11. Brett

Chapter 11

Brett

Shifting with my mate was something I had longed to do even before I saw his face for the first time. I wanted my beast to know his, and his to know mine. But now that we had met and been together, the need to meet his beast was on a different level.

I wanted to see his leopard, to run my fingers through his fur, to snuggle against him, to watch him take down prey. He was the polar opposite of my beast, who literally frolicked through the forest as the animals came around and greeted him. He was what those same animals feared. Only, I knew I could never fear him. He had already become my everything.

Growing up I was grossed out by the idea of hunting. And now? Now I got it. Not that my mate bragged about hunting or even explained it to me. It was more that I understood that it was part of who he was, and that, by default, made it important to me.

"I want to show you my favorite place," I said, giving his hand a squeeze.

We were in my kitchen, finishing up a late lunch. Tomorrow, we'd go back to our normal lives, but today, today was for us and us alone. I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than in our fur.

"Ooh, you want to show me something." He waggled his eyebrows. "Does it require getting a little more comfortable?"

He winked as his eyes raked over me. I hadn't been heading in that direction, but now? Now my cock was all for it, because of course it was.

"Yes, but not in the way you think." I went over to the back door and started to pull off my clothes, setting them on the bench I kept there. "I want to meet your beast, and I want you to see my unicorn."

"I'd love that," he said, following my lead and removing his clothes as well. "I can see why you love it here, with all of the woods behind you."

I followed his gaze. He was taking in the magnificence that was my location. His home was great, but I wouldn't be able to shift there, not with my size. We'd figure something out, but not yet.

First I needed to get my unicorn on board. He was still hiding away and ignoring me. I didn't love it. I could be stubborn too, so I got it, I just didn't like it.

"I do love it. It's nice to be able to go out, run, or play whenever I want. I don't blend in, in case you were wondering." There was a time when people were slapping fake horns on horses to take pictures. Maybe, just maybe then I might've been able to get away with being seen. Probably not, but I'd considered it.

"No." He kissed my cheek. "Absolutely no part of me suspected that you did." He kissed my lips this time, far too short for my liking. "Let's go before your sexy naked body distracts me completely."

We went outside, and Pixie stood off to the side, not coming as close as she often did, just watching me. It had to be confusing for the little creature. All of their instincts told them I was safe and he was deadly. The two of us together… it couldn't make any sense to them.

"Hey, Pixie, we're just gonna go for a run."

"Pixie?"

"Yes, Pixie, my friend the chipmunk—please don't eat him." I felt guilty adding the last part on. I'd already told Anders the fluffy cuteness was my friend. Of course he wasn't going to eat him. But also—he was a predator.

"I generally don't like small prey, but friend? He doesn't smell like a shifter." He focused on the chipmunk, his head tilted to the side.

"He's not a shifter. We just have an understanding. He's my gardening buddy." It sounded off the wall spoken aloud, but it was true, and I wasn't ashamed.

"Well, nice to meet you, Pixie."

At that, she ran off, or he did—I didn't even know which, but his fight or flight kicked in, just as it should.

"That's amazing," he said. "It's like he really knows you."

"He does, but it's not really that special. Unicorns are sort of the Snow White of the shifter kingdom."

He looked at me, confused.

"What I mean is the animals like me… a lot. I'm guessing they tend to run from you, given your beast could gobble them up."

"They only run if they're smart." He chuckled.

We walked toward the woods, hand in hand, buck-ass naked. This right here was why I could never live in a city again. I wanted this freedom.

"Take your fur first. I wanna… I wanna not pet you, but…" I wasn't sure how to ask for what I wanted without it sounding… rude.

"You wanna pet me, and don't worry, you can."

He took his fur before I could respond. He came up to me, and I bent down—not that I had to kneel far. He was large for a snow leopard, at least I thought he was. I wasn't up on my big cats the way I probably should be, considering I was mated to one.

Not yet mated, but soon to be mated—at least if my unicorn would stop their argh.

I ran my fingers through his fur. "You're gorgeous."

Pressing my forehead to his, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, and for the first time since we met, my unicorn perked up. I was sick of his silent treatment and even sicker of the way he kept pulling my mood down. This? This was promising.

Maybe meeting his snow leopard was exactly what he needed. Please, let this be exactly what he needs.

"Okay, stand back."

He did, and I took my hooves, bringing my head down so he could rub his cheek against mine, that was after he stopped staring at my horn. It was beautiful. I wasn't going to pretend that it wasn't, but the way people were enamored with it always amused me.

I'd heard that beasts of prey liked to play hunt and chase, and so I went down, licked the tip of his nose, and then shot off into the woods. He followed behind, and gods, he was fast. More than once I was sure he was going to catch up to me, and I made horses look slow. In hindsight, I wasn't sure if he was staying slow enough to not catch me out of kindness, or if his beast was waiting for me to falter so he could jump ahead.

But in any case, I didn't care. I was having fun too, and my unicorn—he was in his glory. We ran and ran and ran. I jumped over him, he jumped over me, and straight into the water. Then we both ended up in there, playing.

The woods were different when sharing it with Anders. They were reminiscent of my childhood when no animals ever came near me unless I was alone. But unlike then, it didn't bother me, because, also unlike then, I wasn't alone around other people. I was with my mate, and we were having the best of times.

The breeze started to pick up, and I jumped out of the water, shaking my body, getting the excess water off me, and finding a spot in the sun where I could lie down. As a rule, my unicorn wasn't big on lying down. There were times, of course, that he did, but it wasn't common. But today, he wanted to. He longed to snuggle with our mate, to act like the big cat that our mate was instead of his unicorn self. My mate got the message, snuggling in beside us, the two of us lying in the sun, just enjoying each other's warmth and comfort.

It was magnificent.

Soon enough, the sun began to set, and it was time to go home. We trotted back, taking our skin as we reached the back stoop, and I sat down on it.

"Your snow leopard is stunning." I snuggled into his side. "Thank you for today."

"Look at you, thinking my snow leopard's stunning, when you—my beautiful, sexy mate—you're a unicorn."

I'd never heard it said that way. I was always "that unicorn" or "the unicorn," but with Anders, he said it with such reverence, such respect. He loved my unicorn. He didn't have to say the words—everything about him shouted it.

"Thanks for saying that. I guess… I guess I needed to hear it." I stood up and held my hand out for him. "What do snow leopards like to do after they shift?"

He took my hand and stood up. "I feel like there's a right answer to this question."

"There's not a right or a wrong answer, but if your answer involves slamming that cock of yours into me, well then, I'd approve."

"I see," he said, schooling his face.

"So, what do you like to do?"

"When I get done shifting, I like to climb into bed with my omega."

"Perfect answer."