fur was pale gold, like his hair and his eyes. When he turned to look at me, the eyes shimmered with a predatory glint.
“Egan.” I said again, my own bear rising from my skin. The little cub put his nose up into the air and sniffed, eyes widening in surprise. He looked at me curiously, then sat up on his hind legs, shifting back as easily as he had become a bear.
“Egan, do you know how to control your powers?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I just lost control for a second.”
“That’s unacceptable and you know it.”
He frowned at me. “Adara can handle it. We bear wrestle all the time.”
“And that’s fine. But if you can’t keep your bear in check, you could shift anywhere, anytime. It’s not cool, man.”
He looked down, sighing. The look on his face was so sad I wished I hadn’t said anything.
“Egan?”
“I just know what you’re saying. Too well, actually. We shifted in front of mom…”
“Oh.” My voice was soft with understanding. “And she’s not a shifter?”
Egan nodded. “She got scared. Dad wasn’t open with us or with her. It made me furious with him, because maybe if he told her the truth, she wouldn’t have left.”
There were a lot of things I could say, but it wasn’t really a conversation for a child. I just sighed and got their cocoa. They sat down in front of the TV, both much more somber now.
I could help but feel some sympathy for Aleksy. It’s a fine line. Telling his wife straight away about shifters was a good way to drive someone away. Stuck in a hard place, if he tells, he loses her. If he doesn’t tell, he still loses her. Poor guy.
Poor kids. No mom now. My heart literally went out to them.
But I was immediately distracted by a warm, sweet scent. I knew who it was, who it had to be. When I turned and saw Whitney smiling at me it felt like Christmas morning.
Her hair was a soft golden halo around her head. She wore a loose nightgown and robe that looked soft and made for me to snuggle against. When she smiled, it was like she tugged my cock out of my pants.
“Hey.” She teased me, “Don’t I get cocoa too?”
“Sure thing.” I hurried back to the kitchen and put together a cup for her and made one for myself too. I walked carefully back to the TV room so I wouldn’t spill the cocoa. I tilted my head as I passed the door, still hearing Daire chopping wood and no sign of Aleksy, who had to be out there somewhere.
Whitney was sitting to the side watching the kids eat marshmallows and sip their cocoa. She accepted the cup with a smile.
“Mmm. This is really good.” She dipped in for another sip, leaving foam on her top lip I just wanted to lick away.
“What did you expect?” I shook my head. “I’m like the king of cocoa.”
She laughed, trying not to spill her drink.
“I didn’t know I was in the presence of royalty. Or that cocoa had its own estate.”
“The land of chocolate.” I nodded sagely, deadpan. She laughed so hard this time she had to put her cocoa down.
“So, how did you end up as Aleksy’s nanny?” I tried to keep my tone light.
“Oh, I’m not his nanny. Not really. I was working in his warehouse, hands on accepting deliveries, cataloging and cleaning.”
I waited for her to finish, but the silence stretched out.
“Cleaning… What?”
“Oh,” She laughs. “Antiques, ancient artifacts. That type of thing.”
“You used to do that in the warehouse?”
“Yeah. Recently I’ve been in the office though. Kind of like a personal assistant.”
“Okay. Cool.” I didn’t know what to say. I was out of my comfort zone.
She sighed, somewhat defeatedly.
“I was hoping to go out to a dig someday. Get my PhD. I almost resented the work in the office taking me out of the warehouse. Thing is, I’ve gotten used to cataloguing and engaging with clients. I like the split of working a little with the items and then negotiating with dealers or private buyers. I’ve gone into a few museums and connected certain artifacts with others from the same time period. It’s really exciting.”
I took a sip of cocoa, nodding. Even though Whitney was happily chatting, I could see how tired she was.
“I tell you what,” I said gently. “How about I help you get these kids into bed and then you can snuggle up yourself. It’s been a long day for