In a burst of smoke, Animus retracted the sword to its usual mouse size and dropped it at my feet. I blinked.
Was he… returning it to me?
"Take it," Animus said. "You fragile mortals need protection more than I do."
I stared at him, not knowing what to think anymore. Despite all my anger towards Animus and spirits in general, I felt my opinion towards him shifting. I still didn't like the guy, but I thought I respected him now.
"What are you so mad about?" I asked. "You know, I used to be like you. I hated alphas. In fact, if I had the sword when I met Cloud, I probably would've stabbed him."
Animus snorted.
"But they're not all bad," I went on. "You must know that."
Animus threw up his hands and groaned dramatically. "No more mortal lectures. Please. I can't handle it. Just take the sword."
As I slowly grasped the hilt, the blade resumed its full length. I'd missed the way its magic pulsed through my skin. In hindsight, I regretted not shifting to human form right away and slicing Mistral's hand off when he attacked me, but I'd been too stubborn to acknowledge my own shortcomings.
Jace twitched his whiskers against my chest, then shifted into human form. He murmured in his sleep. I noticed Animus staring at him with great interest. His expression was almost yearning.
Smiling at my son, I retracted the sword and placed it safely away from Jace.
Animus regarded me and my baby for a moment longer before letting out a big sigh. He turned around, his inky black hair swishing in the wind.
"You know, itreallyis annoying that all the strong omegas turn into mushy, love-struck idiots obsessed with their alpha mates," Animus remarked. Before either of us could respond, he looked at Jace one last time. "Congratulations, by the way."
He was gone a split second later, the plume of smoke he left behind dissipating in the breeze.
I looked at Cloud and smiled until my face hurt. Animus wasn't wrong. Iwasa mushy, love-struck idiot obsessed with my mate.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
18
Cloud
"I can't believehow fast he grows," I said.
Jace was only two months old and almost the same size as Annabelle in his human form. The two tussled on the shore of the river, shifting in bursts back and forth, their shrieks of laughter piercing the air.
"Mouse shifter kids grow really fast until we reach pre-teen years," Meeko explained. "After that our growth rate is pretty similar to other shifters."
In her beaver kit form, Annabelle geared up to pounce on Jace. She waggled her tail like a wolf—a trait she must've picked up from her wolf shifter cousin, Azure—then leapt to tackle Jace. But my son saw it coming. At the last second, he popped into mouse form and scurried out of the way, leaving Annabelle to face-plant in the grass. She shook herself off and cried, "I'm gonna get you!" before chasing him again.
River snorted. "How didmydaughter turn out to be so rowdy? You'd think she was blood-related to Lupa."
I laughed, noticing the resemblance too. "I think rowdy girls run in the family, blood-related or not."
Castor smiled at Meeko. "I'm glad Annabelle has a cousin to play with who looks a bit like her."
My mate nodded. "Me too. I never thought I'd meet other rodent shifters." He gazed up at the sky wistfully. "When Cloud told me about his family, I didn't believe him. Not for a long time. I didn't think shifters of all types could live together like this."
"It's a shock to everybody who joins the family, I'm sure," Castor mused. He tossed his mate River an amused look. "I certainly felt the same way."
River absentmindedly ran his fingers through his long, crimson hair. "We never thought about it like that until we met other shifters. Right, Cloud?"
"Yeah," I said. "It'd be nice if more shifters could live in mixed-species packs in harmony like this."
Meeko smirked, leaning against my shoulder. "Well, you're doing a good job so far of showing the world it's possible."
