Page 15 of Beneath His Alpha's Wings
“We really are immortal, aren’t we?” I asked.
Tagger seemed relieved I already knew. “Yes. I hope that’s not too shocking for you.”
I shook my head.
He crossed the kitchen and started digging through cupboards. I watched him for a moment, then realized he was getting coffee together.
“Do you want any?” he asked, as he filled the coffee maker with water. “I figure Kessel will when he gets up, he pulled an all-nighter last night. And right after the moon too.”
“No thanks.” I studied Tagger. He certainly knew his way around the kitchen. Was thisreallyKessel’s house or did other wardens spend time here too? “You come here a lot?”
“Yeah.” Tagger paused and frowned. “Well, not as much as I used to. Kessel and I used to hang out a lot, but ever since I met Josh…”
“Were you and Kessel…” The idea made me jealous.
“No… although there was that one time…” Tagger chuckled, then shook his head. “Even if we were together though, Josh is my true mate. No shifter would stand in the way of that.”
I frowned at yet another use of the strange phrase. “What is a true mate?” I asked. “You make it sound like it isn’t just synonymous with boyfriend or partner.”
Tagger pursed his lips and leaned back against the counter. “Well, I guess as far as humans are concerned, it's kind of like a soulmate.”
“A soulmate?” I echoed skeptically.
“Yeah. You don't believe me?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“You just gained the ability to change into a bear. And you're talking to a guy who can change into an artic fox. You don't think soulmates could be a thing?”
“Well, when you put it that way…” I had to admit, he had a point.
“Anyway, true mates are your perfect partner. You balance each other, hardly fight, never fall out of love… You’re just absolutely head over heels for each other, for all eternity.” Tagger smiled for a moment. “Every shifter dreams of finding one, although not everyone is so lucky.”
“Does Kessel have one?” I knew he had a son, but since he hadn’t mentioned anything about his son’s room, or anything about anyone else living here, I felt like he must have lived alone. The idea of him having a true mate made me uncomfortable somehow.
“No,” Tagger said sadly. He looked up at the ceiling with a frown. “He needs one, he’s had a couple of hard moons recently.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, alarmed by the way he said it.
“Well, he's an older alpha, you know.”
I frowned. “No actually.”
“Sorry. I guess the feral shifter didn’t really cover that kind of thing.”
I shook my head.
“So… you know how when we change during the full moon we have no control over ourselves?” I nodded. “Well, it didn't used to be a problem, you know, hundreds and hundreds of years ago when we still ran in packs.”
Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, hmm? Well, that definitely helped the wardens arenotan enemy pack argument. I nodded again.
“Back then alphas had, you know, something to do. Room to run around, hunt, an entire pack at their backs. It's not like that anymore. There's too much of a risk of hurting someone. So now, we all shift in the confines of a bunker.”
I wrinkled my nose and nodded. I was familiar with the bunker.
Tagger continued, “And alphas, well our animals in general, but alpha animals in particular don't like that. Omegas and mostly betas usually are fine, but alphas get… agitated alone in the bunkers. Worked up. Sometimes they end up hurting themselves.”
“How?” I asked.
