“Luna?”
She got the feeling, and had no idea how that worked because he gave away no visual clue, that he was trying to appear non-aggressive and non-threatening.
It was working, she guessed.Well, it would have been if these new spidey-senses of hers weren’t anything to go by.
She, the woman, didn’t notice anything wrong, but her Panther was up and about and prowling.
“Yes.I’m Luna,” she told the stranger softly.Ryan had told her the Pride might call her that—it was a special title given to the leader’s mate.
VeryTwilight, she’d thought wryly when he’d informed her of the label.
He wasn’t naked, but his clothes looked worse for wear.
She’d learned that a shift was hard on clothes, which was odd as hell, really.
It meant that you didn’t have to strip off to shift, but that you had to expect to run through your wardrobe if you intended on shifting a lot while dressed.
Magick made no sense, but then, she figured it wasn’t supposed to.It was magick.There was no sense in it.
His appearance, therefore, told her he’d shifted in his clothes and for whatever reason had sought her out when she was alone.
That didn’t exactly lessen the Panther’s concern any.
“I wanted to talk to you.The leader has made it difficult to come to you.That’s not how it should be between a Pride and their leaders.”
The disapproval in his tone wasn’t aggressive, but again, she got the feeling that something about the dude was off.
It was strange he was trying to be non-threatening when he had to know she was a Shifter too, but she’d give him kudos for trying.
She placed her phone on her lap and rested her hands on the edges of the step she was sitting on so she could lean back a little.
El knew the importance of body language in a human setting, and she was coming to learn how vital it was with Shifters.
If she appeared threatened or scared, she knew it could set this stranger off.
“I’m certain if our start hadn’t been as shaky as it was, then I’d have a more open relationship within the Pride.With time, I’m certain that will happen.Once the threats have passed.”
The man, his hair a light brown, his eyes a piercing blue, tilted his head to the side.There was a lot of that going on—she knew it was because that’s how cats responded to stimuli.The beast took control at certain moments.
She did it herself, her body language speaking for her far more than it had ever done in the past.
“Threats you brought onto our Pride, you mean?”
She winced at that and saw the flash of triumph in his gaze.He wasn’t handsome, per se.But he was tall and strong, his muscles developed beneath his once smart clothes.
His chinos were expensive, as was the shirt and jacket he wore.
As with human society, the upper echelons of the Pride dressed well, and El, for all she complained about how money wrecked her life, knew good clothes when she saw them.
It was impossible to be in the same house as Annabel, her mother, without being affected by the infliction of good taste.
Even though Annabel would disagree wholeheartedly that El had any taste period.Grunting at the thought, she murmured, “We’re not sure as yet where the threats originated.”
That was loose enough, right?
The man took another step toward her, and her Panther did not like that.Not one bit.
She could feel the beast baring its teeth, and that had to be the weirdest feeling ever because it made her feel like she wanted to bear her teeth too, and who the fuck did that?
