Page 47 of Beasts of Mine

Neither of you is amusing, I told my packmates, continuing down the path while Tavian walked almost close enough for his shoulder to hit mine.

I disagree, Tavian replied, looking more delighted than I'd seen him in days. This may be the best thing that has happened since you got caught in that trap.

I stopped so abruptly Tavian nearly walked into me.

Choose the rest of that sentence very carefully, I warned Tavian, turning my head until we were nearly nose to nose.

Tavian blinked.

Since you survived getting caught in the trap, Tavian corrected himself, lowering his voice while his ears tipped backward.

Luca moved past both of us.

Better, Luca told Tavian, his tail brushing briefly across the leaves as he continued along the trail. Tavian waited until Luca was several steps ahead before looking at me.

Still Cat, Tavian added under his breath.

I snapped my teeth near his ear. Tavian bounded sideways laughing.

We traveled deeper into our territory for almost twenty minutes, following a route most humans would never recognize as anything more than gaps between trees. Moss covered the remains of worked stone beneath layers of damp leaves, and thick roots had broken through sections of the old path until only scattered edges remained visible. Vines brushed over our backs as we passed, while the heavier forest noise near the creek faded into the quieter interior of our territory.

The temple lay farther east.

Instead of going home, I turned toward one of the smaller springs we used when we needed somewhere private to shift. Dense vegetation and broken stone surrounded the clearing on every side, but I still checked the nearby trunks, branches, and the darker gaps between roots before stepping inside.

Since meeting a wildlife photographer, I'd become even less fond of unattended cameras in the forest. A researcher photographing one of us in human form somewhere humans weren't supposed to be would create questions. Someone capturing a shift would create considerably worse problems. Our communities had remained hidden because generations before us had been careful, and one careless image could undo far more than anything affecting just the three of us.

Satisfied there was nothing nearby, I stepped behind a broad section of fractured stone and shifted. The change came easily. Bones and muscle rearranged beneath my skin, fur receded, and paws became human hands against the damp ground. When I straightened, humid air settled over bare skin and the scar along my side pulled faintly as I rolled one shoulder.

Tavian shifted several feet away with the same impatience he brought to nearly everything. His human form was leaner than mine, built for speed and climbing, with deep bronze-brown skin and dark hair that never remained where he put it. By the time he retrieved his clothes from the dry compartment beneath the stones, the humidity had already started curling the longer strands across his forehead.

Luca changed beside the spring with considerably less unnecessary movement. His long dark hair fell around his shoulders until he gathered it loosely at the nape, and his green-gold eyes went directly to my side as soon as he'd pulled on a pair of loose trousers.

“Still holding?” Luca asked me, stepping closer as he ran careful fingers around the healing scar with the same practiced attention he'd given it every day since the trap.

“Evie checked it two hours ago,” I told Luca, pulling my shirt over one shoulder while I let him examine the scar anyway.

“Evie checks it because she thinks you're still recovering. I check it because I know what happens when you decide you're healed three days before everyone else agrees,” Luca replied, glancing up at me while his thumb pressed carefully beside the wound.

“I rested,” I told Luca, although the defense sounded questionable even to me as I pulled the shirt down over my waist. Tavian laughed as he dragged his own shirt over his head, leaving his hair considerably worse than it had been before.

“You rearranged your patrol schedule so you could lie under a tree every afternoon while an Omega brought you chicken. I've never seen you commit this thoroughly to recovery,” Tavian told me, leaning against a moss-covered stone with his arms folded while a wide grin spread across his face.

“Keep talking and you're carrying the next boar home alone,” I warned Tavian, smoothing the shirt carefully over my side.

“Still worth it,” Tavian told me, settling more comfortably against the stone without showing the slightest concern about the threat. Luca finished his inspection and stepped back, but his eyes remained on me.

“You don't need the creek anymore,” Luca said, crossing his arms loosely while water trickled over stone behind him. The words were casual, although the question he'd politely avoided asking all week was obvious beneath them.

“No, I don't,” I told Luca, meeting his gaze.

Tavian's grin faded. Not because the answer surprised him. Because I'd finally admitted it aloud.

“Oh,” Tavian said, pushing away from the stone as his expression changed. “We're finally talking about her.”

“You knew that when I asked you both to come,” I told Tavian, crouching beside the ledge to retrieve the water we'd stored there.

“I hoped,” Tavian replied, watching me take a drink before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “There was still a possibility you planned to stand around looking serious until Luca and I somehow guessed the rest.”