Page 42 of Mercer

“It’s not locked, Rhomi.”

“Your ears extra good or something?” she asked as she opened the door.

“Or something.”

Damn, she was so beautiful. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to have such a gorgeous soulmate, but he kept thinking he was going to lose her after this. And he wasn’t sure what would happen to her if she didn’t want anything to do with him. The alphas weren’t in the habit of harming humans, but she’d be trapped at the park for sure, never free to leave because she wouldn’t be trusted.

The way to gain the alphas’ trust was through mating. Once he marked her and they belonged to each other, the alphas would know she wouldn’t betray them and share their secret. Without that marking, without her becoming his mate in truth?

He didn’t know what the future held.

“Is that jackal lady going to be okay?” she asked, leaning against the doorjamb and folding her arms.

“As far as I know,” he said. “I haven’t really been thinking about her.”

“Right, you’ve been busy keeping earth-shattering secrets from me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Rhomi, I’m forbidden from telling anyone our secret, even you. From an early age, we’re taught that the secret of shifters is to be kept above all else. It would be catastrophic to our people if the truth got out, so no matter what, no matter how badly I wanted to tell you everything, I’m beholden to every single shifter in the world to keep the secret under wraps. Because it’s not just about me, it’s about all of them too. I’m sorry if you’re hurt by the secrets, but even though I wanted to tell you from the moment I met you, I couldn’t until I knew you wouldn’t betray me.”

She stared at him, and he searched her gaze for any sort of hint at her emotional state. She looked blank, like she was deliberately keeping her emotions under wraps.

“I am hurt,” she said after a few quiet moments had passed. “But I do understand the need to keep the secret. I can’t imagine what harm the truth would cause, and while I want to tell you that I promise I would never tell a single soul, I know you don’t trust me.”

He rose to his feet. His hands ached to touch her, but he kept them fisted at his sides. “I want to trust you, but our people count on the mating to solidify that trust. A mated human won’t betray their soulmate.”

“What do you mean by mating?”

He stalked slowly to her, then gently ran his finger along the side of her neck. “It’s different for other types of shifters, but for lions, while we have sex, I’d sink my fangs right here into your neck, and the mark would scar and tell everyone that you’re mine. Mating isn’t like human marriage, there isn’t divorce for shifters. Once a couple is mated, that’s it for their lives.”

“Are there a lot of lions here?” she asked.

“No, our pride is pretty small.”

“Do you stay in touch with your mom?”

“We chat on birthdays,” he said. “But we’re not close, either; she’s got a mate now and I have some half-siblings, but I’ve never met them.”

“So your parents weren’t soulmates?”

“No, they were put together by their alphas to bear a child. My dad didn’t want to have kids, but he was high-ranked in the pride—which just means he was important—and was forced into it by his alpha.”

“That’s sad.”

“Well, if he hadn’t gone along with it, I wouldn’t exist.”

She smiled for just a heartbeat. “True.” She sighed and pressed her thumb to the space between her eyes. “I have a headache.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, me too.” She lifted her head and dropped her hand. “I want to see you turn into a lion.”

His brows rose. “What?”

“You heard me, we’re like three feet apart.”

He moved closer now, inhaling her sweet scent. She didn’t smell afraid anymore, and emotion had slowly seeped back into her gaze. She looked pissed but curious.

“I can’t shift in here.”

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