Page 15 of A Roommate for Ronny

“I’m guessing you said lion or tiger because I have a pet cat?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. My first thought was you being a wolf, given your eyes, but I didn’t think a wolf would have one.” Cats and dogs and all that.

“We’ll get back to that. But first, tell me, why did you think I might be a dragon?”

“I didn’t. Not really. It’s just that I only found out dragons were real recently, so they tend to stick in my head.” I still hadn’t met one and half feared that when I did, I was going to cower in fear or worse, piss myself.

“Now what did you mean by, ‘We’ll get back to that’? Do you mean you’re a wolf? Like, for real?”

“Like, for real.”

Ronny was a wolf. With that came a whole lot more questions about what he looked like and how big he was etc., but first I needed to know about the whole cat and dog thing. Not that I’d call my roomie a dog.

“And Bosco doesn’t care.” Obviously.

“Nah. Bosco picked me. That’s how it works. Cat distribution center and all that. He picked you too, you know.”

“Hardly. I just showed up at his place and gave him food.” Although, it wasn’t food first, cuddles second, come to think of it. The silly cat liked me before one can was opened.

“Last night, he was sleeping around your head, not mine. He picked you. And probably because instead of moving him to get your spot back, you caved to his demands. I’d have made him wait.”

I doubted that. “Are you telling me you wouldn’t have?”

“No. I absolutely would.”

Nailed it.

“So this wolf thing, do you think maybe you could, I don’t know, show me?”

“I’d love to.”

Chapter Eleven

Ronny

Animals offered lots of opportunities for shifting to their employees and even guests of the club if they were in the know. The cliff where I’d seen those shifters emerge the day I arrived was my favorite location, but the path down the cliff was quite steep, and I wanted Brach to get a look at it before agreeing to follow me down there.

“How do you feel about heights?” I asked as we were strolling out of the caves and toward the parking area.

“They don’t bother me,” he said. “Why?”

“Have you ever come out the kitchen door and seen the benches that are toward the back of the parking lot?”

“Yes, I have. It’s a nice place to sit and watch the desert below. There are so many animals and birds swooping past.”

“And some of them are actual animals and birds, but there are a fair number of shifters who take advantage of the path down and go run and play down there.” I guided him toward the top of the path. “Before you agree, take a look and see what you think.”

I had never considered myself to be afraid of heights, but the first couple of times I went down that path, I’d been a little nervous. But my mate? Brach walked right to the edge and looked over.

“That doesn’t seem so bad. Do you shift here or…oh, look. There’s a lion coming up. Shifter, you think?”

“Let’s hope so.” But I laughed. “Unless there’s been a zoo escape somewhere or a wildlife rescue, any lion coming up that path is going to be a shifter. I’ve seen more bears than anything. Warren inherited this land. His sleuth historically lived in the caves, and I understand they were much rougher before they redid them with all the modern conveniences.”

“The apartment is very nice.”

“So, if you want to try walking down a little, or I can just shift here and you can see me that way.”

He smiled, his eyes sparkling. “I’m all in for going down into the canyon. I have wanted to go down there but wasn’t sure if it was safe.”