She fist bumps the air. “Looks like we won. I guess that means I get you and Hunter in my bed tonight.” She smacks another kiss on my lips and slides down off the dragon, leaving me speechless.
You should be saying, ‘Thank you, Hunter. I’m so glad that I was able to share in this victory with you,’ a voice rumbles in my brain, the tone amused.Now would you please get down so I can shift?
I jump in surprise and stare at the dragon in shock. His long neck is arched, and he’s staring at me.
You’re in the bond group now, so you get the added bonus of mind speak—not that it’s much of a bonus when Liam is bitching or Brodie rambles about some ridiculous topic.
Can you hear me?I ask, projecting my thoughts at him, and his large head nods in acknowledgment.
Huh, that sure is handy. I slide off Hunter, and he shifts, leaving him completely naked. He looks down at himself and winces. “Whoops, probably should have thought about that.”
Colbie stares at him unabashedly, but before either of us can reply, another scream signals the phoenix’s approach. He arrives in a ball of flame and hovers in the air in front of Colbie. Distracted from the naked dragon, she studies the flaming bird with intense interest. I can practically see him preening at her attention as she circles him. He’s large, probably twice the size of the biggest bird of prey.
She reaches out to touch him, but Hunter grabs her wrist, stopping her. “Wait, we don’t know if his flames will burn you or not. Let’s not test it out just yet.” She drops her hand in disappointment, and the bird shimmers, morphing into his naked human form.
He picks up her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “I can’t wait to feel your hands all over me, but Hunter is right. Until we know if you have your own phoenix form and are immune to my flames, we shouldn’t tempt fate. Phoenix fire can do a lot of damage. Our bond group is immune, just like they are to Hunter’s fire, but until the mating bond between us is sealed, let’s not risk anything.”
“Immune to your flames? And what did you mean about her having her own phoenix form? I thought you said she was an aquatic shifter,” I ask, but my ears perk up as the sound of pounding paws reaches the clearing.
A white tiger, a black and gray wolf, and a large white polar bear barrel into the clearing, and all three of them crowd around the queen, snarling and snapping at one another as they try to scent mark her, rubbing their heads and bodies over every inch of her they can reach. She giggles and runs her fingers through their fur, cooing at them as each one vies for their mate’s attention.
“What were you talking about?” I ask again, dragging their attention back to what Gem said.
“The queen is a multi shifter. We’ve seen three of her forms, but Sable, the general’s mate and head archivist, suggested that maybe she would be able to shift into all six—sorry, I guess eight now, and once we get a handle on the ones we know of to push her to try,” Gem explains as the big white tiger comes over and nudges him. His hands go into his fur as the tiger licks a wet stripe up his naked leg. Gem winces and pushes him away. “Jesus, your tongue can flay flesh, Gryff. I don’t want it quite that close to my delicate bits. At least not in that form.” He puts his hands over his dangling cock, protecting it, and I snort with amusement before focusing on what the phoenix just told me, a buzz of excitement filling my veins.
“She might be able to shift into a mer form?”
“That would be awesome!” Colbie exclaims as the other three shift. The two of us are now surrounded by naked shifters, and it’s like she doesn’t quite know where to look. I don’t care. Being comfortable naked is a part of being a shifter, and we learn at a young age not to ogle one another when we are, but the poor girl looks like a deer in headlights, and the scent of her desire thickens and fills the clearing.
“See something you like?” Liam asks, winking at her, which seems to have the desired effect of distracting her.
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “Meh, you know I’ve probably seen better.” We can all tell it’s a lie.
“Pfft, we know that’s not true. Humans only wish they could be as handsome and dashing as shifters.” Brodie laughs. “But developing a poker face should be a priority. We can’t have the queen ogling every naked person she comes upon,” he teases.
“Stop teasing the woman,” Gryff scolds his friends and heads over to a large tree not far from the edge of the pool. There, hidden amongst the gnarled roots, is a trunk. He pulls it open and drags out some fabric before tossing each of our bond mates a pair of shorts. “Cover up. We don’t want Colbie’s creature being tempted by all that dangling flesh.”
Brodie blanches and quickly pulls on his shorts, and the other four follow suit. I return to the subject at hand.
“Multi shifting is quite uncommon. In fact, I don’t think I know of another dual shifter.”
“That’s because our mate is special.” Gem smiles gently at the girl and takes a step toward her, clasping his hands at his sides like he’s restraining himself from reaching for her. “I can’t believe you’re our mate. We’ve waited so long for you.”
She shifts uncomfortably and doesn’t look like she knows how to respond.
“Easy, Gem. Give her time to adjust. Unlike us, who have known for almost ten years now, she’s had this all dumped on her. We need to give her a little bit of patience and understanding,” Hunter cautions, and Colbie smiles at him gratefully. Gem’s smile dips for a moment, but Colbie doesn’t miss his disappointment.
She reaches for his hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m not saying I don’t want this or you, just give me time. Humans have dating rituals and a whole courting process before they decide to make things official. Maybe it would be easier if we all had destined mates. It would certainly save a lot of heart break. Just give me time to adjust. I’m not going to reject you, I promise. There’s this ball of want in me that is screaming at me to throw myself at you, but my brain still has some catching up to do. We’ll get there,” she promises, looking at each one of us in turn.
Her words seem to ease some of his disappointment and settle them all slightly. My life just changed in an instant, and although I’m thrilled to have a mate, my mind is reeling at the change. It’s nice to have some company, and maybe I can be the support she needs, since I’m experiencing some life-changing moments as well.
“How about you show me this mysterious creature? We can work on getting your shift to happen smoothly and help you feel comfortable in a different skin,” I suggest, and she nods at me gratefully.
“Sounds good. So how does it work?”
I gesture to the other guys. “One of them will be able to explain it better. My change isn’t as drastic as an animal’s. Once I hit the water, it just kind of happens. I don’t have to think about it at all.”
“Hmm, really? I guess there’s no time like the present to see if the queen has a mer form.” Before anyone can react, Liam tosses Colbie over his shoulder and strides to the water.
