an Ac-taw like you comes around. A person who can choose her beast.”
“My inner beast,” Rachel said, remembering her aunt’s words.
“Yes. That inner beast is your animal soul calling out to you. That you can choose from any you encounter speaks to your power over the totem. That and the fact you project no scent. You’re a very powerful woman, Rachel. And we would be honored to mark you as ours.”
She couldn’t explain the rush she felt hearing that, but she still didn’t understand.
“As yours? What exactly does that mean?” Had they marked Maggie, too? But Maggie was married to Joel, so maybe it wasn’t a sexual thing.
Burke helped her to her feet and settled her back in her chair. She watched in awe as Grady stretched and changed back, then dressed again.
“A mark is a sign of belonging.” Dean sat next to her. “We—” he paused to motion to his brothers, “—are each marked as part of this pride, a group of Shifters led by catamounts. Joel and Maggie are marked as ours too, though they’re not cats. Marking isn’t the same as mating or joining.”
52
“Huh?”
Burke shook his head. “Dean, you’re making a muck of it. Let me explain.” He turned to Rachel. “A mark is a subtle scent other Shifters can smell. It lets everyone know who’s loyal to whom. Though in Cougar Falls, all the clans pretty much have an affinity to the town. Our pride is the most diverse, because we don’t care what breed of Shifter we accept.
“We mark by scent in a variety of ways. We marked Maggie and Joel over time, allowing small measures of our hormones to cover them. Completely painless and nonsexual, I promise you.”
“As if I’d make it with a bear,” Dean muttered.
“Bear?” Rachel’s mind felt sluggish. “But Maggie’s so small.”
“No. Maggie’s mostly human. Maggie has a touch of Ac-taw still in her that lets her see Cougar Falls when others can’t. Joel’s the bear.”
“Okay.” It was starting to make an odd kind of sense. Rachel stared at Grady, still trying to place him on the floor with whiskers and large teeth. He winked at her.
“Marking can be sexually done, but it doesn’t have to be. Joining is sex, pure and simple.” Burke stared hard at her and cleared his throat. “And then there’s mating.”
“As in Shifter marriage,” Grady explained. “It’s permanent and very spiritual. And the sex is to die for, or so I’ve heard.” His gaze wandered over her body suggestively, lingering on her breasts.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying to protect her body from Grady, as well as her lust from growing out of control around the dangerous Chastells.
Burke apparently read her discomfort because he shoved a hard elbow into Grady’s gut.
Grady flashed long sharp teeth in what sounded like a hiss, but before they could distract her, Rachel pressed for more information.
“So you guys wanted to mark me? Why?”
Burke looked pained by the conversation but he answered her. “You haven’t chosen an animal soul yet, Rachel. And you’re so feline, it’s killing me. We would have you as one of us, to strengthen our clan.”
53
“And because you’re hot as hell,” Dean offered.
“Shut up, Dean.” Grady growled, rubbing his belly.
Rachel didn’t know what to think. “So, ah, there are other Shifter ‘clans,’ is that the right word?”
“Yeah. You met two of the silver fox clan today, Gerald and Ty, the sheriff. We have bears, catamounts—us—some eagle and raptor clans. And then there are the wolves.”
The way Burke said “wolves” she knew they weren’t particularly well liked. “I fought a few of them in the alley earlier. And there’ve been wolves prowling around your place looking for the totem the past two weeks.”
“What?” Those hairy thugs were wolves? Funny, she’d have thought they’d look more polished and graceful.
“Yeah. The gray wolves really want to start a breeding town here. To that end, they
“My inner beast,” Rachel said, remembering her aunt’s words.
“Yes. That inner beast is your animal soul calling out to you. That you can choose from any you encounter speaks to your power over the totem. That and the fact you project no scent. You’re a very powerful woman, Rachel. And we would be honored to mark you as ours.”
She couldn’t explain the rush she felt hearing that, but she still didn’t understand.
“As yours? What exactly does that mean?” Had they marked Maggie, too? But Maggie was married to Joel, so maybe it wasn’t a sexual thing.
Burke helped her to her feet and settled her back in her chair. She watched in awe as Grady stretched and changed back, then dressed again.
“A mark is a sign of belonging.” Dean sat next to her. “We—” he paused to motion to his brothers, “—are each marked as part of this pride, a group of Shifters led by catamounts. Joel and Maggie are marked as ours too, though they’re not cats. Marking isn’t the same as mating or joining.”
52
“Huh?”
Burke shook his head. “Dean, you’re making a muck of it. Let me explain.” He turned to Rachel. “A mark is a subtle scent other Shifters can smell. It lets everyone know who’s loyal to whom. Though in Cougar Falls, all the clans pretty much have an affinity to the town. Our pride is the most diverse, because we don’t care what breed of Shifter we accept.
“We mark by scent in a variety of ways. We marked Maggie and Joel over time, allowing small measures of our hormones to cover them. Completely painless and nonsexual, I promise you.”
“As if I’d make it with a bear,” Dean muttered.
“Bear?” Rachel’s mind felt sluggish. “But Maggie’s so small.”
“No. Maggie’s mostly human. Maggie has a touch of Ac-taw still in her that lets her see Cougar Falls when others can’t. Joel’s the bear.”
“Okay.” It was starting to make an odd kind of sense. Rachel stared at Grady, still trying to place him on the floor with whiskers and large teeth. He winked at her.
“Marking can be sexually done, but it doesn’t have to be. Joining is sex, pure and simple.” Burke stared hard at her and cleared his throat. “And then there’s mating.”
“As in Shifter marriage,” Grady explained. “It’s permanent and very spiritual. And the sex is to die for, or so I’ve heard.” His gaze wandered over her body suggestively, lingering on her breasts.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying to protect her body from Grady, as well as her lust from growing out of control around the dangerous Chastells.
Burke apparently read her discomfort because he shoved a hard elbow into Grady’s gut.
Grady flashed long sharp teeth in what sounded like a hiss, but before they could distract her, Rachel pressed for more information.
“So you guys wanted to mark me? Why?”
Burke looked pained by the conversation but he answered her. “You haven’t chosen an animal soul yet, Rachel. And you’re so feline, it’s killing me. We would have you as one of us, to strengthen our clan.”
53
“And because you’re hot as hell,” Dean offered.
“Shut up, Dean.” Grady growled, rubbing his belly.
Rachel didn’t know what to think. “So, ah, there are other Shifter ‘clans,’ is that the right word?”
“Yeah. You met two of the silver fox clan today, Gerald and Ty, the sheriff. We have bears, catamounts—us—some eagle and raptor clans. And then there are the wolves.”
The way Burke said “wolves” she knew they weren’t particularly well liked. “I fought a few of them in the alley earlier. And there’ve been wolves prowling around your place looking for the totem the past two weeks.”
“What?” Those hairy thugs were wolves? Funny, she’d have thought they’d look more polished and graceful.
“Yeah. The gray wolves really want to start a breeding town here. To that end, they
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