mouth with her napkin and swallowed. “Do you see why I don’t cook and instead employ my chef?”
Mark swallowed the last bite of his sweet roll so he could respond. “These are the best things I’ve ever eaten. But I’m sure your cooking would make my taste buds dance as well.”
“You’re sweet to say that. But I guarantee that while I can indeed cook, I can’t hold a candle to Leslie.”
Mark grinned and winked at her. “I think I’ll have to test that theory and have you make me dinner.”
“Oh, you do?”
“Absolutely. How about tonight?”
“I think I could arrange that as long as you keep your expectations low.”
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. Anyone who smells like my grandmother’s banana bread has to be a fine cook.”
Sharon shook her head and laughed. “I don’t think the scent works that way.”
Mark admired her as he sipped his coffee. “You know what?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “What?”
“I would have had a visceral reaction to seeing you even without the whole shifter thing.”
“Thank you. I think you’re amazingly sexy as well.” She reached across her bistro table and took his hand. “Are you ready to hear more?”
“Sure, hit me with it. You mentioned something about the entity that created shifters. What’s that about?”
“Good question. Long ago the Wolf-Goddess Luperica blessed a village of humans with wolf souls. Over time as those first shifters found their mates and had children, the numbers have grown. I’m not sure what the actual count is today, but I would hazard to guess there are close to a million shifters worldwide. Most new shifters are either created when a human is claimed by an existing shifter or born to shifter couples. Although on rare occasions, the Goddess will bless a human with a wolf soul as she did that first village. Simon’s nephew John was recently granted a wolf soul. He was the first human to be blessed in over one hundred fifty years.”
Marks eyes widened and his brows rose to nearly his hairline. “Hold on. Are you telling me I could become a shifter?”
“Yes. During the claiming ritual, you’ll be given a wolf soul, shifter magic, and all the gifts that entails. The second soul will give you the ability to change into a wolf just like I do.”
His brows fell and a deep crease developed between his eyes. “I don’t see how that would work. I would be a wolf with three legs. Being a maimed human is bad enough, I’m not sure I want to be a three legged gimpy wolf, too.”
“Mark, if I may ask, how old were you when you lost your leg?”
“The attack was a few months ago, and I’m thirty eight, why?”
Sharon’s smile widened and her eyes took on a bright sheen. “Excellent.”
“Why would that be excellent?” His confusion and annoyance was heard in his voice.
“To explain why, I first need to tell you about shifters and aging.”
“Aging?”
“Shifters are long lived and age differently than humans. Where a human lives about eighty years on average, a shifter lives up to fourteen hundred years.”
Mark choked on his coffee.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “I think so.” He pushed his cup away for good measure. “Okay, so you were saying y’all live a crazy long time.” Dang, his drawl was back. It always grew thick when he was stressed.
“A shifter ages just like a human until they reach the age of about twenty-five. Then the aging stops until the shifter reaches nine hundred. At that point, the aging begins again, but at a very slow rate.”
A bit of concern showed in his eyes. “Does that make you over nine hundred years old?”
Sharon grinned and chuckled. “No. Shifters use magic to appear to age for the human population. It allows us to remain undetected. Would you like to see what I actually look like?”
He sat forward. “I love the way you look right now. You’re a beautiful woman. Although I admit, I’m curious to see the
Mark swallowed the last bite of his sweet roll so he could respond. “These are the best things I’ve ever eaten. But I’m sure your cooking would make my taste buds dance as well.”
“You’re sweet to say that. But I guarantee that while I can indeed cook, I can’t hold a candle to Leslie.”
Mark grinned and winked at her. “I think I’ll have to test that theory and have you make me dinner.”
“Oh, you do?”
“Absolutely. How about tonight?”
“I think I could arrange that as long as you keep your expectations low.”
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. Anyone who smells like my grandmother’s banana bread has to be a fine cook.”
Sharon shook her head and laughed. “I don’t think the scent works that way.”
Mark admired her as he sipped his coffee. “You know what?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “What?”
“I would have had a visceral reaction to seeing you even without the whole shifter thing.”
“Thank you. I think you’re amazingly sexy as well.” She reached across her bistro table and took his hand. “Are you ready to hear more?”
“Sure, hit me with it. You mentioned something about the entity that created shifters. What’s that about?”
“Good question. Long ago the Wolf-Goddess Luperica blessed a village of humans with wolf souls. Over time as those first shifters found their mates and had children, the numbers have grown. I’m not sure what the actual count is today, but I would hazard to guess there are close to a million shifters worldwide. Most new shifters are either created when a human is claimed by an existing shifter or born to shifter couples. Although on rare occasions, the Goddess will bless a human with a wolf soul as she did that first village. Simon’s nephew John was recently granted a wolf soul. He was the first human to be blessed in over one hundred fifty years.”
Marks eyes widened and his brows rose to nearly his hairline. “Hold on. Are you telling me I could become a shifter?”
“Yes. During the claiming ritual, you’ll be given a wolf soul, shifter magic, and all the gifts that entails. The second soul will give you the ability to change into a wolf just like I do.”
His brows fell and a deep crease developed between his eyes. “I don’t see how that would work. I would be a wolf with three legs. Being a maimed human is bad enough, I’m not sure I want to be a three legged gimpy wolf, too.”
“Mark, if I may ask, how old were you when you lost your leg?”
“The attack was a few months ago, and I’m thirty eight, why?”
Sharon’s smile widened and her eyes took on a bright sheen. “Excellent.”
“Why would that be excellent?” His confusion and annoyance was heard in his voice.
“To explain why, I first need to tell you about shifters and aging.”
“Aging?”
“Shifters are long lived and age differently than humans. Where a human lives about eighty years on average, a shifter lives up to fourteen hundred years.”
Mark choked on his coffee.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “I think so.” He pushed his cup away for good measure. “Okay, so you were saying y’all live a crazy long time.” Dang, his drawl was back. It always grew thick when he was stressed.
“A shifter ages just like a human until they reach the age of about twenty-five. Then the aging stops until the shifter reaches nine hundred. At that point, the aging begins again, but at a very slow rate.”
A bit of concern showed in his eyes. “Does that make you over nine hundred years old?”
Sharon grinned and chuckled. “No. Shifters use magic to appear to age for the human population. It allows us to remain undetected. Would you like to see what I actually look like?”
He sat forward. “I love the way you look right now. You’re a beautiful woman. Although I admit, I’m curious to see the
Similar Books
