Wow, news travels fast around here. Fuck that noise.
Both Bryan and Trevor start to shake at that, snarling and growling deep in their throats. Glenda puts a calming hand on both of them and they stop shaking quite so much. I don’t know if they can prevent the growling.
“I am a real live person. They can’t just demand that I attend to them. I thought the whole purpose of this was that they can look but only I can touch, when I want to. That the choice is mine?” I ask slowly.
Timoteo steps up and nods his head in greeting to Glenda who gestures for him to speak.
“Miss Meryn, that is correct. Fate has blessed you with the Matestone, and while it is active you have complete choice in which mates you select. While it hasn’t been done in decades, you could even form your own pod, essentially picking and choosing select members and asking them to form a brotherhood around you. However, our laws state that in order to be fair to all incomplete packs and pods in the area, a prospective mate must be available to be presented to all senior representatives if requested.”
I think about that for a long moment.
“What happens if I say, ‘thanks but no thanks’? What could your law do to me?”
Glenda looks pained, “You would be exiled from Misty Cove and sent to a new settlement, or the Council would choose your pod for you—based on the needs of the community.”
“OooooKaaayyyy.” I draw it out, thinking hard, “And how long would I have to wait until I divorced these assholes if they tried to pod-me off to someone?”
All the shifters stopped and looked at me sadly.
“You could reject your mates, but after the bonding ritual takes place it will be excruciatingly painful to separate from them, even if you dislike them. A complete pod shares energy with each other and a piece of each person’s energy resides in the others. To take that away would be an unimaginable loss. Many shifters don’t survive it, even with your Fae blood, I am not sure you could either.”
Holy hell. That’s scary. Thanks so much for this gift that keeps giving, Terra and Faery Godmother.
“What’s to stop this wolf pack from getting me to their lair and force bonding me, then?” I ask worriedly, picking at my dress.
Trevor swears fiercely and stalks away, his entire body shaking again. I glance at Bryan but he shakes his head. “Trev needs to shift for a moment to get his head on straight. He’ll be fine.”
I hear the angry bark of a sea lion in the distance and I hang my head as exhaustion sweeps over me. This was supposed to be a good night. Instead, it’s misery and bullshit.
“Forced bonding is never accepted in our society, Ronnie. It is a heinous crime that, if caught, is punishable by banishment and ostracization. I don’t want to believe that the Coastal Wolf Pack would consider something so despicable, but I cannot guarantee it.”
“Banishment? But you just said that rejection of a bond can kill you? So you banish the poor mate, too? Or do you force them to choose between possible death or a lifetime with their captors?” I’m getting hysterical now and my skin is crawling, missing Trevor’s presence. I already feel slightly bonded to my sea lion pod, and if it’s all unofficial now, I can’t even imagine how terrible it would feel if it were official.
Glenda pulls me into a hug and I lean into her. “The witches have ways of minimizing the pain to the mate but there’s always a risk.”
“It’s not a risk because she won’t be going,” Bryan says fiercely. “The Club and our pod will never allow it.” He stomps over to Timoteo and starts gesturing wildly.
“What will they do to them if they prevent it?” I ask Glenda. She drops her gaze.
“They would be exiled. We cannot deny a legitimate claim, and as much as I hate to admit it, the Coastal Wolf Pack’s complaint has weight. You don’t have to accept their claim, but they are allowed to present it.” Well. This system is clearly fucked up and was invented by men. Nothing screams patriarchy more than, “you have to give the assholes a chance because it’s only fair.”
I extract myself from her embrace and walk over to the edge of the woods where I saw Trevor disappear. The last thing I want to do is go anywhere near the wolf pack but the idea of something happening to my guys because of me makes my stomach hurt. I don’t know what to do, but I need to touch them again—it helps me think.
“Trevor? Can you come back to me please? I need you,” I call softly, hoping that shifter super hearing wasn’t just a thing that happens in books.
There’s movement just beyond the trees and it’s Trevor. He’s sitting in a pond in his sea lion form and growling up at the sky. It’s a feeling that seems to be going around.
My footsteps crunch the fallen leaves and he turns towards me.
“Trevor?” I ask, tentatively. He turns to me and begins to shake and shift. Before my brain can catch up to the visual weirdness that is watching them shift, Trevor is already striding towards me, bare-ass naked as usual. I run over to him and launch myself into his arms.
“We’ve got you, love,” he murmurs fiercely into my hair. I hold him tighter, willing my tears to stay away. I know what I have to do and I just hope they don’t hate me for it.
“Kiss me?” I ask softly. His lips are warm and welcoming. Soft at first and then building in intensity until we are panting and clinging to each other. When we break apart, I manage a wobbly
