Page 88 of Beasts of Mine

“No,” Cat answered, remaining where he was as he let me work through the implication.

“So that's why you didn't tell me,” I told Cat, feeling some of the anger settle now that at least part of their decision made sense.

“That's part of it,” Cat replied, his golden-brown gaze staying on mine.

“Then why talk to me at all?” I asked Cat, looking between him and the other two when all three of them reacted. Menace looked toward Cat. Gentleman glanced toward Menace. Cat continued watching me.

There it was again.

“Oh, absolutely not. You do not get to have one of those silent conversations now that I know you're people. Use words,” I told all three men, pointing between them as Menace coughed into one hand and Gentleman came dangerously close to smiling.

“You could hear us,” Cat explained, keeping his answer simple as the other two turned back toward me.

“The animal thing,” I replied to Cat, gesturing vaguely toward myself because explaining the nature spirit was going to require considerably more energy than I currently possessed.

“You shouldn't have been able to,” Cat told me, his attention sharpening on my face.

“So I was interesting,” I said to Cat, folding my arms loosely again.

“Yes. Very,” Menace answered before Cat could, brightening as though this was finally a subject he could safely participate in. Gentleman gave him a look, turning toward the other man as a faint crease appeared between his brows.

“What? She asked,” Menace replied to Gentleman, spreading one hand as though his contribution had been entirely reasonable. I rubbed both hands over my face because their conversation sounded exactly like the ones they'd been having for days. Different voices, different bodies, same irritating people.

Then another painfully obvious thought occurred to me.

They had names.

“You have an actual name,” I told Menace, letting my hands fall as I focused on him.

“Tavian. My name is Tavian,” Menace told me, touching one hand lightly to his chest as some of his usual energy returned. I studied him, trying to connect Tavian to the amber-eyed leopard who had stolen my belongings, brought me flowers, and apparently developed opinions about camera equipment.

“Tavian,” I repeated to him, testing the unfamiliar name against someone I already knew surprisingly well.

“That's me,” Tavian replied, a small smile returning now that the conversation had moved somewhere safer.

“You let me call you Menace,” I told Tavian, waiting for at least a little embarrassment.

“I like Menace,” Tavian admitted, grinning openly as he shifted his weight onto one leg.

“Of course you do,” I muttered to Tavian, unsurprised enough that I almost smiled before turning toward Gentleman. He seemed to know exactly what was coming.

“My name is Luca,” Gentleman told me, inclining his head slightly as several loose strands of dark hair fell near his cheek.

“Luca. That actually fits you,” I told him, trying the name against the calmer leopard who had led me to streams, wildlife, and now apparently ancient ruins.

“What does that mean?” Luca asked me, his eyebrows drawing together with genuine confusion.

“I have no idea,” I told Luca, and Tavian laughed before I could come up with anything better. It was the first time I'd heard Tavian laugh as a man rather than interpreting some leopard sound through the blessing, and the warmth of it caught me off guard.

So did the face attached to it.

Tavian was attractive. Very. His amber eyes were even more expressive in a human face, and the restless, teasing energy I'd found entertaining in leopard form was considerably harder to ignore when paired with that crooked smile and easy confidence.

I looked away and immediately discovered Luca wasn't any safer. The calm presence I'd always felt around him hadn't changed, but being able to see every small reaction made it more noticeable. Even now, he kept enough distance not to crowd me while paying close attention to how I was handling all of this.

Then my gaze landed on Cat.

That was worse.