That was a heady kind of feeling. Unlike the rest of the Pack, I hadn’t been fussed about whether we had cubs or not. I was happy; I had a Pack that respected me, a home that was filled with love, and I had Raiden. We didn’t need cubs to be happy, but if it made everyone else feel complete, I was fine to go along with it. Plus, the baby-making part would be a whole lot of fun.
But babysitting the little tiger cub these last two days had made me, well, clucky I guess. There was something inherently joyful about her musical laughter. The unconditional trust she put in me made me want to protect her from everything. Honestly, babies were weird and so was biology.
Naja turned her face to the sun. “It’s so beautiful out here. Like you’re the only person on the edge of the world, and it’s paradise.”
I made a noise of agreement, taking off Luisa’s shoes and passing her down to her mother. Because she might biologically be her sister, but she was a mother to this baby in every single way that mattered.
The baby splashed and stomped while Naja held her by the hand, and I sat back up on the bridge, looking at the perfect picture they made. I wanted to paint them, or photograph them, or somehow immortalize this moment forever because it was really something. When I looked over at the guys, I noticed they were all surreptitiously watching the pair too. Having them here, so close to our territory, was like a dream.
“How far up the mountain is your house?”
“About ten miles, give or take. We own everything down to this bridge though.”
Luisa got distracted by throwing rocks in the water and watching them splash, and Raiden came over to play too. Naja let them play together and came to sit on the bridge beside me. I tried to hold myself as still as possible so I didn’t scare her off. Didn’t help that being in a car with her, a literal day away from her heat, had made my logical brain go haywire. I was achingly hard, but then we all were. I’d permanently tucked my dick under my waistband.
“Tell me more about being Manix. I’d never even heard of you.”
Ah, geez. She should have asked one of the other guys. I wasn’t the best person to give a Manix history lesson, but I’d try.
“Uh, so we were really prevalent around the 1700s; there were as many of us as there were Lycanthropes. Unlike most other supernaturals though, we have three forms. Human, mid-change and full change. We call it the Beast. In full change, we are, well, the closest I can think of is feline-like. It’s like the thrumming is similar to a purr.”
“Thrumming? Is that what you call the vibrations in your chest?”
I nodded. “Yes. Also, our mid-forms are furred and have a camouflage pattern similar to a tortoiseshell cat.”
Nothing says fearsome like being a giant housecat.
“We basically melt into the darkness, we move with stealth unheard of in any other supernatural. We can block our scent. We have razor-sharp claws and protruding canines. It made us natural assassins, and we were often used as such.”
She was nodding as she lay back in the sun. God, she was beautiful, like a curvy angel come down to torture my dick.
“And there aren't many of you left?”
I shook my head. We were mere decades from an extinction event, but I didn't want her to feel pressured so I kept that direness to myself.
“Will you show me your fully shifted form?”
My chest felt full. “Of course. When we are back inside the wards and in our territory, I’ll shift. We have scales and fangs. It’s a whole thing. I’m kind of impressive, if I do say so myself.”
Raiden laughed up at us. “I’ll back that.”
She chuckled low, which made her boobs jiggle a little. Yeah, I looked. I couldn’t help it. Then she sighed. “I wish I could shift, but I'm not enough of either, really. Not enough shifter to have a tiger form. Not enough Manix to shift. I’m trapped as a human.”
I leaned back so I could see her eyes properly. “Up until a few days ago, you didn’t know that Manix was even an option. You can try again, if you want. We’ll help.”
She shrugged. “Ellar said he shifted by accident. If I could shift, it would have happened at some point already. I’ve had enough stressful situations to force it.”
I growled low, making her pop open an eye, and I swallowed my emotions down. “You never know. But you are perfect how you are. We should be able to at least teach you how to hide your scent. It will give you more freedom.”
She smiled at me, her eyes meeting mine from under her lashes. “You aren’t so bad when you’re not pacing around being sharp-tongued.”
I flushed, and it made Raiden laugh again. “She’s not wrong.” He spun Luisa around in the middle of the creek so her toes were just skimming the surface of the water.
“Apologies, Omega. Being out of my territory stresses me out. I’ll try and be better.”
I smelled her guilt almost immediately. “Sorry, Seven. That was bitchy of me.”
I grinned. “It’s okay, Omega. I’ll bury my face between your thighs later, and you can tell me how you like my tongue then.”
