Wild Magic Three: The Shade of the Earth- a M/M fantasy shifter romance

12- Crush

SAMI—

My mate's words— he's obviously got a few screws loose — was running through my head all night. I wandered through the brush, staying close enough to the stone walls I could come to the aid of the humans if they needed me, but far enough away my mind was clear'a my mate's scent for the first time in two moons.

Should I leave? I wondered. My mate had all but rejected my claim, the knowledge like a shot in the gut. I had spent two moons trying to prove to him what a good mate I would be— how I would care and provide for him and any cubs we had together. I had tried to show my strengths and what I could offer. I had been patient, kept my hands and body— mostly— to myself until he was comfortable with my touch. But maybe I had been selfish in my desires. In wanting him, my perfect mate, I hadn't realized how imperfect I was.

How flawed.

How broken.

I'm not worthy of my mate, because my mind is wrong, I had realized, and with that knowledge came a sort of peaceful, morbid acceptance.

Because of course I wasn't good enough for my mate. He was a human who'd had an education, kept a respectable job, had friends and family and a life he loved. And I was an orphan ex-slave whose ma and pa had been no better than dog food, whose mind was twisted and wrong from being alone and in the wild for over a decade, almost two.

Feral, the bear had called me. And that kinda wildness, it couldn't be fixed or tamed. I couldn't turn off my instincts or my past, and my mate deserved better'n that.

I was just wondering if my cat would even let me leave my mate as another scar in my past or if I'd have to stay and protect him, away from where he could see or sense me, when I caught his scent and my entire body trembled with arousal and excitement.

Mate, I wanted to moan. But I kept it in. My mate was here, to find me, and maybe that meant something. Something good and something happy for me.

Maybe he would accept that I was just broken, but that didn't mean I couldn't be a good mate to him. I'd try my hardest, and maybe...

Maybe that would be enough.

ROBERT—

Sami came out of the brush, his paws, disproportionately large to the rest of his body, silent on the crackling brush beneath him. One moment he was staring at me with his tufted ears twitching, the next he was a naked man, his dick hanging limply, a rare sight when he was around me, as his eyes met mine and he stared at me as if I was holding a floating log and he was a drowning man.

Without a word, his eyes never leaving mine, he took three steps forward, dropped to his knees, and reached for the strings tying my breeches.

I grabbed his hands, huffing in irritation, and pushed him back roughly. He fell back on his palms, breaking eye contact for just a moment as he resituated himself. Then he was back on his knees, and this time as he reached for my breeches I noticed how violently his fingers shook.

"Godsdamnit, Sami, stop it! I don't want you!" I growled, shoving him back again.

He fell again with a soft grunt, and I straightened to turn away, irritated at myself for coming to look for him, and freezing in my tracks when I heard him sniffle.

I glanced back and my entire body jerked uncontrollably at the sight of big, fat, hot tears slipping down his cheeks. His shoulders shook with sobs, one hand over his mouth to hold back the noises that slipped through the spaces between his fingers.

"Oh c'mon, Sami," I nearly whined, never one to be comfortable around tears, no matter who shed them. "Please, you'll get over this crush of yours, you'll see. We'll find you someone else to latch onto, alright? Another man, if you want— there are plenty around who have the same... ah, proclivities as you. They all moved here after Prince Lhiam announced his marriage to Edon. I'm sure there's gotta be someone..."