She jumped when she felt cool flesh against her arm.She dropped Myron’s stare to turn and find Slick running a finger across her shoulder, along the lines of the wolf tattoo she’d gotten.“You bear the mark of a wolf, which might make one of those mangy mutts think you belong to them.But a tattoo can be removed and replaced easily enough.”
Her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head as her heart squeezed in her chest.Katy didn’t like the idea of her tattoo being removed or changed.Suddenly, Roan’s words came flooding back as she looked down at the wolf on her shoulder.“You’re not an accident, Lola.And that Callon was the male you were drawn to is not a mistake.The Creator has changed the way our people mate.For as long as we have existed, our kind found their other half much like humans.They met, fell in love and then chose to spend their life together.Due to some poor choices our kind made, there are consequences to our actions.Though Visata has also blessed us for our decision to right our wrongs.Our kind can no longer look for a mate that they can choose.Visata is giving one mate for each male.She will be his and his alone, and he will be hers.”She slapped Slick’s hand away and covered the tattoo with her hand.The question of why she’d gotten the wolf was no longer a question.She was ananimus.“Holy hell, I’m supposed to be mated to a wolf.”
Chapter 1
If You Don’t Like It, Go Suck On A Lemon.
“I keep thinking that I can’t possibly be surprised by what’s coming next in this reality.How could I be?I’ve read hundreds of paranormal romance books.I’m better studied on this than a second-year med student is on human anatomy.It just goes to show that reading about something and experiencing it are two very different things.”~Lola
Lola felt the oppressive weight of fear and worry pressing down on her as they entered the lobby of Leonidas Global, Inc.So much had happened in such a brief span of time.Only a day ago, her life had been mundane.Okay, well, notexactlymundane, considering for the past few weeks she’d been seeing moving tattoos and strange men called beastwalkers partially shifting into wild animals.But that was before she really knew that what she was seeing wasn’t a figment of her overactive imagination.Now she was aware of the truth.
The supernatural beasts she’d imagined were only in books were actually real.She was apparently something called an “animus”—destined to be the mate of a lion-shifter prince.She’d like to take a moment and revel in the fantastical world that had been revealed to her, but how could she?Her best friend Katy had just been betrayed and abducted by someone they’d all believed was a friend.Lola had always thought Antonio’s obsession with her was unhealthy, but she wouldn’t have ever imagined he was capable of human trafficking.And why had he done it?Surely he hadn’t thought kidnapping her best friend was somehow the way to win Lola’s heart.
“I swear I’m going to cut him up into tiny pieces and scatter him on the pizzas as a topping if anything happens to Katy.”Lola’s voice didn’t remotely sound like her own.This version of Lola was dark and malevolent.She didn’t like the way it felt, yet she did like the illusion of power.“Because, seriously, how the heck could I actually cut up a man with a pizza cutter?Good grief, Lola.At least be realistic about how you will maim him.”
“I was going to ask how you’re holding up”—Callon’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts—“but considering you’re talking out loud to yourself, I’m going to take that as a sign that you’ve not shut down and escaped inside your own mind.”His tone was gentle as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.His golden eyes scanned her face.Lola searched his expression for any emotion that might echo her own anxiety and sense of helplessness.But all she saw staring back at her was determination and grit.Callon was not defeated in the slightest.He looked ready to go to war, and the gleam in his eye made her think he might actually be excited about it.
“You’re not secretly a psychopath, are you?”She was only half joking.She’d hardly known the guy a few days.Ted Bundy’s girlfriend was with him for years—years—and didn’t have a clue he was knocking chicks out with crowbars and hacking them up.
Callon’s lips tipped up in a crooked smile.“If I told you everything about myself in the beginning, there’d be no mystery left in our relationship.”
“That’s a resounding yes,” Maddie offered from Lola’s other side.“Totally a psychopath, but we need him right now, so just go with it.It will probably help if he is a bit psychotic.You can dump his feline butt after we get Katy back.”
“Harsh,” Roan muttered from somewhere behind them.
“I only speak the truth,” Maddie called back.“If you don’t like it, go suck on a lemon.”
Lola’s eyes widened as she leaned closer to Maddie.“Is this your worry for Katy talking, or did something happen between you and Mister Swirly Eyes?”
Maddie took a deep breath, let it out, then offered a weak smile.“Sorry.I don’t mean to be bitchy.”
“Yes, you do,” Lola countered.
Maddie scrunched her face up briefly.“That’s fair.I do.”Then she wrapped an arm through Lola’s and latched onto her.“Honestly?I’m terrified, and a little confused, but we’re not going to discuss what I’m confused about.It’s not important.Whatisimportant is I’m trying really hard not to freak out.”
“You know that the whole ‘don’t freak out’ order I gave you is now null and void.After everything that’s happened tonight, I’d be more concerned if youdidn’tfreak out.I mean, seriously, Mads.Katy is gone.We have no idea what’s happening to her or where she’s being taken.And snap.”Lola stopped walking and groaned.“We’ve got to call her dad.What are we going to tell her dad?Andyourmom.”The wheels in her brain turned at a speed that couldn’t be healthy for her overworked synapses.“What are we going to tell your mom?You have to go home.You can’t justnotgo home.Then there’s Sal.How can we leave him high and dry without three of his waitresses?I swear I’m going to beat the supernatural hell out of Antonio when I get my hands on him.”She glanced up at Callon, who didn’t look nearly as concerned as he should.Note to self: do research on psychopathic behavior in crisis.She turned back to Maddie.“Thank you.”Lola breathed out.
“For what?”Maddie pulled her arm out of Lola’s and ran her hands through her blonde hair.
“For looking like the world is coming to an end and not like you’re trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.”
“Don’t be offended.”Roan came around and stood a few feet in front of Lola, Callon, and Maddie.Bane, she assumed, was still behind them.“That’s Callon’s normal face.”
“RBBF,” Maddie said flatly and nodded as if it made total sense.
Lola frowned.“What?”
“Resting Beast Bitch Face.”Maddie shrugged.“Totally what he looks like.”
There was a coughing sound behind them that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Roan bit his lip in a failing attempt to keep from smiling.
Lola looked back at Maddie.
“What?”She lifted her hands.“You know how I get in a crisis.I say weird shit while inwardly I’m in a corner rocking and drooling.”
Lola started moving again, Callon’s hand still firmly wrapped around her own.“Well, you can call Katy’s dad and say weird shit to him.Maybe he won’t ask a bunch of questions if you just say something so bizarre that he thinks you and Katy are just pranking him.”
Maddie strode alongside her.“That’s probably a good idea, even if I don’t want to be the one to talk to him.You’d totally crumble under any pressure he might push against your story.”
