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“We shouldn’t be doing this
here,” he said on a growl.

Grabbing one of her hands, he
started for her front door, his eyes inspecting their surroundings. He looked
to his left and remembered his first encounter with the wolf. The one, he
realized with an inward flinch, he’d never told her about. That wouldn’t go
over too well, he knew, but it wasn’t the time or place for that particular
conversation.

No way he was going to piss her
off again tonight by telling her about it either, but they needed to get
inside. The wolf—shifter—knew where she lived.

Lana’s grip on his hand turned
almost painful. When he looked at her, he found her eyes wide. He hated that
look of fear there, hated that he’d brought it on again. “I know you’re pissed,
and I’m sorry,” he said before she had a chance to say anything. “I should have
told you.”

She waved that off. “I’m not mad
about that again.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Wasn’t it?

“But—it knows where I live?”

His grip tightened around her
hand. “It’s okay. I’ll protect you, Lana. No matter what, I promise,” he said,
his tone edged with steel, trying to make it impossible for her to disbelieve
him. “But we should get inside,” he said as he took the keys from her hand and
unlocked the door. When she didn’t move, he nudged her inside. “If I suggested
you come to my house for the night, are you going to fight with me tooth and
nail over it?”

She chewed on her bottom lip as
she debated his suggestion. Just when he was sure she would say no, she said,
“Do you have Internet access?”

“Yes. I may not be completely
computer literate, but I do occasionally browse the web for fun. I even have an
email address,” he replied.

She chuckled. “That’s something
at least,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I have to be able to
work. I promised a client their website would be up and running within the
week.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yes.” She walked over to her
computer desk. “Where were you born, Cole?” she asked as she unplugged her
laptop and slid it into the case. “Your accent isn’t that strong, but I can
hear the southern in it occasionally.”

“Really? Most people don’t pick
up on it,” he said with a shrug. “I was born and raised in Georgia. We lived there until I was eight, and then my folks decided they wanted to give California a shot.”

“What’s it like in Georgia? I was born and raised in Sunbay. I’ve been out of state a few times, but I’ve
never made it that far east.”

“Lana,” he said, his tone quiet.

Her shoulders dropped. “Yes?”

“I know you’re not that curious
about where I’m from and what it’s like.”

Her hand paused as she slipped
CD’s into her laptop case. She turned to face him. “I am, but you’re right.
There are just too many other things roaming in my mind right now, and I just—I
don’t know where to start, if I even want to start somewhere.”

“You’ve got to start somewhere.”

“What’s it like?”

“What’s what like?” he asked as
he sat on the edge of her couch.

“Being a shapeshifter?”

“It’s….” he paused while he tried
to think of an explanation that would make sense. “I imagine it’s kind of like
being stuck in the middle of a tornado itself. Everything pushes and pulls at
once, in all different directions.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the
expression on her face. “I know it sounds it, but it’s really not painful.”

“I don’t know how you can
describe it like that, then turn around and say it’s not.”

“Explain how your gift works,
then. I bet it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“Yes, it is. I just know things.”
She smiled smugly.

“And when you know what someone
else is feeling?”

“It feels like another part of me
is feeling it.”

“Oh.” What was it that lawyers
said? Never ask a question if you don’t know the answer already? Maybe he
should have taken that advice this time. “Okay, well, everything feels mushy as
it’s changing. And I get that goose bumps feeling as I’m growing fur.”

“Um, it sounds disturbing,
actually.”

“Yeah, but I’m probably not
explaining it well.”

“No, not at all,” she agreed. “My
work things are ready. I just need to grab clothes and other…stuff. I shouldn’t
be long.”

§§§

“Don’t expect much,” Cole warned
later as he unlocked the door to his house. “I’m not here a lot.” He held the
door open and moved out of the way to let her in.

Once inside, he set her bags down
by the door and brushed her arm as he walked by. It caused a warm feeling
inside she couldn’t quite explain. “If you have work you need to get done, I
can show you to your room and stay out of your hair.”

“Work can wait for now.” She
walked around the living room, noticed the sparse furniture, manly-sized
television and…nothing else. “Nice couch,” she commented with a grin. A typical
bachelor pad.

He ignored her comment, and she
grinned. Obviously his ugly beige couch was a sensitive subject.

“Are you hungry? If you want to
eat something, I’m afraid we’ll have to order in. I forgot to go grocery
shopping, so if there’s something in particular you want, just let me know and
I’ll add it to my list for tomorrow.” He glanced at her. “What?”

Lana looked at him innocently. “I
didn’t say a word.”

“No, you didn’t, but you were
thinking it. I saw it in your eyes,” he said as he walked up to her. He grazed
a finger lightly over her cheek and smiled when she leaned into his hand. “So
are you hungry?”

“Actually, yeah, a little. I had
planned on asking you to stop for food before we left my mom’s, but that was
before…” Before the tiger. She saw his jaw tighten and relax again.

“Then I’ll order something in.
What sounds good? Chinese?”

“Um, no. I don’t like Chinese
food, really. I wouldn’t argue if you ordered a pizza—extra cheese and
pepperoni.”

“What? No anchovies?” he said,
trying to look pain-stricken.

“Well, now that you mention it….”

“No. No anchovies. You know I was
kidding.”

She kept her expression deadpan.
“Did I? I thought you were serious.”

“Liar,” he said without heat
behind the accusation.

“What? Little ole’ me?” she said.

He snorted as he picked up her
bags. “C’mon, I’ll show you your room.”

A queen-sized bed covered in a
dark blue comforter sat in the middle of the room. Nearby, a chair held
carelessly thrown clothes and towels. The dresser in the corner was made of
red-oak wood with a vase of fake flowers sitting on top.

Lana turned and gaped at him.
“This looks suspiciously like your room, Cole.”

He shrugged. “It is. I’m going to
bunk on the couch while you’re here. It’s no big deal.”

“When you invited me, I figured
you had a spare room—not that I’d be taking your room. I’m not sleeping in your
room while you sleep on the couch. I’ll sleep there or you can just take me
back to my place.”

Narrowed eyes pierced hers as he
took a step toward her. His tone when he spoke was harsh with finality. “You’re
staying here, Lana. I don’t want you left alone.” He tugged on her hair gently.
“Besides,” he added, his tone lighter, “I like the idea of you being close.”

She sighed. Being alone wasn’t
big on her list of wants, and arguing was even lower. “Alright, I’ll stay.”

“And you’re not sleeping on the
couch.”

§§§

Lana took a slice of pizza from
the box and set it on her paper plate as she sat down on the couch next to
Cole. The aroma of pepperoni and cheese filled the room. “This is so good,” she
said with a mouthful of pizza. “Thanks. So, start talking.” She wiped her mouth
with the napkin he’d handed her as she waited.

She watched his face. He looked
as if he wanted to delay this talk a while longer. She thought he was going to
refuse or simply ignore her request, but then he finally spoke. “Do you know
anything about shapeshifters?”

“Not really, just what I’ve seen
on television and in movies or books.”

He grabbed his bottle of water
off the coffee table and took a sip. “Well, no one’s exactly sure where
they—we—come from or how we came to be. At least, my dad isn’t sure, and he’s
the one who taught me how to shift.”

“Your dad is a shifter, too?”

“Yes, he’s a cougar. Anyway, the
story I’m going to tell you isn’t to be taken as fact. This is the story that’s
been passed down the Thomas line for as long as anyone can remember. For all I
know, it could be some bullshit excuse to explain to their kids where
shapeshifters come from. Tooth fairy type stories.”

She chuckled. “Gotcha.”

Cole leaned back against the
couch. “The story that my dad told me was that certain families were blessed by
the Gods for their worship and offerings, by being able to shift into animals
to better track their food, get advanced warning of enemy attacks, know when
storms approached; that sort of thing. But, they placed limitations on it. The
Gods, trying to be fair, made it so they could only shift into one other form.
And because they didn’t want the world overrun with shifters, they made it so
only every third generation born can shift.”

“So the only animal you can shift
into is the tiger?”

“No.”

“But you just said—” She opened
her mouth, closed it. “I’m missing something here, aren’t I?”

“I’m the first, as far as we
know, who isn’t locked into one shape.”

“Really? Why is that?”

He shrugged. “No one knows.”

“Have you met any others to see
if it’s happened in their family lines?”

“I’ve only ever met a few
personally, and they weren’t exactly ‘do you mind if I ask you a few questions
regarding your lineage?’ conversations.” He paused for a long moment and
shifted to get more comfortable on the couch.

“So you have no way of knowing if
you’re just, say, evolving?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m not
one to question it, either. I am what I am, and I’m okay with it.”

“That must be difficult. I mean,
even among your kind—” she stopped at the indignant look on his face. “Sorry, I
just meant that, even among shapeshifters, you’re different.”

“Yeah. Imagine my dad’s surprise
when I shifted into a cat in his arms at three years old. He wasn’t expecting
it.”

Lana leaned forward, frowned.
“How are you one?”

He shrugged. “No one knows. It’s
another one of those unanswerable questions.”

“That’s…got to suck, actually.
And I know this is probably another naïve question, but how did you know the
wolf was a shifter?”

He eyed her appreciatively. She
was quick. He hadn’t expected her to remember or question that. “We can
generally sense one another.”

“What? Like the guys from
Highlander?”

He opened his mouth to laugh,
but…. “Actually, yeah, that’s probably close to it.”

“And you can all do this? Except
for changing into more shapes, I mean.”

“As far as I know, yes. My father
could, his great-great-grandfather could.”

“What shapes have you tried?”

“Only a few others that serve
what I do. A bird, a dog, and you’ve seen the white tiger.” He felt a pang of
guilt with that one still. “Lana, there’s something I need to tell you….”

“Uh oh, that’s never good. What
did you do?”

“Last night, while I checked your
apartment, I shifted into a dog. Which reminds me. I found no other scent
besides your own when I searched.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There should have been another
scent from whoever broke into your apartment.”

She stood up quickly. “There was
someone else in my apartment, Cole. I’m not making it up.”

Cole grabbed her arm. “I don’t
think you are. I believe there—I saw the person chasing you. Sit back down,
Lana.”

“Oh. Well, do you think it could
have been another shifter, then?” she asked as she sat back down.

“Honestly, I just don’t know—but
I don’t think so. Like I said, I’ve only met a few others, and we didn’t really
hit it off. The first one ran off before I could try to speak to him, and the
second…the second left its mark. He clawed me,” he explained at her questioning
gaze. “I have the scars down my ribcage.”

“Ouch.”

“To put it mildly.”

“Okay, so explain the vanishing
act. How does that play into shapeshifting?”

“I would love to. Unfortunately,
that’s new to me, too. I’ve never heard of that happening before. At least,
it’s not something I’ve heard of in my family. I don’t think it’s been in any
other, either.” He paused a moment. “Lana?”

“Yes?”

“Did you mean what you said at
your mom’s? About not being afraid of me?”

She took a sip of her drink
before answering. “Yes, I did.”

“Good,” he said and pulled her
into his arms.

When his mouth came down on hers,
teasing at first, then hard and hot, she moaned. He needed this. She took the
initiative and opened her mouth for him, inviting him, coaxing him. He tangled
his fingers in her hair and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck,
trying to get even closer.

He felt her desire in the way her
body moved against his. He could hear it in her soft moans as his hands moved
over her stomach, lightly skimming her sides as they moved up to cup her
breasts.

He released her mouth and watched
as she licked her lips. It pleased him when she opened her eyes and he saw the
want in them. “God, you’re beautiful,” he told her huskily.

Well, Cole thought, at least she
wasn’t afraid to kiss a shapeshifter. He wondered how she’d feel about the idea
of making love with one.

A flirty smile tugged at her
lips. “I might feel okay with it,” she said in a considering tone.

§§§

The Evil One was pleased with
today’s little outcome. He could have had them out of the picture quickly and
quietly, but tormenting them had served his purpose more—not to mention it had
been so much more entertaining.