And okay, maybe being under the watchful eye of a protective alpha wasn't so bad. It was nice having a mate with knives for nails, even if we did have to be careful while holding hands.
Cloud made me feel safe, protected. Being with him felt like finding an island after struggling in the ocean for so long. He was a place to rest my weary body and heal my bitter soul.
At last, my nausea finally settled. I must've let out a relieved sigh because Cloud asked, "Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Thanks for staying up with me. You didn't have to."
"Sure I did. You're my mate." He tilted my chin up and pressed a kiss to my lips. "That's what mates are for."
There he went, stirring up those fluffy jitters in my chest again. Every time he kissed me or gazed at me with those soulful golden eyes, I couldn't help but melt into a stupid puddle of mouse shifter goo. I used to find it embarrassing, the way Cloud so easily slithered past my walls and wrapped himself around my core like a vine, but now I was too happy to care.
Was this how my Da felt when he met my Pa? Did they have a rocky start like me and Cloud did, or were they always head-over-heels for each other? The two of them got along so well, it was hard to imagine them any other way.
"Your nose is doing that thing again," Cloud remarked.
"My nose? What thing?"
He playfully brushed his knuckle against the tip of my nose. "When you're thinking hard, your nose twitches just like a mouse. I can practically see your invisible whiskers."
I snorted but nuzzled against his warm chest. "Did you ever think your fated mate would be a mouse shifter?"
Cloud tilted his head. "No. I never thought about my future mate too hard at all. I figured, whatever will be, will be. You know?"
A smile curled the corner of my lip. "What an odd way of thinking."
"Are you calling me weird?"
"Yes." I ran my hand over his forearm so he'd know I was only teasing. "You just go with the flow, never stopping to worry about anything."
Cloud shrugged.
"I can't stop bad things from happening just by worrying about them."
"No, but you can take steps to prevent them," I pointed out.
He let out a laugh. "Like stabbing everyone you meet first and asking questions later?"
"Exactly."
"That would be pretty easy for me," Cloud mused, examining his talons, "but that's not my style. I don't want everybody to be afraid of me just because of the way I look."
I'd never thought about it like that before. As a mouse shifter, I was small and fragile, a weakling compared to any other shifter. But Cloud had the opposite experience. Not only was he a rare type of creature, but he had every advantage in the book—razor-sharp talons, incredible eyesight, strong muscles, and the ability to fly. He was an apex predator. Any stranger must've seen him as a threat.
"I'm sorry," I said.
Cloud sounded surprised. "For what?"
"I didn't think of what it would be like for you. I'm so used to my own perspective, I never took the time to consider anyone else's. Do you get that reaction a lot?"
Cloud smiled. "Well, people usually don't try to stab me, but other than that, yeah. It's hard for me to make connections outside my family. I can be as friendly as I want, but when other shifters see me as an abomination, there's not much I can do about that."
I cringed inwardly. When Mistral first stole my sword, I'd thought of him as an abomination too. Half bird, half man. And now here I was with a harpy as my fated mate.
"I wonder if Animus feels the same way," Cloud murmured.
"Are you thinking about him?"
"He's not exactly a friendly looking guy either. I doubt anyone goes out of their way to get to know him, you know?"
