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“You’ll have to be more specific,” Zayde demanded.
Denali looked around. Zayde didn’t have any close neighbors, but he recognized paranoia when he saw it. That wasn’t a good sign. “Earlier today I got a call,” he said.
The more Denali talked, the more Zayde frowned. This guy was talking about an actual demon. The soul-sucking kind that had attacked a woman and then fled to an empty farmhouse. Was Denali high now? Maybe he was mentally ill, because he sure as hell looked as if he believed his own story.
“You’re telling me you were attacked and injured by a soul-sucking demon after another demon, who, by the way, can burst into flames, tried to capture that demon? Then you had to turn into your lion to heal?” Zayde threw up his hands. “You win the prize for the most colorful and well-thought-out excuse in the history of excuses, buddy.”
No good-looking guy was worth this kind of headache.
“Get some professional help.” Zayde started to turn.
But then he screamed and jumped back when one minute Denali stood there and, the next, he was staring at a lion. Maybe he was the one who needed professional help, because it looked like a real lion stood before him.
A huge lion with gorgeous fur and very sharp teeth.
Oh god. Zayde realized he was probably having a mental breakdown. Maybe he’d fallen asleep on his couch and this was all some bizarre dream. That had to be it, but when he pinched himself, it hurt and he was still looking right at a lion.
Then Denali was back. Poof. Just like that. The lion simply melted back into a man. “Now do you believe me?”
Zayde’s gaze slid over Denali. The guy was completely naked, and as crazy as this was, Zayde couldn’t help but drool over the man’s body. Not only did he have tattoo sleeves and ink on his neck, but it extended down his chest and to his stomach. Now Zayde wondered if Denali had any tattoos on his back.
You just want to see his ass.
“I don’t know what to think.” Zayde took a few steps back. “How is this even possible?”
“Let me grab my go-bag and we can head inside. I’ll explain everything.”
Zayde glanced toward his front door, unsure he wanted Denali inside his house. At least out here he could run. Then again, the lion would easily catch him.
The lion… right. Yep. Definitely losing my mind.
He agreed, only because he needed to sit down before he fell down. His knees had grown weak, and he was seconds away from fainting.
Chapter Three
Denali had been hoping for a little more time before he’d be forced to explain the preternatural world to his mate. After what had happened with the demon, and the time it had taken Denali to heal, he was so over today.
But he refused to leave his mate hanging. He wasn’t going to allow Zayde to think he’d stood him up, so as soon as he’d healed in his lion form, he’d headed straight to his mate’s house.
He could have lied and said work had kept him from their date, but it hadn’t felt right lying. Not to Zayde. Things like demon attacks were going to happen again. The preternatural world often collided with the human one, though cover-ups were a natural part of their existence.
Denali was surprised their world hadn’t been exposed yet. So far, however, incidents were always local and not caught on camera, which was a miracle in this day and age. Those who’d witnessed the incidents most often had their minds erased.
Some humans, who weren’t mates, knew of their existence. These humans were mostly in small towns and liked the fact that they were protected by preternatural creatures. In Midnight Falls, Denali sometimes heard whispers of things not seeming to be what they were, how the residents saw wild animals and how strange occurrences had happened, but those whispers were always discounted as rumors.
Humans weren’t stupid, and Denali was shocked no one had figured things out by now, but the preternatural were careful. Their number-one rule was to keep their existence a secret, and they took that rule very seriously.
Then again, if the world did find out, there were some very powerful preternatural who could wipe that knowledge clean. Denali had heard—just like other preternatural had—that the demon leader, Panahasi, was more than he seemed. That he was, in fact, Life. That he had a brother who was Death. That there was a primal source who lived among them that could easily remove the discovery of their existence with a snap of his fingers.
Scary thought, if you asked Denali. No one person should hold that kind of power.
As soon as he stepped into Zayde’s house, Denali pulled his underwear on. Shifters were comfortable being naked, but humans weren’t, at least not all of them. Covering his bits and pieces would help his mate focus on their conversation.
“Are you a lion who can change into a man or a man who can change into a lion?” Zayde asked as he turned to face Denali.
“I’m a shifter who can change into a human,” Denali said. “Being a lion is my natural state.”
“So you’re the latter.” Zayde headed into the kitchen, and Denali followed him. He watched as his mate started his coffee maker. “Silly question, but are you the only shifter in existence?”
