Page 15 of Elusive Alpha
“You know,” Franklin said, drying his hands. “That forest is the perfect place for a panther and a bear to shift and get to know each other better.”
I cracked up. Franklin didn’t have a smooth bone in his body. “We are mated, Franklin, you don’t have to keep that up.”
The older man became serious. “Go on. Run together. Strengthen your bond. Trust me. This life is short. Spend asmuch time together as possible. Even if it’s just a little run in the forest. Every second counts.”
Chapter Fifteen
Rook
We were going to shift together, but first, there was something we’d wanted to do. “Let’s take a few minutes and go across the street,” I said, grabbing my mate’s hand. “That cinnamon smell is going to travel home with me, and I would prefer it be connected to a fun experience instead of just having peeked through the windows.”
“I had totally put it out of my mind,” he said. “Something distracted me.”
“That something had better have been me,” I growled, pulling him in for a hug. “But I am feeling the need to buy a cinnamon broom or maybe some apple jelly.”
“And a cinnamon apple,” he said, tugging me toward the road. “I haven’t had one of those in years. I know they are terrible for the teeth, but if they are made right, so worth it.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had one.” I looked for traffic and, finding none, darted across the road, omega in tow. “How do they make them, anyway? Coated, right?”
He bounced, his excitement contagious. “With red hots, I think. Or maybe I’ve got it wrong, but it’s definitely a candy coating.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The store was open; in fact, the whole front of it facing the road had been somehow pulled back so everything inside showed to advantage. At least a half dozen cars were pulled off onto the dirt shoulder, their occupants perusing the items for sale. Whoever ran the place sure knew curb appeal, the formerly empty porch piled with pumpkins and winter squash of every shape, size, and color.
“They sure know their squash, don’t they?” Idris picked up a warty oval-shaped version.
“Do you want it?”
“Oh no.” He set it down. “I wouldn’t want to explain it to TSA, but someday, if I have a garden, I’d like to try to grow something like that.”
“I have the land but not sure if they would thrive at my altitude in the mountains. We could check.” In my mind, there was no question he’d be coming home with me.
“Oh, there are the cinnamon apples!” He darted ahead of me into the store and stopped in front of a central display. “They have caramel, too, and all sorts of things they’ve dipped them in. Nuts and candy and chocolate…”
I came up behind him, taking delight in his pleasure, and together, we picked out an apple for him and a few other souvenirs of the area as memories. Not that I needed them; I’d never forget a moment of it.
We made a stop at the inn to drop off our purchases before going out the back door and leaving our clothes on the porch. “You first?” Idris asked. “I’d love to see your panther.”
“How about at the same time for our first meeting of the animals. My cat is anxious to get to know your bear.”
“Deal.”
I’d never shifted with a bear before, or seen one do it, but after saying we should simultaneously take our fur, I quickly followed him, landing all four paws on the ground as he rose on his hind legs to a height I hadn’t expected.
So tall, but he dropped to meet me nose to nose, dark amber eyes twinkling. Magnificent with thick fur and long, curving claws. We paced around one another, the animals taking in one another before facing the woods and loping toward the tree line. They didn’t need any input from us, and so I settled in for the ride. My cat was anxious to show off his skills at leaping andclimbing, doing acrobatics I’d never experienced before when in this form. Show-off! But I couldn’t mind, feeling a great pride for the beautiful beast who shared my body and life. He’d been lonely for a long time, too, deriving no comfort from the meaningless dating I did.
He’d been quietly waiting for our mate, and now that we’d found him, his joy was unbounded. The woods behind the inn extended farther than I’d anticipated, and after a few moments, my cat hung back for the pleasure of watching our mate lumber ahead of us. Despite my choice of verb, he was more graceful than I’d have believed a bear could be, each giant paw landing firmly on earth and lifting again only to land again. He had a rhythm to his steps, a quiet speed, and we could watch him forever.
But we couldn’t stay in the forest forever. My mate had a flight to catch and we both had things to figure out. Despite everything we said, everything we did, we had not made plans beyond this afternoon.
It should be easy, but I had a feeling it would not be.
Chapter Sixteen
Idris
As our last day together waned, so did my belief that all of this would work out. Rook and I were so different. Not opposite but different. He was a gazillionaire as far as I knew. Even imagining him in my tiny apartment was laughable. Somehow his persona was so big, I doubted it would fit.
