Emory blinked down at him and, since it had worked so well the first time, Cameron thrust the coconut shells out in front of him. Emory’s eyes still held confusion, but his lips smiled gently. He reached for the shells, but when he tried to take them, Cameron held on tightly.
“What is it, my love?” Emory asked, cupping his hands under Cameron’s, so they were holding the shells together.
Cameron tried desperately to find words, but his octopus beat him to it. He sprouted two tentacles and wrapped them around Emory’s wrists, tugging him forward. He resisted for a moment but gave in when Cameron started walking them backward towards the bedroom.
“You want me and the coconut shells to come with you to the bedroom?” Emory asked as they continued slow-marching through the apartment.
Cameron nodded eagerly, and his tentacles tightened around Emory’s wrists.
“Okay, honey, I am very willing to go with you. Would you like to turn around so you don’t?—”
Cameron knocked his hip painfully into the wall and stopped walking. He stared into Emory’s eyes, which were their swirling brown human color. He got lost in them for a moment—or his octopus did. It was becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference.
Thankfully, Emory took initiative and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading them into the bedroom. When Cameron’s tentacle lifted and pointed towards the bathroom, he obediently pivoted.
Cameron stepped up to the side of the tub, gently placed the coconut shells on the edge, and turned both knobs to full blast, hoping to fill the tub up quickly. He never would have imagined his first shift taking place in a whirlpool bath, but now he couldn’t picture it happening any other way. He turned to face Emory, yanked off his shirt, and dropped his pants and underwear.
Emory’s eyes were wide, but his chest was making a rumbling sound. One day, Cameron would learn all his mate’s noises, but today he wasn’t sure what this particular one meant. He dug down deep, underneath his wiggling octopus, and managed to find the words he needed.
“Emory…I love you…I trust you…and I need to shift.”
Emory looked dumb struck. “Right now? With…”
“With you, Emory. My partner, my love, and my fated mate.”
“I… Yes! Of course!” Emory tried to suppress a grimace as he glanced at the rapidly filling tub. “Is it okay if I stay human?”
Cameron nodded eagerly, his octopus mimicking the movement as their minds settled back into alignment, stealing Cameron’s words but solidifying his conviction. He stepped aside and gestured towards the bath.
Emory quickly stripped down, and Cameron allowed himself a moment to admire his alpha’s strong body, with its planes of muscles and sharp lines that softened when he was holdingCameron. Emory permitted his ogling and then gave Cameron an appreciative once-over as amber bled into his irises.
While Cameron savored his fated mate’s approval, his octopus could do without. He gestured impatiently at the bath with a tentacle. A bit of water sloshed over the edge and onto Cameron’s feet as Emory climbed into the bath. The water felt unnaturally good against his skin, and before Emory was even fully settled, Cameron scrambled in after him. He gave Emory only a second to find a comfortable position against the side of the tub before he surged forward into his arms.
“Hi, honey,” Emory said, eagerly pulling him into a hug. Cameron’s tentacles splashed happily in the water, and he couldn’t wait another minute.
He raised his head and locked eyes with Emory, taking in the love and warmth that swirled amongst the amber and brown. Cameron’s skin tightened, and his skull began to change shape. His arms, legs, and tentacles shrank back towards his body while his torso and head merged together. He marveled at the way Emory’s gorgeous eyes turned gray. Of course, they didn’t actually change; Cameron just lost the ability to see color.
The whole thing only took about five seconds, but it always felt like it happened in slow motion. Perhaps because his mind slowed down and settled into feelings more than coherent thought. Right now, he was feeling overjoyed, so he wiggled his eight legs happily and watched awe and love settle across Emory’s features.
Emory carefully brought his hands together under the water to cup Cameron’s body. He was a bit bigger than a coconut, which was quite big for a non-shifter octopus.
Emory opened his mouth and began to speak. Cameron did his best to concentrate. Shifter animals could understand human speech, but it was a little muddled. Emory’s familiar cadence was a bit easier to follow, but it was still hazy. Thiswould be fixed with a mate bond…but he was getting ahead of himself.
“You are…ever seen. Truly…exquisite…so beautiful. I…love…much. I can’t wait…my lion. It will…you, too. My sweet…thank you.”
Emory continued murmuring sweet nothings, but Cameron didn’t need to listen to understand the gist of it. He loved Emory, too. Even as an octopus, he knew he loved this man with every fiber of his being. Shifter beasts understood fated mates and mate bonds better than normal human emotions, but even without that, his octopus loved Emory to the tips of every one of his tentacles.
Emory had stopped speaking and was instead tentatively stroking Cameron’s tentacles, one at a time. Cameron tucked the one that was more sex organ than limb safely against his body. He didn’t like to be sexual as an octopus. Some shifters of the same species found it easier to conceive in their shifted forms, while others found it easier as humans. Cameron wasn’t sure about octopuses, having been uninterested when he was a teen and then not bothering to look it up once he’d discovered he was unable to conceive.
Emory sank lower into the water and pulled Cameron higher up on his chest, settling the bulk of Cameron’s body on top of his heart.
Vaguely, Cameron remembered how he’d been feeling the past week: untethered and off kilter. He felt none of that now. Everything was absolutely perfect. The water was perfect. His body was perfect. His mate’s body was… Well, he didn’t have a mate quite yet. That wasn’t perfect.
One of his tentacles skimmed across the water and curled over the side of Emory’s shoulder, right where it met his neck.
His octopus knew how to mate. He couldn’t do it in his animal form, but when the time finally came, he would latch hissuction cups onto Emory’s neck and would, in essence, give him a massive hickey. If Emory returned the mate marking, which Cameron assumed was with a bite, Cameron’s suction cups would mark him, exactly where they were sitting right now.
Emory stroked his hand softly over the top of Cameron’s large head. He wasn’t entirely smooth, having some bumps and small horns that he could use to camouflage. Emory traced over every ridge and groove, delicately touching the side of his funnel. If Cameron was fully underwater, he would take in water through his siphon, absorb the oxygen from it, and then push it back out through his funnel.
