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“I want to know something,” he told her, but then he paused to give her a moment to prepare herself for a bit of seriousness.
“And I want to share with you fully,” she reassured him. “I am truly betrothed to you and will answer fully. Let me hear your query.”
“I want to know all about your concerns.”
Taryn laughed almost mirthlessly. She felt Declan stiffen slightly beside her before he relaxed.
“Which concerns? I have many.”
“Your concerns about the mating. I want to know your concerns about the mating.”
She paused for what seemed to be the longest time before answering.
They both knew she wasn’t stalling. She was selecting the most accurate words to describe her emotions. Taryn wanted to be honest without hurting Declan.
“Okay. That’s fair,” she finally said. “Here’s the deal. I love you. I want to love you more. I want to give you the love that’s inside me. All of it. You say we are mates, right?”
“Correct. We are true mates,” he answered. “I have said this many times because it feels good to say it. I’ll keep saying it too.”
“I hear you, My King. I hear you, and I feel you. I don’t believe you, however. I just can’t sense it.”
“You’ll sense it,” he told her. His wolf grew restless as he talked about the bond, wanting her more. “The minute you shift, you’ll feel the mating bond more deeply than any other emotion you’ve ever felt.”
“I don’t know, My King,” she spoke distractedly. Her voice sounded far away, and Taryn could feel herself drifting away from him as she said this.
“You do know.”
“Lexi shifted,” she told him.
“I know. I am not surprised about how and why she shifted. You and the twins come from a long line of warriors, mystics, and lovers.”
“She shifted during a fight,” Taryn confirmed.
“Maybe,” he told her. “You and your sisters have been on the precipice of shifting for a while. It’s inevitable, fight or no fight. I know you have been burning the candles at both ends to help yourself and the twins start shifting.”
“You give me too much credit. I want the twins to shift, but Lexi did it on her own, that scrappy thing.”
“See that light right next to that faint-looking star?” he asked her. He pointed almost directly above them with two fingers.
“Orion’s belt?” she asked.
“No. You are close. That’s Chiron. That tiny light is Chiron, a planet. A planet named after Chiron, the wounded healer. He was the wisest and the most just healer. He was also a centaur who had an apothecary, the most famous apothecary, just like you. He could heal all things except for himself.”
“You’re funny,” she said. “You are about as subtle as a lead balloon. I didn’t have anything to do with Lexi’s shifting, but I understand what you’re getting at.”
“You’re shifting next,” he said, his voice matter of fact. “And even though I love what you are doing for others with the apothecary, the shifting will have little to do with those activities.”
“Okay. We will have to agree to disagree.”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned back so he faced the stars and waited for her to do the same. The way her hair rolled and flowed over her shoulders gave him butterflies in his stomach. He reached up, grabbed her arm, and gently pulled her back to lay beside him and stare up at the stars.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I promise to behave.”
After she was laying back and settled, she held his hand with one hand, and with her free hand, she dug a small penny from a pocket on her blouse. She handed him the penny.
“Is this a penny for my thoughts?” he asked.
“See how smart you are,” she answered. “Always two steps ahead of me.”
