Page 7 of His Impossible Elf Mate
Neither of us were hiding our feelings very well. Not that I cared to. I wanted to see what this was growing between us. What my family thought be damned.
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Teárlach
The bear shifter, the father of the Alpha Mate, had invited the elves to accompany him and his darling daughter to the factory the pack ran. It was one of the most prominent businesses the pack owned. Of course, it was something that was endlessly fascinating to Hakeem, our resident expert in shifter behavior. In Abrocaelum, shifters were not as unified as this pack.
Hakeem was already vying for permission to stay and study the pack since they were one of the healthiest ones he’d ever seen. Even his beloved books and histories had never described one so closely bonded. Yes, there were still outliers in the pack, but the majority were there out of a deep love and loyalty for the Alpha Pair.
Our queen had already given us leave to stay as long as necessary to study the beta sickness and to look for any link tying it to our fertility issues. There had to be a reason our goddess wanted us to help the shifters. We had been sent to their worst affected pack, onewho behaved so differently from anything previously known to us, for something important. I felt it to my very bones.
Walking beside Axel in his wolf form felt like a privilege. His wolf was a stunning creature. He was not shifting nearly as much as he should be, perhaps because we could not talk properly with him in his alter form. With a sly grin, I sent out a tendril of magic towards the young beta, the one who occupied all of my thoughts.
Axel? Can you hear me?
The wolf stumbled, causing the others with us to shoot shocked glances at him.
Teárlach?
Yes. I wondered if my magic could link us like your pack link does.
So you’re just speaking to me, not everyone else.
No. Just you.I felt some strange possessive emotion pass over him.Why? Would you prefer I spoke to the others like this too?
I was teasing. There was no one else in our group that I would want to speak to like this. It was intimate, being able to hear his thoughts. I was sure he could shield anything he did not want me to hear.
Just me, he interrupted.I don’t want anyone else to have this. I didn’t know your magic could do this.
Elven magic is all about intent and I wanted to speak to you while you were shifted. Perhaps now you will assume your wolf form more aroundme?
Through our link, I felt his embarrassment at being caught out.
I’ll shift more.
Good.I felt a smile stretch across my face and the wolf by my side caught the expression.
Passing closer to the charcoal wolf, I sifted my fingers through his dense fur. Axel was a thing of beauty, whatever form he took. It shamed me to admit I was jealous he had another form. The freedom he had to give in to his natural instincts, to be free, in wolf form, made me long for one of my own.
Axel gave a pleased rumble at the petting.
You really are beautiful.I hadn’t intended for the sentiment to escape, but I couldn’t deny the satisfaction I got when Axel’s pleasure registered.
In my wolf form?
Both, obviously.
Our arrival at the factory cut our flirting short. The manager, a nymph named Shelby, led us into a room where the shifters could regain their human forms. Axel followed Dakota and Dakota’s daughter, Angelica and I heard them shuffling around and shifting. Axel seemed to take a long time.
Dear one?
Axel jolted with surprise, finally back in his human form.I’m okay, T.I felt him slump into the seat provided for him and slowly begin dressing. His exhaustion from the shift weighed heavily over our link, which was likely more emotional than the usualpack links. Axel would have found it invasive, so I vowed to be careful not to let it slip just how much he was broadcasting.
As soon as I was able, I was by his side, providing comfort and support to the shifter who had already stolen my heart.
The revelation of my feelings stunned me to my core. I had already felt drawn to the man, yet I had not expected to have given my heart away so quickly, especially knowing our time was limited.
No, I would find a way to keep him.
