Page 59 of Beasts of Mine

That was enough for now.

Luca's tail moved through the leaves beside us, and I turned toward him. He was still looking down the trail.

Well? I asked Luca, because unlike Malek, I didn't believe questions improved with age.

Luca glanced toward me.

You waited almost seven seconds before asking, Luca told me, sounding mildly impressed as he shifted his front paws.

I've had a difficult day. I'm practicing patience, I told Luca, settling more comfortably against the damp ground. Malek made a quiet sound beside me that might have been a laugh.

I ignored him.

I want to know her better, Luca told us, looking toward the place where Evie had crouched to photograph him before his gaze returned to the trail. But yes. I'm interested.

I waited for more.

Nothing came.

That's it? I asked Luca, staring while one of his ears angled toward me.

What else do you want? Luca asked me, his face remaining maddeningly calm.

A little enthusiasm would be nice, I told Luca, disappointed by the complete lack of ceremony accompanying what I considered an important moment.

I willingly approached a human woman I've known for one afternoon and put my head in her hand, Luca reminded me, giving me a long look while Malek's tail moved beside him. You know me. Work it out.

He had a point. From Luca, that was practically dramatic.

So all three of us, I said to Malek, turning toward him while satisfaction settled pleasantly through me.

It appears so, Malek told me, his voice calm even though the quiet pleasure beneath it was easy for both of us to recognize. That should have made things easier, and in some ways it did. We were already a pack. We knew how to live together, divide work, annoy one another without causing permanent damage, and build a home that belonged equally to all three of us. We'd always expected that if we found an Omega all three of us cared for, we'd court her together.

The unusual part was Evie herself.

She lived at a human research station, spent much of the year moving from one assignment to another, carried enough expensive equipment into the forest to make even me reconsider putting my nose near her bag, and could somehow speak to animals because of an event she hadn't explained even to Malek.

She also had absolutely no idea the three leopards she'd spent the afternoon photographing were men. That was going to make things interesting.

When do we tell her? I asked Malek, dragging one claw through the damp soil while imagining Evie's expression when Cat stood up and became a very large human man.

Not tomorrow, Malek told me immediately, narrowing his eyes as though he'd already heard the rest of the thought.

I didn't say tomorrow, I protested to Malek, offended by the accusation as I lifted my head.

Luca looked at me.

Malek continued looking at me.

I held out for several seconds.

Fine. I was thinking tomorrow, I admitted to my packmates, lowering my head when neither reacted with even mild surprise.

We're going slowly, Malek told me, rising and stretching before turning toward the trail leading deeper into our territory. She already has enough strange things happening around her.

I rose after him.

She adjusted to me very quickly, I reminded Malek, hopping onto one of the larger stones near the creek rather than taking the perfectly usable path beside it.