“The itching is the worst. It feels like a thousand ants crawling under your skin. Then there is the craving for raw meat, the weird-ass dreams, pain in the joints, more speed and strength, a stronger sense of smell, the increase in hair growth.” Gabriel blinked as his eyes rounded. “If you don’t know what to expect, it’s kind of scary.”
“And when am I going to start going through all of this?”
“Well, Aldrik says the symptoms start for each of us after we turned twenty-five. I was first born, so I went through it first. You were born four minutes later, so you’ll go through the symptoms four weeks later. Mikhail was born four minutes after you, so his symptoms will appear four weeks after yours. Rafael was born four minutes after Mikhail, so his symptoms will appear—”
“Four weeks after that,” Dom finished.
Gabriel nodded.
“Man, our mother must have been a saint.”
Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t know.” He knew nothing about his parents. “Aldrik refuses to discuss our parents. He says now is not the time. We need to concentrate on getting used to being a shifter. We need to know how to use our shifter abilities to protect ourselves. He says it’s the only way we’ll survive the coming war.”
“What war?” Chay snapped, surprising Gabriel by the vehemence in his voice.
“Aldrik says there’s a war coming.” That was about all he knew. “The man who wiped out our family is going to try and kill us all.”
“Those men back at the motel,” Dom said. “Did he send them?”
Gabriel nodded. “The war was started by a man who wanted to rule our homeland. Since our family had been the ruling family for centuries, he felt the only way to do that was to eliminate all of us. That’s why it’s so important for us to find our brothers. Only when the four of us have reunited and learned to be one with our shifted form, do we have a chance of defeating this evil.”
“Shit.” Dom rubbed his hand down his face as he sat back in his chair. “An hour ago, I was a simple motorcycle mechanic. Now, you’re telling me I’m some sort of panther shifter and a member of a royal family.”
“A prince. You’re a prince of the royal family.”
“Oh.” A bark of laughter burst from Dom. “A prince. Even better.”
“It could be worse,” Gabriel pointed out.
“How?”
“You at least have someone explaining to you what to expect. I had to figure it all out on my own. You should have seen how freaked out I got when a tail grew out of my backside. And try shoving it down your pants because you can’t figure out how to make it go away. That’s insane.”
Dom’s lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, but wasn’t sure if he should. They were having a serious conversation, so Gabriel understood his confusion.
“A tail, huh?” Dom finally asked.
“Damn thing has a mind of its own,” Gabriel mumbled.
“I would be happy to help both of you with anything I can,” Chay said. “I’ve known I was a shifter my entire life, and I’ve been shifting for years. I may not be a panther shifter, but shifting is shifting. It can’t be that much different than a falcon.”
Gabriel turned to stare intently at Chay. “Aren’t cats and birds mortal enemies?”
Chay smiled. “They can be.”
“A panther is a predator.” Gabriel felt as if he needed to point that out. He didn’t want to accidentally pounce on the man and eat him if he was in his bird form.
“So is a falcon.”
“Yeah, but—”
“I’m not worried, Gabriel. Your panther will never hurt me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Chay’s smile grew into a wide grin. “Because I’m your mate.”
Gabriel stilled. “I’m sorry, you’re my what?”
Chay’s eyes flickered with darker flecks of gold. His stare was so intense, Gabriel wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. He was mesmerized.
“I am your mate, Gabriel, the other half of your soul. We call them Twin Flames. One soul, two bodies.”
Gabriel drew in a stuttering breath. “And that means what?”
He needed to be sure that what he was fantasizing about and what Chay was saying were one and the same. Considering how much he had thought was true his entire life turned out not to be, checking was essential.
“That means you belong to me.”
Oh damn.
