Rolling over in my sleep I heard a slight hiss and then some grumbling that I completely ignored. Kicking my legs out to get readjusted earned me a low growl. I pouted, reached up and grabbed the pillow above my head, pulled it down and covered my head with it.
"Stop making so much noise..." I grumbled.
"Stop scratching my leg!" Damien growled.
"Yeah..." Imani mumbled lazily.
"I'm not scratching you so just shut up." I growled out.
"Nick my leg is sore as hell right now because every time you move your nails dig into my skin so deeply."
"Fine!" I huffed as I threw the pillow to end of the bed. "I'll just go cut my super long toenails!" I shouted as I threw the covers off me and climbed over Damien.
As soon as my feet hit the ground I realized that something just wasn't right. The floor underneath my feet felt different and just the way I was standing was weird. Looking down at my feet my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
"What the hell?" I screamed causing both Imani and Damien to jump up in surprise. Mateus barged out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"What's wrong Nicky?" He asked as he surveyed the room.
"Look at my feet!" I screamed in distress.
All three of my mates looked down at my feet and I watched as each of their eyes widened in surprise. No longer did I have regular human feet but in its place was what I could only describe as lion paws with four long black claws. The golden fur that ran up from the lion's paw stopped just before it reached my knees.
"That's...um...interesting." Damien mumbled from his seat on the bed.
"Like hell it is! Mateus what's wrong with me?" I questioned.
"Nothing, you're just shifting little by little. I think it would be best if we could get Andrej in here to do some tests or whatever so everyone needs to get ready unless you're fine with him seeing you in your boxers."
"Can I stay in my boxers? They're comfy." I whined.
Damien jumped up from the bed and rushed into the closet. Seconds later he came rushing out with his arms filled with clothes. He dropped them all on the bed and I stared at the heavy jackets and different shirts.
"What are you doing?" Mateus asked him.
"I'm finding something to cover Nicky up." He growled out as he rummaged through the pile of clothes.
"But the boxers are comfortable." I pouted.
"Andrej will not be seeing you half naked!" He exclaimed as he picked up a huge shirt and held it up to my chest to see how it would look. Rolling my eyes I pushed down his hand before snagging a shirt from the pile that looked remotely decent.
"Whatever, I'm going to go shower and change." I announced.
"Can I come too?" Imani purred and I laughed at the sound of desperation in his voice. To me having Imani in heat was simply amazing.
"Of course you can." I replied holding out my hand for him. He quickly ran up to me and grabbed my hand and followed behind me as I pulled him forward.
"Can I come to?" Damien called out.
"Why not? Mateus you too." I laughed as Imani and I walked to the bathroom.
Damien hurried to my side as Mateus laughed and shook his head while walking behind us towards the bathroom. Walking through the open door I dropped the clothes on the closed toilet seat before reaching over to turn the knob for the hot water.
The shower sputtered to life and began to slowly fill the room with steam. Turning around to my mates I smiled at the three of them before turning back around and slipping out of my only piece of clothing.
Folding my wings behind me I climbed into the shower that was thankfully big enough for us all without turning around to see if my mates were following. I knew they'd be in soon enough. Within a few seconds after I stepped in they were already rushing to climb in after me. I laughed at their eagerness which only caused them to growl lowly at me.
"Did you just laugh at us?" Damien asked as he cautiously stepped forward in the slick tub.
"Maybe..." I replied batting my eyelashes innocently.
"I don't like when people laugh at me, not even my mate." He growled as he reached forward, grabbing my shoulders and slamming me into the tiled wall. I let out a surprised gasp at his roughness and I'd be lying if I said that the Alpha in him was definitely a turn on.
"Sorry?" I tried and was rewarded with a devilish smirk.
"I don't think you are and I'm not sure I should let you get off with just a warning." His smirk turned into a full on mischievous grin as he spun me around, pressing my face against the now warm wall tiles as the water flowed over the both of us.
Slowly he dragged his rough tongue up my back from my shoulder blades up the back of my neck until he licking the shell of my ear all while whispering dirty promises to me. Both of his rough, strong hands were latched onto my hips holding me in place and keeping me from even moving an inch.
Behind us I could hear slight mewls and pants of pleasure slipping from Imani's mouth. I knew that he was being handled by Mateus and that he was most definitely enjoying it. Damien bit down hard on the shell of my ear causing me to scream out in surprise and buck back into Damien's hard, wet body.
"Don't worry about Imani right now babe, you'll both have your time soon enough." He growled into my ear as he sucked on the part of my ear that he had bitten down on. I moaned as I pressed my ass back into his hardening member. He groaned before slamming his hips forward sending intense pleasurable shivers through me.
D-Dam-Damien...Please don't te-tease me." I stuttered feeling those pleasurable sparks climb up my spine.
"Oh babe you haven't felt anything yet." He laughed huskily as he pushed forward pressing himself in between my cheeks and practically molding me to the shower wall.
"Damien." Mateus voice was clear and filled with power causing me to shudder in sheer delight as he commanded the attention of our mate.
"Yes?" Damien replied.
"Do not go too far. Do you understand?" Mateus asked but he left no room for argument.
"I wasn't going to do anything too bad..." Damien laughed before rocking his hips forward causing me to groan and throw my head back in pleasure.
"Just know that if you push too hard that I'll make sure you are punished." Mateus growled lowly and I could just feel the power rolling off of him.
All this talk of punishment and the way they were just showing their dominance I wanted them both to just take us right then and there. Pushing my ass back into Damien I tried to tell him that through my actions. He hissed in pleasure before cursing under his breath.
"Nick. That goes for you too. Don't push Damien to do anything that he knows he's not supposed to do." Mateus chided but I could hear the amusement in his voice.
"Mateus..." Imani's voice sounded so small but was dripping with unbridled lust that I knew he wanted to just give over to those feelings.
"Maybe we should shower and take care of this later. Hmm?" Mateus teased but before anyone else could respond there was a loud thud that snapped me and Damien from our own little world as we spun around to see what happened.
Imani's eyes were glowing bright as he snarled at Mateus who was being held to the wall with his face pressing against the tiles. Imani began to rub his cheek against Mateus' back as he purred lowly. His nails were digging into Mateus' side as he held him in place and bucked his hips into Mateus' ass.
"Don't tease me Mateus. I want my mates and I want them now. So how about we turn off the damn shower, head into the bedroom and finish this there." He growled out as he bit down into Mateus' shoulder just enough to cause a guttural moan to escape.
'Am I the only one who thinks that Imani is incredibly sexy when he's like this?' I asked my mates via our mind links and wasn't surprised when I heard the two of them agreeing with me.
Hearing our little conversation as well Imani let go of Mateus and climbed out the shower without another look back at us and headed into the bedroom. Damien released me and reached down to turn off the shower while Mateus and I climbed out as well. Damien soon followed as we each dried off ourselves quickly while we talked.
"I think you should tell your brother to stay away for a while." I told Mateus.
"Yeah, I already did. There's no way I'm letting anyone around my mate when he wants to pounce everything that moves." Mateus laughed.
"No. Not everything. Just us. We're the only ones allowed to touch him." Growled out Damien. I loved how possessive he was over all of us and not just me.
"Of course. Now let's not keep our mate waiting." I laughed as I pushed past the two of them and walked into the bedroom to find an enchanting Imani lying on his side facing the bathroom with nothing covering his still damp body.
"You took long enough." He purred out as he ran his hands along his side slowly.
"Yeah...well...um...yeah." Was all that Damien could get out. I loved when he gets all tongue tied and when it's because of Mateus or Imani it's ten times better.
"I'm sure we have a lot to do today so the sooner the three of you satisfy me the sooner we can get going." Imani told us as he rolled onto his back and patted the bed beside him.
Damien and Mateus seemed to be frozen in their spots so I pushed past them and climbed onto the bed, straddling Imani's naked lap. I had almost forgotten about my new changes and when I looked down to see my furred feet my eyes widened as I scurried to get off of his lap.
"Where are you going?" He asked gently as he gripped my hips strongly.
"I just think that it would be better if I wasn't perched on top of you right now." I replied as I looked at the wall behind them bed instead of at him.
"Why? This is exactly where I want you to be." He answered with a confused voice.
"I just figured...you know...with my changes and all..." I trailed off hoping that he'd understand without me having to say anything. I shouted as everything seemed to spin around me, in seconds I was lying underneath Imani as he stared down at me.
"You're perfect no matter what you look like. For us it's not about what you look like, although that's always a bonus, but we love you for who you are. Either way right now you're extremely sexy and all I want to hear coming from your mouth now is my name." He growled as he leaned down and ran his tongue along the shell of my ear.
"I-Imani..." I moaned out.
"That's better." He teased as he leaned back and motioned for Mateus and Damien to join us. They both rushed over to the bed where they flanked us on both sides. Damien leaned over and bit down on Imani's shoulder causing him to groan in delight and throw his head back in sheer pleasure.
Mateus licked his lip as he watched Imani grind his hips into my own creating a delicious friction. In seconds Mateus captured Imani's lips with his own silencing all his moans. Reaching up I ran my hands along Imani's smooth chest as I panted out.
"Damn, I have the sexiest mates ever." Damien smiled.
"You're not too bad yourself." Mateus laughed as he finally released Imani from the steamy kiss.
Damien growled deep in his throat at this compliment while leaning over me to get to Mateus. He grabbed the side of his neck and pulled him closer before smashing his lips to Mateus'. The groan of satisfaction that sounded from the both of them had me holding on to Imani's hips and grinding into him harder.
"Shit! More...Please..." Imani moaned out.
With a loud growl Mateus pulled away from the kiss and moved behind Imani. Without even the smallest warning Mateus plunged deeply into Imani sending shivers throughout his body as he fell forward onto me.
Mateus leaned forward placing gentle kisses on his lovers back along his shoulder blades as he thrust into him over and over. Imani was mewling under him as the both of our hard members were rubbing together with each thrust.
Damien ran his fingers through my hair seductively as he stared down at me. Looking into his eyes I moaned deep as I saw the pure lust flash in his eyes. Pulling my bottom lip into my mouth I whimpered when his eyes left mine and went straight to my lips. He looked me back in the eyes and I was overwhelmed by the anticipating flowing through me.
"Open." Was all he said and I happily obliged. He turned my head to the side and pushed himself into my mouth in one swift movement. Damien moaned out as he pulled out and then pushed back in. His taste danced on my tongue as he continued to use my mouth for his pleasure.
Imani's nails were digging into my side as Mateus picked up speed while his other hand gripped my throbbing member. He stroked me in time with Mateus thrusts causing me to moan around the hot member in my own mouth. Damien groaned as the vibrations from my moan caused him even more pleasure.
"Damn Mateus..." He growled not really able to get out a full sentence.
Damien had his eyes closed, his lips parted, his head thrown back and his hand on the back of my head guiding me. Looking up at him while I pleased him plus the added pleasure of Imani stroking me faster than before pushed me over the edge and I exploded in his hands.
That set off a sexy chain reaction as Mateus slammed into Imani once more letting out a deafening and animalistic roar that had me writhing underneath Imani in even more pleasure. Imani whimpered screamed Mateus' name before collapsing on top of me. Damien gripped the back of my head and pushed himself all the way into my mouth just as he came hard.
He released my head and pulled out slowly before leaning down and capturing my lips in a kiss. His tongue dipped into my mouth tasting everything I had to offer. He pulled back and smiled at my panting form as I stared up at him in awe.
"What's wrong?" He questioned me.
"You just kissed me after I...did that..." I mumbled.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Ugh...don't do that!" I pouted as turned my head away from him.
"Why not? Does it disgust you?" He asked and immediately I picked up on the hurt that I heard in his voice.
"No...Quite the opposite." I groaned.
"I'm not seeing a problem." He laughed.
"We can't stay in bed all day, that's the problem." I replied turning my head back to look at him with narrowed eyes.
He groaned and laid out next to me as Mateus pulled out of Imani and climbed up the bed so he could lie down next to me as well. He pulled Imani off of me as if he weighed nothing and laid him on his own chest as Damien wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
"Why not?" He huffed. "I'm tired of always being busy with stuff; I want to just lie here and do nothing but be naughty with my mates all day." He whined like a five year old.
"Unfortunately that's not possible because we have to find out what our lovely mate will be so that we can go home to our sons." Imani purred as he rubbed his face against Mateus' chest.
"I never thought I would be lying in a bed with three guys hearing one talk about 'our kids'." Mateus laughed as he ran his fingers through Imani's hair.
"Me neither." Laughed Damien causing Imani and I to both join in.
"Regardless of what's happened to me recently I don't think I'd change it no matter what." I smiled thinking about my new life. It was perfect and the thought of someone trying to ruin that made me want to kill someone. No one was going to take my perfect life away.
*********
It had been almost a week since I had gotten my wings and weird feet. Imani's heat had ended a day after it begun and we had spoken to those boys at least twice since then. I really missed them and was hoping and wishing that we could get back to them soon.
There were no other major changes to my physique but my wings had begun to look absolutely stunning. At the top of my wings were the darkest brown but then little by little the wings got lighter until there nothing but white feathers with dark gray accents.
I hadn't gone out the room much because of my new feet regardless of the fact that my mates thought that I should go out and meet people. Every time that conversation came up I cringed on the inside because the few times I did venture out the room I never got any good reactions.
"I need to take some blood from you today Nick." Andrej told me as he walked into the room.
"I hate needles." I whined.
"Well tough cookies, I need to take your blood and that's that." He replied with his hands on his hips.
"Fine." I pouted before pushing out my arm for him to take.
His fingers pressed down on the bend in my arm before he reached behind him and grabbed a box from off the nightstand. When did that get there? He sat it on the bed and released my arm as he rifled through the box looking for something.
Finally he pulled out a small paper square that he ripped open. He rubbed the alcohol onto my arm before tossing it into the trash next to the bed. He went back to the box and pulled out a typical syringe and before I could protest he had already stuck it into my arm. I watched the vial fill with blood. My blood. He pulled the needle from my arm before carefully putting things away.
"Well I should have some results soon." He replied as he closed the box up and set it back on the nightstand. Reaching back up he pulled my arm out and quickly slapped a band aid on it before smoothing it out and dropping my arm.
"Well I wish you would hurry up." I whined. "I haven't left this room in a while."
"Why not." He asked.
I gave him a 'duh' look before kicking out my legs to show him my furry clawed toes. Seconds later they were safely curled underneath me where they belonged. He shook his head and stood up in front of me.
"Do you forget where we live? No one cares about that." He told me.
"I beg to differ. Judging by the looks I got the last time I think there are plenty of people who care about this." I grimaced.
"You're Mateus' mate, you would get those look regardless of who, or what, you are." He laughed.
"I guess..." I sighed.
"So I'm going to go test this and your mates should be back soon." Andrej replied before he just disappeared before me.
"Ugh...I wish this was all over already."
'It will be soon, don't worry Nicholai.' A soft melodic voice echoed in my mind.
"Nyx?" I asked into nothingness.
'Of course it's me.' She laughed in my mind.
"What are you doing down here?" I asked a loud.
'I'm pretty much everywhere Nicholai, especially if you're there.' She replied as if it was common knowledge.
"Why?"
'I assume you mean why am I practically following you. Well it's because with you changing into such a big creature I want to be there when you finally realize what it is you change into.'
"Wait! Do you know what I'm shifting into?" I asked jumping up from the bed.
'Of course I do.' She laughed. 'Before you ask I'm not going to tell you.' She replied causing me to huff in annoyance.
"Well then you're of no use." I grumbled.
'Just know that your change will be happening really soon and when it does you'll need to be ready to fight soon after that. He won't wait long once he realizes you're back.' She warned.
"Are you serious? I can't even have a moment of rest?" I groaned.
'Don't worry Nicholai, you will suffer a bit but as long as you trust in yourself and your mates there's nothing that you four won't be able to accomplish.' She assured me.
"Thank you Nyx."
'No problem Nick, now I think I'm going to go ahead and leave because your mates are two minutes from throwing open the door and attacking you.' She laughed.
"Oh...Well bye." I replied just as the door was flung open and Damien rushed over to the bed. Before I could even say anything he pounced on me causing us both to fall onto the bed. He began rubbing his rough cheek against my neck and cheek in a weird sign of affection.
"I'm glad you're back too." I laughed as he was pulled off of me by Mateus who soon replaced him. He wrapped me in his arms while being careful of my wings, picked me up and placed me on his lap as simply buried his face in the crook of my neck and breathed deeply.
We didn't say anything; we simply sat there quietly as Damien exploded into his large white wolf and curled his body around the two of us on one side. Imani stayed in his human form but crawled onto the bed as well and pressed his body as close to me as possible.
"Why are we just sitting here?" I asked after a few more minutes of silence.
"Well we had to deal with Mateus' dad while we waited for Andrej to be done with you. Let's just say that things did not end well." Imani replied.
"What happened?" I asked now intrigued.
"He wanted to know what Mateus planned on doing about his position as King. He felt that it was necessary to make a proper announcement since people were starting to talk. Mateus didn't care and told him as much but they just ended up getting in a huge argument that resulted in an angry Mateus who was two seconds from fully shifting." Imani replied with a sigh.
"I was only keeping myself sane by remembering that you were up here waiting on us." Mateus replied gruffly.
"Oh my poor baby." I laughed as I reached up and ran my fingers through his now messy hair.
"We're all just lucky I didn't strangle him while I was down there." He growled out earning an excited yipping sound from Damien.
"Why are you in your wolf form?" I asked him as I turned around and poked his nose.
'He needed to be close to his mate and since we're not doing anything I thought why not.'
"Oh okay..." I shrugged not really caring either way.
We sat there for a while like that. My mates and I all huddled together just enjoying each other's company and it was nice. For a second there was no one out there trying to kill us, there was nothing wrong with me and there were no problems in life. All we had was each other in that moment and that was all we needed.
Sighing heavily I rested my head on Mateus chest listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart as each beat lolled me to sleep. I wanted to forever stay in that moment and the overwhelming calmness that resided in our link with one another told me that my mates felt the same.
Oh how lucky we would be if everyone felt like that right now; just peaceful. Unfortunately Alexander had other plans for us today. The knocking on the door was so loud and it almost seemed angry causing me to believe that Alexander was looking for us.
"What is it dad." Mateus sighed.
"We need to talk about your duties as a King now that you've found your...mates." He replied through the door.
"Father, I told you that I'm only worried about Nicholai right now. We've already agreed that you would be in charge of the day to day problems and anything big that comes up I will handle. Now please, for the love of all things decent in this world leave me the hell alone."
"You will not speak to me that way! I am your father and I deserved to be treated with more respect than that!" The deep voice bellowed on the other side of the door.
I'm actually quite surprised that the door survived this conversation. Between Alexander's anger issues and Damien's rage right now I would have expected someone to break the door down by now. Luckily Damien was managing to keep himself in check. All he was doing was growling lowly as a warning to the one that was angering his mate.
"Calm down Damien." Mateus muttered as he set me aside carefully.
He stood up and without a second thought we did as well. He smirked when he noticed our actions but didn't stop us as we followed behind him as he walked to the door. He gripped the door knob and roughly yanked the door open revealing all four of us standing there with none too pleased looks on our faces.
"Father, if you have forgotten I am the King down here. What I say goes and the ones that need to be respected is me and my mates. When I say to leave I mean it. There is no arguing, there is no pleading, and there should be no questions. It is simply 'Yes Sire.' and you leave. Do you understand?" Mateus asked with a little bit of power seeping into his voice.
"B-But...You ca-can't..." Alexander began to stutter. Mateus cocked an eyebrow daring him to continue. When he couldn't he simply bowed to us and disappeared in front of us.
"Well at least he's gone for now." I huffed as we all turned around and went back to the bed. Damien snorted beside me as Imani closed and locked the door.
"So what do you guys have planned for today?" I asked hoping they would say nothing.
"Well I have to contact my father babe." Damien replied from beside me. Turning to look at him I groaned mentally seeing my naked mate stretched out next to me with no shame.
"Must you?" I grinned.
"What? Doth my nakedness offend thee?" He teased.
"Yes, I doth be very offended by thou nakedness." I laughed.
"Too bad, I like not wearing clothes." He pouted as he kicked his legs off the edge of the bed.
Grinning at my mate who was acting like a child I thought back to when I first met them. It seems like it was so long ago but I knew that wasn't the case. Back then he was so serious but now he was a little more carefree and he would let his guard slip more often.
The same thing goes for Imani and Mateus who were both quiet to begin with but little by little I think I rubbed off on them and now they're more open and fun. I don't think I could ever get Imani to do half the things that Damien would do but at least he's not so serious anymore.
"What are you thinking about?" Imani questioned as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"Nothing." I shrugged.
"Liar." He laughed.
"Well I wasn't thinking about anything serious. Happy now?" I retorted.
"Very." He sighed happily.
***********************
It's been three days since Mateus pretty much told off Alexander we haven't seen much of him. Not even at dinner where everyone usually was in attendance. It was always nice to get out of the room and eat with Rhya, Andrej, and my mates. I hated to say this but eating with their father was never really any fun and I actually loved that he wasn't here right now.
We were sitting at a long table that could easily seat thirty people. Instead of sitting spread out like we usually did when we ate with Alexander, we all sat at one end of the table. Imani and Damien sat on either side of me while Rhya sat in between her two sons on the other side of the table. We talked casually as we ate dinner.
The food that was down here always tasted delicious and more than once I had sent my comments to the chef who I heard was honored that I liked his food so much. I picked up the spoon and politely sipped at the warm green soup that tasted like pure Heaven.
"So what do you plan on doing once Nicholai has finished shifting?" Rhya asked us.
"Honestly mom I plan on leaving." Mateus deadpanned.
"Oh your father definitely will not like that." She replied sounding quite grim.
"I don't really care what he likes. I'll set up everything down here so that there will be some proper leadership and then I'm gone." He declared.
"What do you mean proper leadership?" Alexander's voice echoed in the large dining hall.
"Alexander don-" Rhya started.
"No let the King explain what he means." He growled out lowly interrupting her.
"I mean that if I'm not ruling these people then I need someone I can trust won't ruin this place to rule them." Mateus replied calmly before he ripped off a piece of bread, dipped it in the soup and bit into it.
"I've ruled these people for longer than you've been alive." Alexander roared again as he stalked to the table.
Everyone, including Rhya, tensed when he slammed his fists down on the table in anger. His eyes were glowing bright in sheer rage and I knew that if he didn't calm down soon he would shift right here. Rhya sensed it as well because in seconds she was up and out of her seat going to calm him down.
"Get away from me..." He growled sound more inhuman than before. He was too far gone to be comforted and the whole mood of dinner shifted once we realized that.
Mateus got up out of his seat as well as Imani and Andrej. Damien was sitting closest to me and he reached over and grabbed my hand in his stopping me from getting up as well. When I looked at him confused he simply shook his head but kept his eyes on the scene that was unfolding before us.
"Don't talk to her that way father." Andrej spoke up reaching out for his mother.
That probably wasn't the best thing to do because in no time Alexander reached out and pulled Rhya closer to him as he growled menacingly at Andrej who flinched back. Rhya whimpered in his grasp and even sitting this far away I could see that he was hurting her badly.
"St-Stop Alexander." She whimpered in pain.
"Shut up!" He roared before pulling her even closer to him.
"How can you treat your mate like that?" I questioned him when I could take no more. Next to me Damien let out an exasperated sigh knowing that he couldn't keep me out of it for too long.
"Mate?" He laughed out. "She's not my mate! She's just some woman I thought would be able to keep my bed warm at nights."
"What?" Mateus and Andrej asked at the same time I gasped.
"Mom, is that true?" Andrej asked.
"Why are you asking her you little bastard? Didn't I just tell you that she wasn't my mate?" He growled out.
"Ye-Yes honey it's t-true." She struggled to even speak now and it was quite evident that he had really hurt her now.
"That's enough Alexander! You're hurting her!" I shouted at him.
He laughed before flinging her to the floor as if she was nothing. He moved around the table until he was standing a couple of feet in front of me. Damien growled lowly behind me in a warning and Mateus walked behind his father over to my side. Imani walked all the way around until he was standing behind Imani staring at Alexander warily while Andrej ran to help his mother.
"You know it always tickled me to see humans acting so brave when they have no idea how low on the food chain they are. In the old days you'd barely be a snack for me and here you are right now telling me what to do?
I think not little boy. Do not get confused. I may not have all the powers of being a King but I certainly have enough Alpha power over most shifters to cause damage." He threatened.
"No matter what you do I wouldn't be afraid of you." I laughed in his face as I took a step closer to him. I could hear my mates in my mind telling me to stop pushing it but I didn't listen. Sometimes they still treated me like I was a helpless little girl when in reality I wasn't either of those. I could handle myself....at least that's what I thought.
"I bet you wouldn't have this much mouth if your mates weren't standing around us right now. You'd be hiding in a little corner somewhere hoping that the big bad dragon didn't find you." He teased.
"Please! The only big bad dragon here is Mateus. You don't scare me and no matter what you say I won't really care because your words won't ever hurt me." I replied with a smug smirk tugging at my lips.
"Well you seem so sure of yourself. I know one word that will change all that." He replied leaning in and lowering his voice to a mere whisper.
"What is it?" I answered taking the bait.
"Shift." He whispered but there was enough power behind it that my shifter instincts took over and my whole body was racked with pain as I collapsed to the floor.
"Nicholai! Everyone screamed simultaneously.
"See you later boys!" he laughed as he disappeared before our eyes.
Mateus roared out in anger as his body began to shake in pure fury. Andrej told him to forget about it and focus on me. As soon as he mentioned me Mateus calmed down and rushed back to my side. Damien had my head in his lap as gritted my teeth trying to keep the pain at bay while I fought the shift.
"Don't fight it babe, if you do you could kill yourself." Damien begged with such sadness in his eyes that I had no choice but to listen to him.
As soon as I welcomed the shift my body was enveloped in a sense of pain that I had never felt before. My limbs were lengthening quickly and even my wings were lengthening and changing as well. There was a pain at the base of my spine and instantly I knew that it was a tail sprouting there.
"Oh Zeus...Please kill me." I begged hating the pain that always came with shifting now.
"It'll be over soon." Imani whispered trying to soothe me.
"I'm going to kill that bastard when I find him!" Mateus spat as he paced beside me.
"Please stop moving..." I whined.
"I'm so sorry Nick." He replied instantly stopping and dropping down next to me.
It felt like fire was licking at every inch of my body and I hated every moment of it. I was on fire but I wasn't burning, it was just a constant burn that would never go away. My fingers found my face and before I knew it I began clawing at my own skin.
Damien was the first to react as he grabbed my hand and held it by my side. Imani grabbed the other arm and held it down to keep me from repeating the same actions. I screamed and thrashed about like a child throwing a tantrum but they ignored my begging and pleading.
"Let me go please!" I cried. "My skins on fire!"
"This is what happens when you're forced to shift. Please babe just a bit longer." Damien pleaded with me.
I wasn't listening though as I kicked my legs in the air trying to escape. A ferocious growl slipped past my lips when I realized that they weren't letting me go. With a strength I didn't even know I possessed I flung them to the side and took off into the air.
"Nicholai! Get back down here!" Mateus shouted up at me.
"Don't tell me what to do!" I shouted right back as I hovered close to the ceiling.
"You need to calm down, your emotions are all over the place and you're going to end up hurting yourself." He argued.
"Oh you just know everything don't you? You could have stopped this but no...You obviously love to see me in pain!" I shouted and even as the words left my mouth I couldn't understand where all this was coming from.
"No!" He shouted, the hurt seeping into his voice.
"You do! That's why you didn't stop him!" I screamed. "You could have stopped him..." I growled out.
"Babe! He tried..." Damien retorted.
Mateus stood there looking up at me with hurt flashing in his eyes. Something inside me screamed to stop but there was something else overpowering that small voice. It made me disregard the look of absolute pain in my mate’s eyes as I quickly flew out the nearest window.
Being outside soothed me a bit as the gentle breeze caressed my overheated skin. My mind ran at a mile a minute trying to understand what just happened in there. I felt like I was just an observer in my own body. It was like I had no control over what I was doing or saying and I didn't like that feeling.
Landing in a clearing not too far from the castle I relaxed on the lush green grass as best I could, feeling the intense pain ripping through me. Groaning, I rolled over onto the grass so that my face was pressed against the coolness of the ground.
The pain of growing my wings was so damn intense that I passed out so I knew that it was only a matter of time before I repeated that night again. Hopefully I was safe enough out here that I wouldn't be kidnapped or something when I did. Taking a couple deep breaths I closed my eyes silently asking Nyx to keep watch over me as I rested here.
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'Nicholai, I think it's time to get up.' Nyx's soft voice echoed in my mind.
'But I don't want to...' I whined. She simply laughed but I could feel her urging me to get up so with a little hesitation I rolled over onto my side and opened my eyes. Instantly I knew that I had finished shifting.
The pain was gone but the dull ache of the initial shift was there, times ten. Damien had mentioned that this hurt more because it was a forced shift and boy was he right. Craning my neck I tried to get a good look at my new body but all I caught were glimpses of beautiful brown fur.
I was a little more than excited to show off my new creature and to find out what I looked like. Then it hit me hard. I had blamed Mateus for this entire thing and had pretty much been a grade-A bitch to him. How was I going to just go back and act like everything was cool when they probably hated me?
'Trust me, they don't hate you. If I hadn't stopped them they would be out here right now looking for you.' Nyx informed me.
'Why'd you stop them?' I questioned.
'With the forced shift your emotions were all over the place and there was no way you'd be able to keep that mouth of yours in check around them.' She laughed.
'Are they still in the castle?' I asked.
'They're in your room right now.' She replied.
'Thank you Nyx....For everything.' I thanked her quickly before getting up on my feet...all four of them. After trying out my new feet for a minute or two I broke out into a run, finding that in this form I could run a lot faster than in any of my other forms.
Without a second thought my wings spread out longer than before and I took to the skies. The air whistled past me as my wings carried me through the night sky. With the soft echo of the wind as it whipped around me as the only sound in the night my mind was clear and finally peaceful as it should have been before.
I hadn't gone that far from the castle so when it came into sight I quickly found the balcony of our room and hoped beyond all hope that I wasn't too heavy to sit there. My paws grazed the railing of the balcony as I slowed down to a stop, landing smoothly in front of the window.
Crouching low I could see my mates sitting on the bed with their backs facing me. Damien and Mateus were trying to comfort a distraught looking Mateus who was hunched over in a defeated pose. My heart clenched at the sight of him, my hurt mate.
"Mateus, he didn't mean it." Damien told him.
"Of course he did." Mateus mumbled.
"No he didn't!" Imani shouted. "Do you really think that Nicholai, our mate, would have said something like that to purposely hurt you?" He questioned.
"No, but-" Mateus started.
"There is no but. He wouldn't have hurt you like that if he wasn't shifting like he did." Damien agreed.
"But that doesn't change the fact that what he said was true. I should have been able to see what my father was planning on doing. It's my job to look after my mate and I failed." He replied.
'You didn't fail me.' I finally said.
"Nicholai? Where are you?" Mateus perked up quickly at the sound of my voice.
'Um...I'm outside.' I replied shakily.
"Outside where? We're coming to get you." Imani answered as the three of them stood up quickly, rushing to the door.
'No need. I'm on the balcony.' I quickly told them before they got too far. Each of them turned around slowly until they were facing the balcony. They were squinting trying to see past the glass and into the darkness.
"What did you shift into babe?" Damien questioned as they quickly closed the distance between the door and the balcony.
'I'm not sure. I was hoping you could tell me.' I laughed knowing that I really could have stopped by some sort of stream or something to check.
The squeak of the door being slid open brought my attention back. I was still crouched down and my heart was beating uncontrollably as I waited for someone to say something. Their eyes raked over my new body as they took a few cautious steps forward.
I guess they realized I wasn't going to snap at them or something because they soon rushed over and wrapped their arms around me in a tight embrace. I must have been big because their arms couldn't wrap around me fully.
I grunted when I realized that something wasn't right. Where was Mateus? Looking up I noticed that he was still standing in the doorway with a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his ears. He was happy I was back but I could tell he was still hurting.
'Mateus. Come here.' I beckoned him over and laughed as he hesitantly came to me.
"Hi, Nicholai." He muttered.
'I'm not mad at you honestly. There was no way you could have known that he would have done something so cruel and if you keep pouting I'll really get mad at you.' I threatened.
It took a moment but he soon had his large arms wrapped around my neck as he nuzzled his face into my fur. I enjoyed the moment before I practically shook them off remembering that I still had no idea what the hell I was.
'Um...What am I?' I questioned.
"You're gorgeous." Damien muttered.
'Not what I meant.' I laughed at Damien's pink cheeks.
"He's right though, you are gorgeous but to answer your question you're a Griffin Nicholai." Mateus answered.
'A griffin?' I repeated almost in a daze.
"Yes, you're as rare as they come Nick, there have only been a handful of griffin shifters in our kingdom." Mateus informed me and immediately I felt special but that feeling was soon gone when I remembered Nyx's warning. There was no time to waste, we'd be facing trouble soon and we needed to be ready.
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Besides running it through spell check this thing has not been editted so if you find something wrong with it please don't hesitate to let me know. Also you should all say a special thank you (in the form of comments on this chapter) to my bunni who is making sure I stay writing, otherwise you wouldn't have this chapter :)
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