“Damn,” Craeg muttered, thrusting his hand through his wet hair before stroking his beard.“Really?”
Silas shrugged.“No.”
Nodding slowly, his gaze going a little vacant as he peered around the chamber, Craeg whispered, “Okay then.”After clearing his throat, he met Silas’s gaze again.Then he smiled and again held out his hand.“Come here, my sweets,” he once more encouraged.“We’ll get through this.I’ll explain everythin’.”When Silas continued to hesitate, Craeg added, “I just wanna hold ya, my mate.That’s it.Talk and explain and hold ya while I tell ya about our kind.”
Uncertainty thrummed through Silas as he tried to decide what to do.
Really, though.There wasn’t much of a decision.If he wanted to know about his abilities, hiskind, he needed to trust this man.After all, he really didn’t want to live the rest of his life as a bat.
He has the answers.
Right?
Chapter Three
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CRAEG BARELY MANAGEDto keep breathing, waiting with bated breath, as his newly found mate decided what to do.
Gods, he truly doosna know anythin’ about our kind?How is that possible?
While Craeg couldn’t imagine how that could be possible, he knew he would find out eventually.He just had to be patient.He had to win his pretty little mate’s trust first.
With his heart thudding wildly in anticipation, Craeg watched as Silas slowly unfolded from his position.His mate’s body was lean and toned and...quite dirty, actually.He kept one dust-smudged arm across his groin area, hiding, as he slowly crept toward him on his two feet and second hand.
Craeg noticed his sweets’ face also sported a distinctly pinkish hue, betraying his embarrassment just as much as his scent did.Not wanting to call attention to his bat shifter’s obvious discomfort, he kept his smile relaxed.Gently, Craeg gripped the young-looking man’s hand and helped him forward and, finally, onto his lap.
Even though his mate hunched, glancing furtively at him from beneath his lashes, Craeg wrapped him in his arms.He tucked him sideways on his thighs and held him close.Craeg tipped his head down and pressed his nose to the man’s hairline, taking in his scent while doing his best to ignore his raging boner.Ignoring the way his mate’s pert little ass felt nestled on his thighs was quite a bit more difficult.
Now’s so not the time.
Too bad.
Once Craeg had his mate situated, he murmured, “So, I told ya my name’s Craeg.What’s yours, sweets?”He desperately wanted a name to go with his mate’s pretty masculine features.
“S-Silas,” the man replied, his voice so soft Craeg wasn’t certain he would’ve heard it if he hadn’t been a shifter.Before he could respond, his mate cleared his throat and stated in a slightly stronger voice.“My name is Silas.”
“It’s truly a pleasure to meet ya, Silas,” Craeg replied, bussing a kiss to his temple.He silently rolled the name through his mind and smiled mentally at the soft cadence of it.Perfect for my sweets.“Ya said ya never met another shifter before.”He figured that was the first thing that needed to be addressed.“I’m wonderin’ how that’s possible.”
Silas lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, while keeping his arms still wrapped around his upturned legs.“I was raised in group homes, mostly,” he told him, his quiet tenor voice filling the expansive cavern.“I overheard one caseworker telling another about me being left at a firehouse when I was a baby.”
“Oh, sweets,” Craeg crooned, squeezing him a little tighter against him.Nuzzling his nose along Silas’s temple, he murmured, “I’m sorry that happened to ya.”
Again, Silas gave one of those half-shrugs, but he didn’t respond to Craeg’s sentiment.Instead, he murmured, “While at the last one I was at, I started feeling these weird sensations.”His brows furrowed, his thoughts obviously elsewhere as his tone turned a bit vacant.“Mostly in my arms.Sometimes in my legs, fingers, and toes.”His voice lowered to almost a whisper.“Then the shakes started, and I thought I was having mini seizures.I told Misses Walsh, one of the assistant heads of the home, but she claimed I was making it up for attention.”
Craeg grimaced, his heart going out to Silas.He recognized the description as the warnings of a shifter’s oncoming first change.Craeg couldn’t imagine having to go through that alone and unknowing.His sweet mate must have been terrified.
And to have someone who is supposed to be there to care for ya blow ya off?Essentially callin’ ya a liar?
Damn them.
Craeg made a mental note to have Ovram, their tech guru, track down this Misses Walsh.He intended to get a little justice for his sweets.Pushing that thought away for later, Craeg rubbed his palm up and down Silas’s arm, doing his best to soothe.
“Those are all classic signs of your body gettin’ ready to shift for the first time,” Craeg explained softly.“It was completely normal and natural.”
As Silas nodded slowly, Craeg wondered what would have happened if that nasty Misses Walsh had actually taken Silas to the hospital.They would have drawn blood.Their results would have triggered an alert in Ovram’s system.Someone from their pod would have been charged with investigating and probably taking Silas out of there.
And I may have met my mate when he was an adolescent.
