14
Xander
As much asI hated letting Sage out of my sight, I also felt the primal need to provide for him. My mountain lion was screaming out to hunt for my mate, and I couldn’t deny it any longer. It was another one of those moments where I was beyond grateful for the pack. If Sage and I lived alone as a pair, like other mountain lion shifters did, I would’ve had to leave him alone constantly to go hunting. The mere thought was unpleasant.
But here, with this strange and delightful mix of shifters, in this one big family, I never had to worry about that. Len and Morgan were both with him, and his brothers as well. Red—who was a surprisingly good babysitter for such a snarky guy—was juggling kids. The only one I didn’t remember seeing as I left was Remington.
It had been a few months since I joined the pack officially, but he always seemed to feel awkward around me. I had no ill will against him, but the idea of broaching the topic with him was uncomfortable. I didn’t want him to be afraid of me.
For the past week or so, Sage had a craving for fish, so I headed over to the river. There were small fish in the nearby streams, but nothing substantial.
Here in the glittering sunlight, there were bigger fish swimming against the currents. My tail twitched in anticipation. One swipe of my sharp claws and I’d have a meal for my pregnant, craving-addled mate.
A big one swam lazily into my line of sight, uncaring that it broke my reflection in the clear water. I slowly raised a paw and unsheathed my claws. As long as I was still, they wouldn’t notice me.
Just as I was about to snatch it out of the water—
“I’ve seen a bigger one around here, you know.”
Another reflection appeared next to me. Remington, in human form. The fish scattered.
I growled in frustration and shifted. “I was about to catch that fish.”
“I’m sure you can catch another one,” he said.
An awkward silence fell between us, neither of us knowing what to say. Remington wouldn’t come all the way out here just to ruin my chance at fishing. I figured there must be something on his mind.
“I’m hunting for Sage,” I finally said. “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”
A flash of embarrassment flickered across his face. “Sorry. I just figured if there was anyone I could tell this to, it was you.”
“Me?” I blinked.
“I was serious about that fish,” Remington said. “I’m not sure if anyone else in the pack has seen it, but I have.”
All this fuss over a fish? I thought it was odd, but Remington did seem serious about it.
“What’s so special about it?” I asked.
Remington frowned and observed the water. “It’s not native to this area. It’s a big koi fish.”
In all my travels, I’d seen a couple koi fish in human ponds kept as ornamental pets. It was definitely odd to hear of one in a wildlife reserve.
“Maybe someone dumped their pet here,” I suggested.
“It’s impossible for humans to get inside the wildlife reserve. I’m the only one who has the key to the gate, and the walls are designed to keep animals in and people out. Only shifters like us can freely go back and forth.”
“This seems to bother you quite a bit,” I commented.
Remington rubbed his arm. “When I first saw it, I kept thinking of the man that was inside my manor the night we met,” he mumbled. “Something tells me these two things can’t be a coincidence.”
As soon as he said it, my skin crawled. I didn’t want to think about him—the man that had almost hurt Sage.
“But he was a human,” I said.
“What if he wasn’t?” Remington argued. “What if he just had a form he didn’t want to shift into?”
With a slight shock, I recalled what Dr. Pine said when I mentioned the strange non-shifter alpha.
