“Well, mission fail on the not-scaring-me part.” Dakota stood up from the couch, his legs still unsteady but functional. “Because I’m pretty thoroughly terrified right now. Of Bennett, of you, of the fact that apparently nothing in this world is what I thought it was.”
Kivani turned away from the door, and the pain in his expression made Dakota’s anger falter. “I never wanted to scare you. That’s the last thing I wanted.”
“Then what did you want?” The question came out quieter, less accusatory. “Bennett said you want something from me. That I should be careful of you.”
“Bennett is a vampire who just broke into your apartment and grabbed you hard enough to bruise.” Kivani gestured at Dakota’s wrist, which had started to swell slightly. “His opinion on what you should be careful of is worth exactly nothing.”
“That doesn't answer my question.” Dakota wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly cold despite the warmth still radiating from Kivani. “What do you want from me?”
Kivani was quiet for a long moment, his eyes fixed on Dakota’s face like he was memorizing every detail. “The truth is complicated.”
“Try me.” Dakota’s hands tightened on his own arms, his nails digging into his skin. “I think I’ve proven I can handle complicated tonight.”
“Shifters have mates.” Kivani’s voice had gone soft, careful. “One person who's meant for us. Who completes us in ways that are hard to explain to someone who isn’t a shifter. We know our mates the moment we meet them. Can smell it on them, feel the pull in a way that’s impossible to ignore.”
Dakota’s breath caught, his brain making connections he didn’t want to make. “Are you saying I’m your mate?”
“Yes.” No hesitation, no uncertainty. Just simple truth that made Dakota’s knees weak all over again. “I knew the moment I met you at that coffee shop. When you tripped over absolutely nothing and spilled your drink all over my shirt.”
The memory surfaced, Dakota’s first week in Crimson Hollow. He’d been so embarrassed he’d offered to pay for dry cleaning, and Kivani had just laughed it off. Had asked Dakota to have coffee with him instead, to make up for the ruined shirt. Dakota had thought it was a line, a smooth way to ask someone out. Not a declaration of eternal connection. Then he’d mentioned he was looking for an apartment, and Kivani had offered him the one above the taffy shop.
“That’s insane.” Dakota ran an unsteady hand through his hair. “You can’t just decide someone is your mate because you smell something on them. That’s not how relationships work.”
“I didn’t decide anything.” Kivani stayed where he was, giving Dakota space, even though his body language suggested he wanted to move closer. “The mate bond isn’t a choice. It just is. Like breathing or having a heartbeat. I can’t change it any more than I can change what I am.”
“So what… you've just been hanging around me, waiting for me to figure it out?” Dakota’s voice rose, panic making his words come faster. “Pretending to be my friend when really you were just biding your time until you could tell me I’m supposed to be yours?”
“No.” Kivani’s expression crumpled, hurt flashing across his features. “I wasn't pretending anything. I am your friend. Being your mate doesn't negate that. It just adds another layer to it. And I was giving you time to get to know me, to trust me, before I dropped something this big on you.”
“Well, Bennett beat you to it.” Dakota laughed, the sound edged with hysteria. “So congratulations, your careful plan is ruined.”
“I’m sorry.” Kivani took a step forward then another when Dakota didn’t flinch away. “I should have told you sooner. Should have found a way to explain before Bennett could use it as a weapon. That’s on me, and I’m sorry.”
The apology sounded genuine, weighted with a regret that Dakota could hear in every word. His anger wavered, exhaustion rushing in to fill the space it left behind. Everything hurt. His wrist, his head, his brain from trying to process too many impossible things at once.
“I need you to show me.” Dakota’s voice came out small, tired. “Show me you’re really a tiger.
Kivani’s expression turned uncertain. “Dakota, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. You’re already in shock.”
“Show me,” Dakota repeated, his voice rising. “Because right now I feel like I’m losing my mind, and if this is real, if you can actually do what Bennett said, then I need to see it. Otherwise I’m going to check myself into a hospital for a psych eval.”
The silence stretched, filled only by the sound of Dakota’s breathing too fast and too shallow. Kivani moved slowly, carefully, like he was approaching a spooked animal. Which was ironic considering he was supposedly the animal in this scenario.
“Okay.” Kivani moved to the center of the small living room, where he’d have the most space. “But don’t freak out. Please.”
Dakota wanted to promise he wouldn't, but his mouth refused to form the words. His hands gripped the couch cushions hard enough to hurt, his eyes locked on Kivani’s face as he waited for whatever was about to happen.
Kivani closed his eyes, and his body just changed.
No dramatic transformation. No bones breaking or clothes ripping. One second Kivani stood there in his jeans and T-shirt, and the next, a massive Bengal tiger occupied the space where he’d been. Orange and black stripes covered a body that had to weigh at least four hundred pounds, muscles rippling under fur as the tiger shifted its weight. Those same amber eyes stared at Dakota, intelligence and awareness clear in their depths.
Dakota’s mouth fell open, his lungs forgetting how to process air. The tiger was real. Was right there in his apartment, close enough that Dakota could count the whiskers on its face. Close enough to kill him if it wanted to, those jaws easily capable of crushing bone.
But the tiger just sat down, tail curling around massive paws, and waited. Patient. Calm. Nothing about its body language suggested threat or aggression. Just Kivani, wearing a different form, watching Dakota with concern evident even through feline features.
“Holy fuck.” Dakota’s voice came out strangled, his hands pressing against his face. “Holy fuck, you’re actually a tiger.”
The tiger made a sound, something between a chuff and a purr, and then Kivani was human again. Standing exactly where the tiger had been, fully naked and looking worried. The transition happened so fast Dakota’s eyes couldn’t track it, his brain struggling to reconcile what he’d just witnessed.
