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Cade
She was like a goddess who had come to save me by the light of the full moon. Only she isn’t magical or a monster like me. She’s a human. Maybe I shouldn’t have chased her, but my beast couldn’t help himself.
I wish I could have spoken to her, found out her name, and told her mine. I’d been in my manticore form too long. Whatever that poison was, it meant to keep me a beast. Whoever shot me must want to expose what I am. If I’d remained a monster much longer, my humanity might have left me for good. It’s never safe to be shifted for more than a day, and I was going on three when my angel found me.
Standing in the shadow of the thick trees and cover of darkness, I stare up at her window. Once my ability to speak returns, I’ll introduce myself. The scent of her fills me with desire and more. I want to protect her, though I don’t know what from. All I know for sure is the brown-haired beauty who saved me is mine and I have to make sure she knows it, too.
Movement inside her window catches my attention. She leans on the windowsill with her chin in her palm and stares at the moon. Is she thinking about me? Have I made her look so wistful?
My long keen can’t be stopped as my beast calls to her.
Wide-eyed, she looks toward the ground, but her gaze never stops when it passes my hiding place. She can’t see me, even though I think she knows I’m here. She moves away from the window and a moment later, the light goes out.
There’s no hope of seeing her again tonight, so I head through the woods toward my home. Maybe I can get a few hours’ sleep and, in the morning, I’ll be able to speak to her.
The Greentree Resort has been here since a few years after I moved into these woods eighty years ago. I was a young manticore then, with plans to find my mate and raise a dozen beasts in the wilds of New York State. Foolish idea to think there was a shifter who would happen into my woods and identify herself as my fated mate.
All these years later, it never happened. Well, until last night when I was hours from losing my humanity, the one woman meant for me finally arrived. The problem is, she’s no shifter. She’s human and does not know anything about monsters. Still, she didn’t run away from my beast. No, my angel didn’t run until I was in my human form. Curious, she was more afraid of a man than a manticore.
Pulling up in front of the Greentree’s main building, I park and draw in a long breath. I’m far too excited. I need to be calm and keep her calm when I see her. I need to be a gentleman, though all I want is to drag her back to my house and claim her.
I catch the scent of her, and I’m out of the car in an instant. Sniffing the air, I head toward the lake. She’s alone, her wavy brown hair gleaming in the sunlight and catching the breeze as she strolls along the edge of the water.
Instincts are pulling me to run, but I force myself to walk only fast enough to catch up with her. I don’t want her to feel chased.
Another woman with similar hair color calls out, “Leona, where are you going?” She’s standing with a large group having a picnic at the nearer side of the lake.
“Just taking a walk, Mom. I’ll be back in a little while,” my angel responds with a wave.
Leona. Her name rolls through my mind as if it’s a sign from above. I walk a bit faster.
“You’ll miss brunch,” her mother scolds.
Another woman, younger, wearing a white sundress, puts her hands on her hips. “Just let her go, Mom. She’s in a mood again.”
I get on the path that’s been maintained to keep strollers from accidentally walking too close to the edge and falling into the lake. Hopefully, I look like a guest out for a walk.
As I draw closer, I’m able to hear Leona whisper, “I have every right to be in a mood. Why did I ever agree to come here for the farce of a wedding? Now I’m a crazy person who sees monsters and talks to herself.”
The path winds into a stand of trees at the farthest end of the lake. As soon as I’m shaded by the trees, I find Leona leaning against a tree with tears running down her cheeks.
My heart breaks. “You’re not crazy if that’s any consolation.”
She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand as if she’s holding back screams. “You.”
Holding out my hands palms out, I hope I don’t look threatening. “I’m not going to hurt you, Leona.”
“How do you know my name?” She skirts around the tree, putting it between her and me.
“Your mother bellowed it across the lake.” I love the way her eyes scan down my body, and I long to know what she’s thinking.
Shifting her gaze toward where her mother and sister are having brunch under a white tent with about fifty other people, she laughs. The sound is intoxicating. “You’re real.”
“Of course, I’m real. I wanted to thank you for saving my life last night.” I risk a step closer.
Gripping the oak tree, she holds her place. She’s just as beautiful as I remember and those blue eyes are mesmerizing. Her little white sneakers crunch the old leaves and her matching shorts now have a smudge of dirt on the left thigh.
I love the way her curves are perfectly contained in those shorts and how her pink top dips low across her breasts, which makes my mouth water.
