King's Den

Chapter Seventeen: Travel

"Again."

My body was screaming. Elias had made a deal with me. For him to give me an explanation to...everything, I had to shift. Sometimes I could shift into the same animal, but the king tended to demand I become something new.

Lately, all he had given me were tidbits.

"Who is Vorena?" I asked after the first shift, hoping to figure out how I was a anier.

Elias didn't even blink. "The person who gave you that mark. Shift again."

I huffed, obviously frustrated at him for being a smartass. "I know she gave me this mark, but how did her mark make me become... this?"

He smirked. "That's another question entirely. Shift again and I'll answer it."

I chose to be a bunny and, surprise surprise, I was orange.

"It's not that her mark necessarily had special powers or anything. Vorena was a Florida Panther. Florida Panthers are almost extinct." Elias spoke as if I could find meaning from his words.

"So??" I desperately hoped he would just give me a full answer.

"Be a bunny again. You're cute like that." The king's eyes swam with amusement.

My eyes narrowed into slits. I suddenly felt the urge to turn into a venomous snake.

"And I'm not cute in human form?" My voice had the dangerous hitch in it, the one that told him he was in trouble. A sinister smile stretched across my red lips.

For a split second, Elias' eyes grew wide and his face sheltered concern, but he tried to play it off with a coy grin. "Of course, dear, you are cute in every form. Fluffy little bunnies are the cutest, though."

"Oh, I'll show you something absolutely adorable." I stepped towards the tall man, my hips swaying with every bit of confidence I could muster.

His eyes flitted back and forth in apprehension. He didn't make a move, except curving his lips back down to their usual grim line.  I sashayed in his direction until I was less than an arm's length away. I saw him gulp, and I could smell the sweat and lust in his system. He was holding back instinct, and I was holding back fire.

I licked my lips before speaking, just to draw his attention to them. My tone quieted to a low whisper. "Watch this."

...

Through all of my seductive-yet-poisonous looks and frustrated attempts for answers, I had only gathered a few things:

1) Vorena was a Florida Panther.

2) Turning into a snake actually sucked ass. It's very hard to move when you're used to having legs.

3) Aniers are only aniers because their original shape-shifting species is endangered. 

4) Vorena's (anier enacting) DNA was transferred to mine when she scratched me.

I groaned. "Elias, I can't do it anymore. It hurts."

I was lying in the fetal position in the dirt. I had shifted into a bear, a bunny, a snake, and a chipmunk in the time span of less than an hour. Sudden impulses to forage or sleep in the sun would torment me in my human form. I couldn't take becoming another animal. Their instincts were too much for me to handle.

Not to mention, every time I changed into a new animal, Elias' scent got more and more alluring. Even though I was barely able to stand, every primal part of me was ready to jump the king.

"You're right, you should probably get some rest. We're leaving tomorrow." Elias nodded and started to stalk off into the bush.

My brows knitted, "What do you mean 'leaving'?"