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Her hand tightened on the doorknob as she tottered between the apartment and the walkway.
Mercer drew close. She could feel the heat of his body, and oddly enough, she could smell something earthy, like the woods after a rainstorm.
Jasper was smiling, but there was something off about his smile.
Feral.
Like Mercer’s.
Well, she’d rather take her chances with Mercer instead of this stranger, but she was still pissed and scared.
Taking a step back into the apartment, she slammed the door and spun to face Mercer.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said boldly, a little bit afraid that the guy she was in love with was an animal like that jackal woman.
“You shouldn’t be afraid of me,” he said, his brow drawing down. “I’m still me. I just…Rhomi, sit down and let me tell you everything.”
“I don’t like liars,” she added. “I’ve felt all along like you were keeping something from me. I thought maybe you had a checkered past or didn’t file your taxes or something. But you were keeping something so seriously crazy from me that I can’t even articulate how angry I am.”
She stared at him, half-tempted to give him a good shove or kick him in the knee. Instead, she stalked to the couch and sat with a huff, crossing her arms.
When he moved to join her, she shook her head.
He sat on the coffee table instead.
“You saw a jackal turn into a woman. You’re right, I wasn’t surprised by it because she’s a shifter. And I’m one too.”
She stared at him, sorting through the words.
“Shifter?”
“It’s what we call someone who can become an animal.”
What a weird word. Shifter.
“Wait.” What the hell? “You said we. Just who is this ‘we?’”
He stared at her for a long, quiet moment. Then his eyes changed color once more, from hazel to a striking deep amber, and that same panicky feeling rose inside her.
“Don’t panic,” he said, his voice gentle, followed by a purr.
She closed her eyes tight and willed herself to wake up. This was absolutely not happening.
He touched her, and she shrank back as she opened her eyes. He eased back, his hands up. “Rhomi, I’m sorry you feel that I’ve lied to you. While it was a lie of omission, it wasn’t my intention to deceive you forever. I just needed to wait until I knew that I could trust you to keep the secret of my people.”
Oh, hell, there were more than him and the jackal lady?
“What, ah…” She swallowed hard, trying to stop her racing mind. “What are you?”
“I’m a lion.”
That explained the purring. She let out a little chuckle, which turned into a full-blown laugh, and she was aware she was giggling like a lunatic but couldn’t stop.
“Rhomi?”
She snorted a little and then cleared her throat as the last of the giggles left. “I laugh when I’m stressed or uncomfortable, and right now I’m both. You’re telling me that you’re a lion? Like an actual lion-lion?”
“Yes.”
