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Such wisdom already. Before she could reply, the door opened, and she whipped her head around to see Ian walk in, followed by the others. He locked gazes with her immediately, his silver speckled bright blue eyes intense.
“We need to talk,” he said softly.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Yes, we do.”
Cammie walked over to play with Shelby, and Holly stood up, following Ian up the stairs and to his bedroom. Shutting the door behind them, he frowned as he watched her walk to stand next to the bed.
“Is your leg bothering you?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“A little,” she replied. “But not nearly as much as not knowing what the heck is going on.”
Gesturing to the bed, he said, “Let’s sit, get the pressure off your leg. Besides, this isn’t a conversation to have while standing.”
Brow furrowing, nerves fluttering like mad in her belly, she sat on the bed, watching as he moved to do the same. He looked weary, his big shoulders slumped, like the weight of the world was resting on them. Heart clenching, she resolved to listen with an open mind and not make any judgments until he’d finished telling her whatever it was.
Inhaling deeply, he held the breath for a long moment before blowing it out. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“At th
e beginning. Or even the middle, if you need to. I’ll catch up.”
“I’m—well, I’m different. So is Shelby. So are all of us, really. Piper and Amelia are the only humans here.”
“Humans?” she asked slowly. “Are you saying you’re not human?”
“I mean, I kind of am. Just not all the way. Do you believe in the paranormal, Holly?”
“Paranormal?” she asked with a frown. “Like ghosts? Are you telling me you’re a ghost? You felt pretty real and solid to me in bed last night.”
Lips quirking in a brief smile, he shook his head. “No, I’m not a ghost, although it wouldn’t surprise me to learn they were real. No, I mean other things. You see, I—well, my body—” stopping, he blew a breath out. “This is harder than I thought it would be. I’m just going to say it. I’m a shifter. I share my body with an animal. I can shift forms between them. That’s why I said I’m kind of a human. I am, and I’m not, at the same time.”
Staring at him blankly, her mind whirled in circles, trying to comprehend what he was telling her. “Are you trying to tell me you’re a werewolf? You turn into a hairy madman every full moon?”
“Why do humans always assume we’re werewolves?” he muttered, more to himself than her, she thought. “It’s not like that. There are different shifter species out there. I’m a tiger. Shelby, too, obviously, since she’s my daughter. I can shift whenever I want, and I don’t lose my mind, or turn into some mutant hybrid. I’m just a tiger. Much larger than a natural, wild tiger, but a regular tiger, all the same.”
Everything in his voice and eyes told her he believed this, one hundred percent. He wasn’t pulling her leg, or making up craziness, this was something he truly believed. And wasn’t it just her luck that the one man she’d ever fallen for other than Kyle, the one man who had the power to make her take a risk again, was batshit crazy.
Reaching her hand up, she placed it on his forehead, frowning when she found it cool to the touch. This wasn’t feverish ramblings, then. “Do all of your fighters share this, um, delusion?”
“What?” he asked, eyebrows shooting up. “This isn’t a delusion, Holly. I’m telling you the truth.”
“I believe you think this is the truth, Ian. But what you’re describing to me just isn’t real. I’m sorry,” she said, genuinely feeling bad that she was clueing him into the fact that humans didn’t share their bodies with animals.
Brow furrowing, he looked around the large master bedroom. “Yeah, there’s enough room in here. Listen, Holly, I’m going to shift so I can show you I’m telling you the truth. I don’t want you to be nervous or scared. My tiger won’t hurt you. He’s his own person, for lack of better description, with his own thoughts and feelings. But he loves you, sweetheart, and he’d never hurt you. And I’m always there, always in control. If you look in my eyes, you’ll see me there. There’s no reason for you to be afraid.”
Standing, Ian started stripping out of his clothes, and she opened her mouth to protest. Biting back the words, she watched with a heavy heart. Determination was written all over his face, so she knew nothing she could say would stop him from doing this, but she hated how upset he’d be when he tried this, and nothing happened. All she could do was be there for him when he realized he was nothing more than an average human.
When he was naked, he gave her a reassuring smile, and then hunched inward, grimacing. Loud pops split the air, and all the breath whooshed out of her body as a wave of something magical danced over her skin, raising hairs in its wake. The next moment, there was a massive tiger standing where Ian had just been, shaking out its fur.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, and if she’d looked away, she would have missed it completely. Fear washed over her, and she scrambled back further onto the bed. The tiger just cocked its head at her and calmly sat down, not looking in the slightest like he wanted to have her for a snack.
She tried to control the panic she felt, but it was long moments before it began to recede. But it wasn’t until she looked into his eyes that she felt herself start to truly calm down and relax. Those were Ian’s eyes. The silver was stronger and brighter, but there was no doubt who they belonged to, and he’d been right. She could see him, Ian the man, in his gaze.
Blowing out a breath, she took him in as a whole. Massive didn’t even come close to describing him. He was enormous, thickly muscled, with paws the size of dinner plates. She thought his head might even be bigger than hers. He had long, razor sharp claws, and when he opened his mouth, she caught a glimpse of his canines, and fear streaked through her for a moment.
Oh, God, how could this be real? She’d just watched the man she loved turn into a tiger, and how was this even possible? But it’d happened. There was no way she could convince herself it hadn’t, so now the question became, how did she deal with it? Did it really matter that Ian could turn into a tiger?
Gathering her courage, and feeling a little silly for talking to a tiger, she said, “Ian,” hating the way her voice quivered.
