Page 9 of Shifters Unifying
“Based on the histories? Me.” I took another deep breath. “Me,” I said again, louder this time. “I will lead the United Council of Shifters.”
“Prove you are the multimorph!” someone yelled from behind me.
I dropped to the ground, shoved my hands in the dirt, and I summoned my first shift. Twisting and contorting my form shrank down, and my clothes puddled around me. I hadn’t shredded them for once. The next moment, I peered up at the shifters in the shape of a black squirrel. I chittered at Torbin as I darted forward out of the clothing I had left behind.No place for modesty among shifters.
He nodded, a barely concealed twinkle in his eye. Maybe my first form would shut up the testy squirrel shifter alpha, too.
After I stepped out of the way of my clothing, I rapid-changed from raccoon to raven, and ended as a brown bear beforereturning to my human form, smoothing my rainbow-colored hair and trying to catch my breath after the flood of energy. The rainbow tattoo on my hip tingled.
Finally, I said, “This is your proof. I am the multimorph, and I demand your compliance.”
The assembled body of shifters glared at me. The obstinate squirrel shifter twitched in her seat as though she had a tail to shake at me.
“You have no experience as a leader,” the raccoon shifter said, but the accusation held little strength.
“Because I was raised as a human and learned of my shifter gifting so late in my life, I have a unique advantage. I am not committed to any clan, and I have no strong ties to any. These details make me uniquely suited to make decisions for all clans.”
“You may will it so, but that simply isn’t true,” the woman snapped. “The alpha of Six-Mile shares his bed with you, and Red Tail has participated in your training. These are both strong ties.”
“That’s an understandable concern,” I said, more nervous about the part of I hadn’t discussed with my mate as my plan had formed over the last weeks. “So, Logan would not have a seat on the council.”
Logan growled from the sidelines.
I rushed ahead. “I will spend time training in each clan who has a large enough territory to welcome the multimorph and the warriors who will accompany her.” Keeping my head up and my eyes trained on the council in front of me was harder than I anticipated, and I resisted the urge to shy away and kick at the dirt. “Despite his position as the alpha of Six-Mile, he would not service on the council. Six-Mile’s representation would be served by me and me alone.”
When I glanced toward my mate, he gave me a long, calculating look. His silence spoke volumes, and the linkbetween us thrummed with the fury coursing through him. Then he stood and silently marched out of the conclave.
Fuck.There would be hell to pay later, but it was the only way I believed any of the alphas would agree to my proposal. Acheron was a threat we had to meet head-on, and Logan would have to trust me to be his multimorph as well.
“What say you, Marcus, lead alpha among the cats?” Torbin thundered.
Marcus Steele, the sandy-haired alpha of the Ville Platte Cats, sat on one of the large stone blocks at the base of the amphitheater seating. He lounged on his elbow while he listened, his amber eyes flashed. He tipped his head to the side, studying me for a long moment, his evaluation unsettling.
He slid off the large boulder and landed on his feet, every move feline. “I must admit that I was not in favor of this proposal.”
The alphas erupted in chaos.
Torbin jumped to his feet and roared, slamming his fist on the makeshift council table. Splinters shot across the surface. “You will be silent.”
Marcus also lifted his hands, spreading them wide, and the tumult died down. “I was not in favor of this proposal until the multimorph made an offer for the good of all of the shifter clans without thought to her own personal feelings.”
All fell silent. Not even a breeze dared move through the gathering.
“She has offered to train with each of our clans,” he said. “She will learn how to best defend each our homes, and she has denied her mate a spot on the governing body. Six-Mile will not have a voting membership in the United Council of Shifters, and she has sufficiently removed any potential conflict of interest.”
As his voice faded, I turned slowly in place, meeting the gaze of each alpha in the gathering place. “Iamthe multimorph, andI swear to defend each of you as though you were my home clan, my home people. I will treat your homes as though they are my own, and we build an army made up of the best of us.”
The silence stretched. The sounds from outside our protected space didn’t reach inside, and none spoke.
But Torbin’s mouth twitched as though he wanted to smile. Maybe the old bear was still on my side after all. Instead, he said, “I make a motion to temporarily form the United Council of Shifters, led by the multimorph, Emma Carter.”
“I second this,” Marcus said.
Within moments, all alphas voted for the forming of a council.
At the unanimous, if begrudging, vote, Torbin nodded. “Each clan must choose five warriors. Once those warriors join our multimorph, she will allow that clan to send a representative for a position on the governing committee. These representatives must be mature shifters of good reputation and known for their level-headedness.”
“That leaves me out,” Jasper yelled from the back of the gather place. “Thank god!”
