Page 69 of Her Males

Kato doesn’t look away from the page he’s reading as he pulls up his leather skirt to reveal a red bear.

“Show her your mated mark, too,” Mammon hisses before leaning closer to me. “Shifters don’t let females who aren’t their immediate family touch them.”

Kato grunts and pulls his skirt up further. Above his bear is a thick, black line, the marking seeming to wrap around his upper thigh.

I think that’s all there is to see, and I choke when he pulls the skirt up higher and exposes his soft penis. Instead of looping around his leg, the black marking angles up when it reaches his inner thigh and curves over the top of his pubic bone before traveling along the top of his penis.

“That’s what a mated male looks like, so don’t ever let one of them trick you into their bed if they have these markings,” Mammon warns.

Kato drops his skirt with a huff and turns in my direction. His eyes narrow as he glares at Mammon, the look alone telling me there’s more than a little bad blood between them.

“A shifter would never trick a female into their bed, let alone a mated one,” he snaps.

Mammon shrugs, turning to the man next to her. “Show Charlotte yours,” she orders.

The man side-eyes her before pulling up his skirt. His red marking is of a deer, but the mate line on his skin is white. I’m grateful he doesn’t expose his penis like Kato did.

“That’s what an unmated man looks like,” she explains, gesturing for him to lower his skirt. “It will turn black when he finds his female.”

A man across the table clears his throat, the message less than subtle, and Mammon whispers that she’ll tell me more later before going silent. I tighten my grip on the fur around my shoulders as I wait for the shifters to finish reading.

My impatience grows with each passing minute.

They’re reading so slowly.

“I want his head,” Kato says, slamming his fist on the table.

The stone underneath his fist crumbles, and he brushes it away before grimacing at the man across from us. That man eyes the newly created dent before straightening his shoulders and peering around to see who needs more time.

A quick scan tells me they’re all ready.

“Where and when did you acquire this?” the man asks.

I turn to Mammon. She gestures for me to answer.

“I found the report in Gray’s office a few weeks ago,” I admit. My voice shakes, but I force myself to continue. “All three of them had copies.”

Mammon clears her throat. “They sat on this information for fifty years.”

“And when did you discover this, Mammon?” Kato chimes in.

Unlike me, she appears strong as she levels her stare with the giant bear man.

“I was informed yesterday night. I’m sure you’re aware this issue is important to me, and I can only imagine it’s something that hits close to you as well.” Her voice is full of confidence, and I watch as she turns to make brief eye contact with each man sitting around the table. “I want to enforce regulations on female capture and treatment, and I’m asking for your support.”

Almost immediately, the men begin to chat amongst themselves, their voices loud as they speak over one another. It’s hard to follow anything they’re saying, and after only a few seconds, they transition from the universal language into a guttural one I’m unfamiliar with.

Their eyes occasionally flash to me as they speak, their actions making it clear I’m a topic of conversation. One man grabs the report and throws it to the center of the table, his wide arms accidentally smacking into the men on either side of him.

“Why did you come here?” Kato asks, his accent thick as he transitions back to the universal language.

“I want to help the females,” I answer truthfully.

Kato hums. “Why?”

“Because the first twenty-five years of my life were spent in hiding, and the last one was spent in a facility and the home of an incubus,” I say. “I won’t sit here and tell you I don’t care for the Wrath Trio, but my loyalty lies with the females. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help them.”

Kato grunts but doesn’t question me further.

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