Page 57 of Deck the Skulls

If only it were that easy.

“I’m ready now,” she whispered.

“If you could just give us more time,” Zan said. “We’d never force you into anything and—”

“Zan,” Anatoly said with a relieved chuckle. “She said yes.”

Between one blink and the next, Zan’s eyes went from glowing with power to back to normal. He let out a long breath and slumped forward, face planting in Rissa’s lap.

“Thank the goddess of the hunt,” he said, voice muffled by Rissa’s legs.

She let go of Zan’s hand to pet his head. “Poor guy,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to stress you out.”

“You stressed all of us out,” Zan responded, only moving his head to the side. “I demand an apology in the form of blow jobs.”

“Sure,” she agreed.

“Later!” Anatoly said. “First, I want to make you a flock member.”

Trepidation took over her expression. “Will it hurt? I had to have a tooth pulled without anesthetic when I was a kid because the foster dad was a cheap bastard. I managed that, so I’ve got a pretty high pain tolerance.”

“I need the man’s name,” Anatoly growled. “I’ll see him punished.”

Rissa grinned. “As long as you don’t get in trouble, I’ve got no problem with that. The guy was slime. I think he was molesting some of the girls, but he never touched me, probably because I ran away before he could.”

“No more pain,” Zan said, rolling over onto his back. He had to prop his legs up on the headrest so he could keep his head in Rissa’s lap. It didn’t look comfortable, but then again, Zan was a cat and could find all kinds of awkward positions perfectly acceptable. “We’ll never do anything that will cause you pain. You’re safe from all of that. Sharing souls feels weird but doesn't hurt. After it’s all done, you’ll feel the soul bond snap into place. It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost like your senses become sharper. Things will feel different to you.”

Rissa nodded and continued to pet Zan’s head. “Okay, I can handle weird.” She looked up at Anatoly. “Let’s do this.”

“Close your eyes,” Anatoly said, holding her right hand with both of his. Once she closed her eyes, he focused on pressing through her aura and finding her soul. It was bright with determination, kindness, and deep, hidden hurt he hoped would eventually heal as she spent more time with him and Zan.

Going slow, he pulled free a part of her soul and drew it out, careful not to force it past her aura too quickly.

Rissa sucked in a breath. “Fuck, that’s weird.”

Anatoly had to concentrate, so he couldn’t talk, but Zan responded to her with reassurances.

Once he had her soul inside himself, he ripped a piece of his soul off and pressed it into her. Almost as if it was magnetized,the piece of his soul pulled away from his control and raced to join with Rissa’s soul. Anatoly wasn’t prepared for it, and the joining wasn’t as gentle as he would've liked.

Rissa’s entire body jerked, and her eyes shot open. She stared at him with wide eyes, then looked down at Zan. “You’re both glowing. It’s beautiful.”

Shock went through Anatoly. “You can see our auras?”

“Maybe,” she answered, pulling her hand free from his grip to touch the edge of his aura.

“Humans can’t see auras,” Zan said, sitting up. “I didn’t know joining souls would let her do that.”

“It shouldn’t,” Anatoly answered, then a huge sensation of wonder hit him through his link with Rissa.

“I can feel you,” she said, reaching past his aura to cup his cheek. “You’re dark.”

Then she did the same to Zan with her other hand. “You’re light. I’m the gray between you.”

Anatoly understood immediately. “Gray is neither dark nor light but ready to bend either way as needed.”

“I feel other things,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I feel love. So much love. I didn’t know. I’m sorry I waited!”

Zan leaned forward to grab her and pull her into his lap. Then he wrapped an arm around Anatoly’s shoulders and pulled him close.