Free Upon the Threshold by April Zyon Page A

as she could. Moving to the sofa once more, she took a seat that had obviously been left for her, took a deep breath, and asked them to tell her what they had to tell her.

Chapter Six
    Lukkis reclined on the sofa next to Eli and spoke. “The Droushanian people, the males anyway, have a very special and unique trait. It is something that allows us greater advantages, but can also draw in a mate. We call it the Beast. Inside each Droushanian male, there lies another being, if you will. It’s a part of us and yet also quite separate. The Beast can recognize its mate quickly, and when it does, it begins to release pheromones to entice her to us. The pheromones only work in enclosed areas, such as this room,” Lukkis said softly.
    “So you are telling me that the both of you have animal spirits or something such as that?” Ancient beings on Earth had believed in animal spirits. Eli had read about them. She believed that their term was skinwalker , but she couldn’t be certain. “Earth had a race at one time. They were called Native American, I believe. I could have the term wrong.”
    She felt their gazes on her as she tried to recall her world’s history. “Anyway, if I have this right, they would be able to shift from human to animal while retaining their human sides when in that form.” She could feel that they were waiting for her to leave, waiting for her fear, but oddly enough she had none. “If you recognize me in your shifted forms, why would I be afraid?” She answered the unasked question that she could see on both of their faces, their worries that they would scare her. “I feel in my soul that you wouldn’t hurt me, or am I wrong?”
    “We would never harm a female,” Kraven said, his voice a little gruff. “It goes against all that we are and all we were taught, trained to do. To harm any female, the one chosen for us above all others especially, is abhorrent to us. But you are partially wrong. It’s not a spirit. The Beast is a part of us, much like our current form. The Beast is always with us and there for us to access. Whether it’s just the senses, the strength, or everything at once.”
    “Exactly,” Eli said with a grin and patted him gently on the hand. She then looked up at him with a frown. “Wait, I don’t understand.” And she didn’t. “Are you saying that you turn into an animal?”
    “We can, yes,” he said. “It’s rare, and we have to either be in personal danger or have someone we care for in personal danger. Beyond that, we only have parts of our bodies that are dependent on the moment we are in. Earlier, with those creatures, my eyes, teeth, and general body structure altered to give me an advantage over them.”
    Her breath caught. “That’s why you didn’t want me to be there. Why you forced me to go forward with Lukkis, isn’t it?” she asked. Turning to Lukkis, she asked, “What kept you from being affected?” Maybe he didn’t care for her. That likely was it, right?
    “We all have different levels at which the Beast emerges. Kraven is extremely restrained and has a tight leash on his, but in the heat of battle when blood spills it’s harder for us to keep that hold. I got there at the end of the fight he had with the creatures, so I didn’t draw any blood at all. My Beast, while intrigued by the scents, wasn’t drawn up like Kraven’s. He needed a little more time to get it all under control, so we went ahead while he pushed the Beast down where it needs to be when in mixed company.”
    “Why?” That was the question right there. “He wouldn’t have hurt me, right?” She turned to face Kraven again. “I feel it. You wouldn’t have harmed me at all. When we were under that outcropping, I knew then that you wouldn’t hurt me. So why didn’t you stay with us?”
    “Because all I could think of doing in that moment was either fighting or ripping your clothes off and fucking you,” Kraven said. Definitely honest, but hell, talk about blunt! “I