Shifting Changes (The First Shift) (7 page)

Shayonn
let out a heartfelt groan as he walked past a patch of particularly
thick-growing shrubs. He longed for a partner. Ever since those quick, exciting
moments he’d shared with Faolan in the hotel room almost two months ago, it had
just been him and his hand, but Shayonn wanted more. He was only twenty-one,
and at his prime sexually. It was even worse in his tiger shape. His instincts
and hormones seemed to run havoc and left him in a state of constant
semi-arousal, so he rarely trailed the grounds in animal form although he had
spent too long with his human body and longed to feel his other self.

The
tiger in him felt Faolan’s presence before his weak human senses could see or
even smell him. “What do you want?” he grumbled. “I’m not acting against
orders, so you can bloody well leave me alone.”

“No
need to get bitchy,” Faolan replied levelly as he emerged from behind a large
rhododendron and fell into step with Shayonn. “I just thought you might
appreciate a chat.”

Shayonn
stared at his guard. His initial anger at the betrayal had developed into a
strange combination of resignation and fondness. Faolan did his job well, there
was no denying that, and Shayonn was beginning to grow tired of trying to pick
fights he never won, so he had decided to accept his fate for now. Although,
his lack of defiance was probably mostly due to the fact that he had a bigger
worry on his mind.

Shayonn
hadn’t treated his bodyguard to more than a casual glance in the weeks that had
passed, but now that he saw him, walking in the bright sunlight amidst a
fireworks of multi-coloured flowers, his simmering arousal became more
substantial. The sight made him prickle. Faolan was a handsome man with
movements that revealed his strength and endurance. He wouldn’t have trouble
going all night, Shayonn observed idly.

“Probably
not,” Faolan agreed, correctly reading Shayonn’s thoughts as he did so often.
He sounded amused. “But it depends on who I’m with. I need a partner who can
keep up and those are rare to find. Not many humans are ready for what I have
to offer.”

“I
wouldn’t have thought so,” Shayonn grumbled but his grumpiness was just a mask
for his burning desire. Two months, and he hadn’t been touched by another
being, human or shifter.

“What’s
wrong?” Faolan asked.

“Nothing.”

“You
sure seem grouchy for nothing.”

“Well,
nothing I have any desire to talk about with you of all people,” Shayonn
snapped.

Faolan
shrugged. “Fine. Suit yourself. I just thought you might want to talk. I didn’t
realise there were so many people around you who are willing to listen to your
complaints.”

Turning
his head to glare at Faolan, Shayonn tripped on a root but he covered up his
stumble and walked on, shoulder by shoulder with the big wolf shifter. He’d
promised himself not to show any signs of weakness, but that comment stung and
of course, Faolan was right. There was no one Shayonn could talk to about the
weight that crunched his heart. He didn’t have friends, had never really had
any. He’d been surrounded by servants for most of his life. His half-sisters had
left a long time ago to lead their quiet, peaceful lives as mothers of half a
dozen yellow cubs and his own mother… Well, she defended her position
vehemently.

“I can’t do it!” he blurted out
. “I can’t help it. I’m just not
attracted to women.”

Faolan
didn’t seem surprised by the topic. His response was prompt. “Aren’t you? Not
even a little bit?”

“Nn-nn.”

“Not
even in shifted form?”

Shayonn
cast a sideways glance at his companion and shook his head. “Oh, I don’t know.
I’ve never tried. Why, what difference does it make?”

“Ah,
Shayonn.” Faolan chuckled. “You haven’t spent much time in shifted form, have
you? Your body is different, have you never noticed that?”

“Well,
I seem to be a lot furrier, that’s for sure,” Shayonn grumbled.

“Yes.
And you act on instincts rather than common sense.”

“So?”

“So,
your body is programmed to reproduce. It’s as simple as that. We all are
different when we’re in shifted form. Our primal instincts take over and we do
things we might not do when in human shape.”

“Huh.
Right. Like what?”

“Run
around without clothes.”

Shayonn
couldn’t suppress his chuckle and ended up making a strange snorting sound.

“Okay,
okay,” Faolan soothed. “Eat raw meat. Take a pee in public. Whatever. The fact
is, you’re different when shifted. So why not give it a try? See how you like
being around a female when you’re in tiger shape. You might be surprised.”

“Is
that how it works for you?”

“What?”

“Mating.
Sex.”

Faolan
pursed his lips. “Well, not really. I enjoy sex in either shape.”

“That’s
not what I meant.” Shayonn sighed. “You said you weren’t really into men. You
said you fucked men only because you weren’t allowed around the females.”

“
You
said that, actually,” Faolan replied. “I happen to be attracted to men and
women alike. It’s right that I’m not allowed to reproduce with females of my
own kind, but there is no law against me fucking human women or the females of
any other species.”

Shayonn
tilted his head. “I see. And you’re making use of that, right?”

“Sure.”
Faolan sounded amused.

“Good
for you. Is it different when you’re in shifted form?”

Faolan
watched him for a moment. “It’s
fluffier
when we’re shifted but I like
it either way. As a wolf it’s more… Unrestrained, I think you could say, but as
a human you have hands. Big advantage.”

Shayonn
was astounded. Faolan grinned at him. He flashed his teeth in return but he
wasn’t convinced. “So you’re saying that if I’m in tiger form I might actually
enjoy it?”

“Yes.”
Faolan stopped. “What is it?”

Shayonn
sighed. He had to get it out or it would just eat him up. “My mother will make
me attend a mating ceremony next week.”

“I
know. So?”

Shayonn
stopped dead. “So? Are you kidding me?”

“Well,
it makes sense.”

“
It
makes sense
,” Shayonn repeated with an angry snort. “I should have known
you were on her side!”

Faolan
shrugged. “I’m not on anyone’s side but I know about the problems your species have,
so yes, it makes sense.
The main point about mating
for you is to be able to make lots of healthy and preferably white babies. The
biggest problem for you is to find the girl you can have those white babies
with.”

“The biggest problem for me is that I’ll have to fuck her to make
those babies!” Shayonn snarled. “And I don’t think I’m interested in that.”

Head tilted to the
side, Faolan watched him with an expression of patience in his warm brown eyes.
“
Look,
Shayonn. It’s not that big an issue as you make it seem so don’t stir up a
storm in a water cup. Fucking her is the obvious way but you can always talk to
her and tell her how you feel about women. She’s your mate. She shares your
interest and she will have a special connection with you. See if you can find a
way with that. Try it in tiger shape. And if you really don’t want to do it,
well, then there are other ways.”

Shayonn
flinched. “What other ways?”

Faolan
smirked. “Well, quite simple. All she needs to get pregnant is your spunk. No
one says you have to be the one who puts it into her. If you really don’t want
to do it then well, I suggest you have a wank and give her what you come up
with.”

“Eouw!”
Shayonn made a face. “Are you serious?”

Faolan
shrugged. “It’s an option. It’s not ideal, and I don’t think your chosen one
would be too pleased, but it would allow you to do what is required of you
without sexual intimacy involved.”

“Hmm.
Well, it’s a thought,” Shayonn admitted. “But you’re right. First I have to
find my mate.”

“Shayonn?”
Faolan asked into the pensive silence that followed.

“Yes?”

“Are
you still mad at me? For bringing you back here?”

Shayonn
considered the question for a moment, then he shook his head. “Not really. I
was mad, but I never stood a chance to get away from all of this. I don’t even
know why I bothered to run away in the first place. It was only a matter of
time until my mother would come up with a plan to get me back. I should’ve
known that.”

“Okay.
So you forgive me?”

Shayonn
smiled. “Yes.”

Faolan
seemed honestly relieved. “Good. Thank you. Oh, one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Your
mother told me you chased away your personal servants again. Why?”

The
direct question surprised Shayonn, but he covered it with an irritated snicker.
“You mean the ones who were ordered to help me with my bath? Of course I chased
them away. My dear mother seized the chance to send potential partners my way
again.”

Faolan
frowned. “Potential partners?”

“Yes.
In case you didn’t notice, those servants were all young and beautiful, and all
female. Not one of them had any idea how to even address me correctly.”

“I’m
sure that’s not quite true,” Faolan replied.

Shayonn
narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying I lie?”

“No,
I just think you’re more interested in them than you’re letting on.”

Shayonn
froze. “How dare you say that after everything I just told you?”

“Oh,
come on, Shayonn.” Faolan sighed. “It’s a nice story. But I found some
magazines last time I checked your room. You’re not as exclusively gay as you
pretend to be, are you?”

Shayonn
stared at him, chewing his lip as he mulled over the best possible answer.
Faolan was right. If truth be told, he wasn’t as immune to their creamy skin and
luscious curves as he claimed he was. “I’ve never been serious with a woman,”
he said reluctantly.

Faolan
nodded, slowly and as if to himself. “Well, perhaps not, but I bet you’ve spent
more than one night jerking off over a magazine that featured naked girls
instead of the ones filled with guys you leave lying around everywhere. What’s
the point of those, anyway? Are you just trying to annoy your mother?”

Shayonn
groaned. “You don’t understand. It’s not as simple as you think it is.”

“Then
why don’t you tell me? Come on, get it out.”

Shayonn
heaved a sigh and pushed back his too long fringe. “You see, I appreciate
female beauty and…they smell nice and have such gorgeous, soft bodies, but
giving in to that means giving up my freedom. If I allow myself to be with a
woman, I’ll lose the last chance I have to…” He bit his lip. “Leading my mother
to believe that I’m gay is the only way I have to keep her from making me find
my mate.”

Faolan
frowned. “What’s so bad about finding your mate? It’s the best thing that can
possibly happen to a shifter.”

Shayonn
shook his head impatiently. “If I have a mate, the future queen of Atraya, I will
have to become king and I’m not ready for that, Faolan. I’m only twenty-one. There
is more I want to do with my life than sit through meetings and talk about my
country’s economy or ways to increase the growth rate of our population. There
are so many things I haven’t done yet, so many places I still want to see. I
don’t want to get tied down just yet. And…those babies. I’m not ready for
babies.”

“I
know.” For the first time, Faolan looked at him with sympathy. “That’s the real
reason you ran away, isn’t it? It’s a lot of responsibility for someone so
young. I understand that. But it’s your duty. You were born into this position,
and you have to take the bad parts with the good parts. You grew up in a
beautiful home, with dozens of servants just waiting to fulfil your every wish.
Maybe it’s time for you to pay some of that back.”

Shayonn
rubbed his forehead. He felt tired all of a sudden. Tired and emotionally
exhausted, but most of all he longed for affection, now more than ever. What he’d
assumed to be merely pent-up sexual tension turned out to be a craving for
something deeper.

He
took a step toward Faolan and lowered his head as he stopped in front of him. “Can
you…” He couldn’t make himself say it, so he just looked up and hoped that his
eyes would transmit the message. Faolan understood his wordless plea. He
reached out and folded his bulky arms around Shayonn, pulling him into a tight
bear hug. Shayonn hesitated briefly, then let his head sink on Faolan’s massive
shoulder.

It
felt so good to simply be held like this. He couldn’t remember the last time
someone had just embraced him. His mother had never been one for cuddles and
the few sex partners he’d had in uni hadn’t been around to stay after the quick
stolen moments in each other’s bedrooms or outside. The hold of Faolan’s arms
tightened and Shayonn was reminded of the other man’s immense, feral strength.
His earlier arousal returned, going from the barely noticeable buzz in the pit
of his stomach to a burning need in his groin within seconds.