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“Daddy, why did you stop my ride?” Brady huffed in my arms. “I was having fun.”
“Fun?Fun?” It was then I realized that not only had Hunter not moved, but his friends Felix, Enzo, Brandon, and Grady were sitting on couches, looking relaxed, like having a wild animal in their living room wasn’t the craziest fucking thing in the world. “What is wrong with you people? Youowna lion?”
Enzo and Felix snorted with laughter, and I turned angry eyes upon them. “You think this is funny? I don’t care if it’s your pet, or you think it’s trained; wild animals can turn deadly in the blink of an eye! You let my son around an animal that could have eaten him! Do you understand how dangerous that was?”
“Talon wouldn’t eat me,” Brady insisted. “He’s my friend.”
His words bewildered me, but before I could say a word, Hunter slipped his hand out of my hold and marched up to the lion. “What are you doing? I told you to be on your best behavior! What part of this seems like good behavior?”
Brandon stepped forward with his hands in front of his chest. “Okay, this is admittedly not our best idea, but we had a long talk with Brady about shifters and he asked to see a lion. Then the ride just kind of…” He shrugged. “Happened.”
“Why would you talk to him about shifters without asking me first?” Hunter retorted angrily. “I haven’t even told Lance yet!”
“I’m sorry,” Grady offered as his eyes widened. “We thought you had since Lance mentioned that Cedric was expecting a baby. Please forgive us; we were just trying to help.”
“Can someonepleasetell me what’s going on?” I snapped, wondering what the hell a shifter was, why no one was concerned about the lion in the living room, and how that lion seemed to be following the conversation.
Before anyone answered me, a new voice from behind me asked, “Is everything okay? I heard yelling.”
I turned toward the sound and my knees buckled at what I saw; Asher had entered the room and was holding hands with a man I hadn’t met yet, but knew to be Cedric. It wasn’t Cedric’s bubble-gum pink hair that surprised me; it was his huge, round belly peeking out of a crop top that read “Baby on Board”.He’s pregnant?But how?
I stumbled backward, luckily landing in a chair instead of slamming my ass onto the floor. But the chair wasn’t there a moment before. I looked around and realized that Hunter had grabbed it and moved it behind me as I was falling. He had moved a recliner. By himself. In an instant.
“Who…whatare you people?” I asked weakly.
Brady gave me a smile and explained, “They’re lion people, Daddy.”
That explained nothing, and the confusion swirling in my head was also causing pain, so I rubbed at my temples to try and dull it away.
Cedric stepped closer, but instead of speaking to me, he placed his hand on Brady’s shoulder and suggested, “I think Hunter and your dad need to talk. Why don’t we go see if there’s any ice cream in the kitchen?”
“Yay, ice cream!” Brady slid off of my lap and took Cedric’s hand before they disappeared into the kitchen with Asher. Even though I was unsure of my surroundings, my gut instinct still told me that my son was safe.
Hunter turned toward the lion and said, “Can you please shift? I think my mate would be more comfortable.”
The lion actually nodded its head before Brandon said, “I’ll cover you.” He stood in front of the animal and soon, popping and crunching sounds filled the room. The beast’s fur retracted until tanned flesh took its place, and its snout reformed into a human face; a face I recognized.
“Talon?” I asked in shock as the blood drained from my face. His partner blocked his body from view until Talon stepped into a pair of jeans, and then the two of them sat on a sofa together. I gave Hunter a pleading look and said weakly, “I don’t understand.”
He sighed and kneeled on the floor in front of me. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I should have explained everything earlier, but I was enjoying our time together. I wanted to hold you and profess my love without any stress on you. I promise I was going to tell you everything tonight.”
“Tell me what? Hunter, I just saw a lion morph into a man in a massive mindfuck. Please just explain it to me now.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “Talon, Felix, Enzo, Grady, Cedric, and I are creatures called lion shifters. We can shift from our human forms into animal forms and back as we please. But no matter what form we are in, we are still ourselves and in total control. We’re not wild beasts and you have nothing to fear.”
“Lion people,” I repeated Brady’s words, struggling with how easily he accepted what these men had told him. “How is this possible? Why have I never heard of you?”
“Our people were created by the gods many centuries ago. We were placed on the Earth to protect their favorite, yet most fragile creation; humans. Shifters are stronger, faster, and more resilient than humans could ever be, so we were placed on this planet to keep them safe. We even fought their wars.”
“But over time, humans created weapons and medicines, and were better able to fend for themselves. They no longer needed our help, and became scared of our strength. They rose against us and hunted us. The shifters who survived went into hiding, and we keep our identity a secret. Our kind has been all but forgotten, and it’s for the best.”
“That’s horrible,” I replied, sickened that humans could turn their backs on people who had helped them so much, just because they were different. “I’m so sorry.” Hunter smiled and lifted my hand to kiss my knuckles. “Wait; you didn’t sayallof your friends are shifters. What about Brandon and Asher?”
“We’re human, like you,” Brandon answered from across the room. I had forgotten that he was even there. “I’m mated to Talon, and Asher is mated to Cedric.”
“Soulmates,” I gathered, based on what Hunter was talking about earlier.
"Exactly," Hunter said before kissing my knuckles again. "Fate grants every shifter a human soulmate as a thanks for their dedication and protection of mankind. They are our perfect match in every way, and ours to protect, provide for, and love. We know them by scent and instinct; the first moment that I saw you in that coffee shop, I knew that we were destined to be together forever. And I meanforever."
