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She waited expectantly.
“I’m a shapeshifter. Weretiger to be exact.”
She didn’t look surprised. At all.
“I can shift into a tiger,” he tried again. Maybe she didn’t get him the first time.
She stared at him long.
“Abby—“
“That’s cool,” she said at the same time.
Michael blinked. Her reaction wasn’t as he expected. He thought she’d be freaking out by then. Or kicking him out of the door for the freak he was. Humans weren’t aware of the existence of supernatural beings around them and they liked to keep it that way and for a good reason. People had the prejudiced tendency toward something that couldn’t easily be proven with logic. But shifters like Michael had been living among humans forever.
“Wait, why aren’t you freaking out?”
She laughed. “I thought you were kind of different when I first saw you, Michael. You have that animalistic charm about you.” She reached to him and kissed him on the lips. “Remember when I told you I used to play in the woods with my friends when we were kids? Well, that was our first encounter with the shifters. You know Luke McCall who runs the hardware store?”
“Of course. I get most of my materials from him. He’s a werewolf from Sterling pack in Tucker Point.”
“We were at the same age. We met him and the other cubs playing in the woods. That’s where we found out about the Otherworlders. It’s kind of an open secret around here. People don’t talk about it, but they surely know.”
A surge of relief washed over him. He was glad that she was open-minded. He’d been dreading breaking his secret to her.
She took his hand and squeezed it. “I like you the way you are, Michael. Human or were, it doesn’t matter.”
“Like?” Michael pretended being reproachful. “You said you love me.”
She punched his shoulder playfully. “Don’t tease me or I’ll take back what I said to you.”
“No, don’t do that. I was kidding.” Michael kissed her. Half of him became aroused again, but the other part of him was seriously considering their future. The repair jobs he took on with Jason were a good source of income, but he needed to treat them more seriously if he was going to be with Abby. Especially if they were going to start a family together.
Michael held her closer. “I love you, babe. More than you’ll ever know,” he whispered on her ear. She was his love. His perfect mate.
The first steps toward their future were his to take. As soon as he was able, Michael intended to turn the repair work he did into an official business—and he was going to ask Jason to be his partner.
Chapter Thirteen
“I don’t think I want to lea
ve,” Abby admitted. She sank down into her chair and stared at the pancakes on her plate. They were still hot from the kitchen, and the square of butter on them was melting slowly.
“Well of course you don’t want to leave,” Tiffany said with a grin. She sat up a little straighter in her chair, grinning mischievously. “I’m here, after all. Why would you want to leave when we can just hang out all the time?”
“Tiffany’s got a point,” Carmen said with a good-natured smile. “Cub's Cove is kind of the place to be… Both because the two of us live here, and because it’s the perfect balance between small town and city comforts.”
Abby laughed. Having both of her best friends around relaxed her immediately, and Abby was glad that they were around for this chapter of her life.
“Unless you mean…” Carmen giggled. “You’re talking about Michael, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” Abby distracted herself from her embarrassment by reaching for the syrup. The amber liquid pooled over her pancakes and started to soak in. “Maybe a lot, yes.”
“I knew it,” Tiffany said, grinning. “How long has it been now that you’ve been in town? Three months? This is the longest you’ve ever been around.”
“She’s got a reason to stay now,” Carmen replied. The fruit plate she picked at looked amazing, but this morning Abby needed some comfort food.
The thought that she might stay in Cub’s Cove was frightening. She’d never moved because of a guy before, and certainly never for a guy who also happened to be a tiger.
