“Don’t make me chase you down.”
I sprinted across the bar as fast as my heels would carry me.“Talk to you soon!”I called out to Tak.
The breath left my lungs when Lucian scooped me into his arms and flashed to the door.
Cheers erupted behind us—howling, clapping, and whistling.
“Get her!”someone shouted.
Lucian pivoted at the door.“Already got her.”
Chapter27
Shifting was an elegant process of two spirits rushing past each other as they traded places.We were separate but one.In those few minutes of consciousness, I experienced the world through my tiger’s eyes.Colors weren’t saturated, but my night vision was incredible.The world smelled vibrant, noises overlapped like a symphony, and the earth flattened beneath my heavy paws.
Tak convinced me to shift in his presence, and after introductions, he shifted into wolf form.Although my tiger didn’t bow to any alpha, she felt his energy and sensed through me that he would be our keeper.Then it was time to introduce her to the pack.She recognized Lucian immediately and affectionately rubbed against him, but the others made her apprehensive.
While I had no control over her actions, I could communicate through my thoughts and emotions that these people were now our family—they meant us no harm.Regardless, she needed to make up her own mind, and that concerned me, especially with so many unpredictable personalities in the house.They were braver than I thought, but I could still smell their fear—especially coming from Cici.Though Archer stood between us, my cat was drawn to the horse Shifter.
The introduction process was slow going but went well.Tak was the first, and she sensed his alpha power straightaway.In the Shifter world, alphas existed among most apex predators, so she understood the hierarchy.Plus he was real easy with her, knelt at her level, and didn’t show fear.
She loved all the girls immediately.They were hesitant about touching her, but that didn’t stop my tiger from brushing up against them.Although the babies were inside, she could smell them on everyone’s clothes.It awakened a fierce maternal instinct to protect that I hadn’t known she possessed.Although wolves weren’t her species, they were predators, and she related to them.Archer was the first one brave enough to stroke her ear, so she rewarded him with a lick to his hand.By the time we got to Salem, I blacked out before getting a chance to meet their animals.
This was my worst fear.
When I finally morphed back to human form, I was lying on the warm grass, staring at a dim sky with the first stars twinkling overhead.
Lucian handed me a robe.Being a Chitah, he didn’t understand it wasn’t our first instinct to cover ourselves as soon as we shifted back.When I sat up, I took the black silk robe and put it on.He was obviously trying to be a gentleman.
Lucian helped me up, and I smiled at his handsome face.It had been ten days since he challenged Henry Hightower.In that time, I’d told my father everything.Despite concerns about Lucian’s prospects, he knew how much I loved him.It took some convincing, but he agreed to move in with the pack.
Connor made an offer on my house.He seized the opportunity to buy a home with security already installed, but he also preferred my view since his property was filled with trees.We had spent the past few days moving my things in, and today was the day I was introducing my tiger to the pack.
I finished tying the belt on the robe.“Where is everyone?”I searched the property but only saw Tak, who looked remarkably different with his unbraided locks of brown hair.
Tak scratched his bare chest.“Quite a show you put on.Thought it might give me grey hairs.”
“She didn’t hurt anyone, did she?”
Lucian rubbed his face and looked stressed out.
“Everything went as smoothly as possible,” Tak said.“If nobody dies, that’s smooth.Cleo isn’t a packmate, so we kept her inside.But curiosity brought her out when no one was paying attention.She ran right up to you.”Tak shook his head in disbelief.“Krys shouted at her to go inside.It startled the girl, and your tiger roared.”
“Krys lost his shit,” Lucian tacked on.“His wolf came out.”
My jaw slackened.
Tak slid his gaze over to my love.“Then Lucian jumped into the fray.”
“He was going for Eden,” Lucian argued.
Tak rubbed his eye.“He was only protecting the child.”
The thought of violence with my new pack horrified me.If my cat couldn’t get along with them, how could we live together?“Was anyone hurt?”
Tak rolled his shoulders.“When your animal swiped at Krys, Virgil’s crazy-ass wolf came spinning onto the scene.Then your tiger chased him all around the property.”
“Can’t anyone have a little fun out here?”Virgil chimed in.“I thought you had a sense of humor.”
