Red lips lifted subtly, a small cocky grin, as he crossed his arms in front of me. “My control is aged with experience. I can handle the longer stints much better than the pup can.”
“I’m not saying you can’t.” That much was obvious. I ran a hand through my hair, head tilted back, staring up at him evenly. “But you haven’t shifted since we’ve been here, much less went running. You’ve been cooped up in hotel suites and a hospital room for the last eight weeks, the only relief you’ve gotten was riding a damn horse. I understand why neither of you have left to do what you need, but for you to be as lethal and focused as I need you to be, you need to shift regularly. Way before you both get to this stage where you’re damn fidgety and off balance.” There, that was part of the reason. The other part I wouldn’t mention because I felt damn guilty. I should have realized this, and he only needed to hear the tough reasons, the reasons to make himself stronger, not my weak emotional ones. My jaw set, and I pointed my finger again, waggling it when he didn’t move. “My Lajaks need to be the best, and right now, you’re not at your best because I’ve been ignorant to your needs.” My finger flicked to the Vamps. “They know they need blood, so they’ve made due with what’s here.” Finger back to Cain. “You’re just going to have to do the same. It might just be a hotel room, but shifting will help. And if I’ve been sloppy enough to miss anyone else’s needs,” I glanced at the group, “please let me know.”
“Actually, you spirits are fairly tasty,” Elder Bridges supplied.
King Zeller grunted. “Definitely diverse.”
“Thank you.” I think. Not really worried if I needed to guard my veins while I slept, since they had never asked me to donate, my eyes flicked to Cain, and I waved a hand. “Just do it.”
One black brow cocked. “I’m fine.”
My lips pinched. “I’m not arguing with that point, I’m simply stating you will be even better, even more lethal,” lift his ego a little more, “that much more honed and deadly, better able to protect me, that much more intense…after shifting.” My head tilted to the Vamps while I held navy blue eyes, putting weakness on others. “How do you think they would be without blood?” Everyone knew the fighters of our Mystical world were the Vampires and the Shifters, but it didn’t come without some weakness, which I was sure they hated, whereas, Elementals and Mages were more well-balanced, but not as physically resilient. “It can’t hurt to be at the top of your game, right?”
Arms still crossed he stared for a long moment, and then ran a hand through his curls, muttering, “Fine, I am that much better after shifting.” He put his hands behind his head, grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it off right there in front of me, all types of strung tight muscles rippling, my eyes flying wide open, especially, when he started to unbutton his pants, seeming now to be in a damn hurry to get undressed and shift.
“Jesus,” Elder Samson muttered, waving a hand. “Just for once, can’t you people do that elsewhere?”
“Perhaps,” my King flicked a finger to the side, even as he placed his other hand over my eyes when Cain only continued undoing his zipper, “not right in front of us?”
Or, maybe they could all leave, and he could keep undressing in front of me?
Cain’s voice was half wolf. “Close your damn eyes if you don’t want to see.”
I heard the rustling of pants, my King muttering a quiet grumbled complaint, keeping his hand over my eyes, like I was a damn child, but it wasn’t like I could push his hand away to stare, so I sat perfectly still until his hand lowered. I flicked him a withering glare, but it didn’t have much gusto behind it because my attention quickly swung to the enormous wolf in front of me, and I froze completely. Black fur slightly wavy, it flew about as he shook himself, stretching languidly, hind quarters in the air, then his chest up, massive paws pattering on the ground. He rolled a couple of times, stretching on the ground, lying on his back, arching, rubbing the top of his head on the carpet, like he had a scratch he couldn’t reach, not acting as I had remembered while I watched with wide eyes, since the last time I had seen him in his wolf form…well, he had ended up hurting me…badly.
I jerked back against the couch when he rolled swiftly back onto his stomach, navy blue eyes lifting to Elder Samson’s foot by his nose. He sniffed, and lifted, huffing quietly. Moved on to King Zeller, sniffed him a bit, growling quietly when King Zeller nudged him with his knee. His next culprit was Elder Bridges, who showed a bit of fang when he sniffed heavily at his hand. Elder Farrar ruffled his fur on top of his head when Cain leaned heavily on him, smelling his shirt, producing a huffing growl from Cain, smacking his jaws at him. Sin held perfectly still as Cain made a slow stalk around his chair, sniffing him at every angle, but he eventually moved on, and in wolf form, managed a swagger, swinging his tail as he moved toward us…looked at King Collins’s pant leg, not smelling him, but his black nose wiggled a bit.
King Collins muttered a quiet curse. “Yes, I was the culprit who stole your coffee this morning.” The middle finger was raised. “It hurt like hell, too, when I spilled half of it.” The wolf huffed quietly a few times…like he was laughing, and King Collins muttered another curse, then decided ignoring him was best, staring over him at the movie.
The wolf huffed a few more times, apparently still laughing, but a moment later, he dropped low onto his stomach. I held perfectly still as navy blue eyes flicked toward me. I really wanted to pick my feet up off the floor as he started to inch toward me bit by bit, extremely careful, pausing every once in a while as I eyed him with caution and uneasiness and, possibly, with remnants of fear, from our previous meeting, knowing full well, yes, Cain was still running the show, but his wolf definitely had a strong foot hold in his shifted form.
He stopped inching closer once his nose touched the tip of my bare toe. No sniffing. No moving. Just lay perfectly still.
I eyed him closely, curling my toes into the carpet, ready to jump away if he pounced…but he only continued to lie there, navy blue eyes peering up at me quietly, his huffing breathing fanning over my feet.
I waited, watching him.
Waited even longer, knowing full well how cunning a wolf could be, my previous foster parent, Philip Masterson, having taught me well enough how brutal they were, not to mention, an enormous, frightening as fuck one like Cain.
Time stretched on into minutes.
Minutes lulled into a half hour.
King Collins even nudged Cain’s flank at one point when I didn’t move for the popcorn he tried to hand me, seeing where my guarded gaze was glued.
But, he still didn’t move.