without detection.” Brogan’s last words held the strength of his will to achieve his goal.
“In every way that counts, we’re human, El. We think and feel exactly the same, but we can change into coyote form when we want to,” Rowan explained.
“There’s one other significant difference between us and humans.” Quinn’s words drew El’s gaze to him. “We mate for life. It’s not a choice we logically make. When we meet our mate our bodies know and the result is a strong physical attraction that can be unbearable until we join for the first time.”
“Once you meet your mate there is never anyone else. It’s not something we can change,” Brogan continued. “When mates are together they’re marked, meaning all other coyotes know who you belong to. The mark works both ways, for the male and female.
“This can cause problems when the mate isn’t a shifter.” Brogan took her hand in his. “A human must learn about us and our ways before being turned and the choice should be theirs, not the shifters. Once a mark is made, it cannot be removed.”
“This can be dangerous in a number of ways. As a human if you don’t know you’re marked and go into another shifter community you risk being physically attacked but you’re also at risk from natural coyotes.” Rowan’s gaze was sympathetic. “Brogan marked you this morning.”
El’s gaze snapped to Brogan and her mouth hung open in shock.
“I have no excuse to offer for what I did, El.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Because of my lack of control I’ve taken your choice from you. You have no option now. You have to accept me as your mate.”
“But…you said a human mate could choose whether or not they wanted to be turned.”
“Yes, and you still have that choice but you have to take me as your mate. I can’t allow you to go unprotected. If you don’t want to be turned I won’t turn you but I can’t let you go. I’ll leave Whispering Springs if that’s what you want,” he offered.
“I don’t understand.”
“I think what Brogan is trying to say is that he’s prepared to leave Whispering Springs with you to live in Australia. You still have choices but he’s taken away your option of not being tied to him,” Rowan said.
“Okay, so I can choose to be turned or not but I can’t choose to deny my mate? Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Brogan and Quinn spoke at once.
El squeezed her eyes shut and laid back on the bed. This was so unreal. There were so many things to take in and she knew whatever happened her life would never be the same. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked at Brogan.
“Will you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Show me.”
“Now?”
“Yes.” As an afterthought she added, “Please.”
She watched as he stood and began removing his clothes. Without a sign of discomfort at getting nude in front of Quinn and Rowan, he stepped back from the bed and as he bent to the floor, he changed from Brogan to coyote. It happened so fast she barely saw the change. One second he was Brogan the next he wasn’t.
“Does it hurt to change?” she asked.
“No, but the first few times drain you of energy,” Quinn explained.
“Does he understand what I’m saying?” El watched Brogan but continued to ask Quinn her questions.
“Yes, we still think as we do in human form but we have the added instincts and skills of the coyote body. We’re exactly the same just in a different physical shape.”
“How do you turn a human?”
Brogan growled but the sound didn’t frighten her. Smiling she held out her hand for him to lick. He came closer, running his tongue over her outstretched palm before leaping onto the bed to stand over her and nuzzle the side of her face.
“I think I’ll let Brogan explain about turning a human. You might want to ask him to change back now. He won’t until you do.” Quinn pulled Rowan to her feet. “We’ll leave you alone for a while. You need to make a decision so we can deal with the pack Council.”
“What Council?” El asked.
“We’ll explain about it later. For now you need to talk to Brogan and make your choice,” Quinn closed the door behind them as they left.
Brogan’s coyote form lay next to her on the bed, his head resting on her stomach. Beneath the blanket El remained naked and the tickle of his warm breath fanned out over her belly. She remembered Quinn’s comment about mates having an unbearable attraction until they joined. It explained why she’d been a bundle of lust since meeting Brogan.
“Oh, Brogan. What are we going to do?”
He whined, reminding her she hadn’t asked him to change back yet.
“Change back, please.”
She expected him to get off the bed but he didn’t. He simply changed to human form and remained with his head on her stomach.
“I can’t tell you what to do, El. I know what I want you to do but I also know what I’ve forced you to accept. I’m not sorry you’re mine.” He ran a finger along her jaw, up and across her lips.
Fire ignited from his touch and streaked through her body, leaving her in no doubt that they had an incredible attraction.
“Why aren’t you freaking out about what I am?” he asked.
El smiled. “I guess my lifetime love affair with all things mythical helps me to accept it. Of course it doesn’t hurt to have seen it with my own eyes.” She laughed. “You know I’ve dreamed about creatures of myth and legend for most of my life and devoured every written text about them I could get my hands on. Maybe I knew I’d need it one day.”
“Maybe.” He toyed with a strand of hair.
“How do you turn a human, Brogan?”
“There are a couple of ways to do it.”
“A couple?”
“Yes, but the most successful way is by joining.” He tugged lightly before tucking the lock he held behind her ear.
“Meaning?” She thought she knew but wanted to hear him say it.
“Sex, El. I’ll be able to turn you when we have sex.” Surely there was a little more to it than that. After all, he’d said they could be mated without her being turned.
“So how did you mark me?” she asked.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly and you kind of took me by surprise with how responsive you are. When I made you come earlier I marked you as mine.” He trailed a finger around the shell of her ear.
“I didn’t make you come so you’re not marked.”
“No. But I don’t need to be marked to know I’m yours.”
“You don’t want me to mark you?” Had she misunderstood him?
“More than my next breath but it isn’t my choice to make.”
“I’m getting tired of all these choices, Brogan. Do you want to be mated with me or not?” Her frustration with him and the situation grew.
“Yes.”
“Then turn me,” she said.
“I don’t need to turn you to be your mate, El. It’s two different things.”
“Okay, so what happens if we mate but you don’t turn me? Am I able to live here with you without being able to shift?” She needed to be clear on this because once the decision was made there would be no turning back. Not that there was any going back now but she still wanted to understand.
“No. The shifter community would never accept you and I would be forced to give up my position as sovereign. If you choose not to be turned we would have to leave here.”
“So if I choose to be your mate but not a shifter we leave. If I choose not to be either, we leave. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“And you would do that, even if I don’t accept you as my mate?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my mate and without you I’m not whole.”
“Even if we aren’t mated?” El struggled to understand what he was saying. He couldn’t love her—he didn’t know her. But he would sacrifice everything for her regardless of her decision. He said he’d taken away her choice but he’d also taken away his own. By being her mate he was forced to go along with what she chose, forced to leave his home and life to follow her. They were both out of choices.
“Brogan, what you’ve just told me shows that we both no longer have a choice in what we do. No matter what I decide you will be affected and so will I.” She reached out and ran her fingers through his thick black hair, the silky curls twisting over her skin. “Are you a good sovereign?”
“I’ve made some improvements and stopped all of the fighting between the shifters living in and around Whispering Springs.” Pride over his accomplishments shone bright in his eyes.
“Would they suffer if you left?” He turned toward her hand when she stroked down the side of his face.
“No. Not if Quinn stayed but I don’t know if he and Rowan would stay without me here.”
“What do you want to do? Do you want to stay in Whispering Springs?” El watched his eyes, wanted to be sure he told her the truth.
“I want to be with you. Wherever that is,” he said.
“That’s not what I asked, Brogan.”
“This is my home. I was born in this house, in this room. I wouldn’t leave it for anything but you.”
“Then our choice is made. And it is our choice. It will have an impact on both of us.” She covered his mouth with her fingers when he started to speak. “For me, moving here wouldn’t be that big a deal. I have no family ties in Australia and I can work on my nature books anywhere that has internet access and a phone. For you to leave here you would be letting the shifter community down and walking away from the only life you’ve ever known. I couldn’t live with you giving all that up. The guilt would eat at me. I can’t ask you to make that sacrifice and I won’t. My choice is made. Turn me, Brogan.”