The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 05

The Sister Who Pushed Me, The Fate That Swallowed Her Chapter 05

Heat flooded my face.

Did shifter courtships always move this fast?

Back on the Alliance starship, the soldiers handed out the antidote to every human. Gideon gave me mine

himself.

Then he handed me a pink nutrient shake.

“It’s sweet. A little tangy.” He paused. “I think you’ll like it.

Something warm lingered behind his eyes when he looked at me. I ducked my head.

“Thank you.”

“When we get to Silverpine, I’ll make sure you eat well.” He said it like a vow.

“Okay.” My voice came out smaller than I meant it to.

I was almost sure about how he felt. But almost wasn’t enough.

“Will you stay with me? After we land?”

Last time, Sloane had been the one to fight the arranged matches. Her outburst bought the women six

months to adjust.

Without her making that scene this time, I didn’t know how it would play out.

Gideon studied me, his expression unreadable.

“You want me to stay with you?”

“Of course I do.” I held his gaze so he’d know I meant it.

Something shifted at the corner of his mouth. Not quite a smile, but close.

“Then I’m not going anywhere. As long as you want me, I’ll stay.”

He lifted my hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.

His lips were cool. The sensation ran straight through me. My knees went soft.

Gideon stayed with me for the next three days.

At night, he slept on a standard–issue sleep mat on the floor beside my bed.

He rarely smiled. Barely spoke.

When he went quiet, the weight of his presence filled the whole room.

But everything he did was careful. Deliberate. Like I was something worth protecting. He handled almost everything himself: meals, healing salves, anything I needed before I thought to ask.

Three days later, we reached Silverpine.

Word had traveled ahead of us. A crowd already filled the plaza.

The steps down from the ship were built for interstellar bodies. For humans, each one was a steep drop.

The second we stepped out, Gideon leaned close to my ear. “I’m sorry.”

Then he scooped me up.

The plaza erupted. Every head turned.

I buried my burning face against his chest.

He didn’t put me down. Not once. He carried me all the way to his estate.

“We’re home.” His voice was quiet.

A service bot appeared with a pair of plush slippers.

Gideon crouched and slipped them on my feet.

He stood, and it hit me. I had to tip my head all the way back to see his face.

My neck ached just from the angle.

He must have noticed, because one arm slid around my waist and I was airborne again.

I wrapped my legs around him without thinking. My arms locked around his neck.

That’s when I noticed. Gideon’s ears had gone bright red.

“Do you blush this easily? No wonder I couldn’t tell before. The fur hides it.”

I pinched one ear. It was hot to the touch.

“If you don’t like them…” Gideon’s voice went stiff. “I won’t shift around you again. I promise.”

“I never said I didn’t like them.” I pulled back to look at him.

“You never touched them before.”

He was pouting. This massive, terrifying general was actually pouting.

I didn’t know what to do with him.

“You were too tall! When was I supposed to reach?”

“Do you want to touch them?” The hope in his voice was almost painful.

I nodded.

Two fuzzy triangular ears popped up on his head instantly.

I jerked upward with him. He’d grown taller, My legs slid down his waist, but his arm caught me before I fell.

I ran my fingers over the soft fur, and something in my chest went completely liquid.

I’d always been a sucker for soft, furry things. Cold–blooded and slimy? That was my worst nightmare.

It didn’t help that Derek’s personality matched his snake form: dark and suffocating.

Gideon could seem just as cold on the surface. But underneath all that ice, the way he treated me was gentle, constant, barely holding himself back. I’d never felt safer with anyone.

His breathing changed. Lost its rhythm. Each exhale came heavier than the last.

Red crept into the edges of those dark eyes. I pulled my hand back fast.

“Wait. What’s your animal form?” I blurted it out before I thought about it.

“What kind do you like?” His voice came out rough. Wrecked.

I looked away, suddenly shy. “Whatever you are, that’s the one I’ll like.”

Gideon went completely still.

Then he kissed me.

There was nothing gentle about it. He kissed me like he was done holding back.