Chapter Ten
Boone woke with a jerk and sat up. This time, there was no hot, wet suction around his dick. He glanced around, trying to figure out what woke him. Nothing seemed to be out of place, and he couldn’t hear anything except the usual nighttime sounds, but…
A small whimper from the man beside him caught his attention. Boone scooted down next to Jackie and drew the man back into his arms. When Jackie whimpered again and then jerked, Boone knew something was wrong.
“Jackie, baby?” He gave the man a little shake.
Jackie’s whimper became a cry. His body jackknifed as if propelled by an unseen force. Boone sat up so he could grab Jackie and keep him from falling off the bed.
“Jackie, wake up.”
Boone pulled his hand back when he felt something move under Jackie’s skin. A smattering of light-colored fur sprouted up along Jackie’s arm. Crap. Jackie was shifting, or at least his animal, whatever it was, wanted to come out.
Boone tumbled back off the side of the bed when Jackie suddenly screamed and sat up. He landed with a heavy—and painful—thud. He had just enough time to draw air back into his lungs before Jackie screamed again.
The pain in his mate’s voice drove Boone into a sitting position. He looked over the edge of the bed just in time to see Jackie’s body begin to contort as he shifted for the very first time. It was painful to watch, bones cracking and reshaping, muscles stretched beyond their limits.
Jackie’s screams were the worst. Boone wanted to rage, to kill whatever was making his mate cry out in such anguish. Except there was no enemy to kill, no one to make pay for the excruciating pain his mate was suffering.
He knew from personal experience that the first shift was always the hardest. No one had ever told him that watching his mate shift for the first time was even worse. If Boone could take this on so Jackie wouldn’t suffer, he’d do it without question.
When movement on the bed stopped and the screams trailed away to heavy panting, Boone blew out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
Now for the tricky part.
Boone moved slowly, not wanting to startle the beautiful cat stretched out on the bed. He froze when the feline’s head snapped in his direction. A low warning growl came out.
Boone growled back.
The cat lowered its head to the mattress, laying it down between its paws. Boone reached out and gently stroked his hand through the soft tan fur. He smiled when the cat began to purr.
“Well, I guess we know what type of shifter you are.”
An extremely large lion.
* * * *
Boone could tell Jackie was nervous, and considering Jackie’s history with shifters, he could understand it. He also knew that Jackie had nothing to fear from those in the Potter’s Creek Pride. Now that they were doubly mated, Jackie was part of the pride. They would protect Jackie to the death, just as they would want to be protected.
Boone reached across the bench seat and grabbed Jackie’s hand with his own. “You have nothing to be afraid of, baby. They’re going to love you.”
Jackie grimaced as he glanced down at the outfit he wore. “We’ll see.”
The shorts were plain denim, the short-sleeved shirt cotton. Simple enough, but that’s where simple ended. The shirt was white with a colorful splash of rainbow colors across the front and a V-neck collar. Jackie’s toenails and fingernails were painted hot pink, his sandals the same color. His hoop earrings and bangle bracelets matched.
“I think you look hot.”
Like, incredibly hot. Those denim shorts hugged Jackie’s ass like a second skin, and they were short enough to show every inch of Jackie’s long legs. The shirt he wore wasn’t skin tight, but close enough. It was easy to see that Jackie was in good shape.
Jackie rolled his eyes. “You would.”
Boone grinned as he gave Jackie’s hand a gentle squeeze. He might be huge in his lion form, but he was still smaller than Boone in his human form. Boone knew he needed to be careful with his mate. He never wanted to see Jackie in pain again. He was glad shifting would get easier from here on out. Watching him go through his first shift the previous night was more than enough for Boone.
“You have nothing to worry about, baby. Kye said he and the others are whipping us up a big lunch. They’re all very excited to meet you.”
“I’ve met Kye.”
“True, but you’ve never met him as my mate or a member of our pride.”
