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“ T hink about it,” I said to the rest of the Protectors when we’d re-gathered post-Q&A. “The rules of a nest are that if people don’t like how things are, they can leave. Except no one can leave. You can’t expect the same rules to be followed when there’s no recourse.”

I didn’t know much about shifter society at large, but nests were everywhere in the world, and from what I could tell, they all followed the same basic rules and had for quite some time.

I had no idea what the turnover rate was at this nest, and I had only Seth’s stories of the Orlando nest to compare to, but even with that, I knew that where we were was an improvement.

None of the Protectors could negate what I said.

If they didn’t make an adjustment for extreme circumstances, who knew what would happen?

I was also hopeful that things would change long-term as well as short, and maybe that would have a ripple effect to other nests.

I knew many older people were resistant to change, and shifters lived so long they got set in their ways, but that didn’t mean they were incapable of change.

“You’re getting bold,” Yelena told me as we left the meeting.

“Feels like I have to be.” I shrugged. “I never was before, not really, but the whole life and death situation doesn’t really allow me the luxury of pussyfooting.”

“Fair enough.”

“I wasn’t just an accountant before. I also fostered neonatal kittens.

I know it’s not the same, but I got pretty good practice with making sure they had proper enrichment in an enclosed space.

A lot of people don’t like to acknowledge it, but people are animals, too, and I think we might need to apply the same measures. ”

I nodded. Most objections to being compared to animals stemmed from humans’ treatment of them, and the assumption that they were less intelligent, their lives less rich.

But humans knew so little about the world around them.

Shifters were in a unique position to know how bright and blessed the lives of animals could be.

“Do we have any spare carpet?” I asked.

“Probably somewhere in the basement. Why?”

“I want to make a climbing wall. At least for the felines. I’m trying to think what we have in the nest that could be easily modified.” I stopped short. “Should we be talking about Protector stuff without the others?”

“It’s fine, precious. They know the general plan. I’ll help you execute the rest.”

“What do you think about a leaderboard?”

“Explain.”

“A competition would encourage participation, and that’s what we want.

I don’t know what sort of prize would be at stake, but we could assign points to different activities, obviously with a bonus if someone won a particular one, have a public leaderboard, so everyone can see where they stand.

The ones who are really competitive will participate in extra things trying to win. ”

“That’s a good idea, precious. There’s no shortage of competitive spirits here.”

I beamed at her acceptance. “The official grounds aren’t enormous, but I think we could set up something really fun to help people stretch their legs. You said that the Protectors would participate?”

“Yes,” she said. “I think that would get things rolling nicely.”

“Does that mean I get to see your lion form?”

“Precious, if you wanted to see my pussy, you could just ask.”

I laughed and sputtered at the same time, ending up choking on my own spit, while Yelena laughed and opened the door to her suite.

Caden was right there, tugging me into his arms. Seth was sprawled on the bed in his panther form with Haru tucked against him, both of them lifting a lazy head to look at us.

“How did the meeting go?” Caden asked.

Once I had recovered enough to breathe, I answered, “Better than expected. Do you think you could help me re-create some of the things we had at home for the kittens?”

He looked completely confused, but nodded anyway. “Sure. What for?”

I explained the premise of our plan, and Haru hopped off the bed, giving a luxurious stretch before shaking every inch of himself. It took a lot of willpower to not say “oooh, big stretch!” out loud.

I suppose this place would feel a lot bigger if I spent time in my small form. It feels a lot more doable with everyone else doing that as well. Less threat.

I wanted to ask to see his small form so badly, and I was pretty sure that was obvious to everyone based on the way he let out a snort-huff I had learned with his expression of humor.

Don’t be shy, witch.

“You’re safe in here, right? Could I see what your small form is? Just for a second.”

Haru sidled up against my legs, his plush fur brushing over my skin. I watched with wild glee as they shrank down into something that looked approximately like an Alaskan Klee Kai. Haru looked up at me with their big brown eyes.

Happy?

I dropped immediately to my knees and cupped his perfect face in my hands. “Oh my gods. You’re so cute I can hardly stand it.” Haru didn’t protest when I dropped my forehead to theirs, following up with a line of kisses up their snout.

Haru gave a tentative lick to my cheek.

“You do look rather adorable, my love.” Yelena knelt at my side and gave Haru a few strokes down his back.

He did the puppy head tilt at her.

“Very well.” A moment later Yelena was replaced by a lioness.

“Holy shit.” Even though I knew it was her, my heart kicked into gear, and I was absolutely frozen as she ran her cheek against mine and whacked the top of her head against my chest, knocking me over onto my butt.

Caden shifted instantly, standing protectively close. Yelena was several inches taller than Caden at the shoulders, and probably had close to a hundred pounds on him in his panther form. I was pretty sure if it came down to a fight, Yelena would win easily.

She took immediate advantage of my new position, knocking me over even further, so she could stand above me and drag her sandpaper tongue over my cheek.

Your heart is beating so fast, precious. What do you think?

“You’re so beautiful.” I stroked a tentative hand down her chest and over her belly, reaching up until I could lace my fingers above her spine and lift myself into an awkward hug. “Scary as fuck, but beautiful.”

Her laughter echoed in my head. She lowered me down and a moment later her lioness form disappeared and was replaced by a small golden cat that reminded me a bit of the Abyssinian breed.

I scooped her straight into my arms, kissing the top of her head on impulse.

My hands always knew what to do when there was a cat in them, and I quickly got her purr going.

Haru settled against my legs, still in their small form, resting their chin on my ankle.

Caden stayed in his panther form but settled down next to me, content that Yelena wasn’t a threat for the moment.

Seth slid off his bed slowly, taking measured steps toward us before dropping down at my feet to rest his head next to Haru.

Seth and Caden should have prepared me for a situation like this, but somehow going from two shifters to four was wigging my brain out. Yelena was purring up a storm in my arms and it was probably the first moment things felt almost normal since we’d arrived.

It didn’t last for long before Yelena took the opportunity to shift into her human form, every inch of her exquisite body devoid of clothes.

She crouched over me and leaned down to steal a kiss while my brain was still catching up to this change of events.

Cinnamon bathed my tongue and a pulse of power burst out of me, rousing the sleepy shifters gathered around us.

Yelena laughed softly. “Precious, was that for me?”

She slid off me like water, stepping over Caden to gather up the dress that had fallen discarded to the floor.

The gown returned to her body with deliberate slowness.

A scattering of scars broke up the smooth perfection of her skin.

Yelena’s eyes flickered between brown and gold, capturing my attention so she could keep eye contact with me the entire time she dressed, my heart pounding and clit tingling as I watched her.

As much as my impulse was to examine every inch of her, I couldn’t drag my gaze away from her face once she had ensnared me.

“Come here, precious.” She crooked her finger and I rose off the floor, giving Seth and Haru a pat before moving toward her.

Yelena dropped to the bed, spreading her legs to let me stand between her knees.

I moved like she was a magnet, helpless against the draw.

I could feel the gaze of the others on me, keenly aware that I was in a room full of predators.

My brain loved that in its twisted way, sending ripples of pleasure over my skin.

Yelena’s eyes flashed gold, her fangs peeking out as she grinned at me.

“There’s my good girl. I think you deserve a reward.”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “For what?”

“In part for using that beautiful mind of yours today, but also I’d like to return some of the pleasure you just gave me. I haven’t gotten my purr going in ages.”

I came to a stop between her knees, and both of her hands moved to cup my ass cheeks, the prick of her claws teasing my skin beneath my skirt.

“Do you mind the audience?”

Goosebumps broke over my skin. For as close as Yelena and I had gotten thus far, having her hands on me with this specific intent was overwhelming in the best way. “Only if they do.”

“Darlings, I’m going to take Logan apart. If you don’t want to watch, go somewhere else.”

The room fell into complete silence, not one of them moving from where they were.

“There now, where were we?” Yelena tugged down the straps of my dress and one of my bra cups, surging forward to enclose the nipple in her mouth.

The sound that leapt free was feral and the sweep of her tongue sent electricity down my spine, my clit responding as if she were sucking on that instead.

I reached out eager hands, desperate for purchase, my nails digging into her shoulders as I struggled for balance.

Caden’s silky fur brushed along the backs of my legs before he hopped up on the bed and lay down, still in his panther form.

She’ll come if you keep that up.

“Traitor,” I gasped out.

“Not a traitor, precious. If he wants to share your secrets, I’ll take all of them. You might not be mine to command anymore, but I’m certainly more than capable of bringing you to your knees.”