Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Cillian

Waking up early this morning while still in my human form was a strange experience. It was a novelty to feel the crisp morning air on my skin without the buffer of my natural brown and black fur.

The lack of my lethal claws leaves me irritable. I feel defenseless and weak. Of course, if we get too far from the scent of our mate, our Monsters return.

After some experimenting last night, I discovered I can shift parts of my body while still maintaining a mostly human form. Something I shared with my brothers right away. Once we dressed ourselves, that is.

It’s no surprise that Aldair was the least accepting of the three of us. Looking at him now, still sleeping against a tree, I chuckle. The black cotton shirt he chose barely contains his body as it strains over his shoulders. Leather pants are tucked into the unlaced boots he refuses to tie. We’ve never needed shoes, and if we find ourselves in a situation where we need to run, he won’t be wearing the human foot protection. Or so he says. He also pulled his shaggy black hair into a low leather band once he cut it to a more manageable length.

Then there’s Kylan. Standing taller than either of us, his long hair and the beard covering his face are the same white blonde tone found throughout his fur. We couldn’t help but laugh as we watched him try to squeeze into his clothing. Kylan’s cock was uncooperative as he attempted to tuck it into the laced opening of his pants. After he successfully stuffed himself into the brown leather pants, he mangled the white linen shirt. It quickly became apparent that his broad shoulders and arms do not fit the clothing. The torn material and missing buttons are obvious, even after he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

Unsurprisingly, I find I enjoy the fitted gray shirt and black leather pants I chose. The boots are a nuisance, but I laced mine up, unlike my older brother.

The sun will rise soon, so I decide to wake my brothers so we can find more suitable hiding spots. We’ll be easier to spot now, and even if we’re no longer in our more terrifying forms, we don’t want our Omega to see three men hovering around, waiting for her to emerge.

“Ky,” I whisper, as I squeeze his shoulder. His amber eyes pop open, and he immediately checks himself, the relief at finding he’s still in his human form clear on his face. “Seems we can hold it even in our sleep.” I smile, as I head for Dair next. “Wake up big brother,” I say with more force, before sticking a wet finger in his ear. He bats my hand away like I’m nothing more than a pestering fly. Ky chuckles though. At least one of them finds me funny.

“One day…” Aldair grumbles, his voice rough with sleep.

“Yeah, yeah, one day. But today, we have a little mate to welcome home.” That gets his attention. He’s on his feet and looking around in moments.

I snort at him, before heading between a few trees to conceal myself. The plan is to follow her from a safe distance, and if she heads in the wrong direction, we’ll encourage her to turn a different way.

It’s not long before the sun rises, and our mate makes her way out of the cave. The first thing I notice is that she’s holding her arm to her chest in discomfort. Something I failed to realize before. The overwhelming urge to protect my Omega nearly has me revealing myself to her too soon.

Aldair focuses on holding Kylan back, who seems to struggle just as much as I am, but I have more control than my younger brother.

“When she’s ready, we’ll take care of her. We need to restrain ourselves, as hard as that may be,” Aldair whispers, and I nod my agreement. This will be the last time any of us refrains from helping our mate while she is in pain, but we know it’s for the best in the end.

Revealing ourselves now could ruin everything. We need her to trust us. For that to happen, we need to show her who we really are. Jumping out of the treeline, and forcing her to let us mend her injury, might send her screaming in the wrong direction.

She needs to choose us…

Once she’s ready, she starts off on her journey. As she makes her way through the forest, we watch over her, making sure she reaches our home safely, while giving her the freedom to do this on her own. It takes a while, but we’re patient men. Her scent isn’t filled with the same overwhelming fear as it was last night. Instead, she smells more nervous than frightened.

Even when she turns to look back at one point, just before finding her saddlebag, I remain hidden. The sound of a snapping branch under my booted foot stops her progress. She pauses, whispers something about tasting like skunk, and spots the saddlebag Ky cleverly left behind. She picks up her bag, grabs a bite to eat, and continues on.

She’s about to reach our territory. The three of us stay back, and watch, as the first thing she sees is her horse.

“Bear!” she gasps, freezes, and then charges him. She drops the saddlebag from her shoulder onto the ground by the fence before greeting the horse.

We give her the space to reconnect with the animal, and watch as she picks her bag back up, then ventures into the cave after a few moments.

I’m the first to step into view, making Bear’s ears pin back, and as he stares at me. Kylan moves quickly, cutting between myself and the horse.

“Shhh,” my little brother soothes. My brother’s ability to connect with prey has always been impressive to me. He’s far less terrifying in this form as well.

Our mate’s scent is stronger here, and spiked with happiness at seeing Bear again. The smell is delicious. Better than the discomfort that clung to her all morning. Kylan is instantly affected by the aroma, and looks to us for reassurance. It’s easy to see the doubt he has about his ability to control himself around her.

“Trust me. When you are around her, your only concern will be her safety. Why don’t you finish getting the animal settled for the afternoon? I’ll go hunting for our dinner,” Aldair calmly reassures Ky. His brown eyes meet mine and flick to the cave entrance. I nod in understanding, as Aldair removes his clothing, so his monster form doesn’t destroy them. Or the blood from catching dinner…

I make my way to the cave entrance slowly, wanting to give her time to explore before I interrupt, but after twenty minutes, I can’t stand the wait any longer. As I get closer to the door, my steps slow, and my Alpha instincts rise to the surface. I want to be close to my mate…to give her everything she’s ever needed.

I grasp the handle of the door and swing it open on quiet hinges.

It’s clear she explored this room a bit, but her scent is strongest coming from Kylan’s room.

Carefully easing my way further inside, light spilling in from the hallway reveals a tousled blonde head. The golden strands are the only part of her that's visible under the blanket she stole from Aldair’s bed. I smirk. Her instincts are already driving her. She’s using Ky’s sweater as a pillow. Did she take something of mine as well?

“Little mate,” I whisper. I allow one hand to drift forward and catch the curl laying over her shoulder. Sliding my fingers along the golden strands, I brush my knuckles down her neck. The image of burying my fingers into the silky length as I kiss her overwhelms me, and my scent spikes.

She lets out an Omega whine, as she wakes. I can’t contain my groan. The sound is so sweet. I want to make her purr for me…

I crouch down, making my form less intimidating so the first time she sees me, I’m not towering over her.

As she blinks, I admire her crystal blue eyes, with flecks of gold and amber. My breath catches in my throat as I officially meet my mate face to face. The startling change from sleep into fear is quick as she jumps back from me. I frown. I should have known better. I should have backed up, given her more space.

She clutches the blanket to her chest, and I ease back on my haunches, hands raised.

“I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m sorry. You’re safe here. There’s nothing to fear from me,” I speak quietly, not daring to move. “My name is Cillian. This is mine and my brothers’ home.” I watch as some of the tension in her shoulders eases. I make no move to get closer to her, but I also can’t bring myself to back away. My instinct is screaming at me to scoop her into my arms. To tend to her injuries. To kiss her breathless.

I shake off that last thought. It’s much too soon for that, even if her scent is calling out to me, desperate for comfort.

“I… I apologize for breaking into your home. You have my horse outside, and I’ve–it’s been a long journey to get here. I was exhausted… I didn’t mean to fall asleep… I didn’t intend to take advantage…” she trails off as she fumbles with the blanket in her lap. As she wiggles about, marking her scent all over Ky’s bed, something he’s going to love, I notice her feet. I can’t contain my smile. Those are my socks.

“No harm was done. I see you found my socks.” I grin like a madman, not adding that I made them for her. Of course, it helps that my scent is all over them, too.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she yelps, eyes wide, as she kicks them off. The growl that escapes me startles her and I both, particularly when her scent spikes with need. Oh, that was not intentional…

“It’s okay, really,” I reassure her, as I grapple with my instincts for control. I swallow thickly, gesturing to Ky’s sweater. “You can wear that as well if you’d like? It might be more comfortable?” I do my best not to drag my eyes across her body, now that she’s tossed the blanket aside. She’s in a slip of fabric that hardly covers her body… Perhaps Ky is right to worry about his self-control. I’m hanging on by a thread here.

“Okay,” she nods, reaching for it with her uninjured arm.

“Are you hurt?” I ask, even though I’m well aware that she is. She nods, looking like she needs a hot bath and a hot meal. Several meals, in fact. Another growl nearly escapes, but I contain it. I need to chill the fuck out.

“I fell,” she whispers, still looking like a frightened bird.

“I can help you, if you’ll let me? Perhaps you’d enjoy a hot bath? My brother is preparing dinner as well. Are you hungry?” I ask gently, and her eyes widen, but she nods eagerly. I chuckle, rising to my feet slowly. “Let's get your arm secured, then you can bathe.”

I can’t help but wonder if she enjoys the way I look in the human form. She watches me closely as I leave the room, and soft footsteps behind me tells me she's following me. When I spin around after grabbing what I need to mend her arm, she gasps. I nearly step on her, she’s followed so close behind me.

Does she even realize why? I must make her feel safe, if she’s willing to follow me like a lost duckling. Is it my scent? Can she sense the connection between us? Ma said humans don’t experience mating the way we do. They choose each other first, and then once a bond is established, they sense each other more deeply. Monsters know our mates on an instinctual level from the first time we see them.

She’s much shorter than I am, even in this form. Her big blue eyes are wide with a bit of hesitation, as she stares up at me. She’s so stunningly beautiful, even covered in dirt and sweat.

“The washroom is this way,” I say in a deeper voice than I intended, a natural growl escaping. I need to control that better.

I lead her into the room and gesture for her to sit on the edge of the tub. Taking the time to set water to boil on the small hearth, I collect what I will need to brace her injury before kneeling in front of her. I’m careful, as I use the supplies I gathered to securely wrap her wrist. The thin, flat piece of wood will keep it from bending, and the wrapping will add a few layers of protection. My brother’s and I heal quickly. Will our connection unlock similar traits in her, like she unlocks my human form?

It doesn’t take long. And once I’m done, the water I set to boil is ready for the tub. The natural well that connects to the sink and the tub allows water to run, but it’s not warm enough for my mate to bathe in.

“I’m Goldie,” she whispers, when I pour the boiling liquid into the tub. Goldie, my mate's name is Goldie. My golden girl…

“Nice to meet you, Goldie.” Another growl escaping me as I say her name for the first time. I’m going to have to stop that, even if I enjoy the way Goldie shivers at the sound. “I’ll bring you some clean clothes, and you can use one of the towels there.” I point to where we keep them neatly folded beside the tub. “Take your time, there’s no rush. If you need anything, I’ll just be in the kitchen,” I say, before stepping out of the room to retrieve the items.

Of course, we already have lots of clothing and other things here for her, but now doesn’t seem like the time to reveal that little detail. Omegas can be territorial, and I can’t exactly tell her everything we have for a woman is meant for her…

The bag one of those vile women dropped, contained a beautiful brush that I think my mate would enjoy, though. Perhaps she has other things I can steal for Goldie…

The urge to offer my assistance is on the tip of my tongue, but I know it’s too soon. We’ll move at the pace she needs. I’m capable of monstrous deeds, but not against my mate.

I may be a monster, but I am her monster.