Page 123 of Hoofin’ It

“How odd.” The Babylonian tilted his bird-like head, the paneled feathers of his crest rising. “But your kind is not like that.”

“Forgive him, Marian,” Quinton said, setting the tray on his lap, which was burdened with fruits and vegetables. I recognized none of them, although a bright orange bunch reminded me of grapes. “Abil Ili is accustomed to when human men had many wives and loyalty was… not common. By nature, humans are polyamorous, but they now sometimes choose to bind themselves to only one partner, much like werewolves.”

Abil Ili tilted his head the other way. “It is the nature of humans to change things, isn’t it? I can fix that.”

“Fix what?” Marian growled.

“Your bite. To make it like his. Permanent, until the end of your days. It is not difficult for me to do, this binding. His magic already touches you. I will merely reflect it back on him and tie it with yours, so you will never worry someone might infringe on your territory. It would repay the hurt and fear we caused you, however accidental.”

“Mine, forever?”

If Marian had had claws like the Babylonians, she would’ve shredded my shoulder with her grip. “I’m not going anywhere, Marian.”

“You will not have to renew your bite whenever he blesses you with children,” the Babylonian cooed.

Me, bless her with children? I was of the opinion it would be the other way around; the thought of us having children stole my breath.

“You’re giving him ideas,” Quinton said with laughter in his voice. “I thought you wanted to hear their story first. Aren’t you doing this backwards?”

“Every part of our relationship has been backwards,” I muttered.

“Not my fault.” Marian sniffed.

“I enjoyed the results, so it is your fault.”

“Shane!”

Quinton laughed, popped one of the orange grapes off its stem, and popped it in his mouth. “They’re perfect for each other. He’ll spend his time making certain she’s happy enough to bite him again, and she’ll spend her time making him happy enough to give her many children, which he’ll insist on raising with her, because that’s how he is. Since she won’t be able to get rid of him until all their children are grown and have moved on, she’ll inevitably brand him again, until they’re both too old and tired to have more children, and then she won’t be in any hurry to drive him from her territory, because she’ll have no interest in breeding due to her age. You could let nature run its merry course without any intervention on your part, Abil Ili, and they would persist. Shane is stubborn, as is Marian.”

“If it makes her happy, give her what she wants.” I didn’t want any other woman, and I was glad to do the work in reverse, learning about her and learning to love her properly for the rest of my life. Maybe she’d been beautiful before I’d begun to love her, but I didn’t love her because she was beautiful. I loved her because she was the kind of woman who would sacrifice a great deal to do the right thing.

Before I’d met her, she’d sacrificed her body to put an end to sex trafficking rings. I’d take over her mission to protect her from becoming a victim again, no matter what the cost. I’d be selfish and keep Marian for myself, but at the same time, I’d work to make sure other women didn’t fall prey to traffickers.

When she had been busy elsewhere, she had given me the tools to protect myself, trusting in me to put them to good use.

She had so much courage and stubborn pride I’d spend the rest of my life worrying about her and toeing the line between protecting her no matter what and trusting her to protect herself.

I still hadn’t told her I loved her, but I looked forward to spending the rest of my life showing her how much I cared. The words would come eventually, but when I said them, she wouldn’t doubt my feelings for her.

Abil Ili’s laugher chimed, and the crystals sang echoes of the cheerful sound. “Is that what you want, Marian?”

“My bite hurts him and takes a long time to heal. I won’t have to bite him like that again?”

“Never again. Your mark will remain, untouched by time, as his will on you.”

“Shifters call it a brand,” Quinton supplied.

“Your brand. Would you like me to make it permanent?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Abil Ili crept closer. “Show me where you bit him.”

I stifled my laughter over how fast she moved, squirming on my lap so she could shove my jacket off my shoulder. The buttons of my shirt somehow survived her rough handling, and she shoved the material away from where she’d bitten me, revealing the scabbed wound. “Here.”

I was so amused by her possessiveness and resemblance to my mother whenever another woman looked at my father, I made the mistake of ignoring Abil Ili. He whipped his tentacle around Marian and stabbed me with a talon in the heart of her bite.

The pain didn’t last long. Passing out helped. I groggily became aware I was slumped against Marian, and she had her towel pressed to my shoulder. I blinked at her.