by Tami Lund
“What’s the big deal about your charitable causes?”
“My causes are meant to help improve all of humanity, which in turn makes everyone a little bit better and stronger. Giving to those who need it isn’t such a bad thing, you know.”
Yes, Matt knew. He’d never personally begrudged Josh his preference for giving piles of his income away to the less fortunate. Somehow, there was always plenty of money left to live on. More than enough. Josh, and his parents before him, had a knack for making money, and a strong desire to share some of it with those who weren’t quite so lucky. Given his mate’s background—she was raised in the human foster system and bounced from house to house until she was old enough to struggle to survive on her own—Matt understood his cousin’s burning desire to try to help those less fortunate.
Sure, it was an honorable endeavor. But when he shared that money with humans, his pack tended to get annoyed. Many had a strong belief that shifter money ought to stay with shifters, period.
“Rachel suggested we host a party for the pack. An Oktoberfest type of thing. She’s even invited Tanner’s mother-in-law to come down to help plan it. Apparently the woman is well known for her party-planning abilities. We’re inviting a few of the shifters and Lightbearers from his pack as well.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s just for the pack then.”
“We thought if we showed them that we can get along with Lightbearers, who traditionally have been our enemy, then we can certainly get along with humans, who mean us no harm whatsoever.”
Matt didn’t have anything against humans, per se. He liked Rachel well enough, and she was definitely good for his cousin, who’d needed someone to help balance his life for a long time now. Unlike Matt, Josh had been craving a mate, had been actively seeking one. Unfortunately, when he fell in love, it had been with a human. As happy as they were together, their relationship had come with a price: the comfort level of the pack.
Matt well knew from past experience that there was always a price. Resigned, he asked, “When’s the party?”
“This weekend.”
“Guess I’ll go put on my party hat,” he muttered, and then he escaped from the massive stone mansion his cousin inherited from his parents, from his responsibilities, to the woods—right where he wanted to be.
Barely out the kitchen door, he shifted into the form of a sleek black panther. These woods were part of Josh’s property, so it was highly unlikely anyone but other shifters would be wandering around out here, leaving Matt free to be whatever form he wanted. And if there were humans out here, well, they were trespassing, and they deserved to have the shit scared out of them.
He prowled for a bit, sniffing around, pouncing on a frightened rabbit and then letting it go because he wasn’t really hungry at the moment. He shook his entire body as if shaking water away, and was just about to break into a full out run, when something small, bright, and jittery caught his eye. He turned his head and watched as a cluster of sparkling lights danced around near a tree.
It was something magical. Matt knew there were other magical beings in the world—shifters and Lightbearers did not own that market. It was just that shifters tended to be exclusive creatures, and as a rule didn’t have much desire to intermingle with other beings. As a result, he knew precious little about all those other creatures out there.
His kind had a strong awareness of Lightbearers because hundreds of years ago, shifters became convinced that to kill a Lightbearer meant to inherit its magic. But then the Lightbearers went into hiding and most shifters gave up on that particular belief. Tanner Lyons’s father, who had until just over a year ago been the pack master over one of the largest and arguably strongest shifter packs in the country, had continued to cling to the belief. And then he’d finally managed to capture a Lightbearer, who he’d intended for his son to kill, in order to prove his theory was correct.
Instead, Tanner rescued the Lightbearer and ended up taking her to mate. His mate, Olivia, happened to be the only daughter of the king of the Lightbearers, and now their half-breed son, a pup born just a few months prior, was heir to the Lightbearer kingdom. Funny how things sometimes worked out like that.
Other magical creatures tended to steer clear of shifters—or maybe it was the other way around. Josh had said as much a short while ago. Shifters were an exclusive bunch. Some barely acknowledged that humans and other beings even existed, let alone associated with them. Some of the larger packs had even built their own schools, and their pups grew up having almost no contact with humans or anyone outside their pack.
As exclusive as Matt’s pack was, they weren’t that bad. They lived amongst the humans. They were neighbors, classmates, co-workers. Matt had gone away to a human college for four years. Basically, humans were never invited to the “meetings.” And in the end, a shifter was supposed to mate with a shifter and settle down and have shifter pups. It’s just how it was done.
Maybe Josh’s insistence that the pack broaden its horizons wasn’t all bad. Matt considered Josh’s arguments as he continued to watch the dancing sparks. His shifter urges—so primal in this form—were pushing him to take a swipe at the dancing lights and then lay chase if they dashed away. He didn’t know what he would do once he caught them—as he was certain he would—but it was the chase that was the exciting part anyway.
He wasn’t particularly worried that this magical creature might be dangerous to him. Shifters had always considered themselves to be at the top of the magical food chain, and no other beings had ever stepped forward to refute that claim.
The shimmering, sparkling lights darted to the right and then the left, and Matt’s gaze followed, as he stood perfectly still, poised, every muscle tensed. Prepared to give chase.
And then he could have sworn he heard a feminine giggle a scant second before the lights suddenly darted away through the woods. He gave chase before his brain even comprehended what he was doing.
They zipped through the undergrowth, the dancing, floating lights keeping just out of Matt’s reach as he lunged once, twice, three times unsuccessfully. The attempts only spurred him to try harder. Defeat was not an option.
The lights zoomed over a small stream, and Matt knew the magical creature expected the flowing water would slow him down, but he was smarter than that. He kicked up his speed and then at the last second, soared over the stream, easily clearing it, and then he leaped again, capturing the bundle of lights in his front paws.
The lights danced and wiggled in protest, and when they could not escape, he felt something pressing against his paws, harder and harder, and then his paws were forced apart as the lights transformed into the shape of a female—although slight—in human form. With the shimmering sparks, her dainty, petite build, and pixie-like features, she reminded him of Tinkerbell with pink hair. Even as a kid, he’d had the hots for the tiny faery from the old Peter Pan movies, although he never believed itty bitty faeries were real, until now.
The weight of his panther’s body pushed the tiny female into the bed of fallen leaves, and he found himself standing over a highly agitated and quite beautiful creature, lying on her back, struggling to get out from under the massive paws that had her pinned to the ground.
She had hair that was short in the back and long in the front, one thick lock draped over her left eye. It was a fascinating shade of dark pink. The one eye he could see was big and blue. Her dainty features included a pert nose and tiny pink rosebud lips that were currently pursed in agitation. Her cheekbones were high, her skin creamy alabaster, her neck slender and long. Despite her petite stature, she had the right amount of feminine curves for most males.
Except Matt. He preferred his women to be more…sturdy. This creature looked as fragile as a twig. And as mad as a cornered wolverine.
He shifted into human form, which left him straddling her hips with his hands pressed against her shoulders. He sat up, crossing his arms over his chest, but remained sitting where he was.
Although he wasn’t normally attracted to such tiny females, this one fit quite nicely between his thighs.
“What are you?” he asked curiously.
She gave his chest a shove. He didn’t even blink let alone budge.
“Get off me.” Her musical voice was loaded with indignation.
“How do I know you don’t mean me harm?” he asked, even though he had no such concern.
“Oh get off it. You’re a shifter. You could eat me in two bites if you were so inclined.”
He cocked his head and let his gaze travel the length of her body, lingering on the slight curves, the soft mounds under the gossamer dress she wore. His cock gave a stir of interest.
“I could. How do you taste?”
She screwed up her face into a look of distaste. “Is this your idea of flirting? No wonder you need help.” She used a burst of magical energy to push him away. He rolled to the side and she leaped to her feet, as limber and agile as a gazelle.
Maybe I’m hungry after all. He seemed to consistently view this creature in terms of prey. Watching her brush grass and dried leaves from her dress, he reached over and plucked a twig from her hair. She reacted as if he’d burned her. He showed her the twig and she rewarded him with a frosty glare. He almost laughed, but was too distracted by the feel of the spun silk of her hair. He looked, but there were no more twigs to give him an excuse to touch it again.
“That was completely unnecessary,” she said tartly.
“Which part?”
“Pouncing on me the way you did.”
“You just said you knew I was a shifter. What did you expect? We’re animals. And I was in the form of a cat when I saw you. Dancing sparks, bouncing around like that, it’s like shining a flashlight in a dark room. I was only doing what came naturally.” He shrugged.
“It’s natural to give chase,” she retorted, “but not to pin me to the ground and not let me up.”
“I’m not sure what type of shifter you normally hang out with, but frankly, it would have been more natural if I’d taken a bite out of you instead of letting you go.”
She sniffed and lifted her chin, still full of righteous indignation. “That’s not what the handbook says.”
Matt laughed. “The handbook? There’s a handbook about shifters? Really?”
The petite being crossed her arms and thrust out her tiny, elegant chin. Visions of licking his way from that chin along that neck and down to points south filled Matt’s head. He shook his head to rid it of such crazy thoughts. He wasn’t that sex starved, was he? It hadn’t been that long since he’d last gotten laid.
“We have a handbook on practically every species of living creatures. At least, all the ones we work with.”
“We? Who’s we? What are you, anyway?” Matt leaned against the nearest tree, crossing his ankles and arms, as casual as she appeared tense.
That adorable chin lifted another notch. “I am a Cupid,” she announced, the pride evident in her voice.
Matt blinked. “A what?”
“A Cupid,” she repeated, clearly irritated at his lack of reaction to her announcement.
“What the hell is that?”
She cocked her head and regarded him. “You’ve never heard of Cupids?”
Matt shook his head. “I guess your little handbook didn’t mention that shifters don’t really associate much with other beings.”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, actually, it did mention that. It’s just that I assumed…I mean, I figured you would at least be aware of other beings, even if you never associated with them.”
Matt shrugged, indifferent. “Nope. So what’s a Cupid? And what’s your name, anyway?” If they were going to carry on a conversation, the least they could do was make introductions.
She dipped into a curtsy that would make a seventeenth century princess proud and said, “I am Adora Adone, Cupid Level One. Pleased to meet you.”
“Adora Adone?” he repeated. “As in love and desire?” He may not know of her kind, but he knew a little about other languages.
“Yes,” she said, pleased with his interpretation of her name. “That is exactly how my name translates. Clever, don’t you think?”
Matt didn’t respond to her question. He didn’t quite think it was as clever as she did. “I’m Matt Tigre,” he said, offering his own introduction.
“I know. You are the one I was sent to help.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You were sent to help me? I didn’t realize I needed help.”
She nodded solemnly. “Few do, when they are at the point where they require our assistance.”
“Our? There are more of you?”
Another nod, still solemn. “Oh yes. There are quite a lot of us. And despite our numbers, we stay constantly busy. Few people are successful at finding love without our interference.”
“Finding love?” Matt repeated, and then he shot up straight, staring at her as if she’d sprouted a second head. For all intents and purposes, she had.
Cupid. Little cherub with a bow and arrow. Matchmaker. He knew the legends, and had always assumed they were a human’s made-up tale. It never occurred to him that the tales might actually be…real?
He backed up a step, needing to put space between himself and the crazed woman standing before him. “Wait a second. You think you’re going to—you mean—all that crap about bows and arrows and love and shit really exists?”
Her face screwed up with righteous indignation again. It was really quite an adorable look for her, despite what she claimed to be. “What a crass way to describe what I do. And for your information, we no longer use bows and arrows. Most have lousy aim, and we were forever accidentally hitting the wrong person.” She shook her head at some memory. “It’s highly difficult to undo the connection once it’s been made, accidental or otherwise.”
Matt took another step backwards. “And you think you’re going after me now?”
“You are my latest assignment,” she confirmed.
“Assignment? Who determines this assignment? And how the hell do I get unassigned?”
“The Assigners determine the assignments. They oversee various territories, study the individuals within their territories, and when it is determined that they cannot find love on their own, the Assigners send a Cupid in to help. And you can’t get unassigned. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Well too damn bad,” Matt snapped, suddenly agitated. “I’m not interested in love or mating or forever after or any of that crap. Go find someone else to harass.” He stalked away, heading back toward Josh’s house. Even managing shifter-human relations for the pack would be better than what that crazy woman proposed.
Unfortunately, Adora fell into step with him, although she wasn’t actually walking. He glanced sideways and saw that she bobbed along, her feet not quite touching the ground. Almost translucent wings had sprouted from her back. They fluttered as fast as a hummingbird’s, almost invisible in their haste, guiding her along at his clipped pace. He abruptly stopped.
“You have wings.”
She beamed as if he’d complimented her, and the wings slowed enough to drop her to the ground. “Yes. They’re quite handy.”
“Can humans see you?” For all he knew, they couldn’t. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said shifters knew nothing of other beings. At least, he didn’t, other than humans and Lightbearers. And faeries, he supposed, but as far as he was aware, they almost never came to the human world, so he didn’t give a rat’s ass about them.
“Of course,” she responded. “Imagine how difficult it would be to do our jobs if they couldn’t.”
Well, that answered another question. “You work with humans, too?”
“I told you, there are precious few species we do not work with. Humans, as a matter of fact, are far easier to work with than most magical species. They usually want to find love.”
He ignored what he assumed was a dig. “How do you hide the wings?�
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In the blink of an eye, the wings disappeared.
“Huh.” He turned away and headed toward Josh’s house again. The wings returned so she could keep pace. His legs were easily twice the length of hers. She’d have to run to keep up with his long strides, if she didn’t have the wings to help.
They walked—and flew—in silence until they reached the edge of the lake separating them from Josh’s home. He paused and glanced at the Cupid hovering at his side.
“You can leave now,” he said coolly. “I can find my way home from here.”
“I can’t leave until you’ve found your love match.”
Matt snorted. “Isn’t happening, lady. I guess you’re about to have your first failed assignment.”
“It won’t be my first. And I can’t fail this time.” The look of sadness that crawled across her face tugged at something inside him. He had a weird desire to help her, which surprised him. He didn’t even know the pixie-like creature. Why should he feel any urges whatsoever toward her? Even sexual urges. He reminded himself she wasn’t his type. Not to mention, she thought she was here to help him fall in love.
“You just said you can’t leave until I find a love match. So what’s considered a failed assignment, then? And what happens if I never fall in love? You lose your wings or something?”
“Yes, actually. That is exactly what will happen.” The pain in her words was as real as the lake, the house looming before him, his desire not to be mated.
He gave her his undivided attention. “Really? What happens then?”
With a gusty sigh she said, “I live on Cupid’s Plain. It is only accessible by Cupids, and by flying at a rate of speed almost equivalent to the speed of light in this world. So if I lose my wings, I can never go home. I will never see my friends or family again.”