I glare back at him, but when I glance at the silenced people all around, they’re staring at me. Not with hostility, but surprise, yes. I take a moment to measure the energy in the room. Most people are confused. Ron is furious. Mom is both angry and gloating. My father is proud. Uncle Hubert is relieved. Everyone else in the room is confused, relieved, or disappointed, or some combination of the three.
I step forward and look over the shoulder of the lawyer, scanning the document to find what I missed as I was watching my family.
I, Vernon Peter Shade, name Gael Dolf Fuil my successor. I appoint him clan leader upon the execution of my will.
The rest of the words blur as shock freezes me in place.
Ohhellno.
Present Day
Phineas
The bond snaps so unexpectedly that I almost drive into the oncoming lane. One moment I’m turning into my new neighborhood, and the next the weight of my oath to Arden Mathan is gone. It takes every ounce of physical and mental strength I have to keep from shifting inside the cab of my truck. The bear that’s been chained inside me by my oath to my clan leader is free, and he wants out.
What happened? Did Arden kick me out of the clan? He said he wouldn’t do that just to make me miserable, but the bondis gone, and the part of my spirit bound to my animal form is desperate to exert its freedom.
Oh crap, this is bad.
I white knuckle the steering wheel to keep the shift at bay and throw the truck into park as soon as I slam to a stop on Sin’s lawn. I’ll have to fix that later, but right now…
I run for the front door, shaking with the effort to hold back the bear. As soon as I get the door shut, I reach for my clothes. I need out of them.
Sin comes to me as soon as he sees me, and I beg for help. For a moment, I think I’ve scared him, but my mate knows that he’s safe with me, and he wrestles me out of my clothes. When they’re off me, I try to stop resisting the shift, but it hurts. The pain of it makes it difficult. I swim in agony for an eternity before finally collapsing as soon as it’s over, exhausted.
Regardless of the echo of pain from shifting so hard, the relief of being free of the oath to Arden is exquisite. Every order, every obligation, every word I’ve had to swallow is gone. I’m free to be with my mates as I’ve always been meant to. I don’t care if he kicked me out of the clan, the freedom is worth exile.
It takes a few minutes to assure Sin that I’m not some wild bear, and I can’t help rolling my eyes at the misinformation coming from Gael, but once he snuggles into my fur and relaxes, it’s heaven sharing this body with him.
“He’s so big,” Gael whispers, pulling me out of a light snooze. I’d heard Sin say something, but it took a minute to rouse myself enough to realize Gael had arrived. “I can see why my people might’ve not understood that shifters don’t become animals. Look at you, Phin. You’re beautiful.”
I stare up at my mate, confused. There’s something different about him. Something…
“What the fuck happened to you?” Sin demands, jumping to his feet.
Blood soaks Gael’s shirt, and it hits me like a runaway train: Arden Mathan’s dead.
Oh that’s…
A relief.
Chapter 17
Present Day
Sin
It’s strange how normal everything feels considering Gael killed someone. Phin hasn’t shifted back from his bear form yet, but he thinks he will at some point soon, at least that’s what he indicated when I asked about a timeframe.
“Phin, are you packed up?” Gael questions, running his fingers through the fur on Phin’s head.
Phin blinks twice for yes.
Gael smiles, pleased with Phin’s answer. “Sin and I will go get your boxes. I don’t want you to go back there. You don’t need to be anywhere anyone can compel you to take another oath until we fix this communication issue.”
I guess we’re going to move Phin in sooner than expected.
“Let’s go,” Gael orders me, standing up from where we’ve been cuddling Phin since Gael sucked me off and I watched his wound knit together before my eyes. It was a strange sight, butI’m just grateful I have the means of healing my lover so he doesn’t have to suffer.
