Ever walked over to her, pulling her in for a hug and Cage had no choice but to drop her hand.
Wren hugged her sister tightly, “Are you okay?”
Ever grinned at her, “I’m fine. Ryke finally made his move.”
Wren nodded, “But is everything okay?”
Ever’s grin widened even more. “It’s fine. I love him. I have for a really long time. I’m sorry if I ever put you in a position you didn’t want though. I was trying to punish him.”
Wren smiled, “If I didn’t want to be there, I wouldn’t have.”
Ever shook her head, “Always so forgiving and loving even when you don’t have to be. Keep that alive in your head tonight. Okay? I promise it will all be okay.”
Wren felt the confusion stamp across her face and she felt warmth at her back as Cage came up behind her.
She looked over her shoulder at him and he signed to her, “It’s time. Are you ready?”
She swallowed hard, and nodded and he led her to a chair in the center of the circle.
Ever went over to where Ryke was sitting and he pulled her into his lap.
Wren knew she was confused as all get out, but she had to listen.
Some of the new men were there and she gave them all tentative smiles, and a few smiled back.
Cage sat down beside her and one of the men stepped forward.
He looked like he stepped out of the set of Vikings.
His hair was braided up in a mohawk style with long braids on the side and down his back in certain places and she could see he had some tattoos on the side of his head.
His hair was long, almost to his butt, and he was ripped and muscular.
He smiled at her, “I’m Kol. Kol Torstein. It’s a pleasure Wren. I have heard a lot about you.”
She felt her eyebrows raise, “Um, hi. I’m afraid I can’t say the same about you.”
He chuckled, “Yes I wouldn’t say so. Cage here has a lot to say about you though.”
She looked over at him and could see his cheeks were pink. She had no idea what to think.
She looked back at Kol. The man had a flawless English accent, but seemed to be from a whole different century all together.
She didn’t know why she had that feeling, but she did.
Kol went on, “Cage has asked all of us to be here. To support him when he tells you what he has been wanting to tell you. It’s a shock for most, but other’s embrace it.”
He nodded to Raina and she smiled over at Wren.
“Others have a harder time with it.”
He nodded at Ever and she laughed, “Guilty.”
Wren had no idea what was happening, “You aren’t making any sense. I’m sorry. Are you supposed to?”
Kol laughed, “I apologize if I’m not explaining it well. Cage, do you want to try?”
Cage gave a tight nod and she turned to look at him, and he lifted his hands, “Have you ever heard of a shifter? A man capable of turning into an animal?”
Wren felt her eyebrows draw together and then she raised on, “Um. I have read paranormal romance books if that’s what you are asking. But that’s not real. Men don’t just do that.”
She looked around at each of the people in the circle and no one was claiming she was right.
“Okay? What is going on? Are you saying that men can actually turn into animals? How is that possible? Or real?”
She looked over at Cage, and his fingers flew, “It’s possible Wren. More than possible. It’s real.”
She shook her head, “No. It’s not. That would mean that there is magic in the world and there isn’t. Trust me. I have asked for a sign. For something more. But I have gotten nothing. And now you are saying something completely insane. I wish it was real. Because that’s awesome, but it’s not. Is that why you brought me here?”
Cage stood, his fingers flying again, “I brought you here to talk to these people. To understand that we aren’t having a go at you. That shifters exist and that these men and women here are shifters.”
Wren felt her jaw drop, “Ever?”
Ever nodded, “It’s true babes. I swear on my life that it’s true.”
Ryke wrapped his arms around Ever, an inhuman growl coming from his mouth, “Don’t swear on your life baby. It’s too precious.”
His eyes flashed gold and turned to slits and then went back and she could have sworn a scale like pattern rippled across his skin.
She stood, “What the fuck? Ryke? You just made a sound that no man could make. And your eyes changed and your skin changed.”
Ryke nodded, “Wren, we do shift into animals. All of us. Your sister now as well.”
Ever’s eyes flashed the same gold as Ryke’s and Wren took a step back, shocked.
“Okay. I was not expecting this. Um. I need a second. To process. Cause, um this shit is just whoa.”
She jumped when Cage came up to her, “Are you really a shifter too?”
She heard a deep soft chuckle in her head and her hand flew up to it, and then a deep voice said, *I am, love. But my animal isn’t like the others.*
She held up her hand and he stopped moving toward her. “Did you just talk to me? In my head? What? The? FUCK?”
His eyes were sad and pleading, *Love, I swear to you no one will hurt you. We just want you to understand.*
“Okay. Okay. Um, did I drink? Do drugs? You drugged me right? I’m drunk? No? Just regular me? I’m not crazy right? Okay, I am but I. This doesn’t make sense.”
Cage held his hand out to her pleading. *Wren, we aren’t doing this to scare you. We need you to understand what is going on in our world.*
She turned wild eyes on him, “Like the fact that you can somehow talk to me in my head? That’s new. No. I’m going to say it’s not new. Because you do it so well. Um. Can I just sit down? I think I need to sit down.”
Then she shut her eyes and was out.
Chapter Eleven
Cage
He caught Wren before she could get close to the ground and looked at Ever, *I thought you said she could handle it.*
Ever shrugged, “I thought she could. She has always had it in her head there was more out there.”
She walked over to her sister and Cage had to fight not to snap at her and Ever got a bottle of water and Cage gently rubbed the cold water bottle on Wren’s face and neck.
She came to with a gasp and looked up at him, “I didn’t dream it? Did I?”
He shook his head and sat down in the chair she vacated. Ever crouched next to them, “Babes. You have to calm down. Is it really such a shock? You have always believed in more. Never wavered in that. And now that it’s really real you are gonna freak out? Really?”
Wren glared at her, “I don’t know how to handle my emotions right now. Obviously. But if everyone would just let me think for half a second, I could process this.”
She pushed out of his arms and then paced back and forth.
Every once in a while he could hear her mutter something like, “Shifters. Okay. This is new. But not unheard of. This is fine. I can handle this. I can.”
Then she would turn away and pace some more.
Then she turned to look at him, “So, um. What kind of shifter are you?”
He sat back, *Um, I’m a hybrid. I am half wolf and half vampire.*
“You are a hybrid? Is that normal? Is anyone else a hybrid?”
He shook his head, *No. I’m the only one.*
She nodded, “That’s cool. Okay, so Ryke, what are you?”
Ryke sat back and pulled Ever back into his arms, “I’m a dragon.”
Wren’s eyebrows rose, “Wow. Do you fly?”
Ryke nodded, “I do.”
“Cool. Okay, so who else?”
Everyone went around and told Wren what animals they were and she nodded and asked the occasional question and then when they got to Kol and he told her he was a vampire, she looked over her shoulder at him, “You are both vampires?”
Kol smiled at her, “I’
m actually his sire. Unintentionally.”
“You made him a vampire?”
Kol nodded, “Again. Unintentionally. I gave him my blood because he was dying and suffering with his burns. His wolf wasn’t able to heal him like he should. He was calling out to me.”
Wren shocked them all when she walked up to Kol and hugged him, “Thank you. For doing that. For saving my love.”
Cage felt his jaw drop open when she said that and she walked over to him, and sat down in his lap and he looked down at her in shock.
She didn’t look up at him, just snuggled up against his chest and kept asking questions.
He finally wrapped his arms around her and when she was done asking everyone what she wanted to know, she looked up at him, “Will you show me your animal?”
He swallowed hard and nodded, *Do you wish to meet him? I know he is scary. But we would never hurt you.*
She nodded, “I know you wouldn’t. Yes. I want to meet him.”
He stood, and everyone did as well. The girls stayed back at the fire, but everyone else walked with him to the woods.
“Why are the girls staying back?”
Cage smiled down at her, *Because I wanted to show you me without them for the first time. The other girls haven’t seen my monster. Only the men in my crew.*
“Oh, that’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see him.”
He nodded, and when they got deep enough in the woods, Deacon, Ryke and Tegan all stepped forward. She knew these men.
He knew she felt comfortable with them. Kol stepped up beside Ryke and she smiled over at him.
Ryke gave her a wink and then she turned her attention back to Cage, as he took his boots off and his socks.
“What is he doing?”
Deacon laughed, “If he doesn’t take off his clothes they will be in shreds. And paying for new clothes all the time sucks.”
“Oh. Okay. Sure.”
Then she went speechless as he peeled his shirt over his head and she got a good look at his body for the first time.
------
Cage
He knew she hadn’t seen it before and her eyes were wide and she licked her lips.
He knew over the years that the burn scars had slowly faded and they weren’t as noticeable, and for that he was grateful.
But she didn’t seem to be looking for his scars anyway.
Her eyes were on his stomach and his chest.
He bit his lip and then unbuckled his belt and undid the button on his jeans and unzipped the zipper.
She was starting to breathe faster, harder and he took a deep breath of the air.
It wasn’t fear that he could smell, just her arousal and he almost wished the men weren’t around.
But they didn’t care about her arousal, she wasn’t their mate. That didn’t matter to them.
He pushed his pants down his hips and knew his cock was hard.
He heard her swallow hard and he looked over at her, seeing her eyes glued to his cock.
The other guys weren’t looking at him, but at the woods and the moon.
He knew it would be harder to change with the hard on, but he had to ignore it and change.
Cage called on his monster to change him. And his monster was more than willing to heed to his call.
He changed in a fluid motion and when he opened his eyes, he looked down at Wren, expecting fear on her face.
Hers held none. Only awe. Or what he hoped was awe.
She walked up to him and with slow fingers, she ran her hand over the hair on his arm.
He held back a shiver and stayed focused on her completely. His vampire said, *Our mate has no fear of us. Only lust.*
Cage didn’t answer, but he loved that she was so unafraid of him.
She looked up in his eyes and he leaned down toward her and she smiled, “Is this really what you have been so worried about? That I will be afraid of you or run screaming from you because of this?”
He gave a nod and she rolled her eyes, “You are such a boy. If you had asked me or talked to me about it a long time ago you would know. I know yes, I did freak out about finding out about shifters, but it was mainly because I had always hoped there was more and finally started to give up hope that there wasn’t. That magic isn’t real. And I thought people were making fun of me for it. But I love that you are a shifter. A hybrid. You are powerful and strong and otherworldly. Something I always wanted, but never thought the man I love was.”
He nuzzled her gently and she laughed, “I mean it. And I love you Cage. I always have. I am just angry that you didn’t tell me about this. Years ago. I would have been happy with it. I wish you had trusted me.”
She turned away from him and he started to panic, reaching out to touch her.
She looked over her shoulder, “No. Not right now. I’m angry with you.”
Then she did the last thing he had ever expected her to do. Run. He knew she wanted to go back to Ever, but it was the wrong way and he didn’t want to have her get hurt.
His monster jerked, needing the thrill of the hunt. This was his mate and his blood called for hers.
He needed this. And he knew it wasn’t what she wanted, and he fought against every single instinct inside of him, but lost when she finally got out of sight in the dark woods.
He took off after her, though Deacon and Logan both tried to stop him.
Cage snarled at both of them, *Move! I need to go after my mate!*
Logan shook his head, “You need to give her space. She is mad at you bro.”
Cage didn’t care and pushed past them and started running after her.
He couldn’t believe she would put herself in harm's way.
He could see everything in perfect detail and heard Logan and Deacon snarling, but knew Kol had them in hand.
He could see Wren ahead of him, still running but slowing as if she realized what she was doing and he let out a low growl, making her freeze.
She turned around and saw him, and started panting. “You need to take me home. I need to go home.”
He shook his head, *You ran from me. I need to explain why I didn’t claim you. Why I felt I couldn’t.*
He walked up to her and she sagged against him, “Okay. Tell me.”
He picked her up in his massive arms and she gave a tiny squeak, “Whoa. I was not ready for that.”
He looked down at her and she reached up and petted at his muzzle.
“Tell me why you didn’t want to tell me.”
Cage nuzzled her gently again, *For one, because I thought no woman could ever accept this as their mate. I’m a monster. Not a wolf, not a vampire. But both. I was terrified that if you saw me, you would take one look and never look again. That you would leave me and I would lose even the hope of you. But for some reason, you are still here. You aren’t afraid of me. Why?*
She shrugged, “You may have changed into this, but you are still Cage. I see you in these eyes. See your good heart and soul and know that you would never hurt me. Not ever. To me that isn’t scary. I know that you would protect me from anything that came our way. I know that in my own soul. I have always known that. I have wanted you as mine for so long. I have dreamed and wished and prayed that you were mine. And each day that passed and you weren’t was hard, but I still kept the hope. The faith in us. It got harder and harder and I started to waiver in that faith, but here you are. Finally talking to me. Finally holding me in your arms and it’s all I could have dreamed and more. Because you are showing me you. The real you. The you, you have hidden from the world. But I get to see it. To embrace this part of you.”
He shook his head, *You are the most amazing person in the world, and I am the biggest dumbass.*
She smiled, “Not the world’s biggest. Just a regular sized dumbass.”
He snorted and she laughed, “Are you going to claim me now? Or are you going to push me away still?”
He shook his head, *You are mine. All mine. Do you want me to get on my knees to beg for your fo
rgiveness for being such an idiot for all these years? I can. And most certainly will if you ask it of me. Maybe I should without you asking. I knew you were the girl that was so accepting over everything and I still held onto my fears. I didn’t want to hurt you or change you to be like me. I didn’t want to make you a monster too.*
She hit his chest, “You are not a monster. Don’t you dare call yourself that.”
Cage shook his head, *It’s what I am babe. I crave your blood. Have from the beginning. You have always had the sweetest smell and your blood called to me like a siren song. Lord, it took everything in me when you cut yourself to not touch you. Or drink from you. It was close a few times and I distanced myself more because of that. I had to.*
She rolled her eyes at him, and in a singsong voice said, “If you had just talked to me, it would have been fine.”
He let out a huff and a snort, *I guess you are right.*
Then he sobered, *I also didn’t know how to come out and tell you. ‘Hey baby, I’m a monster that changes into a massive wolf man that craves your blood above all else and wants to claim you and fuck you so hard you know who your man is at all times.’ Yeah that would have gone over really well.*
She sucked in a breath, “Oh. Um. Yes that might have been a little harsh. But um. I liked it.”
He looked down at her, and saw that she was dead serious. *You would have been okay with that?*
She nodded, “You could have changed up a bit, but yes. It makes sense. If that is how you would claim a woman, then sure.”
He blinked at her, *I have never claimed a woman. I have one mate. That’s you. You are the only one I want. Ever. Period. The end.*
She grinned up at him and then put her head against his shoulder, “I like that. Okay, tell me whatever else you have wanted to tell me.”
He stopped walking, *Um. My parents know about you. Have for years.*
“Your parents?”
*My aunt and uncle. They raised me since I was seven. They are my parents. As much as my own were. And they know about you. And already love you. Diana sees you around town all the time and it kills her that she can’t talk to you.*
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