Chapter Twenty-Two

Grendel

"Our mate has never seen our demon forms." Hemlock stood behind me in the kitchen where I was preparing supper for the three of us. It was a simple meal of soup and salad and rolls, but I still had some work to do and did not need to be interrupted just now.

"Yeah, so?"

"And we also have not seen her wolf."

I set down the knife I was using to chop vegetables and turned to face him. "No, we have not. Do you think she'd be willing to shift together? I would love to see her wolf." Funny how we had not done that right away, but somehow it hadn't come up. "We need to ask."

We found our mate in the living room working on her laptop, and when we came in, she looked up with a smile. "What are you two up to? You look guilty."

Already she could read us well, but in this case, she did not have it on the nose. "Not guilty," I told her, "but we do have an idea."

"Yeah?" She set her laptop aside, cheeks blooming with color. "I thought you'd both be sated for a little while after this morning, but okay."

Now I was blushing. Just the memory of our mate warm and pliant between us filled my mind with images that had me wondering if maybe we could put off shifting until tomorrow. My demon had been remarkably patient, waiting for his turn to meet our mate and her beast as well. He did not want to wait any longer.

"We thought we could go out and shift before dinner," Hemlock said, obviously staying more on track than I was. "If you are up for it."

"Oh yes." She hopped up and gave us both a hug. "My wolf is about to lose it. I didn't want to be pushy, but she really wants to see your demon forms. You're not quite shifters, right?"

"Sort of, but it's a little different. Want to see?"

"Don't we need to go outside?"

I froze. "Does your wolf not want to shift in here? Can you not shift indoors?"

"Oh my goodness." Her laughter pealed out. "My mother had a no-wolves-in-the-house rule. She said we were always tearing everything up, so we had to go outside to assume our beast form. You guys don't mind if we do it indoors?"

"Not if you don't." Hemlock stood straight and held his arms out from his sides. "May I show you?"

"Please."

We had never really explained our alternative forms to Poe, and demons rarely changed in front of others outside our own kind, so if Hemlock appeared nervous, he had every right. "I'll join you, friend."

Watching our mate the whole time, we assumed our other forms. There were no horns or tails or pitchforks involved, merely a shadow of ourselves. We were able to creep from shadow to shadow and blend in or intensify it so it stood out almost three dimensional.

A soft gasp was the only indication of how surprised Poe was at what we were. We stood very still while she moved around us, taking in something that likely was completely alien to her experience.

"You can do this without even undressing," she marveled. "You are wonderful." She pulled her sweatshirt off. "My turn."

I watched as she undressed with graceful motions. We'd made love to her, of course, but there was something about her standing there in the living room with not a stitch on that was so…extra. In a really good way. But before I could fully take her in, white fur sprouted from her silky skin and she dropped to all fours. Her hands disappeared, replaced by paws, and her face lengthened into a snout. One by one, her features altered until our mate had been replaced by a white wolf. Why had I thought she might be lavender? But she was gorgeous, and as soon as she finished the shift, the wolf paced to the door and stared at it.

It was a very doglike behavior, not that I'd ever tell her that, but I knew what she wanted and opened the door, grateful my form had that ability. The wolf tipped up her nose and howled toward the sky then ran out into the yard.

We followed, gliding through the shadows in time to see her tuck her hips under and get the most adorable case of zoomies he'd ever seen. She was larger than most natural wolves but tore around the yard like a frolicking puppy.

And I was in love.