Cupping his mate's face, he kissed him gently. "Okay," he whispered. As soon as he said the word, something in him eased. He knew, of all the people who'd understand, who wouldn't hold it against him, his mate would be that person.
"They would chain me to a cross in the attic and whip me with a belt as a priest prayed, but because I'm a shifter, I healed overnight." He grimaced. "That, of course, proved to them that their treatments didn't work. They moved on to cutting next, and eventually to burning." He shivered at the memory of the pain. He'd tried so hard to put it in his past, and yet it still affected his future.
"How did you get away?"
"Other shifters caught wind of it. They helped me escape, taught me how to control my shift. They introduced me to other jaguar shifters, but as soon as they found out I was black in my shifted form, they ostracized me." Tucking his face into Drake's neck, he inhaled deeply, using the man's scent to calm his racing pulse.
"How long have you been on your own?"
"I'm ninety-two years old. I've been on my own for over seventy years," he admitted.
Drake lifted a hand and traced a finger over his brow.
"You're not alone now. You know that, right?"
"I do," Ailean whispered, turning his head to kiss Drake's fingers. He glanced around his living room and then refocused on his mate. "You know, I've lived here for over a 102
year and in all that time, I've never invited anyone into my home. Even Declan and Grady haven't been here."
"Why not?" Drake whispered, nuzzling his cheek against Ailean's.
Ailean smiled. It felt far better than he ever expected it would to share these things with another, almost as if it was no longer his burden to bear all alone. "I don't really know," he muttered, getting distracted by the tingles his mate's nearness caused. "I guess I'm not very social." He drew back and grinned. "I'm kind of an asshole," he admitted.
Drake chuckled. "Yeah, I caught that already. I'm anti-social, but my brother's not."
He watched his mate frown. "What is it, my little mate?"
"After my father died six years ago, and we had to move my mother to the nursing home, my brother moved in with me."
Drake looked away, nibbling his lip, and Ailean understood. "I see. You're worried about how that will affect us?" Drake gave a sharp nod and Ailean pulled him tight to his chest. "This place has three bedrooms. Plenty of room for all of us."
"Really? You want us to move in already? You hardly know us!"
He grinned down at his surprised mate. "Well, shifters kinda do things quick. It doesn't take long for us to love our mates, especially when their hearts are as kind as yours." He ended his sentence with a slow, sensual kiss, expressing all his affection through action.
"You love me?" Drake gasped, when Ailean finally lifted his lips.
Ailean smiled. "I do. I do love you, Drake. It tore me apart to be separated from you, and I never want that again." And he would do whatever it took to make certain they remained together, because he refused to suffer the agony of the last 103
week again. Drake was his mate, and his place was with him.
"Me neither," Drake admitted after staring at him for several seconds, probably to judge his sincerity. "I love you, too."
Relief and love filled him to the brim, calming his nerves, letting Ailean know that this was right. He cupped his mate's jaw and gave him a gentle kiss, savoring his mate's taste. "Then we can work out the details after I make love to you," he whispered.
He watched a slow smile curve Drake's sensual lips, Ailean's heart beating faster at the heat in his mate's gaze.
"Count on it."