Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17830 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
“Have you ever been in love before?” I squirmed at the question and Cedric stroked his hand over my chest. “It’s okay; you can tell me anything.”
“I thought I could be once. I dated a guy a few years ago and thought that things were getting serious. But then he left me for a guy who made a lot more money and who was a lot better looking.”
“First of all, no one is better looking than you,” Cedric argued, and I couldn’t help but smile. “And you don’t have to be scared; I’m not him. I will never leave you.”
“Never is a big promise.”
“It’s a promise that I can easily make.”
“How?”
“Because of my animalistic side.”
“Oh shit, I forgot you were a lion.” How could I possibly forget that? Maybe Cedric’s confession of love took precedence in my brain.
“Technically, I’m only half a lion.” I blinked at him, unsure if that helped or not. “My friends and I are what is called a shifter. We can change between human and animal forms.”
“Pride Place,” I whispered as it all started coming together. “But how can that be?”
“Shifters were created by the gods many centuries ago to protect humans. But over time, humans created weapons, medicine, and technology to protect themselves, and shifters became more or less obsolete. In fact, humans came to fear us because of our enhanced strength and senses. They decided to eradicate our kind before we could do the same to them, even though we would never hurt them.”
“The shifters that weren’t hunted and killed were forced into hiding. Humankind thought that they’d destroyed us and over time forgot about us. It’s like we never existed, but we still survive and thrive.”
It would be hard to believe, except that I’d seen him change from lion to human with my own eyes. It wasn’t hard to believe that people could get so scared of something that they didn’t understand that they’d grow to hate it. Unfortunately, prejudice and bigotry were very real in many forms.
“I’m sorry your people went through that,” I offered.
“Thank you. It’s a hard history, but I wouldn’t change being a shifter even if I could. Like I said, we have enhanced strength and senses, although I’m not as strong as other shifters.”
“You mentioned that before. That’s why your family abandoned you? Just because you aren’t very strong?”
“It’s a big part of it. I’m an omega, which means I’m weaker than most of our species and…it also means something else.”
I took his hand and brushed my finger along his knuckles. “You can tell me, Cedric.” Now that I knew his whole story, I felt like an ass for trying to leave him. He’d been abandoned enough and even though I was trying to do it for the right reasons, I never should have turned my back on him. Whatever he told me wouldn’t change the way I felt about him.
He took a deep breath. “It also means that I can have children.” I blinked at him, unsure what he was trying to say. “Biologically. I can carry a child.”
I opened my mouth but no words came out. I shut it again and let my frazzled brain try to work things out. When it couldn’t, I asked, “How?”
“By design,” he shrugged. “The gods knew that love was universal, and that some males were destined to be with other males, and they granted them the gift of family. My father saw it as a flaw or disgrace in nature, but I think it’s so beautiful. I can carry a child in a special pouch in my abdomen.”
“And the baby comes out…where?”
Cedric snorted a laugh. “I think you know where.” I cringed at the painful thought, but he just laughed again. “Another good thing about shifters is that we have a high pain tolerance and we heal immediately.”
“Well thank the gods for that,” I replied, making him giggle again.
“Definitely. Our quick healing is one reason why we are immortal.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Oh, right. I didn’t mention that part yet. We are immune to human diseases and our bodies are quick to heal, so we don’t die of natural causes. Unless we are decapitated or something, we live forever.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered, my mind spinning to take in everything I’d heard over the past ten minutes.
“But that’s not the best part of being a shifter.”
“What could be better than an immortality filled with good health?”
Cedric smiled sweetly. “Finding true love. Every shifter is promised a mate by Fate; a person who is their perfect match and everything that they need. Our soul recognizes our mate and our heart is incomplete until we bond together. Once we meet our match, we can never love or desire anyone else. We devote our immortal lives to our mates and to making them happy.”
I swallowed hard as my heart ballooned with hope. “So when Grady said he thanked Fate for bringing us together…”