Page 90 of Beasts of Mine

“Yes.” Malek inclined his head once, as though we’d just completed a perfectly normal introduction instead of one that had arrived nearly a week late.

“And you let me call you Cat this entire time.” I stared at him as fresh irritation pushed some of the lingering shock aside.

“You seemed committed to it.” Amusement finally showed around Malek’s eyes now that I had a human face to read. A laugh escaped Tavian before he could stop it, and he brought one hand to his mouth far too late to hide the sound.

“Don’t.” I turned my stare on Tavian as his amber eyes brightened with entirely too much enjoyment.

“I didn’t say anything.” Tavian lowered his hand, though the grin still pulling at his mouth ruined the defense.

“You were thinking it.” I gave Tavian a brief look before returning my attention to Malek. “And you could have corrected me at literally any point.”

“I could have.” Malek folded his arms loosely across his chest without looking remotely sorry. I stared at him for another second before lifting one finger in his direction.

“Fine. Malek when you’re behaving. Cat when you’re annoying me.” I made the decision before he had a chance to object.

“I assumed Cat wasn’t going anywhere.” Malek lowered his arms again, accepting the punishment with far too much ease.

“Good. We’re caught up.” I let my hand fall and took in all three men. “Now I need actual answers.” The humor helped more than I wanted to admit, but it didn’t change what surrounded me. A leopard had been carved into ancient stone behind Tavian, its weathered body half-hidden beneath moss. Thick roots had split one wall beside Luca and pushed several blocks outward until they leaned at angles that looked impossible. The narrow path beyond the courtyard disappeared beneath hanging vines and led toward a hidden sanctuary I hadn’t known existed until today.

Somewhere deeper in the forest were maintained buildings occupied by people who could become animals. My camera currently held photographs of the edge of their home.

“How many answers are we talking about?” Tavian shifted his weight onto one leg, his grin fading as he realized I was done joking for the moment.

“All of them eventually.” I tapped the radio clipped at my hip. “But preferably not so many that I miss my check-in with Mara because I got distracted learning how much of the world I’ve apparently been missing.”

Mentioning Mara pulled the ordinary part of my life sharply back into focus. The radio was still where it belonged, my camera battery had dropped another bar during the hike, and my map remained tucked into its waterproof sleeve. None of those things stopped mattering because Tavian, Luca, and Malek had turned out to be supernatural.

I checked the time. We had room before we needed to head back, but not enough for me to interrogate them about every creature or hidden community that might exist outside normal human knowledge.

“We’ve got a few hours.” I secured the radio again and rested my forearms against my thighs. “Try not to ruin the rest of reality before dinner.”

“That seems manageable.” Luca leaned one shoulder lightly against the weathered wall, warmth returning to his expression.

“Start with the obvious. What exactly is a leopard shifter?” I swept one hand between him and the other two. “I understand the part where you turn into leopards. I watched that happen. I need the part I can’t figure out by looking at you.”

“We’re born this way.” Luca stayed close enough to talk comfortably without making me feel surrounded. “Human and leopard are both natural forms for us. Neither is something we learned later.”

“So you aren’t humans who discovered some spell that lets you turn into animals.” I tried to separate one impossible possibility from another while watching his face for any sign I’d misunderstood.

“No. We’re shifters.” Luca shook his head, and a few loose strands of dark hair slipped over his shoulder.

“Born as human babies?” I asked Luca because that distinction suddenly felt important enough that I didn’t want to spend the rest of the night wondering about it. Tavian made a strangled noise beside the wall. Malek’s face barely changed, but Luca pressed his lips together firmly enough that I knew he was trying not to laugh.

“That is a legitimate question.” I looked from one man to the next when nobody answered quickly enough. “I learned your species existed less than an hour ago.”

“Yes. Human babies.” Luca finally let a little amusement show in his green-gold eyes. “Our first shifts happen later.”

“Good.” I nodded once as I absorbed the answer. “I really didn’t need to spend the rest of the day wondering if leopard shifters were born as kittens.” Tavian laughed openly now, rubbing one hand over his mouth before dropping it again.

“I like the way you ask questions.” Tavian straightened away from the wall, still grinning.

“You like anything that makes Malek uncomfortable.” I glanced toward Malek, who appeared determined not to participate in Tavian’s entertainment.

“That too.” Tavian spread one hand without even pretending otherwise. Malek ignored him with the ease of someone who’d had years of practice.

“Are there more of you?” I shifted my attention back to Malek.

“Yes. Other leopard shifters. Other kinds too.” Malek’s humor faded as he gave me his full attention again.