by Ashlee Sinn
Bo slowly lowered his head, a sign that he knew not to mess with this woman. “Not if we help keep it secret,” he said softly.
“Her pulse is getting stronger,” Kenzie interrupted.
I looked across the bed at one of my oldest friends and tried to give her a grateful smile. It had been two days since I found Fiona in the forest, shot and bleeding out. It had been two days since I gave her my tiger. It had been two days since I’d last seen her amazing green eyes and captivating smile.
“Major,” Danika continued, now setting her reptilian-like eyes on me, “you know it’s very rare for a transformation to be successful. Why would you risk it?”
Rubbing my hands over my head, I reached forward and grabbed Fiona’s tiny fingers. I didn’t bother standing as I had no desire to move from the spot beside the bed that I’d been glued to since bringing Fiona back here. “Have you ever loved someone, Danika?”
The ISC representative, and cold-hearted female, recoiled for a moment. “Yes,” she finally said a little softer.
“Well, then you understand. I couldn’t let her die because of what I am. Because of what we all are.” I glared at Danika, not afraid of the beast inside of her. Nothing could scare me more than the thought of losing another mate. Not even Danika’s dragon glaring back at me.
“Can you two cut it out,” Kenzie asked. “I’m not a shifter but, Jesus, you’re both smothering me in dominance right now. Not cool.” She brushed a piece of her curly red hair out of her face and then rested her hand on her growing belly.
“Is it the baby?” I asked softly.
Kenzie looked at me with raised brows until she understood. “Oh. Yeah. I think so.”
“What?” Bo pushed away from the door and rushed to her side. “You think he’s a bear?”
The look of hope and happiness on Bo’s face crushed my soul. While I was happy for them, it was hard to watch this little family celebrate the fact that their new baby would grow up to be a grizzly like his dad, while my Fiona still fought for her life between us.
Bo pressed his lips against Kenzie’s stomach and kissed his unborn child. “I can’t wait to teach you everything I know,” he said.
Kenzie laughed and pushed his head away. “Um. No. He certainly won’t be learning everything from you.”
Fiona’s fingers twitched and I jumped to my feet, effectively cutting their little celebration short. “She moved!”
Kenzie cradled Fiona’s head in her hands and closed her eyes. She chanted something softly under her breath while the rest of us watched. Danika eased into the corner of the room, uncomfortable with the way Kenzie didn’t try to hide her witch magic. I was sure there had to be a story behind Danika’s hesitancy, and maybe someday I would ask. But right now, my Fiona needed my undivided energy and attention.
Kenzie blew out a breath and sat back down. “She’s in there, Major. It’s hard to see her thoughts but she’s still fighting.”
I reached across the bed and squeezed my friend’s hand. “Thank you.”
Just then, the door to my cabin opened letting the cool air dilute some of the unnecessary energy in the small space. Derrick, Julia, Zane, and Calvin stepped inside, blocking most of the light with their giant forms. Zane carried a bouquet of flowers and Julia had her arms full of dishes. Derrick held four grocery bags and Calvin simply wore his typical scowl. While the three of them stocked my kitchen with food and home-cooked meals, Calvin walked into the bedroom. He froze when he saw Danika standing in the corner but quickly recovered and turned his attention to me.
“How is she?” His gruff tone would have scared most, but I knew that he really cared. Just the fact that he was here, said a lot. Calvin didn’t like to meddle in shifter things if he didn’t have to.
“Still asleep.” My voice cracked and I hung my head.
“You need to do something about this.”
I whipped my gaze to Calvin, thinking he was speaking to me. But instead, his angry cougar glare focused solely on Danika. I was the only one in this state who knew what kind of animal she harbored inside, as dragon shifters had remained hidden from all of us for centuries. I wanted to warn Calvin, but something inside told me to let this play out. I’d step in if I had to.
She stood taller and uncrossed her arms. Glaring at Calvin, she walked toward him. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, my god,” Kenzie moaned, waving her hand in front of her nose. “I need some fresh air.” Bo helped her to her feet and they both pushed passed Calvin and stepped out onto the front porch.
Calvin didn’t back down. “They shot her because they thought she was a shifter. What is the ISC going to do about this?”
“Why is this an ISC problem?” Danika snapped and I instantly got angry, too.
“Are you fucking serious?” Calvin asked, marching over to her. He was taller than Danika but their animals were both extremely dominant and powerful. “They were the ones that wanted to expose us. And now they need to provide better protection.”
Danika stood her ground. Dressed in all black, as usual, she looked like a supermodel compared to the rough and gruff cougar that liked to camp in the woods. Yet both of them were international leaders of their own kind. Both of them had power unmatched by any of us and had lived much longer.
“What would you like us to do?” Danika finally snapped.
“Let us kill the assholes shooting at us.”
“We can’t approve that.”
“Well, then bring in humans who can legally do the killing.” Calvin’s face crinkled with the mention of non-shifters. He wasn’t a big fan.
Danika sighed and lessened her defensive stance a little. “Calvin, I appreciate your desire to rid the world of these people. But now that we are in the open—”
“Some of us are in the open,” Calvin spat.
I watched the two of them closely. Did Calvin know about Danika’s dragon?
She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. “Now that some of us are out, it is more important than ever that we follow the law.”
“How about donating money to the state police for them to increase their patrols in the area?” Julia suggested. She walked into the bedroom and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. Then she abruptly pulled back and grimaced. “Oh Major, you really need a shower.”
I looked up at her and couldn’t help but laugh. I’m sure I did need a shower and leave it to Julia to call me out.
Danika’s heeled boots clanked on the floors as she made her way out of the bedroom. “I will see what I can do.” She grabbed her long coat and whipped it over her shoulders before looking back at me. “Let me know what happens with her.”
“Her name is Fiona,” Calvin growled after the dragon.
I looked up at him and nodded my head. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
He bobbed his chin and stepped closer to the bed. “She dominant,” he said.
Looking out into the living room area where Danika had disappeared, I huffed. “She sure is.”
Calvin stiffened beside me when he placed his hand on my shoulder. “No, not the dragon lady. Her,” he jerked his chin down at Fiona.
“What?”
“Can’t you feel it?” Calvin sniffed the air and shivered. “She’s a brawler.”
“He’s right,” Derrick said, stepping into the room. “Don’t you sense it?”
I looked at my friends, unable to put it all together. I’ve been sitting here for two days worried that Fiona wouldn’t accept my tiger and these guys were now telling me that not only had she accepted my animal, but she was dominant. I rested my head against her chest, listening for her heartbeat like I had for so many hours. Closing my eyes, I allowed my tiger to come forward and scent the air. He’d stayed hidden, buried deep within waiting to see if his mate would come back to him. But now that I coaxed him forward, he danced inside with excitement.
“Oh, my god,” I whispered through my tears. “She is.”
My little Fiona was going to be a magnificent beas
t.
Just as I had that thought, Fiona’s eyes fluttered open. Everyone rushed around the bed but her gaze never broke from mine. She blinked several times, slowly at first, like the light hurt her eyes. But then I watched in awe as her emerald green orbs slipped into a mesmerizing amber-brown color.
“Holy shit, it worked,” Zane said from somewhere behind me. I heard Julia punch him in the arm and he groaned like it hurt.
“Fiona?” I asked. “Can you hear me.”
She continued to hold my stare but I heard her heart beat stronger. It thumped loud against her chest, strong and powerful. She moved her mouth back and forth, trying to get the words out. Finally, after licking her chapped lips, she cracked a smile.
“Major,” she whispered.
“How are you feeling?”
She tried to push herself up and I immediately wrapped my arm behind her to help her sit. Julia repositioned the two pillows behind her back to prop her up. Fiona looked around the room, and I wondered if she was seeing through her tiger. Her focus sharpened on each person and a small blush crept up her cheeks. “Why are you all here?”
The room filled with laughter, and eventually Fiona joined in. That was until Kenzie, in her tiny frame, elbowed her way passed everyone and stood on the other side of the bed. “Okay, out. All of you.”
“But—”
“Out!” she demanded when Zane protested.
“But, I want to see—”
Kenzie flicked her hand and Zane could no longer speak. His mouth still moved with words and probably threats, but Kenzie had effectively muted him.
“Now that is amazing,” Bo said from the doorway, the love for his mate evident in the way he looked at Kenzie. But when she held up her hand in warning like she would cast the same spell on him, Bo helped Zane outside and shut the door behind them.
“That was pretty cool,” I said to my friend.
She shrugged and gave me a wink. “Just a little something I’ve been working on. These grizzlies sometimes don’t know when to shut up.”
“No kidding,” I agreed.
“Fiona? I need to check your wounds.” Kenzie continued to play nurse while Fiona lay still. She lifted the tee shirt I’d put on her and pulled back the bandage covering her stomach. Then she lowered the blankets and removed the bandage on Fiona’s thigh. With a nod, she smiled at me. “These look great.”
I hadn’t wanted to see, still not willing to believe that Fiona would be okay. But when I looked down, I sucked in a relieved breath. The thigh wound was almost totally healed, and her stomach wasn’t bleeding anymore. The gunshot hole was still pink and raw, but had grown shut in the two days while her tiger found her new home. I examined the rest of her body, specifically each place I had bit deeply into her to give her my animal. Every single one of those wounds were gone except for a small crescent scar on her shoulder.
I brushed my fingers against it as Fiona watched. Her intense stare caught me a little off guard but then again, she was probably adjusting to all of the new sensations that came with being a shifter.
“I’m going to leave now,” Kenzie said as she watched us both. “I’ll leave the ointment over here. Put it on her scars three times a day.”
Smiling at my friend, I squeezed her hand one more time. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” she said, and then shut the door behind her as she left the room. I heard her kick everyone else out and put another spell on Zane when he gave her a hard time about muting him the before.
“I can still hear them,” Fiona whispered.
“It’s the tiger.”
“The tiger?” she asked, eyes flipping to their animal color again.
This time, I definitely sensed her dominance. “Fiona, I need to tell you something.”
But instead of letting me explain, she placed a finger over my lips. “Not now,” she breathed. Then, with a force she never had before, she pulled my head closer to hers. The soft flesh of her lips crushed against mine. Her tongue darted inside, not waiting for an invitation. My tiger growled at her dominance, surprised by how much he loved it. She yanked on my hair and held on tight. My cock grew instantly but I didn’t want to push her too soon. So, I pulled away and laughed when she looked so disappointed.
“Fiona, we have eternity now.”
She followed the movement of my lips like a cat chasing a shadow. “I don’t understand.”
“You will. I’ll explain everything. But I think you should rest now.”
“Please don’t leave me.”
I laughed and brushed my nose against hers. Climbing into the bed beside her, I lay down on my side as she did the same. I pushed the hair out of her face and smiled at seeing her beautiful eyes. “I will never leave you,” I promised.
And as her lids drifted shut and a light purr rumbled in her chest, I knew I would never leave my mate again.
Today was Tuesday. And it was time for me to shift.
Major had spent the last week explaining what it meant to have an animal inside. So had Zane, and Julia, and Derrick, and even Calvin when he stopped by briefly to check in. Zane thought it was the coolest thing in the world that I would now turn into a tiger and he practically begged Major to make him a tiger too. It wasn’t until Kenzie threatened to mute him again that he finally shut up about it.
Major had been amazing. He never left my side and waited on me hand and foot. Julia thought it was because I was going to be stronger than him, but I knew he was simply trying to work off all the anxiety he had worrying that I was going to die in his arms. And I had died, well, kind of. I told Major about my dream and about…well about all of the sexy parts and how he’d saved me from that place. He didn’t know what to think about any of that but suggested the animal works differently in everyone. Since he’d been born with his, he had no idea how my body and my brain would interpret my new existence.
And if it was through sex on the beach, he said he could accept that.
So now, here I stood, in the middle of the woods, naked and hiding behind my beat-up old truck. While I didn’t mind prancing around in my birthday suit with my mate in our little cabin, this was totally different. Just behind the tree line, all of our shifter friends waited to see if I could really turn into a tiger.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I said for the tenth time.
Major grinned and wrapped his arms around me again. “You can. You’re strong and dominant and I can’t wait to see you kick Zane’s grizzly ass.”
I giggled against his hard chest. “I’m not going to fight Zane.”
“Well, he’s seriously counting on a battle.”
Major kissed the top of my head and I breathed in his scent. It was so much stronger and it instantly calmed my nerves. It was amazing how different the world around me was now that I had my heightened senses. Every sight, sound, smell…they were all so distinct and my brain remembered every single one.
“How do I change back?” I asked.
“Just think about walking on two legs again.” I looked up at him and he chuckled when I gave him the glare. “What? I’m serious. You just have to ask your tiger to settle and focus on being human.”
“I don’t think I can do this.”
With a grin, he rubbed his hands up and down my arms and then stepped away. “Do you want me to go first?”
I nodded. Maybe if I watched his transformation closely, I could will my body to do the same. My biggest concern was the pain. I didn’t want to be in any more pain for a while. But Major had assured me that as long as I didn’t fight it, the human and tiger would work together in harmony.
Yeah.
Okay.
Let’s do this.
With a nod, Major dropped to all fours and let the tiger burst from his skin. Before his hands even hit the ground, they’d shifted into giant white paws covered in fur and claws. He’d made it look so easy.
“Show off,” I muttered and he chuffed a laugh.
Major shook his body like a wet dog, fluffing
up his fur and standing tall with his brilliant tiger on display.
“What if I’m an ugly, deformed beast?” I asked him.
He cocked his head to the side.
“Seriously, no one knows if this is going to work.”
Stomping his feet, he pushed his giant head against my shoulder.
“Fine,” I grumbled. We’d had this conversation a hundred times. And every single time he assured me that I would go through a complete transformation. If the animal was going to kill me, it would have happened while I was lying under that pine tree in the woods. He promised me that and I had no choice but to believe him.
So, without stressing any more, I slowly rolled down to my knees. Major towered over my frail human form as he paced around me. “You’re not helping,” I groaned.
He made a small noise, kind of like a growl and a roar mixed, and the tiger inside of me rushed to the surface. Heat burned from my chest to my toes, the same fire I’d felt in my dream. I’d come to understand that this was her. My tiger. So, I let her have my skin.
Hunching forward, I clutched at my stomach when the pain ripped through my abdomen. It hurt like hell, but only for an instant before I sensed the magic rush through me. I looked down at my hands to see them elongate and stretch before widening and flattening. My back cracked with the shifting of my bones, yet it sounded worse than it felt. My new paws slammed into the ground when the weight of my animal body needed four legs for balance. In just a few moments, it was all over.
I lay on the ground, puffing my breath into the cool air. Major continued to pace in front of me but he’d slowed. His heart pounded faster than my own and both the tiger and I realized he was worried for us. I lifted my head and tried to smile…only smiling wasn’t possible in this form. So, I twitched my nose.
Major nudged my shoulder, encouraging me to get off the ground. I pushed myself up on my front legs and sat first. My head reached the handle on the truck door but Major was taller. Although when I stood on all fours and stretched out the aching muscles and bones, I felt perfect. Major might be larger, but I was stronger. Somehow, I just knew this.