Since when have I ever wanted to take it easy?Ethan thought to himself.Lazy mornings? I have work! I can’t show Father I’m fit to take over the company from him if I’m… drinking coffee!! And what kind of mate would I be if I didn’t work hard to provide for Chloe?
But try as he might, the image wouldn’t leave him. His chest ached – could that really be the kind of thing that Chloe might like? Thathemight like?
“I – I should stand over here,” Ethan said abruptly, forcing himself to think clearly again. “I need a little space. And remember, Chloe – no matter what, I’m still me. Even if I look different.”
“Well, okay,” Chloe said, a little dubiously. She sat down on one of the chairs on the deck, crossing her arms. This wasnotoff to a promising start. “Go ahead then. Transform before my very eyes!”
Despite the mild sarcasm in her tone, Ethan nodded. He moved to stand in the center of the garden, making sure he had plenty of space. And then he closed his eyes, drawing his pegasus forward.
He may not have shifted all that often, and only on a very strict schedule, but shifting was just like riding a bike – no shifter ever forgot how to do it once they learned.
And now, Ethan had no trouble at all changing his form. A shiver of heat ran through him as he shifted. He could feel his arms and legs growing longer, his wings sprouting from his back and sweeping up into the space above him. His senses became sharper – his hearing, eyesight and perception all becoming enhanced as his shifter senses took over.
Finally, he stood in the garden on four legs, his golden hooves sinking into the moss and ferns of the garden, his massive white wings stretched out above him. A pegasus.
Despite the fact this was exactly what he’d come here to do, Ethan found himself almost anxious to look over at Chloe – how would she react? Would shestillthink this was some kind of trick? Or would she run screaming, thinking he was some kind of monster?
How could she think we were a monster?!his pegasus demanded.We are magnificent!
Now that it was dominant, it swung its head toward where Chloe sat – well, notsat, since she was now standing up as if she’d jumped to her feet in surprise, her mouth and eyes both wide open.
She’d had her arms crossed over her chest before, but now they were dangling by her sides, as if she’d forgotten about them.
Does she believe me now?Ethan wondered.Surely, she can’t think this is some kind of trick…
Chloe closed her eyes, seemed to count to ten, and then opened them again.
“I…” she started to say, then trailed off. “I… okay. Uh. I don’t know what to say.”
Say you accept us as your mate!his pegasus cried out, though what actually left its lips was a very insistent-sounding whicker.Say you will be ours – just as we will be yours!
“I guess I really didn’t expect that you were actually going to turn into a pegasus,” she continued, a little shakily. “Not that I really thought you were lying! It’s just… everything since I got here has seemed so… so…” She shook her head. “Well, you have to admit, ghosts and witches and pegasi – wouldn’tyoube a little skeptical? Or maybe not. You know. Since youarea pegasus…”
The pegasus let out a little snort, which Ethan hoped sounded comforting – that was how the pegasus had meant it, after all. It didn’t blame Chloe for wanting to see proof. She had had to deal with a lot today. She really was taking all this remarkably well.
“Um. Can I… I mean, would it be all right to…” Chloe trailed off, looking a little sheepish. But she quickly gathered her resolve. “Would it be okay to… touch you?”
The pegasus fluttered its wings, preening, showing itself off in the sunlight.
Yes! Of course!it whinnied, though to Chloe, of course, it would have just sounded like a regular whinny. She still seemed to understand, however, laughing a little nervously as she crossed the deck.
“I’ve never really dealt with exotic animals before,” she said. “Well… an iguana one time. And a cockatoo. Someone brought in an ant-eater once! But never a pegasus.”
She reached out a hand, stroking it over the silvery-white hair on Ethan’s flank. A little fizzle of warmth ran through him at the contact. Her fingers gained confidence, stroking a little higher, until they reached the place where his wings sprouted from above his shoulder.
“Wow, so it just goes from hair to feathers here,” she murmured, seeming entranced. “It’s seamless. The musculature must be completely different from a regular horse, of course… but this is amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before.” She laughed again. “Well, obviously! Can you really fly with these?”
The pegasus let out an indignant snort.Of course we can!
“Okay, stupid question I guess,” Chloe laughed. “They’re definitely the hugest wings I’ve ever seen!”
Buoyed by her compliment – or what it took as a compliment – the pegasus swept them upward, showing off its full wingspan, allowing the sunlight to play through their pure white pinion feathers.
“Okay, okay!” Chloe giggled as she gazed up at them – Ethan’s heart soared as he realized that maybe she reallywasimpressed by the pegasus’s showing off. “You’re magnificent! I admit it! I was totally wrong! I guess witches and ghosts and pegasi reallyarereal after all.”
Chloe’s giddy laughter echoed around the garden, and Ethan would have done the same if he could have.
She believes us. Our mate believes us.
