Page 55

S hifting was an elegant process of two spirits rushing past each other as they traded places.

We were separate but one. In those few minutes of consciousness, I experienced the world through my tiger’s eyes.

Colors weren’t saturated, but my night vision was incredible.

The world smelled vibrant, noises overlapped like a symphony, and the earth flattened beneath my heavy paws.

Tak convinced me to shift in his presence, and after introductions, he shifted into wolf form.

Although my tiger didn’t bow to any alpha, she felt his energy and sensed through me that he would be our keeper.

Then it was time to introduce her to the pack.

She recognized Lucian immediately and affectionately rubbed against him, but the others made her apprehensive.

While I had no control over her actions, I could communicate through my thoughts and emotions that these people were now our family—they meant us no harm.

Regardless, she needed to make up her own mind, and that concerned me, especially with so many unpredictable personalities in the house.

They were braver than I thought, but I could still smell their fear—especially coming from Cici.

Though Archer stood between us, my cat was drawn to the horse Shifter.

The introduction process was slow going but went well. Tak was the first, and she sensed his alpha power straightaway. In the Shifter world, alphas existed among most apex predators, so she understood the hierarchy. Plus he was real easy with her, knelt at her level, and didn’t show fear.

She loved all the girls immediately. They were hesitant about touching her, but that didn’t stop my tiger from brushing up against them.

Although the babies were inside, she could smell them on everyone’s clothes.

It awakened a fierce maternal instinct to protect that I hadn’t known she possessed.

Although wolves weren’t her species, they were predators, and she related to them.

Archer was the first one brave enough to stroke her ear, so she rewarded him with a lick to his hand.

By the time we got to Salem, I blacked out before getting a chance to meet their animals.

This was my worst fear.

When I finally morphed back to human form, I was lying on the warm grass, staring at a dim sky with the first stars twinkling overhead.

Lucian handed me a robe. Being a Chitah, he didn’t understand it wasn’t our first instinct to cover ourselves as soon as we shifted back. When I sat up, I took the black silk robe and put it on. He was obviously trying to be a gentleman.

Lucian helped me up, and I smiled at his handsome face. It had been ten days since he challenged Henry Hightower. In that time, I’d told my father everything. Despite concerns about Lucian’s prospects, he knew how much I loved him. It took some convincing, but he agreed to move in with the pack.

Connor made an offer on my house. He seized the opportunity to buy a home with security already installed, but he also preferred my view since his property was filled with trees. We had spent the past few days moving my things in, and today was the day I was introducing my tiger to the pack.

I finished tying the belt on the robe. “Where is everyone?” I searched the property but only saw Tak, who looked remarkably different with his unbraided locks of brown hair.

Tak scratched his bare chest. “Quite a show you put on. Thought it might give me grey hairs.”

“She didn’t hurt anyone, did she?”

Lucian rubbed his face and looked stressed out.

“Everything went as smoothly as possible,” Tak said.

“If nobody dies, that’s smooth. Cleo isn’t a packmate, so we kept her inside.

But curiosity brought her out when no one was paying attention.

She ran right up to you.” Tak shook his head in disbelief.

“Krys shouted at her to go inside. It startled the girl, and your tiger roared.”

“Krys lost his shit,” Lucian tacked on. “His wolf came out.”

My jaw slackened.

Tak slid his gaze over to my love. “Then Lucian jumped into the fray.”

“He was going for Eden,” Lucian argued.

Tak rubbed his eye. “He was only protecting the child.”

The thought of violence with my new pack horrified me. If my cat couldn’t get along with them, how could we live together? “Was anyone hurt?”

Tak rolled his shoulders. “When your animal swiped at Krys, Virgil’s crazy-ass wolf came spinning onto the scene. Then your tiger chased him all around the property.”

“Can’t anyone have a little fun out here?” Virgil chimed in. “I thought you had a sense of humor.”

I followed the voice up to a branch in a nearby oak. Virgil was lying naked on a large bough, one foot propped against the trunk and the other in an adjacent branch.

Tak put his hands on his hips. “I have lots of jokes. Plenty to tell at your funeral. Your wolf was out of control. Her tiger could’ve eaten you for lunch.”

He laced his fingers over his stomach. “Virgil Nightingale is always in control. I was just mellowing out the scene. Everyone was getting hysterical.”

Tak gave me a curt nod. “It went well. Our animals feed off our own instincts. If you trust us, so will she. But when the child came running in, everyone went batshit crazy. You can’t do that in front of an animal when they’re going through introductions. I warned her to stay inside.”

“She’s a kid.” I gave an imperceptible smile. “Pretty brave to run up to a tiger like that. Well, I’m relieved nobody was hurt. Was I able to meet Cici’s mare? That was my biggest concern. Horses are so easily spooked.”

“We’ll do that another day. We’ve lost the light.” Tak glanced over his shoulder at the barn. “You also need to meet my horse. She was raised around wolves, so I’m not sure how she’ll warm up to a tiger—especially one your size.”

“We can arrange it so they won’t interact if that makes you feel better. My animal prefers being out at night anyhow. Besides, my cat would never hurt her. She actually likes horses. Not for dinner, of course.”

He dipped his chin. “What does she hunt?”

I laughed softly. “If I eat before a shift, she doesn’t hunt at all. If she does, it’s small prey like rabbits or squirrels. She knows the difference between Shifters and natural animals—same as you, I guess. We don’t eat our own kind.”

“Speaking of eating,” Lucian began, “I’ve got chocolate in the house. I’ll feed you.”

I put my arms around his waist. “Thank you, baby.”

Tak stepped back. “Well, I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t get too loud out here,” he said with a chuckle. Striding back to the house, Tak waved. “See you in the morning!”

Lucian briefly admired the way my curly hair was always in perfect form after a shift. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”

“This is the last night in my house, so it’s kind of sad and special. My father’s already nervous enough about staying here. He’s only met you and Tak.”

“Trust me, he’ll fit in.”

I let go and stepped back to search for my clothes, which someone had neatly folded on the patio steps. We crossed the lawn so I could get dressed.

After zipping up my skirt, I gathered my heels in my hands. “It’ll be nice to have one more night to ourselves. Is his room ready?”

Lucian had moved everything out of his old bedroom and set it up for my father.

Along with an adjustable bed and comfy chair, he mounted a large TV in there.

Although Tak preferred everyone watching television together, he made exceptions for my father since he was elderly.

I painted it a cheery yellow and hung pictures of our family and a few paintings from the house to make it feel like home.

Lucian and I had chosen a room upstairs.

Lucian shepherded me around the side of the house toward the garage. “Everything’s set up. Mel even put a snack station in there.”

I snorted. “That’s the last thing he needs.”

“Healthy snacks. Stuff he can chew. Does he have teeth? I never noticed.”

I elbowed him in the ribs. “You are messy. I only have a few things left to pack up in the car, including his medicine, walker, and the rest of our clothes. After I bring him over in the morning, I’ll go back and do a final walk-through.

Connor said I could leave behind the bed and anything I didn’t want, so that makes it easy. ”

“I’ll come with you and help. Let me grab my clothes.”

“I think my dad would rather us have this last night alone. It’s the end of a chapter. You can come back with me in the morning if you want, but I’d rather you be there to help my dad settle in.”

Seeing my empty home had brought unexpected sadness. Though excited for my new life, I was crestfallen too. I’d purchased that house with so many hopes and dreams. Memories of laughter echoed in the hollow spaces where my father and I once sat and shared memories or a game of checkers.

After moving my father out of the basement, he’d been sleeping in the second bedroom.

Because Lucian and Krys collected my bed yesterday, that meant I would be sharing a bed with my father tonight.

But I had an urge to let my cat shift on the property one last time, just to let her know that it would no longer be our territory anymore.

Lucian hooked his arms around me from behind and rested his head on my shoulder. “I can’t promise I’ll stay in bed all night.”

I turned around. “What?”

He shrugged. “I have insomnia. You make me feel calm, but there might be nights I have to get out of bed and walk around.”

A smile touched my lips. “And I wake up to let my tiger roam.”

He nodded. “Maybe we can meet up in the library.”

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. “As long as we go to bed together and wake up together, that’s all that matters. I’m not a fussy girl.”

“I’m also not as romantic as the other males in the house. They get competitive, and I suck at the romance.”