Page 87 of Her Males

“They keep you pretty tucked away, don’t they?” I ask, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind.

Echo shrugs. “In a way. We have free rein here, but our males are concerned with us meeting non-shifters. There are many women here, and we don’t want to draw attention to our lands. Especially with the breeds who can teleport.”

We turn right, and I spot what must be the tavern up ahead. There’s a sign above it I can’t read, but the doors are open and I can see people inside drinking. Echo doesn’t acknowledge my suddenly sweaty palms as she pulls me inside.

There’s a lot of chatter, and I pray it doesn’t go silent when I enter as it does in the movies.

A few people glance over, but most don’t even notice my presence.Thank the lord.

I’m sure I stick out like a sore thumb in my dusty-blue dress.

Everybody else is wearing dark leather, and even the females are easily twice my size.

Echo releases my hand and leads me to a table in the center of the room. A small handful of shifters turn to sayhello, and Echo greets them happily before grabbing my arm and introducing me.

“This is Charlie! She’s Dad’s guest,” she says, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

The man and woman she’s speaking to shoot me wide grins, their friendliness surprising. They give a politehello, but Echo tugs me away before I get a chance to respond.

She’s a bit demanding.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” she says, making an odd gesture to the bartender.

The woman behind the counter nods and holds up her thumb. Apparently, the thumbs-up gesture is universal. Interesting.

She finishes serving her customers before pouring and bringing us two large cups filled with a beige, foamy drink. I accept mine with a grateful smile and set it on the table between us. Their cups are enormous, and I have to use two hands so it doesn’t spill.

“How’d you end up here with a shadow?” Echo wastes no time getting to the meat of her questions.

I shrug and take a sip of my drink. It’s bitter, but I don’t hate it.

“That’s kind of a long story,” I admit.

Echo’s smile grows. “Even better!”

I take another sip of my drink and let out a long sigh before launching into my explanation. What I intend to be a ten-minute story turns into a thirty-minute one, my lips loosening due to Echo’s friendliness and the alcohol.

She has me cackling more than once, her wild facial expressions and dramatic gasps making the more somber parts of my story feel lighter.

“So you’re telling me you lived with an incubus, who’s totally obsessed with you, for months, and never once had sex with him?” Echo gasps and slams her empty cup on the table.

I snort, shaking my head as she gestures for a refill. “Is that all you got out of my story?”

She has the decency to look mildly guilty as she shrugs and hides a smile behind her hand. The squinting of her eyes gives her away, though. “It’s arguably the most important part. Besides, I’ve been dying to hear the inside scoop on Gray’s life since he participated in the show.”

I pause. “‘The show’?”

Echo’s face goes red, and a flush spreads across her cheeks and down her neck.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you about that. We don’t talk about it,” she admits, hiding behind her drink.

I shake my head and pull it away from her.

“If I can sit here and tell you all about my failed excuse of a love life, you can tell me about the show,” I argue.

Echo throws her head back with a loud groan.

“Well,” she starts, lowering her voice and glancing around. “We’re abstinent until we find our mate, which is great and all, but that leads to many questions about sex that are too embarrassing to ask our family about. Every ten years or so, our leaders bring in an incubus and succubus to provide a demonstration and answer our questions.”

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