Page 3

“No.”

I am super happy for my friend Laken and his brother Bishop. They found a beautiful mate in Penny. Not long ago, they mated and have been living happily ever since. The problem with this is I live in a cabin on their land. It’s deep in the woods, but it doesn’t matter when my cheetah ears pick up any sound from miles around. So I am forced to listen to two very healthy dragons claim their mate. Over and over again. If a shifter is experienced enough, with enough control, they can dim their sensitive ears. But, fuck, I can’t do it all the time.

I don’t want to hear it, especially since now I think of Penny as a sister. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the reason thedragon’s sister, Saphira, decided to travel for a month. Her brothers built her a little cabin on the other side of their house that she barely moved into before she left. She is also a dragon and has become a good friend. Secretly, I think of her as a sister, too. We text back and forth frequently.

“Are lion's ears less sensitive?” I turn back to Logan with my fingertip in my ear.

“No.”

A little bit about my new lion friend.

Months ago, Logan was rescued from a madman holding shifter games in the woods. He was starved, caged, collared, and hunted for months and months. He was offered a place here in the local wolf pack; Kerian, the Alpha, made an exception. They like to gather all kinds of shifters here, but Logan turned the offer down. Then he disappeared for a while—he doesn’t want to talk about it.

For some reason, I like him. We sit on my porch, drink beer, and I talk. He gives me one or two-word answers—it’s our thing. Maybe that’s why I can tolerate him better than others in my new town.

The world is filled with all kinds of creatures that turn into animals and practice magic. The worst are the vampires—I don’t want to talk about all the reasons why. The vampires here are slowly gaining my trust, but I am still uncomfortable around them.

“I’m going to have to invest in some earplugs,” I sneer, glaring in the direction that the sound of the most recent orgasm is coming from, removing the finger.

“Probably,” Logan says before taking a drink. I don’t miss the slight smirk on his lips.

“What’s up with you today? You are a tad less talkative than usual.” I lift the bottle to my mouth as I study him.

“Just a weird feeling.” He shrugs. “Something’s coming.”

“Ominous,” I mumble. “I welcome it. It’s been way too quiet around here.” Logan raises a brow. “You know what I mean.” I wave a hand. “Besides the orgasm givers over there.”

“You like trouble,” he states.

“Well, yeah,” I spit. “It’s been way too long since I’ve killed someone.”

Logan snorts.

I had to get my hands dirty while helping Laken with the threat toward his mate. I regret nothing. The asshole that I buried in the yard had it coming. I have no issue with protecting those that I consider my family. Plus, I may have some control issues.

I pull my cowboy hat lower over my eyes, slouch back in my seat, stretch my long legs in front of me, and cross my ankles.

I love being a shifter—a cheetah. I’m fast in both forms. I have an excellent sense of smell and, of course, hearing. I can heal fast. While in my cheetah body, not much can take me down. I’m smart and scrappy. I will live a very long time. I can shift in less time than you can blink and have honed my skills every day for thirty-five years. I always want to be prepared for any threat.

I don’t have a ‘real family’ anymore. I gave that up years ago—I was forced to give that up. I chose Laken to be my family; now, he has given me more. I will protect them. I would die for them.

“Have you decided to take the job Quinn offered?” I ask.

“Not yet.”

“It’s not a bad place to be.” Quinn is a bear shifter who owns an investigation company. I started working for him after everything calmed down here. You would think I would find the trouble I was after there, but it can get pretty boring. I mostly follow rich assholes that are cheating on their wives.

“Maybe.” He sits forward, his elbows on his knees. “You really like it there?”

“Once I got past working for a grouchy bear and working with a grouchy, deadly vampire—it’s not half bad.” Bash is the white-haired vampire that was working there before I started. He’s four-hundred years old and is seriously lacking in give-a-fucks. He’s mated and is the son of the king of vampires.

“We’ll see.” He looks at me. “I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a construction business.”

“Really?” I ask with raised eyebrows.

“Just a thought.” He shifts around uncomfortably.

“Hey, I’m all for it. That’s something you are good at?”