Page 56 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Her movements were tantalizing. Her neck arched just so to cast a demur look his way. He was encouraged to continue, and excitement grew.

He was still Jacob, but Jacob wasn’t in the driver’s seat. He was a goose who was being driven into a frenzy by a potential mate and it didn’t leave much room for rational thought.

And she, whoever she was, seemed to be just as eager to consummate things. The head dipping continued until he couldn’t stand it anymore. She had accepted his courting, and he would claim her before any rival could interfere.

The man would have hesitated, the bird did not. When her head dipped beneath the water again, he climbed onto her back. By the time she lifted her head, he was already inside of her. He gripped the back of her neck, pulling and twisting the feathers as he held her in place. It took only seconds before he was done.

The human part of him might have thought it was anticlimactic, but that part had checked out when he realized where the courtship was leading. The goose knew that it had been satisfying and successful. He shouted a loud honk of triumph at having claimed his mate.

He slid off her back, into the water beside her, preening his feathers and fanning his wings with pride as he watched over her protectively. A feeling of smug satisfaction colored his goose thoughts. She was supposed to bathe, and then he would do thesame, but instead… she launched herself out of the water and flew towards the shore, leaving him confused.

Instincts said this wasnothow things were supposed to go after a successful mating. She had accepted him, and he had claimed her. Now his job was to watch over her and protect her, and he couldn’t do that if she was gone. With a series of honks, he took flight, following her to the rocky beach.

But when he glided down and landed, she had changed, shifting back to human form. He watched her long gawky human shape for a moment. It wasn’t nearly as enticing as her sleek swan self. Bare pink skin wasn’t as attractive as feathers.

It became clear that his mate didn’t intend to change back when she started pulling on her clothes in a hurry. He would have to leave his glorious goose form to join her, he supposed.

For a moment he hadn’t been sure how to change back. He’d never needed to shift before, but when he relaxed and thought about who Jacob was in that form, his body took over and did the rest. The moment he was back on bare feet, the weight of what had just happened came crashing down on his head.

The goose had been thinking only of mating and claiming, and now the human had to deal with the consequences. Talk about awkward. He hadn’t even gotten her name and now they were mates.

Mates. That… was something he was going to have to wrap his head around, when he had a chance. He stared at her back as she yanked a t-shirt over her head. “Uh… hey.”

She screamed and spun around. “Holy fuck! Where did you come from?” she demanded. Her eyes slid down his body, noted his nakedness, and then snatched up a fist-sized rock from the shore. “Don’t come any closer!”

He recognized her immediately, so not a stranger after all. “Seems a bit late for that now. I mean…” He jerked his headtowards the water. “After that, I don’t think we could get any closer.”

“What are you talking about?” She took a few steps back, holding the rock in front of her. Then in a softer voice, maybe not meant for him, “It can’t be…”

He tilted his head. “I was the goose. You’re a swan, right?”

“I –what? No, of course not. What are you—oh my god! You’re the weird guy from the restaurant!”

“Guilty.” He looked away and cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. I should have known there was a reason I started feeling so strange around you. But to be honest… I wasn’t really sure the whole mate thing would apply to me.”

“Mate… you—” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening. Did you… did you attack me in the water?”

Jacob frowned, eyes narrowing. “Attack you? Of course not. My goose realized you were our mate and courted you.” At least he thought that was what had happened. She’d accepted his advances; he knew that much.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I did this wrong… it was my first time. I thought I’d have more control. You know, be me, but with wings.”

“First time? First time fucking a bird? Glad you don’t make it a habit, perv!”

He blew an exasperated breath out of his nose. “My first time shifting into one. I know… late bloomer, I guess. I’d given up and assumed I was just a throwback or something.”

“I don’t understand any of this.”

“Well, if you put the rock down maybe I could get dressed and then we could talk.” He was starting to feel a little vulnerable in only his skin.

“I… sure, okay. Put your clothes on.” She didn’t drop the rock though.

He sighed and looked around for his things. They were quite a way down the shoreline, and he was half afraid she’d leave when he went to get them. Instead she settled on a large flat rock and dropped her face into her hands to wait.

Fair enough. He trotted down the beach and got dressed. When he returned, he made sure to walk loudly so he wouldn’t catch her by surprise again. She didn’t look up, but she tensed as he got closer.

“So, I’m Jacob, and you’re Lizzy, right?”

“Yes.”

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