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"I'm glad I answered your ad, and I'm glad you let me move in." Zeke reached over and took Tanner's hand, and they stood up. "Let's go into the living room." He led Tanner over to the couch, and they sat down together. Zeke slipped his arm around Tanner's shoulders and pulled him closer. He then dimmed the lights.
"This all seems so surreal to me. Nothing exciting ever happens to me, so this, and you, and the possibilities, it's overwhelming." Tanner was trying to express himself, but finding the right words was difficult.
"I assure you this is real, and I am sincere in everything that I say and do. I'm not a person who plays games, and I am not playing with you. I know what I want when I see it, and I want you, Tanner." Zeke wanted to make his feelings clear and to be as honest as he could under the circumstances.
"Keep doing what you're doing, and it won't take long for me to feel the same," Tanner responded and snuggled into Zeke's side. He then suddenly turned and looked up at Zeke as if surprised by something. "Are you a shifter?" He asked out of nowhere, and Zeke couldn't have been more shocked.
“What do you mean by shifter?” He countered just in case they were thinking of two very different things.
Tanner remained silent for a few seconds, weighing and measuring Zeke's non-answer before responding. "Shifter, animal shifter." He clarified in a clipped tone. Zeke didn't know what to say that wouldn't blow everything up, including their bond.
"Salem is a fox shifter. I observed him shifting one night after he had a particularly ugly run-in with an ex-boyfriend. He roughed him up badly, and I wanted to call an ambulance. Salem shifted and healed himself." Tanner paused, looking suddenly nervous. "He told me I couldn't tell anyone and swore me to secrecy. He's not going to get into trouble, is he?" Zeke shook his head, and Tanner relaxed.
"Are you aware that his current boyfriend, Blake Christopher, is a wolf shifter?" Zeke asked, curious about how much he knew.
"No, but that makes sense. His dominance is off the charts, and Salem said that wolf shifters were very dominant in their actions and lifestyle." Tanner was not surprised in the least, and Zeke began to get the impression that the paranormal was not a problem in Tanner's eyes.
"Are you a wolf shifter?" Tanner asked again, more specifically. "Salem told me that the Zephyr Club was owned and run by wolf shifters." Salem was getting a little too free with other people's information.
"No, I'm not a wolf shifter." He said and then added. "I'm a Siberian tiger." Tanner stared at him for a few seconds, taking it in, and then drew his eyebrows together in scrutiny.
"Why does that not scare me?" He reached over and placed his hand on top of Zeke's where it lay on his thigh. "You don't scare me. You make me feel safe. Ever since I first met you, I've felt safe with you, protected even. It made no sense, but I liked the feeling."
Things were moving fast, and the mate talk was apparently going to happen much earlier than Zeke had planned.
The shifter reveal went smooth, or as smooth as could be expected, but just how was the fact they were mates going to go down? Hopefully, Salem, with the loose lips, had also given him some information regarding paranormals and their mates.
"I recognized you the moment I entered that coffee shop. Your scent called to me sharp and sweet; it was the aroma of lily and jasmine, and I knew in that instant that you were mine." Zeke noticed a guarded expression enter Tanner's eyes. "Did Salem tell you anything about mates?"
"Yes, he said he wished that he and Blake were true mates because Blake is strong and rich. He told me that mates are together forever. He called it a fated bond. If Blake were his fated mate, he would have been the perfect lover, companion, and partner, and he would have loved him unconditionally for the rest of their lives.” Salem had shared quite a lot.
“He also said that once a shifter meets their mate, they desire no one else; cheating is impossible with true mates. I doubt someone like Blake has a true mate. That man could never love someone else more than he loves himself. He also said shifters recognize their mates by scent."
Zeke continued to lock eyes with him as Tanner processed what Zeke had said to him and what he'd just shared. The realization dawned, and then Tanner tried to hide it.
"Don't hide, sweetheart." He said and pulled Tanner a little closer, rubbing his cheek across Tanner's jaw and then leaning back to take in those beautiful eyes. "Tell me what you're thinking."
“You said I smelled like lily and jasmine, and you knew I was yours.” He voiced the conflict in his head. “What are you saying, Zeke?”
"You're my mate, my Fated mate, and everything Salem told you about mates is true. You're human, so you will receive a few extra perks being bonded to a shifter, including rapid healing and a longer life." He didn't say anything for several minutes but also did not try to pull away. Tanner held his hand and leaned into him while also feeling distant.
Tanner reached up and touched the scar on his shoulder and closed his eyes briefly as the sensations coursed through him. “We’re bonded.”
"We are bonded," Zeke repeated.
"I'm not sure what to say or what to think." His tone was thoughtful, but still, there was a distance that Zeke did not like. "I know what I feel and what I've been feeling every time I get close to you, so I'm not doubting your words. I just need some time to process this and what it means for me, for us." He took a deep breath, fortifying himself for more.
"My head is a little scrambled right now. You see, I came out of a long-term relationship about ten months ago. It's the reason I moved to Cincinnati. I had to get out of Columbus and away from everyone. We were together for three years and had even talked about marriage, and then one day, nothing mattered anymore, and he told me he never loved me. He said he was only with me because I was the best he could do at the time." His hand that was holding Zeke's started to tremble, and Zeke covered it with his other hand.
"The minute someone better came along, I was history. He kicked me out of our apartment, and I had to move back in with my family, which was not a good situation. Finally, I figured I needed to get out of town and away from him and all the triggers. I came here and started fresh." He fell silent, and Zeke did not push.
"I know you're not him, and I know that I feel more for you than I ever could have imagined feeling for anyone. I know this is different, but . . ." He shook his head and dropped his gaze.
"But the pain you felt then is still in your heart, and trust is difficult." Zeke filled in the words for him. Tanner nodded but did not look up at Zeke. "I'll be patient, and you will see that we are meant to be. I have claimed you, and I will desire no other." Zeke reached up and touched the scar, and once again, Tanner trembled at the touch. "I will never betray or abandon you." He added.
"It's getting late, and I'd like to rest and think." Tanner began to extricate himself from Zeke's embrace. It wasn't abrupt. He gradually and with care got to his feet while Zeke stayed seated. He could see that Tanner needed to be alone, and he wasn't going to force something that Tanner wasn't ready for.
"Rest, sweetheart, and we will talk more in the morning. Just know that I have waited to find you for more years than you can imagine. Mates are the greatest gift of all in a shifter's life. Good night, Tanner." Tanner did not speak but nodded and turned to his bedroom door. He paused for a few seconds, and Zeke thought he was going to speak, but he did not. He did not turn around and simply went into his bedroom and closed the door.
