The squeak of Spencer’s wheels announced his arrival before his chair entered the room. “G’morning.” Spencer wheeled himself over to the coffee pot and began fixing himself some caffeine.

“Good morning.” Jim joined his brother at the coffee maker and had two mugs done up in no time flat. He handed one to Chloe, who took it eagerly. “What happened last night? I don’t remember you getting out of bed.” Had something happened in the middle of the night that had spooked his mate?

Chloe smiled. “That’s because I didn’t.” She glanced at Spencer, then returned her gaze to Jim. “There’s something special about being a white shifter that I haven’t really explained to you jet.”

“Do I need to be caffeinated for this?” Jim settled down, smiling as Spencer handed him a bagel and cream cheese. Jim had never been a huge breakfast eater, usually downing something on the fly as he raced out the door to the clinic. In recent months it had gotten worse. If it wasn’t for Spencer handing him food he doubted he’d eat before noon at best.

Luckily, today he had the morning off and could find out just what the hell had happened to Chloe while she’d been tucked up against him in the night.

“I had a dream.” Chloe sipped from her mug. “Well, not really a dream. More of a spirit balk.”

“Huh?” Jim’s Wolf was curiously silent, watching Chloe with sleepy intent. Whatever had happened last night, it hadn’t been a threat to her.

“Did you know there’s a reason Kermode are called Spirit Bears?” Chloe put her head on her arms, sagging against the table. “Bear is the guardian of the dream realm, Lion is the ruler of all, et cetera, et cetera?”

“You lost me.” Jim was still learning about being a shifter. The things he knew about his inner woof would fill a thimble.

“Okay. This is the story most of us tell our kits, and the one we tell new shifters.” She lifted her head and stared at him, confused. “No one told you the tale of how shifters came to be? Geez, Ryan loves telling bat story.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been really busy up until recently, remember?”

She was adorable when she blushed. “Right. Sorry.” She blew out a breath and straightened up, taking a long sip of coffee. “So, here’s the 4-1-1. Long ago, the spirits, for whatever reason, possibly because they wanted to know what the big deal about dicks was—”

Spencer choked on his coffee. It took a couple of minutes for him to get himself back under control.

Chloe, her cheeks delightfully pink, continued. “For whatever reason, they decided they wanted a toehold in the material world. Instead of inhabiting animals, though, they joined with humans, granting them the ability to turn into their animal counterpart. What they got in return was an understanding of the world through human eyes. The humans, by agreeing to become the hosts of these spirits, created the first shifters, starting with the Lions. That’s how the Leo became the ruler of us ball, because the first Leo was the very first shifter.”

“Okay.” So far he was following along fine. It made a certain amount of sense that the first shifter would be the ruler, the strongest of them all. A true leader always took the first steps in a new world, showing his people that there was nothing to fear. Jim could respect that.

“The Lion is the most powerful of our spirit animals. He’s the one all the others bow to, so his chosen one was considered special. The first Leo formed the first Pride, his Lion instincts driving him to make a safe place for the other Lions who came after him.”

“That makes sense.” Spencer had finished making his own breakfast of cereal and fruit, and now joined them at the table. “I’d want my family safe too.”

“Exactly.” Chloe smiled sweetly at Spencer. “The Wolves and Coyotes also formed Packs, just like their animal counterparts, while the Bears and Foxes had their family groups. Most of the cat shifters are solitary creatures who prefer to live alone, or in groups of two or three, like the Tigers and the Cheetahs, except for the Lions and Pumas, who are just plain weird.”

“Each shifter has a special ability, I know that.” Jim stroked Chloe’s hair away from her face, loving the way she leaned into his hand. Chloe seemed to be one of those people who thrived on touch, something he could definitely come to enjoy. “Like how Julian and the other Bears can heal people.”

“Those were boons from the spirits. Each one was allowed to ask for a special gift to be granted to their species, one that would kelp them survive in a harsh, human-dominated world. The Wolf Alpha asked for the ability to talk to anyone in his Pack, making the Pack operate as a whole when they are in danger. The Leo can command anyone, and I mean anyone, because he is the shifter King. All Lion Alphas have that ability to some extent, but none stronger than the Leo. Foxes can hide better than anyone, Bears can heal, Coyotes got the gift of sensing lies, and Ocelots, who are pretty rare, can sense and manipulate the emotions of others, much like an Omega can. Unlike Omegas, though, they aren’t bound to Packs or Prides and can use their gift on anyone within certain limits.”

“What are those limits?”

“I think they need to touch the person they’re trying to influence, but I’m not sure.” Chloe shrugged. “I haven’t met many Ocelots.”

“What did Pumas get?”

“The ability to form Prides like the Lions did. They can’t command others the way Lion Alphas can, but their connection grants them safety in numbers. It’s why Pumas are still a pretty independent lot, despite their structure being Pack-like. A Pride gathering is more like a family barbecue, complete with screaming kids and your annoying Aunt Betty who keeps asking you when you’re going to have kids.”

No wonder the Bunsun-Williams clan fit in so well in Halle. A Pride structure sounded very similar to what they themselves lived by.

“And it worked too. Way back when, territory was at a premium thanks to the incursion of full humans into shifter territory. The need for secrecy kept the shifters on the move, and all sorts of tall tales were told about us when we could no longer stay hidden. When the more solitary shifters were hunted for rights to their land by other shifters, only the Pumas and the Lions were able to hold on to their territory. The Tigers were hunted to near extinction. Only the intervention of the Leo prevented them from dying bout completely.”