by Sable Sylvan
“Because I didn’t have them before,” said Zelda, looking at her own hands and turning them around, and then, wringing them as if she could shake the marks off. “What are they?”
“You’re a shifter,” said Lance. “People are either born shifters or they’re not, and you’re no human, Zelda. You’re a bear, like me.”
“And what does that mean?” asked Zelda.
“It means your whole world is about to change,” said Lance. “And nothing will ever be the same.”
Chapter Nine
The firemen got to the penthouse in record time. They had to break open the door as the lock system was busted by the sprinklers, which had fried the electronics. The police followed: they did as a matter of policy, in case of arson, and once the situation was explained, they took Lorelei away, after getting statements from Zelda and Lance. The police gave the pair a change of clothes: it was standard procedure for the police to have extra clothes in case of altercations between shifters that resulted in destruction of clothing.
Lance led Zelda out into the city. She wasn’t dressed for the weather at all, but he had pulled his cell phone and wallet out of the wreckage and he took her down to his hotel before talking to a concierge and ordering clothes to be sent up for Zelda, before he dismissed his helicopter squad that had been on standby. The rescue mission had been a success, given he had Zelda in his arms.
Lance ordered everything on the hotel’s room service menu, but Zelda didn’t touch anything. She was practically a zombie, still shocked by what had happened that day. It was barely noon and her life was nothing like she’d expected it would be.
“Why would I suddenly get the ability to shift, if people are born as shifters?” asked Zelda, finally breaking the silence.
“Well, were you sick or something? Sometimes, if a shifter is in a coma or has another serious illness, or they’re just a late bloomer, they don’t gain their powers until later in life. It’s rare but not unheard of,” said Lance.
“No...I just usually take a pill that Lorelei said the doctor said I’d need,” said Zelda.
“What pill?” asked Lance.
“It’s called Ursinite,” said Zelda.
“Ursinite?” asked Lance. “That’s a banned chemical. It inhibits shifting. It used to be used as a birth control medication in the 1970s, but it was banned because many shifter women ended up with kids who couldn’t shift for years, sometimes even decades, after they turned eighteen. And you’ve been taking this since...?”
“Every day since the day I turned sixteen, basically,” said Zelda angrily. “Damn it, Lance, she knew I was a shifter the whole time, and she didn’t take me?”
“Probably because she wanted to control you,” said Lance. “Also, the shifting chemical that Ursinite inhibits is responsible for the hormones that allow for not only the shift, but for other forms of shifter puberty. It’s why you don’t look like most female shifters...who are usually built like Lorelei.”
“You mean I could’ve been a tall, thin model this entire time?” asked Zelda angrily.
“My guess is she wanted you to be extra curvy to get a higher price for you,” said Lance. “Shifter men...often have a thing for curvy women, shifter or human, but most shifter women don’t have curves like yours, but trust me, Zelda, they want them.”
“I don’t think Lorelei would do that,” said Zelda.
Lance’s phone rang. “Oh yeah?” asked Lance. “You might want to look at this...my sources found this after I put out an alert asking for as much information about Lorelei Woods as they could find. I just got this email.”
Lance used his smartphone to get to his email, which had a PDF of the entire contents of a website attached to an email he’d favorite. He opened up the PDF again and passed the phone to Zelda.
Zelda looked at the screen...and could barely believe her eyes.
There was a web page, and on the front, it said , “Mama’s Mates”, in a gold script across a black page. There was a photograph of a woman whose face had been blurred out, but there was no mistaking the woman for anyone but Lorelei Woods. Zelda recognized her handbag in the picture, an expensive handbag Zelda had been told Lorelei bought as a bonus.
She scrolled down: there was a description by the picture.
Are you a billionaire looking for his fated mate? Mama’s Mates has been an institution in privileged circles for decades. We offer few women for mating, through our Daughters problem, but the women we have selected are guaranteed to be virgins at the time of purchase.
Zelda’s heart almost stopped: ‘purchase’? Lorelei had really been selling people as mates? She forced herself to keep reading.
The following women are all from shifter families and are looking for mates. Mama’s Mates utilizes a special system to ensure that the Daughters will bond with the man they are matched with. Visit our Daughters in US cities like Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, or visit them abroad in cities like Paris, Bangkok, and Moscow.
We have all kinds of shifter girls, all under the age of twenty-five, looking for their fated mates. They have been groomed and trained to perfection, and while some services train their girls to be overly sexual, we train our Daughters to be feminine and demure. We don’t train them: you do.
Rates start at USD$500M, make an appointment and find love today!
Underneath the text, there was a gallery of profiles. Each had a picture, a name, and the girl’s listed species, as well as a biography about the girl. Some of the girls were younger than her, the ages ranging from eighteen up to twenty-five. Zelda scrolled until she found the one thing she didn’t want to find, the one thing she was looking for.
Name: Zelda
Species: Rare Golden Grizzly Bear
Age: 21
City: Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Interests: Fine arts, fashion
Skills: Excellent conversationalist, artistic
Tests have been run on Zelda, and although she’s never shifted, her shift’s DNA fingerprint match that of a rare golden grizzly bear. If you are looking for a truly unique partner, visit Zelda in her penthouse.
Price: USD$1B
“I can’t believe she was trying to sell me,” said Zelda angrily, putting the phone down, harder than she expected she would. “Everything I’ve ever known...it was all a lie, so that Lorelei could turn a profit....so that she wouldn’t see her investment money squandered.”
“I had my team look for any info about Lorelei, and this is what they found. It’s real, this is what was going on,” said Lance. “It’s not your fault, Zelda...she probably kidnapped you, and she was desperate to sell you, because she didn’t count on the billionaires in the PNW to be the kind of men who would never buy a mate. It’s a scam: you can’t really buy a mate, although that doesn’t stop people from trying.”
“So...what do we do now?” asked Zelda. “Or...what do I do now, I guess?”
“We can get out of this dump,” said Lance. “And together, we can help you start a life.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” asked Zelda.
“Well, you’re going to need documentation, which my lawyers can obtain for you,” explained Lance. “Your name might not even be Zelda. My suspicion is that Lorelei bought you or stole you. You could be a Jane Doe, a missing person, but thousands of children go missing yearly, so it may be impossible to figure out who you really are.”
“I don’t know who I am anymore, do I?” asked Zelda.
“No...and now that the penthouse is gone, you’re going to need to get an apartment, or somewhere to stay,” said Lance. “And I guess a job, and hopefully, the lawyers can sue Lorelei and you can get lots of money, but that might not last forever.”
“So what should I do?” asked Zelda. “Just...let the lawyers handle it, and do what, twiddle my thumbs?”
“There’s not much else you can do,” said Lance. “But Zelda...you’re my fated mate, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
&n
bsp; “You have no idea how familiar that sounds,” said Zelda.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Lance.
“It means I won’t be trading one prison for another,” said Zelda, turning to Lance. “Just because I’m your fated mate doesn’t mean you know what’s best for me.”
“You don’t know what’s best for you, you don’t know anything,” said Lance angrily. “You didn’t even know how to boil water when I met you.”
“You want to help me?” asked Zelda. “Then help me be free. And don’t insist on watching over me twenty-four seven, and don’t control me.”
“And what am I supposed to do if you get hurt?” asked Lance. “I can’t lose you, Zelda. I can’t.”
“I’m going to have to figure this all out,” said Zelda. “You’re right. I can’t boil water. I can’t make pastas. I can’t cook, I can’t clean, I can’t even order take out. But you know what I can do? Say no. And I’m telling you I’m not going to just be your pet, Lance.” Her eyes flashed with anger as she said this and the bear roared at the thought of being caged again.
“You think that’s what I want? A pet?” asked Lance.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” said Zelda.
“No, you meant what you said, I saw it in your eyes,” said Lance. “Welcome to the wonderful world of being a shifter. Your eyes will constantly give you away. I’ll have my personal assistant contact you. When you are ready to talk to me? Find me. If you can. But until then...I won’t stand by and listen to you push me away. I can’t, Zelda. So this is the last decision I’m making: I’ll provide you with whatever resources you want, whatever you need, but don’t talk to me until you get your life together.” Lance got up off the bed and walked out the door, and out of Zelda’s life...not turning back to see Zelda reaching out to him, unable to say a word, even the three she knew she needed to say.
Chapter Ten
Three Months, Three Weeks, And Three Days Later
Lance had worked remotely since he landed back in Anchorage, working in his forest cabin, where his only links to the outside world were the Internet, an SAT phone, and a dirt path that only his pickup had driven down since he’d arrived at the cabin.
At least, until the day his fated mate finally showed up.
The SUV looked like it had seen Hell and back, as the path up to Lance’s cabin was meant for Lance’s vehicle only, and the wide SUV had brushed against enough trees and rocks that it looked like it had been abandoned in the woods for decades, rather than just rented at the Anchorage airport a day before.
Lance saw the SUV pull up to his cabin and shut his laptop as he saw who walked out of it.
Petite. Curvy. With long, golden blonde hair. There was no mistaking her for anyone but Zelda Woods. She was wearing a puffer jacket and jeans with boots that may have been fine in whatever city she’d ended up in, but which weren’t at all suited for the Alaskan climate.
Lance opened the door and walked up to Zelda, barefoot on the ice, the pads on his toes and the sole of his feet providing him all the support he need. “Why the frik are you here?” asked Lance.
“I need to talk to you,” said Zelda.
“You’re the last person I want to see,” said Lance. “I feel in love with you, Zelda. I did whatever I could to get you out of that tower, and you turned me away.”
“And I was wrong,” said Zelda, looking Lance dead in the eyes. In the months since they’d seen each other, Zelda’s body had started to change. Although her figure had stayed the same, the other shifter attributes had started to materialize. Her eyes had turned more golden than Hazel, and they flashed as the bear inside of her roared.
Lance stood still for a second before coming up to Zelda and lifting her up over his shoulders with one arm. “What was that for?!” asked Zelda angrily.
“I don’t salt my paths, and you wouldn’t last ten seconds on my ice in those shoes,” said Lance. “This is polar bear country, my country.”
Lance opened the door to his wooden cabin and put Zelda down carefully at the entrance. She looked up at him angrily: she had grown a mere few inches over the last few months, and was still much smaller than Lance. “I can walk, you know,” said Zelda, taking off her shoes and revealing that the bottom of her feet also had shifter pads.
“Grizzlies and shifters are two different species,” said Lance. “And you know what that means. They shouldn’t mix...princess. Don’t you have a clan to run?”
“Don’t you have a fated mate you should be working on wooing, instead of pushing away?” retorted Zelda.
“You would know all about pushing your mate away,” said Lance. “If you even have one.”
“That’s exactly why I’m here,” said Zelda. “If you would just shut up and listen to me.”
“Why did you have to show up right when I thought I might be able to stop thinking about you, every second of every day?” asked Lance.
“Because I haven’t stopped thinking about you,” said Zelda, taking off her jacket. Under her jacket she was wearing a button up shirt...the one that Lance had left in her room. Flannel, with a plaid pattern, the shirt hugged Zelda’s every curve, without gaping at the chest.
“You can’t just show up here and expect me to –” started Lance.
Zelda interrupted him and shot a glare at him. “Shut. Up. And watch.” Zelda unbuttoned her shirt. She’d rehearsed this since the moment she’d knew she’d have to do this. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath the shirt, making her nipples pointed and stiff.
Zelda slipped the shirt off, the right sleeve first, then the left...revealing the one thing to Lance that he thought he’d never see.
Over Zelda’s chest, there was a pale white and brown symbol. The bottom part formed an uppercase T, and it was russet brown. The top was shaped like a blade, in a white so pale it could practically be silver. The entire shape formed a symbolic sword, the white part the blade, the brown part the sword’s hilt.
“You know what this means,” said Zelda.
“It means you hired a really good tattoo artist,” said Lance. “Because if that was what it looks like, you couldn’t have left me that night.”
“I didn’t have this that night,” said Zelda. “As someone who paid a lot of attention to my chest, you should know that. I told you I needed time. I took that time. This appeared last week: that’s how I knew that the time I was spending, putting my life back together, was up, and that I needed to find you again. You’re one heck of a man to find, Lance. And I never want to lose you again.”
“What are you saying, Zelda?” asked Lance.
“I want to give this another go,” said Zelda. “You. Me. That bed. If my mate mark glows, we’ll know for sure...and you’ll know I’m not just your fated mate, but you’re mine, Lance. I know this mark is a reference to you: Lance, it’s a type of sword, a blade, used by knights that protect their princesses.”
“And if your mate mark doesn’t glow?” asked Lance.
“It will,” said Zelda.
“I’ll give you this, this one time,” said Lance. “But if your mark doesn’t glow...you have to realize what that means, because it means that even if you love me, I’m not your fated mate, Zelda.”
“But you are,” said Zelda, holding Lance’s hand, and stepping up to him, looking up the fjord of a chest he had, before saying, “I know you are. You have to be.”
Lance couldn’t hold himself or his bear back anymore, and neither could Zelda, who had only started to talk to her bear a few weeks ago, once the growling and snarling and snapping of the bear had come to a standstill, as the bear was confused and angry at why it hadn’t been let out earlier. Lance pulled Zelda up by the waist, her toes coming off the floor as he kissed her deeply and caressed her curves, the curves he’d spent nights wishing were by him in his bed, the bed he carried Zelda to.
Lance placed Zelda down on the bed. “I need you, Zelda, I’ve needed you for so long,” said Lance, ripping his shirt straight off, the buttons cli
cking and clacking as they hit the floor, a sound that couldn’t be heard over the sound of the thick fabric ripping in half as easily as if it were a gossamer butterfly’s wing.
Zelda only had her pants to remove, and because she’d needed Lance so badly too, she hadn’t worn panties, leaving herself bare underneath the jeans which were too thin for the Alaskan winter. Zelda tore her jeans off, snapping the riveted button straight off, and ruining the zipper. Although Zelda hadn’t become thinner since her awakening, she had become stronger, and the palms of her hands had grown the thick pad marks. Although the pads weren’t strong yet, as Zelda hadn’t spend much time in the woods yet, she was still strong enough to use the bear’s strength, her strength increased as her inner bear realized that the time for mating was finally upon it.
Zelda got on all fours and Lance moved behind her, ready to assume the animalistic, primal position. “God, I need you,” said Lance.
“I need you too, babe,” said Zelda. “I haven’t had anyone since that night.”
“You frikkin’ serious?” asked Lance. Lance thrust into Zelda, hard, entering her in one solid go. Zelda was wet and wanting, and driven by the need to climax with Lance, the need to have the mate mark’s meaning confirmed.
“What, were you banging half of Juneau over the past few months?” asked Zelda. Zelda bucked back against Lance, who held her hard in place with his big shifter hands.
“No, because unlike you, I’ve already found my fated mate,” teased Lance.
Zelda turned and pulled Lance out of her, turning him around and pushing him down onto the bed. Zelda was much stronger now that her shifter muscle structure had come in, and although she wasn’t as strong as Lance, she could still give him a challenge. “If I wasn’t so sure you were my mate, you can bet I wouldn’t be here,” said Zelda, pushing Lance’s chest down as she mounted him, sliding him back inside her as she rocked back and forth, tossing that ass in a circle.