Destiny of His Pack, Book 2
Chapter 6

Marissa

“Okay, so you’re my cat,” I murmured. “Do you have a name?”

“No, I am ye. We are not separate since ye don’t shift,” Cat replied.

“Oh, well, are you lion then, since Da is a lion?”

“Yes, I suppose I am, and yes, yer cubs will also be lions because that is yer bloodline. But, if yer ma had been a shifter, fer example a tiger, then ye could have had a lion or a tiger cub,” Cat explained.

“Well, so much for having a cheetah cub,” I said with a giggle.

“I think the thing we need ta talk about now is yer mating,” Cat continued.

I sighed. “Yeah, Da says a lion shifter will do a half-shift, but Rafferty is a wolf shifter. So, we aren’t really sure how that works,” I told her.

“He can half-shift if he wants to, even if he has never done it before. But, for the wolf pup to be created, you need ta mate during a full moon, or the mating moon, which is tomorrow night,” Cat said.

“Yeah, I know, and the way I’ve been feeling lately, I’m more than ready,” I told her. “I guess I can thank you for that.”

“Yes, those are me feelings being pushed on to ye. Tomorrow I will start calling for me mate, and when Rafferty’s wolf answers, he will be insatiable, and so will ye. Remember, he must half-shift and take ye as an animal would. He needs ta bite down just above yer mark,” Cat concluded.

Then all was quiet, and I knew she was gone for now. I was sitting there thinking when someone tapped on my door.

“Come in.”

Ma poked her head in the door. “It’s about lunchtime. Do you want me to help you fix something?”

Standing, I walked with her downstairs and into the kitchen. “Ma, can I ask you something.”

“Sure, Marissa.”

“When you and da mated, did he bite you?” I asked.

Ma turned bright red. “Marissa! That isn’t something I wish to talk about with you.”

“It isn’t something I particularly want to discuss either, but I need to know,” I informed her. “It’s been six months, and I’m ready for babies. I know he has to bite me on my shoulder because my Cat told me that much. However, I’m puzzled.”

Ma sat down, staring at me. “You have a cat spirit? How is that possible? You’re female and only half-shifter. I thought only full-blooded females have a cat spirit?”

“I don’t know, Ma,” I admitted. “She didn’t tell me that. She had her mate on her mind today.”

Ma nodded and cleared her throat. “Okay, when it was time, I began to feel this strange feeling within me. I wanted your da, a lot. So then one night we were um... well, you know, and he told me to bite him. I didn’t want to, but his eyes started to glow, and I couldn’t resist because I knew it was his lion. So, I did, and I liked it, so the next night it was the same thing only this time he didn’t have to ask, I just bit him for the pleasure of it.” Ma gave a deep sigh and twisted her hands together on the table.

“Then what happened, Ma?”

“That third night when he came home, I was in the kitchen. When he walked in, and I turned to greet him, I saw his eyes were already glowing. He grabbed me and started kissing me, things heated up pretty quickly, and soon there were clothes all over the kitchen, and I was...” Ma’s face was so red at this point she looked like she had a sunburn.

“So, he made love to you from behind?” I questioned her in a whisper.

Ma nodded. “Yes, he did, and I felt his teeth as he bit down on my shoulder. Somehow it didn’t hurt. It just made me want more. I saw his claws as they dug into the table, and as I said, his eyes had been glowing. I’m guessing that is the half-shift. Anyway, we did it that way twice more that night, though we did make it to the bed the next time. The third time he told me I would be giving him twins in roughly four months, and I did.”

I sat back in my chair. “How did Da know it would be twins?”

“I’m not sure.” Ma frowned in thought. “I never asked. I was too worried about how to explain a four-month pregnancy.”

“Yeah, guess that would be a little difficult. Ma, what if wolves don’t half-shift? My lioness said Rafferty could but...”

Ma reached over and took my hand, saying, “Marissa, listen to me. As long as he bites you on the shoulder, it will work because the bite is important. So, maybe that will be enough. Now let’s get lunch cooked.” Then she stood and headed back to the stove.

I nodded, still a little worried about it all.

Rafferty

As William and I walked into the house, I thought to myself, “It had been an incredibly long day.” We had missed lunch because we had been out chasing a rogue, and I was starving.

“Something smells verra good in here, Rafferty,” William said, his nose in the air.

“Yes, it does,” I answered.

“Rafferty,” Marissa yelled as she came toward me and hugged me.

“Mm, my love, it sure smells good in here. I’m starving,” I told her, hugging her back.

“I’m sure you are. So, come on, let’s eat,” Marissa suggested.

There is no need to ask me twice.

After dinner, we all sat down, and we told the ladies all about chasing a rogue.

“He was giving us a merry chase until he saw William, or should I say, William’s lion,” I told them.

William chuckled. “Methinks he never saw a lion in Montana before. The rogue stopped and just stared at me, so I slapped him. One big paw hit to the face was all it took, and he was out. He’s in a Pack cell now waiting for us to question him.”

“That is if he’s awake yet because you hit him pretty hard. Either way, we won’t question him until tomorrow,” I told William.

“You hit him hard enough to knock him out? Wow, Da, way to go! When I hit Emily, all I did was send her flying,” Marissa said.

“Marissa, why would you hit someone?” Her ma asked.

So, Marissa had to tell her parents all about her first day here and meeting the Pack. By the time she finished, I was yawning.

“Love, it’s been a long day, and I’m ready for bed,” I told her as I stood.

“Okay, Rafferty, I’m ready,” Marissa said as she stood also. “I need to tell you something before bed anyway.”

After kissing her parents’ goodnight, she grabbed hold of my hand, and we walked together to our room. When we’d reached our room, we quickly readied for bed.

I stretched out on my back with my hands folded behind my head. Then I waited for Marissa to emerge from the bathroom.

Walking out, she looked at me and asked, “Rafferty, does your wolf talk to you?”

“Like the way we’re talking now?” I asked, and she nodded. “No. It’s more like feelings, emotions, though sometimes I can almost hear him growl or whine if the emotion causing it is strong enough. Why do you ask?”

Marissa sat down cross-legged at the end of the bed, looking at me. “I heard my lioness today, literally heard her. She spoke Rafferty, though she told me it wouldn’t happen often.”

“Alright, well, what did she say?” I asked. I will admit to being shocked that her cat spirit could talk to her. I had never heard of being able to converse with your animal side.

“Well, she explained to me that because da is a lion, our cub will be a lion too. If my mother had been a shifter instead of human, then there would have been a 50/50 chance of the cub being a lion or whatever Ma is.”

“Well, that clears up that question then,” I said. “What else did your cat say?”

“First, I have a question for you,” Marissa said. “Are you able to half-shift into your wolf?”

I sat staring at her. Why would she ask me that? I’ve never had a reason to only shift halfway. I either wanted to be human or wolf, not a mix of the two.

“Marissa, I have no need to half-shift, so I have no idea whether I can or not,” I admitted honestly.

“Has your father ever done it?” Marissa asked next.

“Not that I can remember. Marissa, where are these questions coming from?” I asked, becoming upset as I sat up.

“When a feline shifter is ready to impregnate his mate, he does it in a more animalistic manner. He half-shifts and goes from behind while biting her right above her mark,” Marissa explained in a whisper as she played with the blanket.

I fell back on the bed in shock. That was so different than the wolf way. I knew I could bite her since I could let my teeth grow like I did when I marked her. Surely that would be enough.

“Marissa, I know I can bite you. After all, I’ve done it once. It probably has to do with the mixing of the blood and saliva.” I told her.

Then sitting up, I pulled her to me, and we crawled under the covers.

“Tomorrow is the full moon. My lioness said we need that for the wolf pup and that she will begin calling to your wolf. She also mentioned we would both be insatiable,” Marissa said after yawning.

“Yes, love, that is the way it works. When the sun goes down, and the moon is shining, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.’

Yawning again, she mumbled. “You need to half-shift, she said so, Rafferty. She said you could... even if...” Her voice faded into sleep.

Even if what? I thought as I too lost the battle with sleep, only to have the strangest dream.