To say that they had gained an audience was an understatement. As soon as Adrian had walked out of the dormitory with Levi by his side, eyes had been on the pair and watching their every move.

After all, it wasn't quite often that there was a potential courting between predator and prey. No matter how openminded people were, predator/prey couples were rare for a reason.

Over the past few weeks, Adrian had come to discover the reason why there was such powerful chemistry going on between the local lion pride and hyena clan.

Ethan fancied Zuri. But because Zuri was a hyena, his mortal enemy, his own shift was constantly lashing out and fighting against the idea.

Plus, after their last altercation where Zuri's face had been permanently scarred thanks to Ethan... Well, he had ruined whatever small chance of a potential future relationship.

Not to mention the fact that female hyenas and male lions were just incompatible from the start. Both were highly dominant creatures and would demand submission from the other.

It was tragic but not unheard of. Along the compound, Adrian had heard multiple similar rumors. Stories of tragic, unrequited love where either prey or predator was rejected out of pure fear or violent clashes between the pair.

And that was ignoring the relationships where the predator had stepped away from their respective partners, out of fear of losing control of their shift.

Not to even mention the biological consequences of breeding pairs with such a huge difference between biology. There had been many examples of crossbreeds between lions and tigers, leopards and other big cats.

But if a predator as large as a lion, or a herbivore like an elephant were to find a mate within their counterparts, they had to be very selective.

Pregnancies already had a natural risk. Pregnancies where to species combined to form hybrids were even more dangerous for both the young and the mother.

It was why certain couples were banned unless both parties were infertile. And Adrian perfectly understood why. He licked his lip nervously, glancing at Levi beside him, who even in human form was taller than him.

If a shifter the size of an elephant were to impregnate someone of a smaller size, the mother was doomed to a gruesome death as the child would outgrow the size of the womb.

Possibly even the mother.

Adrian knew that was partially why people where whispering and observing them curiously. If Levi was interested in another male, that meant the elephant wasn't thinking about a potential mate to reproduce with.

It meant Levi was looking for a mate who's personality was to his liking. And that was something that wasn't necessarily rare among shifters but it wasn't common exactly.

Most shifters were unable to resist their instincts after all. And one of the most animalistic instincts of all was to breed, reproduce offspring and ensure the spreading of their genes.

Especially species like elephants, that had a gestation period of two years, started breeding at a fairly young age. Which made it even more surprising that Levi was apparently not interested in producing any calves and willing to find a partner who wasn't able to breed in the first place.

The fingers against his lower back produced a gentle, warm pressure as Levi guided him towards the dining halls. Despite the young man being a herbivore, Adrian could sense that a fight between them would be a very close match.

Sure, he could probably inflict some gruesome cuts on the elephant but he had no doubt that the massive beast would easily grab a hold of him and break every bone in his body.

If it desired to do so.

Because Levi sure as hell wasn't giving off a murderous vibe to Adrian. While the African Elephant bull was respecting Adrian's personal space, not forcefully tugging the young Feral against his side, the lingering fingers and gentle pressure created soft sparks that raced over his spine.

Especially so when Adrian's shirt shifted while they walked, allowing Levi's fingers to brush over the skin of Adrian's lower back.

The elephant made a sound in the back of his throat of interest and curiosity before Adrian nearly jumped out of his skin when Levi's hand smoothly slipped under his shirt and placed fully against his lower back.

The hairs in the nape of Adrian's neck shifted, causing Levi to chuckle and gently remove his hand from underneath Adrian's shirt as they approached the doors to the dining hall.

"A bit too early for that." Levi snickered before pushing the doors open, giving a playful bow to Adrian. He motioned the young raptor inside and both paused when there was a deep, grumbled huff from the other side of the room.

Adrian lifted his head, feeling his throat pulse with a low thrum as Darius approached warily. Surprisingly, the Utah Raptor's attention wasn't entirely focused on Adrian but more so on Levi..

And Adrian could sense exactly why; their shifts recognized one another as potential rivals. Competition for the same potential mate.

Letting out a pulsating thrum, Darius stopped a few steps away from Levi. Subconsciously reaching out to Adrian, fingers barely touching his shoulder as if to verify he was okay, whilst Darius' gaze remained fixed on Levi.

Oddly enough, instead of feeling jealous, there was an odd burn in Adrian's muscles, deep in his lower stomach. A smug sense of glee as these two powerful shifters sized one another up, posturing to show that they were worthy candidates.

"And I get to choose..." Adrian thought to himself, eyes flitting back and forth between the two men. While Darius had already started the courting process and gave Adrian the time and a respectful distance to make his own chose, Adrian could also appreciate the bold confidence coming from Levi.

Because the young Feral knew that the distance between him and Darius wasn't due to lack of interest. When his Rut had been breaking through, his heightened senses had easily picked up on the raw and potent desire that had been carefully masked in Darius' scent.

And he easily picked up on the difference between the desire driven by pheromones, lust simply due to Adrian being in a rut, or a genuine interest into who he was.

Undoubtedly, the larger raptor wanted to give Adrian time. Time to become familiar with the concept of mating, of Mates themselves. Time to see if anyone else peeked his interest before he would make a move.

Even with his human side wanting to give Adrian all the time in the world, his shift had still started the Courting process. Making no mistake of it's future intentions and announcing its interests in Adrian.

Right now, Darius' shift was close to the surface, nostrils flaring as he eyed Levi. The African Elephant just stared back without a hint of fear, his own nostrils flaring.

Surprisingly, It was Darius who blinked and backed away when Levi slowly leaned into the raptor's personal space. And just like he had done with Adrian, he was quick to secure Darius' neck with his hands until his shift had thoroughly inspected the man's scent.

"Yeaaaah, if y'all are gonna fuck, don't do it where the rest of us have to eat." Zev drawled from where he was chewing on his meal. The honey badger's voice broke the silence between the group and Levi's lip twitched in a smirk before releasing Darius.

"Interesting proposal. Even more interesting that I've never seen either of you until all of us are in Rut." Levi murmured, heated eyes flitting from Adrian and back to Darius.

The later huffed, rolling his shoulders and neck to release some of the tension. "I was gone for several months to look for other Ancient bloodlines. My guess is that you were brought to the compound during that time. Otherwise we would've encountered before and probably didn't have this reaction."

Levi hummed slightly, amusement and intrigue coloring his scent. Adrian blinked when Levi's gaze turned on him. "Speaking of reactions... That was one telling and quite alluring scent earlier. Mind sharing with the group what you were thinking about?"

Adrian noticed how both men shared a look while his own nostrils flared to take a whiff of the air. He didn't smell anything coming from him in particular, but then again, Fiona had stated that a shifter couldn't smell the pheromones produced by their own body.

"I get to choose." Adrian simply replied, making Levi blink before snickering as Darius cleared his throat and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"That you do, though nobody is going to force you to make hasty decision right now." Darius reassured while Levi leaned his hip against the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

There was a hint of playfulness in his voice, yet an equal amount of seriousness as Levi questioned, "I mean, nobody says he has to choose." He gestured with his finger to indicate the shifters in the room as he added, "Only 3 to 5 % of all the animals in the world are monogamous to begin with. It only makes sense that as shifters with animal instincts, we're inclined to have more...options so to speak."

Darius cleared his throat again as he nodded. "Yes, though we are humans first and animals second." At that, Levi snorted and once again made a wide gesture to their surroundings.

"If we are human first, then why is there such a thing as a compound for Ferals?" Levi pointed out, continuing before Darius could speak further "Even adult shifters who have excellent control over their shifts, still have their animal break free on occasion. We are not human first and animal second. We are both at the same time."

While the two of them argued, Adrian simply glanced between the pair. He had been informed of mates and what mating involved, had read the books provided to him.

And there had been mentioning of polygamous relationships, but Adrian had never really grasped the concept of the notion. He had a mind to ask Darius about it, but then his Rut broke through and after that, Adrian wasn't really in the right state of mind to talk about monogamy and polygamy.

Especially not while his body was overwhelmed by his own pheromones.

But now that he was provided context, Adrian started to look around. Even within the compound, there were blatant examples of people having multiple relationships while other shifters were bonded to a single person.

An example of that would be the few wolves that had found their way to the compound. The wolf Ferals mated for life to one partner and they were fiercely protective of that person.

Compared to the local lion pride, where the males had a literal harem of mates or the hyena clans where the female matron had her own harem, it did indeed seem like most of the Ferals in the compound mated in groups.

And then there were also a few who felt the definitions of mates and what it entailed were more...loosely defined. After all, there were shifters who didn't keep to strictly one partner, and who would leave their current mate in a heartbeat if they felt a better alternative was presented.

Adrian lifted his head and grinned, feeling the hairs in the nape of his neck unfurl and stretch into feathers. The possibilities presented to him were intriguing, and as that same, slow burning sensation coursed through his veins and settled in his lower stomach, he looked up at the two potential mates, still lost in their argument.

I don't have to choose.... I can have both.