Page 85 of Rejected By the Shifter King

“What do you mean—” My words stutter to a stop when I catch a glimpse of the headlines.

Mystery Woman Flees Leopard King, Walks Into Post.

How in the world did they—

“And look—” Anastasia speed-scrolls before showing me another post. “Someone even made agifof you stumbling—”

I can’t take it anymore, and my friend laughs when I snatch the phone out of her hand to take a closer look, andugh.

It really is me in full HD glory and playing out my graceful escape attempt on endless loop. The comments range from sympathetic to savage, with a disturbing number of people asking why anyone would runfromthe Leopard King.

“This is insane,” I groan.

“Au contraire—”

I throw her a suspicious look. “Since when do you speak French?”

“Since I realize I’m about to have an honorary brother-in-law—” Anastasia takes her phone back to show me another post. “And I was saying, this is hilarious—”

A strangled gasp escapes me when I realize there’s already fanfic written about us, with thousands of reads...and counting!

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she assures me cheerfully. “There’s this other one I found...”

I almost gag when her next post shows another made-up story, this time about me supposedly playing hard to get as a seduction strategy.

I throw my hands up in surrender. “Can we talk about something else? Anything but that? Please?”

“Sure thing.” But after pocketing her phone, Anastasia crosses her arms over her chest and gives me a look that makes me feel like squirming. Why do I suddenly feel like I’m about to be grilled by a detective for a crime I didn’t commit?

“How come you never told me you know the Leopard King?”

I stand corrected: it’s a crime Ididcommit, but unknowingly.

“Remember about that botched matchmaking attempt of myPapou?”

Her eyes widen. “You mean to say—”

I nod gloomily. “I never told you his name because it just...I just didn’t think it mattered. But at that time, I had no idea he wasn’t even human—”

“And youstilldidn’t, even afterThat Day,” she concludes with a sigh, “since you never really thought they were a big deal.”

“I’ve always believed in Big Foot—”

Anastasia chokes out a laugh. “I know you mean well, but I don’t think preters in general will appreciate hearing that.”

Oh. Okay.Really?

I look at Anastasia, remembering this time how she was raised by and knew of preters even beforeThat Day.She’s the only person I know with any connection to that side of the world, so...

“Can I—”

“Ask me about the Leopard King?”

I nearly fall out of my chair.Unbelievable!Could the Leopard King have lied? Could Anastasia also have lied to me all this time? Was it possible that they could read minds and—

“Stop right there,” Anastasia says with a laugh.

“Stop what?”