Page 44 of Bearing Secrets
Almost.
“Don’t ask,” he said before she could push any further.
“Wasn’t going to.” She carefully scrubbed the area down, making sure she didn’t apply too much pressure.
“How come this area isn’t more swollen?” she asked, using an even lighter touch on the blackened area over his ribs. “It was like, less than an hour ago. Yet it’s already fading.”
“We heal quicker than humans. Big injuries heal fast, while bruises can take a few days to fade entirely, an irritating reminder of earlier damage.”
“Fascinating. I wish I could heal fast.” Her fingers danced across his ribs one by one. “What else can you guys do that we can’t?”
“We’re stronger.”
“Yeah, I’d kind of picked up on that,” she said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.
“Faster too.”
“So much I don’t know about you.”
“You and the rest of humanity. We work hard to keep it that way. Nobody needs to know what we can do.”
“That’s so sad. Why do you hide? You’re amazing.” She turned him around, started scrubbing his back, playfully thrusting her hips into his ass just because she could.
Kirell snorted, though she didn’t know if it was at her question or her actions. Probably both.
“Imagine if the world knew about us, Natalia. Really, truly think about it. Do you think there’s any way we would ever be free? That we would be allowed to live our lives the way we do? Governments would hunt us down with all the resources they possess, in a desperate attempt to try and take what we have, so they could use it for themselves.”
She wanted to shoot him down, to say he was just being paranoid and over-reacting, but it was hard to argue against what he was saying.
“Trust me, we know these things. It wouldn’t be the first time,” he told her ominously, though he didn’t provide any details.
“So instead, you just live in the shadows?”
He turned to face her, and she carefully scrubbed his lower body, gently soaping up and fondling his junk while she was at it, watching it slowly grow in her hands.
“We live in the shadows of your world, but ours is anything but. The Houses are…they are for the betterment of all. The Council’s decisions are always made with the effects on humans in mind.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Houses? Council? What are you talking about?”
“The Canis, the Drakos. Panthera. Raptere.”
She quirked her lips, inviting him to explain in depth.
“You know High House Ursa,” Kirell said, leaning back against the tile, watching as her hands continued to rub him slowly back and forth. “The Ursidae, as we call ourselves, are bear shifters.”
“You’re not the only ones,” she said softly, cupping his balls. Her mind was calling back the history lesson Loren had given her.
“No. High House Canis. The Canim: Wolf shifters. Panthera, wild cats. Raptere, raptors. Massive, winged birds of prey.”
“Unbelievable.” She stopped stroking him momentarily as she listened, her brain delivering vivid images of the different types of shapeshifters.
“Each species is organized into a House. There are formal positions, with each species ruled over by a King or Queen. The Council is a ruling body, composed of three seats of each of the High Houses, and a fourth seat, the Leader of the Council, assigned to whichever House is more powerful.”
It was a lot of information to take in, but she processed it as quickly as possible. The gentle thrusting of Kirell’s hips reminded her of where her hands were and she returned to stroking him again as she thought over everything he was telling her. It was fascinating, truthfully, and amazing to her that all of this had escaped detection by human authorities to this day.
“You know, I thought finding a fake husband was going to be hard, but honestly, that was a walk in the park compared to everything I need to learn about you!”
Kirell laughed and splashed water at her. “It’s notthatmuch. It’s just that it’s so shocking because you had no idea something like this could exist. That’s why it feels overwhelming.”
