Page 17 of Feral Moon Rising
“That obvious, huh?”
“I might not know you, but Iknow you, sweetness. You’re ours as much as we are yours.”
My chest warmed and tightened all at once, both accepting and rejecting what he said. I craved the connection, panicked at the thought of having no choice.
But I want to stay with them. Never leave.
And that gut reaction scared me more no matter how much I wanted it.
“Yeah, that’s not confronting at all to a girl who had nothing less than twelve hours ago,” I admitted, biting my lip.
Blake laughed, the door creaking as he leaned his weight against it from the other side. “It’s a change,” he said softly. “Gray ... he’s been my brother in the family, sort of, for so long that when we turned to each other out of need for comfort one night it just seemed right. He tell you what happened to our parents?”
“No.” Blood filled my mouth as I bit through my lip and I sucked on the wound, wincing, and was glad he wasn’t there to see the self-inflicted damage, knowing he’d sass me for it.
Blake sighed. “Back then, we were hidden. No one was supposed to know about shifters. Some did, of course. It happened. But we had no community except a few small families. Panthers don’t travel in packs. The local claw here—that’s what we call a group of panther shifters—is huge. Out of necessity, I think. Safety in numbers and all. But it’s not natural to us. Gray hates being associated with them, does anything to hide away. He’ll do anything to hideyou.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. “Thank you?”
“He’s very protective of those he loves.” Blake let that slip out like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Maybe for him, it was.
“I’m sure he is for you.”
A chuckle met my ears, the sound rich and low and filled with tension. “That includes you by default, sweetness. You’re his now too, no matter how much you hide it. He accepted you, claimed you, and so he loves you.”
“That easy, huh?” My broken whisper was a child’s prayer at best.
“That easy.” Blake’s simple promise left my cheeks damp. “It’s okay to be scared. That story I was telling you? Panthers were hunted almost to extinction. We lost our parents in one night. Ran for the next six years. Settled, until I fucked it up and now we’re ... well, we aren’t running, exactly. Walking, maybe. Until we found you.” He paused for breath. “I’ll tell Gray you’re fine.”
I listened to his footsteps retreating up the hallway and let out another breath. After a few more, they came easier. I didn’t struggle quite so much with the panic and it receded too. Finally, after my ass well and truly fell asleep, I pushed up on shaking legs that ached nearly as much as my worn-out pussy, and hauled myself in front of the mirror.
The face that stared back at me didn’t resemble any human I recognized. I might have expected my face to be gaunt or skeletal, but the twenty-something girl who stared back with silky locks that curled around her shoulders and glowing cheeks, high cheekbones, albeit a bit on the skinny side, didn’t resemble a starved homeless girl at all.
Is this who they see when they share me?
I blinked at myself for a stunned moment. Maybe that panther saliva really was that good. Or maybe it had other properties. I had no idea but maybe I needed to find out more about this new world I'd fallen into.
Rummaging through the case of things on the bench that looked like they belonged to Blake from the colors, blue toothbrush, yellow case, minty green swirl glitter toothpaste—everything Gray owned was, well, gray. I brushed my teeth with the borrowed brush and prayed he wouldn't mind.
Mate, remember?
Biting my lip, I practiced my apology a few times once I washed my face and finger-combed my hair, not that it seemed to make much difference. Then I made it to the door. The shadow on the other side told me Blake was back. A smile grew across my face as I rested my forehead against the door.
“You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” I turned the handle and pulled the door inward, stepping back.
A mistake, as it allowed the person on the other side space to step in with me. A person who, from their pasty skin, short stature and dull eyes, was definitely not either of my mates. How quickly I've fallen into their language.
A scream built in my throat but I barely had time to register the dull gleam before a sting hit the side of my neck and the world hazed over. A pretty purple, and the sting reminded me of the last time this happened. At least, I thought it did. Maybe.
Then that memory, and my reality was gone, replaced by the purple haze that blocked the world out of my body, overheated, and all I craved was Gray. Preferably inside me.
Not that I got the chance for that either as I was towed out of the apartment. My mind screamed there was something I should be doing.Mate, mate, mate!Like, call for someone, ask for something—Help me, save me, don’t let them!
But I couldn’t form the thought properly in my hazed-out mind.
I don't want to leave.
