Page 22 of Branded in Love
Shock flies through me. “What?”
“Yeah...”
I am too stunned to weave sounds into words. However, I push through my tied tongue. “You’re a… shapeshifter?” I manage with a broken voice.
“Yeah,” he exhales. Still no eye contact.
“But, how?” I mumble, bemused. Words wedge in my throat. “I’ve never seen... Can you control it?” Finally, I say something sensible.
“Usually, yeah.”
Usually?Now I begin to panic. Sheer black fright washes over me. “Am I in danger…” I barely speak the words, “from you?”
His fierce gaze angles to me, a hand seizing my wrist fast. “Never,” he whispers, earnest in his tone. “You havenothingto fear from me, Luciana. I promise you.” His fingers burn into my skin.
I’m instantly awake. Every ounce of alcohol has evaporated from my system. “Is this afull moonkind of thing?” I hear myself say, clumsily.
“No,” he assures me with the sweetest disposition. “It’s amad-as-hellkind of thing.” Gavriil pauses. “Likereallymad.Fight or flightmad.”
“Okay,” I breathe. He still hasn’t let me go. And the worst part is, I don’t want him to. “Okay…” I swallow again. My throat is dry as hell. “I’m gonna need that shot now.”
He nods, stern in his expression. Swiftly, he fills my glass. My hands quiver when I take it. I don’t know if it’s his nearness or the news that makes me rattle inside and out. Maybe it’s both.
“So, your friends…” My voice drifts into a hushed whisper. “The ones you called in. They are...”
“My brothers,” Gavriil adds, and his voice is smooth and soothing. “Yes, they’re bear shifters as well.” He pauses. “They’ve been guarding us for a while now. They won’t let any vampires get close to you.”
“Why would they do that?” I snap as it sinks in. “Why would they risk their lives for a complete stranger?”
“Because…” he says, pouring himself a drink, “I asked them to.”
I scowl. “But why would they listen to you?” I add. “You’re…”
“Their king.” The words sail through his lips. He immediately covers his mouth with his fingers. I’m assuming he wasn’t supposed to say it.
A chill drops down my spine. “You’re…” I can’t even say it. I shake my head. “You’re the king of the…?”
“Ursa Clan,” he adds.
I look at him with surprise. “Is there anything else, Gavriil?” I say cautiously. “Anythingmore shocking than this that I should know about?”
“Nope,” he manages. “That’s pretty much it.”
“Bene…” I slowly nod, then suck in one long breath. How can I even begin to fit all this in my head?
He clears his throat, pushing back the stool. “This is too much for you,” he decides. “I should go. My presence will do nothing but disturb you…”
I grab his wrist before he can slide his hand off the table. “Please don’t do this,” I say in a low voice.
He stares at me, perplexed.
“Don’t decide for me how I feel or what I think,” I add.
His expression slips from bemusement into something more subdued that resembles pain. “Luciana…” he begs, tilting his head. “You don’t have to…”
I rise from the seat. “I don’thaveto do anything,” I tell him. It comes out harsher than I would have wanted, but there it is. “I don’t have to stay here, and I do. I don’t have to cook dinner with you, and I do.” A pause. “I do these things because I want to, Gavriil.” One scant breath. “I don’thaveto like you, and I do… because I want to.”
His eyes darken with emotion. Gavriil’s lips part, but no sound comes through.
