Page 57 of Beasts of Mine

I was uncomfortable, I told Evie, moving one paw a few inches until everything felt noticeably improved.

“You moved half a foot,” Evie informed me, gesturing toward the barely visible difference between my old position and the new one.

Better, I told Evie, raising my head with complete confidence in my decision. She stared at me for another second before turning toward Luca.

“Does he always do this?” Evie asked Luca, tilting the camera toward me as though presenting evidence at a trial.

Yes, Luca told Evie, folding one front paw calmly over the other while he looked directly at me.

I stared at him.

Traitor, I told Luca, offended by how quickly he'd abandoned his packmate for a woman he'd known less than an hour. Evie's laughter rang through the clearing again.

Worth it.

By then, the caution she'd carried when Luca and I first appeared had faded. She moved around all three of us without watching our every motion and even turned her back while changing lenses, spending almost a full minute digging through her bag while three adult leopards sat behind her.

Malek noticed.

So did Luca.

I found myself oddly pleased by it. Less than an hour ago she'd known only Malek, yet she was already comfortable enough around us to stop keeping track of every paw and tooth in the clearing. Evie eventually stopped taking photographs long enough to sit beside her bag and review them. Her thumb moved quickly across the display before she enlarged one image and smiled.

“Oh, these are going to be incredible. Do you three have any idea how rare it is to get a group of leopards cooperating like this?” Evie asked us, stepping closer as she tilted the display toward Malek.

I moved in immediately.

Probably very, I told Evie, stretching my neck toward the camera so I could see what she'd taken. She moved it out of reach before my whiskers touched the screen.

“You have no concept of personal space,” Evie informed me, holding the camera farther away while she gave me a warning look.

You keep saying that like it's a flaw, I told Evie, following the camera as she shifted it to the other side.

“It is absolutely a flaw,” Evie replied, pressing one hand against my forehead and pushing my face away from several thousand dollars' worth of equipment. I let her. Her hand was warm, and the annoyed crease between her eyebrows was entertaining enough that I had no desire to move.

I turned my eyes toward Malek.

She's touching me willingly now, I informed Malek, making sure our Head Alpha appreciated the remarkable progress I'd made in less than an afternoon.

Malek's face went completely blank.

Do not make it strange, Malek warned me, narrowing his eyes while Luca's whiskers shifted beside him. Evie immediately removed her hand.

“What did he say?” Evie asked Malek, looking between us with the suspicion of someone who had already learned that conversations involving me should never be trusted.

I opened my mouth.

Malek's gaze snapped toward me.

I reconsidered.

Nothing useful, Malek told Evie, keeping one eye on me while his tail moved across the ground. Evie's stare traveled between us.

“I feel like I'm being discussed behind my back while standing directly in front of you,” Evie told Malek, narrowing her eyes as she tucked the camera strap more securely against her shoulder.

That would be rude, I told Evie, tilting my head and arranging my face into the most innocent expression I could manage. Her gaze slowly shifted toward me.

“You are absolutely doing it,” Evie accused me, pointing one finger directly at my nose.