Page 38 of Mysterious Mate

“But you are,” Cage assured her.

“How did you do this to me? Why?”

“You did it to yourself. Remember when you bit me, drew blood and then licked it from your lips?”

“It was only a drop or two…”

“Doesn’t matter. Each drop of blood contains your entire DNA sequence. Shifter DNA is stronger than human and mine overwrote yours. When you ingested my blood, your body began to morph.”

“But how did I shift? I mean it’s not like I know how.”

“I know, but in rare circumstances, like when your life is in danger, your she-bear will come forward to protect you. She did and now Frank won’t cause you any more trouble.”

She glanced at Frank again. He hadn’t moved and when she looked, she realized his eyes were staring lifelessly into space with no sign of life. Both his chest and throat had been slashed open by the claws of what she supposed was a bear.

Willow pointed to him. “Did I do that?”

"Yes and no," Cage confirmed. "Did your claws rip him open? Yes, but it was the Shadow League who really did this to him. They wanted to use him against us, against you."

Willow took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I should have known. There were so many signs."

Cage took her hand in his, squeezing gently. "It’s not your fault, Willow. None of this is your fault."

She looked into his eyes, seeing the truth there. She had been blind to the reality around her, but now she understood. "What do we do now?"

"We shift—no pun intended—our focus from Frank to the Shadow League. We fight," Cage said simply. "We protect our own. And we make sure the Shadow League can’t hurt anyone else."

Willow nodded, feeling a new strength coursing through her. Inside she could hear her bear making chuffing noises of agreement. She wasn’t alone in this fight. She had Cage, the unit he led and her bear. Together, they would face whatever came next.

As the adrenaline began to fade, Willow felt exhaustion creeping in. Cage helped her to her feet, wrapping her in a blanket before lifting her up and carrying her as they made their way back to their bedroom. Jones followed closely, his gaze darting around their surroundings for other threats.

Once inside the main keep, Willow finally allowed herself to relax. She leaned into Cage, drawing comfort from his warmth and strength. Setting her down inside their bedroom, Willow’s fists clenched at her sides, the comfort he had given her evaporating in a surge of anger.

Without thinking, she whirled on him, swinging her fist and landing a punch solidly into his abdomen. Normally she might have gone for something else, but she knew the gorilla had landed several blows there and he was probably tender. Cage winced.

“What the fuck?” he growled.

"You should have told me!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with a mixture of fury and hurt. "You should have been honest with me from the start!"

Cage flinched, more from the accusation than the pain, and looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "I know, baby. I know. I’m sorry. I was trying to protect you."

Protect me?" she repeated, her voice rising. "Do you have any idea how stupid and betrayed I feel right now? You kept such a huge part of your life from me. How could you?" Cage reached out, but she took a step back, glaring at him. "I understand it’s a big secret, but still I had a right to know. How could you just let me—what the hell do you call it anyway?”

“Transitioning or turning.”

She nodded. “How could you just let me transition without telling me. Don’t you need my permission for that?”

He grinned—the little mischievous-boy grin that she adored. “Depends on who you ask, but in general it is frowned upon to turn someone without their permission. If they are in extreme danger or something…”

“Still, how could you not have told me?”

“In all honesty, I didn’t know. It wasn’t until I saw you’d shifted and started to look back on our time together. The only time you could have ingested my blood was when you bit me and then licked my blood from your lips.”

“But that was a tiny amount.”

“And that is all it takes.”

She shook her head, continuing, her voice softer but still laced with anger. "But I thought you cared for me.”

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