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I told him stories about the happy parts of my childhood, and the good times I’d had before Allen took over my life.
I enjoyed it, but it didn’t feel… honest.
It felt like we were dancing around the truth, though I wasn’t entirely sure how, and I wasn’t really ready to face that.
A week went by, and then another woman from Earth arrived on the back of another shifter guy. They weren’t fated mates, so the single shifters swarmed her, parading her with gifts, flowers, and attention.
I worked with the other girls to keep them at bay and help her adjust, which cut my breakfasts with Amarok shorter than either of us wanted. Helping her seemed important, though, and he didn’t protest, so I didn’t think he minded too much.
A few more weeks passed quickly, and then there was another woman to welcome, and another, and another. I grew tired of going to sleep and waking up alone, but still didn’t feel like I was ready to move to the next step with Amarok.
The next step would require commitment, and honestly, I was a little afraid of commitment.
So, I didn’t say anything.
He didn’t either.
My skin started to itch more and more as the need to shift grew stronger, but I knew there was a good chance I couldn’t run without triggering another mate run for Amarok, so I stayed quiet about it.
And non-furry.
Very, very non-furry.
When the next eclipse approached,it seemed to come out of nowhere.
I was eating lunch with a few of the girls when it clicked.
“You’ll need to stay inside all day, if you don’t choose one of the guys to spend it with,” Riley explained to our newest human, letting her fingers brush almost absent-mindedly over her new, golden claim mark. The single women had been falling like flies, sealing bonds left and right. “And I would recommend not choosing a guy, unless you’re pretty damn sure you want to mate with him.”
“Shit. The eclipse is tomorrow, isn’t it?” I asked them.
The girls all looked at me.
“Yes,” one of the new ones confirmed.
“Where have you been?” Jill asked, lifting an eyebrow at me from where she stood in the kitchen. She even wore a golden claim mark.
“Not paying attention, apparently.” I brushed my hair out of my eyes. “I need to go talk to Amarok. I’ll be back in a few.”
“You basically live here, Rory. Spend the day with your mate,” Riley said, making a shooing motion.
I rolled my eyes at her, taking my empty plate to the sink. Jill plucked it from my hands and made the same motion Riley had, so, with a dramatic sigh, I headed out of the women’s den.
My gaze scanned the land around us, searching for the furry black wolf. I didn’t find him, which made me frown.
I hadn’t had lunch with him in a few weeks… or months. But still, he usually waited for me.
Didn’t he?
My chest tightened.
I debated walking back into the women’s den and waiting to have the conversation with him at the end of the day.
But, I’d already told the girls I was leaving. And honestly, I wanted to know where he was.
So, I headed out to the den the men were excavating at the time. They’d filled in a bunch of older, empty ones a few decades earlier, so rather than digging new ones for the new women, they just cleared the old ones out and then fixed them up.
I scanned the working group, looking for Amarok. A few of the guys noticed and waved at me, and I waved back, but kept looking.
