Page 61 of Bitten Shifter

“Making friends already,” Riker says around a mouthful of food.

“She’s nice,” I reply, turning back to my plate.

“Sorry I outed you earlier.”

I wave it off. “It does not matter. The whole Facility will know by morning anyway. Besides, the terrorists at the Ministry wereafter the Alpha Prime’s mate—apparently me. It’s no secret if the baddies already know.”

His fork pauses mid-air. “You only just remembered this now?”

I nod. “I didn’t piece it together until earlier. I suppose that punch to the face knocked something loose.”

“You should’ve told us sooner.”

His disapproving frown throws me off. “I know,” I sigh. “It wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of priorities. I only learned about my ‘new status’ this morning. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this ‘fated mate’ nonsense. Everything seems so up in the air I doubt I will ever catch up. Riker, why would they come after me?”

He leans back, the chair creaking under his weight. “Merrick has plenty of enemies,” he begins, his tone calm but tinged with frustration. “The attack involved a motley crew—vampires, shifters, humans—a coalition of fools trying to make trouble. Don’t worry; everyone involved has been dealt with.”

I swallow, bracing myself. “The white wolf who bit me?”

“Dead,” he replies bluntly. “You will never have to worry about that bastard again. Lark, Merrick should be telling you all this.”

“I’m asking you.”

Riker hesitates before nodding. “Some people dislike how Merrick rules. They resent the separation of sectors and want to blur the lines. They don’t understand the necessity of our way of life. All they care about is power and profit. Money. They look at our land, our strength, the way Merrick runs things, and they want a piece of it. They want control.” His gaze sharpens. “And they will destroy anyone who stands in their way—Merrick, you, anyone.”

He pauses, his thoughts elsewhere. “What they don’t realise is that, as shifters, we need structure. Without control, webecome dangerous—not just to others but to ourselves. You know we’re not cuddly animals. We’re powerful. A shifter who can twist a steel bar with their bare hands needs boundaries; otherwise, it’s chaos.”

I nod slowly, nibbling my garlic bread.

“We have been on the brink of extinction before, and we learned the hard way. That’s why everything is regulated now, to keep everyone—both strong and vulnerable—safe. Most of us appreciate that. We like the control, the sense of safety behind our walls. The security. But a small faction hates the restrictions. They hate needing visas to move in and out of the territory. They think Merrick’s leadership is the problem, and if he were gone, the borders would open, and we’d live freely among humans and other sectors. What they don’t get is that most of us want things to stay as they are.”

His words weigh on me, and I pick at my food, my appetite fading.

“I don’t belong,” I murmur.

The tension in Riker’s face softens. “That’s where you’re wrong. You have got more fight in you than most shifters I know. You belong here more than those clowns trying to tear it all down.”

He offers a faint smile. “Besides, if anything happened to Merrick, nothing would really change. The system wouldn’t implode. If someone dislikes it, they can leave. They can transfer out of the country. This is home, yes, but we’re not trapped. Our sector works because it’s been designed to.”

I mull over his words for a moment, then ask, “So the people who attacked the Ministry… were they trying to abduct the Alpha Prime’s mate to gain power?”

“Maybe,” he concedes. “Or perhaps they just wanted to destabilise Merrick, to break him. He’s never had a weakness before.”

A weakness. He meansme.

I wince. My poor nose aches, and I reach up to touch it gingerly.

Riker studies me. “We need to get you some ice for that nose. And no, you’re not going to heal overnight. Shifters heal faster than humans, but it still takes time. Bruises might take a couple of days, a broken bone maybe a week. Shifting can speed things up, but there are risks. Sometimes bones heal improperly, and they have to be re-broken.”

I grimace. “That sounds fun.”

He shrugs, shovelling more spaghetti into his mouth. “It could be worse. Merrick’s healing is so quick that if anything sets wrong, he endures twice the pain.”

“Ouch. That must be horrible.”

I think about the Alpha Prime, and since Riker is in a talking mood, I ask, “What about this mating thing? Everyone’s acting like it’s already decided.”

Riker smirks. “You don’t like him?”

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