by Emma Dean
Niko closed the door behind them and she could hear him stop, probably to look around at the space she’d set up with the twinkling lights, but Piper didn’t bother to look. His steps across the wood floor warned her. Niko stopped with very little space left between them, but he didn’t touch her.
She could feel his body heat as he turned to lean his back against the railing. Niko propped his elbows up on the edge and eyed her like she may just explode and yell at him. Piper wanted to. It might make her feel better, but she was just so dang tired.
“Ask me anything,” he told her. “I’ll give you the truth even if it’s not something you necessarily want to hear.”
Piper narrowed her eyes. Was Niko appealing to the scholar in her? These…mates were more attuned to her than anyone else in her life had been excluding her father. “How would I know you’re not just making stuff up?”
Niko made a cross over his heart and then held out his pinky finger. “I promise to tell you nothing but the truth.”
“A pinky promise?” she asked. Her stupid mouth was turning up at the corner even though Piper was still annoyed. She shook her head and locked her pinky with his. It couldn’t hurt.
“Pinky promise,” Niko assured her. “Now what do you want to know?”
Goodness he was gorgeous. Piper could see the definition of his muscles with the way his T-shirt pulled as he leaned back on his elbows. He had this easy smile and looked at her like she was the only thing he gave a damn about. It was flattering and terrifying all at the same time.
“Well, can you prove to me you’re a leopard?”
Niko chuckled. “Yes, but only inside the house. It’s too populated here in the city. Someone could see me.”
Piper chewed on her lower lip in annoyance.
Instantly Niko’s gaze went to her mouth and she felt electrified. Piper couldn’t stop watching him watch her. Did she really have that kind of power over him? She brought her hand up and rubbed her thumb across her swollen lip. Biting the shit out of a demon hadn’t exactly been comfortable.
His eyes followed her thumb and Piper’s skin tingled. The space between them was charged – electrified. It felt like lightning was about to strike and she wasn’t sure what she thought about that yet. Why was he so…into her? They didn’t even know each other.
“What exactly is a mate?” she finally asked.
Niko looked up and frowned. “What?”
His confusion almost made her laugh, but she bit her tongue. Piper didn’t want him to think she was making fun of him. Out of the three guys Niko was the one she felt the most comfortable around.
“What is a mate?” she repeated.
The fog cleared from his eyes and he blushed a little. Piper couldn’t believe this large, muscular man was blushing because of a simple question, or was it that she’d caught him staring at her lips?
“Well, it’s kind of like a soul mate,” Niko murmured, eyes dropping down to her mouth again before his gaze returned to her eyes. “But it’s a little more than that – something to do with genetics and magic and fate. Cat shifters have more than one mate normally. The wolves only have one. There are a few other shifters and the rules are different for each of them like the foxes, but essentially a male is fated to one female within our pride. That you’re human is probably because we have no females left except the baby.”
Piper was rapt as he explained. It was a whole new world that had been living under the one she knew and she desperately wanted to know everything. Somehow these three men were fated to be hers? “So all three of you are my mates? You all don’t mind, um…sharing?” she asked.
Niko gave her a lazy smile and shifted so he leaned on only one elbow and faced her, closing what little distance there was between them even more. Piper felt her heart beat faster, but she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and ignored it. Just because magic and fate decided she was their mate didn’t mean she had to do anything about it.
“Yes, you are our mate. The three of us are all yours. We don’t mind sharing,” Niko told her with that smile of his that made her stomach flutter. “It’s the only thing we know. More males means more parents to watch the kittens, and the few females are well protected, though most of them don’t need our help in that department. They’re far more vicious and feral than we are.” The way he looked at her – Piper knew he was thinking about the way she’d bit the demon.
She did feel a bit bad about that now that she knew Eisheth didn’t want to deliver her at the end of the two weeks.
“What if I don’t want to share? What if I’m not interested in any of you?” Piper asked, trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings. There was so much to take in and try to absorb. What were her options? There was a lot to process.
Niko stood up straight and she gasped as he towered over her. Piper had forgotten how tall he was and how intimidating he could be when he wanted. He stepped forward and she tried to step back but the railing hit her spine from the other side. She was trapped. Niko placed an arm on either side of her and stared down, that cocky smile growing wider – somehow still not touching her.
“Are you really not interested in us?” he asked, his voice husky and suggestive.
Piper felt it on her skin, rumbling seductively into her bones until she nearly vibrated with the sound of it, the feel of him so close, and his strange smell of night air on fur mixed with freshly cut grass. Her breath caught in her throat and Piper couldn’t help the way she stared at his lips.
He was so close that if she turned, her mouth would brush against his. The warmth of his body warded off the cool night air.
“Um…” Was she interested? It was difficult to form a rational thought with his gorgeous body so close to hers. “I don’t even know you,” she finally whispered. “But I do feel physically attracted to you.”
“Damn.” Niko inhaled sharply. “You gotta stop doing that.”
Piper blinked and looked up into his clear blue eyes. “Doing what?”
His smile widened into a grin and his gentle hand held her chin lightly. “Saying things that make me want to kiss you. Most humans aren’t as honest as you are.”
Her heart leapt into her throat and she couldn’t help but glance at Niko’s lips again. He really was beautiful. What would it be like to kiss him?
“Hey, Caleb is back so…” Xavier trailed off when he took in the scene but even his sudden presence didn’t distract Niko. Piper glanced at Xavier and he had this amused expression on his face, like he thought they were the cutest thing ever. “So y’all gonna kiss or what?”
Piper felt her cheeks heat furiously and she ducked under Niko’s arms to face Xavier, but he wasn’t exactly safe territory either. The way he looked at her like he was hungry…she cleared her throat awkwardly. “What were you saying?”
Xavier grinned wide. “Caleb’s back. I’m going to go grab a few things from the store. Want anything?”
“No thank you, Xavier. But I appreciate you asking.”
Somehow Xavier didn’t make any of it weird, and Piper appreciated that more than she could ever properly communicate.
She could feel Niko behind her – hyperaware of him in a way she’d never been with another human, but he wasn’t human was he?
“Nah, thanks man. I’m going to make sure Piper doesn’t have any other questions.”
Xavier snorted. “Sure, you are. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Piper blushed again and sat at the picnic table in the center of her balcony. Since she had the corner unit hers was larger than the others. It was why she’d agreed to the higher price. Being outside could wash away a bad day like nothing else. It was one of her favorite places to study.
She picked up the lighter on the table and started lighting the various candles one by one. “So you want to make sure I don’t have any other questions?” she asked without looking at Niko.
“Sure,” he said, sliding onto the bench across from her. “It’s why I’m here.”
Piper ey
ed him, still feeling the heat from his proximity and the way she felt breathy and flustered just thinking about kissing him. She didn’t want to talk about mates anymore. It led her down a dangerous path she didn’t quite understand.
“You are all leopards, yet you look nothing alike. Also, leopards aren’t even native to America. So how does that work?” Facts and science and history. Maybe with some of those she could find her place in this new world.
Niko flashed her a smile but it was sad as his expression grew serious. His eyes looked strange with the flame reflected in them and he tapped the wooden table with a finger as he thought. “Well, we’re all American citizens, but like any normal human we immigrated. Xavier came from Africa and the pride there. Caleb is Jewish and I think his family emigrated from Israel at some point, making their way across Europe until they came here for the religious freedom. There are plenty of prides in the Middle East. And then my family came from Russia. We eventually created the pride here on the west coast, all of us from all over the world just like any other American.”
Piper cocked her head and stared at Niko as she absorbed all that information. Instantly he stilled and reached across the table so fast she didn’t even see him move. He grabbed her chin and leaned forward. Her heart stopped and for a split second she thought he was going to kiss her – and for the briefest moment she wanted it desperately. She wanted his hands in her hair, holding her close as he devoured her mouth, tasting the night and stars on him.
Goodness it had been a long time since she’d been kissed.
But then Niko pecked her cheek and stood. “You’re adorable when you tilt your head like that,” he told her as he stood. “Let me go get Caleb to answer the rest of your questions. I have to make sure Xavier didn’t fuck up the demon proofing.”
When he went back inside she could finally breathe again. Her lips tingled and he hadn’t even kissed them. Piper brought shaking hands to her mouth and wondered how exactly she was going to handle three of the hottest men she’d ever met. They all wanted her and weren’t afraid of showing it. Niko’s restraint was impressive because she could practically taste his desire on the air.
There was also this tug on her heart, one that she knew would lead her right back to Niko if she turned around and looked. Some sort of bond was forming and Piper didn’t know how she was going to handle it, let alone three of them.
The door slid open and Piper tensed. It was strange but she could sense this wasn’t Niko. The energy felt different and the sheer insanity of that scared her. They’d spent all of twenty minutes with each other. What would it feel like after two weeks?
Caleb didn’t say anything as he walked around the picnic table, inspecting every nook and cranny before looking at her.
“There aren’t any spiders out here,” she told him.
He frowned at that. “What do you mean?”
Piper waved her hand at the various plants she had. “The mint, citronella, and lemongrass keep the spiders away. In case you were concerned.”
Caleb stared at her in disbelief. One corner of his mouth even twitched like he wanted to laugh or smile. “I’m not afraid of spiders.”
Piper smirked and looked down at her hands with a shrug. The scary one had a sense of humor somewhere deep under that prickly exterior of his. Maybe he was more like her father than she wanted to admit.
“Niko told you about mates but let me explain the crocs to you,” Caleb said, taking control of the conversation. He leaned against the balcony with his arms crossed over his chest. She found it interesting he wouldn’t get any closer to her – like she made him nervous. Caleb couldn’t be more different than Niko if he tried.
“Okay,” she murmured, letting her fingers trail over the flames of her candles. Caleb had a gruff voice she actually liked. It was…gravelly yet tender, like he could never direct his irritation at her.
Caleb watched her for a moment, but said nothing about the fire. “Cat shifters don’t have many enemies or predators. Our biggest danger is each other, but we haven’t starved for many centuries so we leave each other alone for the most part. We have had to compete with others for territory rights and there are some we just don’t like much. The wolves have always been difficult to get along with, but that’s just part of our animal natures. As humans we understand each other and follow the laws and rules of our world. There hasn’t been a war over territory – at least on the West Coast – for over a century.”
The historian in her fell under Caleb’s spell. He was speaking her language and she was starved for more information. Piper couldn’t help the way she stared at him without blinking, lips slightly parted as her imagination ran wild with the possibilities of his words.
Wolves and leopards banding together to form peace. Witches helping them keep this peace. And then the possibility of other shifters. They’d already mentioned foxes and crocodiles. What else was out there? What else could she learn with these three?
“When cat shifters first came to America, most of us preferred the warmer climes so we went south, but there was already a shifter who’d claimed the south and didn’t want to share,” Caleb went on, his gaze as unblinking as hers. They stared at each other as if they were both in some sort of trance. “Both sides claimed the other started the blood feud. But all I know is that our pride moved west and the crocs wouldn’t let it go. They came after us regardless of how much space we put between us and them.”
Piper blinked when she realized he was done, but she knew there had to be endless details he was leaving out. “Are there books on these events?” she asked.
Caleb frowned and uncrossed his arms. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, looking away from her for the first time since he started talking. This one out of all three of them was the only one who wanted to hide himself away from her.
For whatever reason that made Piper want to know even more about him.
“I suppose there probably are,” Caleb admitted. “But the witches are the ones who take care of all the lore. You’d have to ask them.”
Piper stood from her spot and crossed the balcony to stand by his side. Caleb wore nothing but a black tank top and black jeans. His boots were scuffed leather, but they looked good on him. If he was also supposed to be her mate then why didn’t he seem to like her?
His large arms made her want to touch him. Even though Caleb scared her a little, he was the most mysterious of the three. “What else?” she asked, looking up into those unreadable green eyes.
They glittered darkly at her, and his frown deepened, but Caleb obliged her. “My pride has been at war with the crocs for generations. The killing never stops. When I was fifteen they set my house on fire with my brothers and sisters and parents inside. Burned them alive while they slept. All ten of them. I was lucky to be out on one of the battlefields hunting croc, but I came back to nothing but smoldering ashes.”
Piper felt her heart clench and tears prick her eyes. It physically hurt, right in her chest. The pain in his voice was thick even though he tried to hide it. Somehow she felt his pain and she had to do something. So she took his hand in her two small ones. It was all she could offer him, and Caleb’s eyes widened.
“My father was the pride Alpha and so I took his place. I’ve been leading them ever since. But I’m not the only one who’s lost family. Niko, Xavier…the Klamath Mountain Pride only has fifteen members now. No females left except one and she’s barely a year old – an orphan we managed to save from Tahoe.”
“Is that why they’re after me?” she asked. No females meant genocide in a way. And no more pride meant no more competition for the crocs.
“Yes. With you the pride has hope. There could be other humans out there for the other males. The witches are doing the best they can, but the crocs have a dark witch on their side. There aren’t many hunters out there and without an official kill order from the Council…I’m just trying to keep my pride alive as long as I can.”
Piper took a deep breath and then step
ped forward, wrapping her arms around Caleb. She hugged him because he needed it. There was so much tension and stress and pain and fear in him. She could feel it and now…now he had to worry about her and some demon. It hardly seemed fair.
“Let me help. I’m sure if I had access to some real paranormal books I could find a way to break the demon’s contract. After all, research and studying are what I’m good at.” Piper stepped back and looked up into Caleb’s green eyes.
His expression was unreadable but he nodded. “I’ll have Niko call Morgan. She’d know better than us.”
Piper blushed and looked back inside at Niko going through that large black duffel bag of his. He wasn’t looking at her, but rather staring at Cat Solo on the cat tree while her cat flicked his tail. After their almost kiss she felt weirdly guilty for hugging Caleb.
This was all so confusing.
“Thank you,” she said, turning back to him. He was so dang tall and just…delicious looking. It was difficult not to touch him again. And she wanted to, badly. “For trying to save me earlier tonight. And um, I’m sorry about throwing that book at your face.”
For the first time she saw Caleb smile and Piper gasped. There was a strange sensation in her belly and she felt warm all over. The smile turned him into a god – that was how attractive and beautiful Caleb was.
“I like that you can take care of yourself,” Caleb told her. He tugged on a piece of her hair, but otherwise didn’t touch her. “And you’re very creative about it. I’m waiting to see what you’ll do next.”
Piper cleared her throat and tried to remind herself she never reacted to boys—men like this. For a long time she’d dated, but it was so awful and demanding on her time she gave it up. She had decided living alone with a million cats was the way to go.
Well now she had three more cats. Though they weren’t exactly what she’d pictured.
But, maybe they were better?
“Let’s go see what Morgan has to say,” Caleb said, pushing off the balcony and striding toward the apartment. He certainly knew what he wanted and didn’t wait around to take it.