Page 94 of Forbidden Moon
“Here. Better put these on before RJ wakes up.”
He kicked off the shoes and dropped the tattered shorts, amazed there was enough fabric left to hold together. As he finished, RJ roused with a start and sat up with a wince, holding his ribs. Eyes wide, he took in his surroundings and flinched away from Jonah. Evan gently calmed his fear, enabling him to think clearly.
We are not a threat.
Jonah loves you.
Relax and listen.
“What happened? My God, Jonah, you’re a... you changed into a wolf! How can... it’s not possible. How did I get here?”
Jonah extended his hand, but RJ shook his head and scooted further away.
“After they attacked us, you fainted, and I brought you back here. There are things about me, about us, you need to know.”
RJ’s eyes flickered from one face to another, questioning everything he thought he knew about his boyfriend and the others.
“What are you trying to say? I know what I saw!”
Not being able to touch his mate made this so much harder, and Jonah struggled to find the words.
“I am a shifter. All of us here on the preserve are. It means we can reshape our bodies at will to become wolves. We aren’t mindless beasts and don’t pose a threat to regular humans, but weareforced to keep it a secret. That’s one reason we all live here together. I didn’t want to tell you like this, Rascal, but you’re my mate, and my wolf had to protect you.”
Jonah watched RJ struggle with the information, probably trying to decide what to ask next.
“I saw the wolf attack, but he didn’t kill any of them. So, you can control it?”
“Yes. There are times when our wolf nature breaks free, though not often. Usually in self-defense or when we meet our mates.”
A sudden memory popped into RJ’s mind.
“The wolf I saw at the house... that was you! Why?”
Jonah hadn’t told anyone about the secret visit and received curious glances from both Ben and Evan.
“I already knew we were mates and couldn’t stand to be away from you. Our wolves don’t always understand human rules, and I took a big risk letting you see him.”
“Hold on a minute. You keep talking about mates, but something doesn’t add up. You said it was just a term of affection. There’s more to it, isn’t there?”
With his eyes, Jonah asked Evan to answer.
“Shifter relationships are different. When we find our mates, the attraction is immediate, and we form a permanent bond that lasts until death. Because you are human, the bond is one-sided. It takes time for a mixed couple to form an attachment, and Jonah has been trying to build your relationship using human rules like dating. What you feel for him is real, but it takes longer for you to recognize it as deeply as Jonah does. You’ve only been together for a few days, and the connection is still developing.”
Clearly struggling with the concept, RJ shook his head and sighed.
“If it’s so hard, why didn’t Jonah pick another one of your kind instead of me?”
Ben chose to answer this one.
“Many of our mates are chosen by a ... higher power. For Jonah, there is no one else to complete him—only you. He feared if you knew about us too soon, you would be overwhelmed. He intended to tell you everything in the next week or two and then hope that you loved him enough to accept it.”
RJ felt manipulated by the man he’d grown to love. He wondered what other secrets Jonah kept from him.
“So you’ve been lying to me the whole time? Trying to convince me to accept all this, this... weird shit and go along without arguing? Why would you do this to me?”
Jonah winced. Betrayal was the word, though RJ didn’t come right out and say it.
“It’s not like that, Rascal. There’s much more going on here you don’t know about.”
