Claimed By the Panda (Halloween Temptation #2)

1. Chapter 1

Jian

My date, Darla, was stunning; a curvy tiger shifter, all lithe grace and golden eyes. And she’d made a special trip to Reno for our Halloween date. So why wasn’t I enjoying myself?

She was the daughter of Li Zixuan, of the Seattle Li Clan, one of the most revered and feared families on the West Coast..

. and my father’s best friend. The two of them had been trying to set us up since middle school, and now that they finally had, it was not going well.

Everything about her was irritating me, even her sexy tiger costume was a little too on the nose for my tastes.

And all she’d done all night was show me silly videos of pandas.

“Isn’t this one adorable?” Darla tapped her phone screen, where a panda tucked his head and went tumbling down a grassy hill. “Look at how it tumbles! So cute and chubby.”

For fuck’s sake. It was Halloween night, and I didn’t want to spend it with a supernatural apex predator, being forced to watch a panda make an ass of itself.

“Oh, watch this one!” She swiped to another video, this one featuring a panda attempting to walk across a rope bridge, only to slip through the crack between the slats and tumble to the ground.

I took a long drink of water, counting backward from ten to keep from saying something rude. “Why don’t we do something other than watch panda videos?”

“Oh! I’m sorry! They’re so cute and—”

“And clumsy and ridiculous.” I carefully lowered my voice. It was a shifter-owned restaurant, but I saw many human patrons. “When you’re a panda, people mention it a lot.”

Darla’s smile dimmed. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You don’t know how lucky you are to be what you are.

” “Oh, come on,” she said. “Your animal is beautiful and rare. It’s not like you’re a squirrel or something.

” “Whatever.” Technically, she was right.

According to my family, our panda heritage is something to be proud of, and many shifters felt that we were one of the most sacred of our kind.

But nobody takes a panda seriously. No one fears a panda or runs from a panda.

They run towards us, usually while squealing and giggling with joy.

“Sometimes, it sucks to be a tiger. We don’t get to be cute after childhood. People are terrified of us.”

“Yeah, it must be terrible being seen as dangerous and powerful.”

Her face fell, and I knew I’d been unfair. Darla wasn’t trying to be mean.

“I love pandas.” Darla leaned forward. “You are powerful in your own way. My dad says your dad knocked him flat during a demonstration once.”

“Dad got lucky.” I didn’t want her pity.

The waiter refilled our teacups, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

Our parents were friends, and she had a close relationship with her formidable father. Everything I was saying would go straight back to her dad. I should have been trying harder, but I couldn’t summon any interest in her.

What I needed was an excuse to end things early. One that wouldn’t upset either of our fathers. I glanced around the restaurant, noting the other couples giggling and kissing over their hot pot. Maybe being in love wouldn’t be so bad, but I was pretty sure it would never happen with Darla.

That was it. That was the plan.

“I’m in love with someone else.”

Darla blinked. “What?”

I shouldn’t have doubled down, but once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. “I already met my mate. But our dads, they wouldn’t stop nagging.” I was starting to wonder if the silly videos were right. Pandas did make a lot of bad decisions.

“Your... mate?” Her eyebrows rose. “But your dad said—”

“My dad doesn’t know yet.” The lie expanded, taking on a life of its own. “It’s... complicated.”

“Oh.” Her lips formed a perfect circle. “Is she—”

I bit my bottom lip, trying to look sly. “He. My mate is a man.”

“Holy shit!” She clapped her hands together, clearly thrilled by the gossip. “That’s amazing! When you know, you know, right? Love is love!”

I blinked at her, not sure how to respond.

“I’m such an ally.” She reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “I didn’t even realize you were bisexual.”

Neither did I. “None of us are fully straight, are we? And it’s impossible to deny my panda.” In all honesty, I often denied my panda, the inner voice that belonged to my other form. All it took was some meditation and the ability to ignore whining.

Darla reached out and clasped my hand. “Am I the first person you’ve told? How long have you been together? Have I met him?”

The questions came rapid-fire, and I stumbled through answers, each one digging me deeper into the lie.

“You wouldn’t know him… he’s also human.” It slipped out before I could think it through, but I realized my mistake instantly. There was only one reason a shifter would mate long term with a human, only one thing we’d risk exposing the secrets of our very existence for: a fated mate bond.

Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. “Oh shit. Damn, I can only imagine the intensity of finding your fated and realizing he’s not one of us.”

“I mean, I’m only 23, I didn’t envision… any of this.” Mostly because I’d made it all up five minutes ago.

“Hmm, this could be good. Dad thinks I’m out with a trustworthy Wei panda.

I can go anywhere without his overbearing protectiveness!

” “Darla,” I warned. “Even if he does get angry, I’ll tell him you’ve found your mate and he’ll be too distracted to ask what I was up to the rest of the night. ” She winked and grabbed her purse.

“But it’s a secret!”

“Oh, come on, Jian. They’ll find out soon enough, so why hide it?

” She was right. Shifters were nothing if not nosy gossips.

“Halloween’s the best night to prowl, and I’ve got an excuse locked and loaded.

There’s no way I’m dropping this.” I couldn’t argue.

She was already turning away and texting someone on her phone.

I watched as she sauntered toward the door, her costume’s tiger tail swinging behind her.

That had been my lowest drama failed date yet. Why was my dad so down on lies?

My dad. What the hell had I done? I’d told the daughter of one of my father’s oldest friends that I was gay and fated to a human who didn’t exist. And Darla was going to tell her dad, so my family was sure to find out. And sure to meddle.

Mate bonds with humans were the stuff of legend; dramatic, wildly intense, and most likely fictional.

“Dammit.” I dropped my chopsticks and pressed my palms against my eyes.

The waiter approached with the check, eyeing the empty chair, and I shrugged and winked at him as I pulled out my wallet and threw down enough cash to cover the bill and a generous tip, trying to figure out what to do about my lie.

Outside, Virginia Street blazed with Halloween revelry. Costumed partiers stumbled between casinos and nightclubs, their laughter carrying on the crisp autumn air. I pulled out my phone and dialed my brother, Alex.

He answered on the fourth ring. “Jian! How’s your date with the tiger chick?”

“I screwed up.” I stepped away from a passing group of drunk zombies.

“What’d you do?” Distorted music thumped in the background. “Dad’s gonna kill you if you were rude to her. And her dad will eat your remains. Have you seen Mr. Li’s teeth? Terrifying.”

“Um, nothing like that.” I paced along the sidewalk, eyeing the people in costumes lined up to enter nightclubs and bars. “I told Darla I’m gay and already have a mate. A, um, human mate.”

Silence stretched for three heartbeats, then Alex burst into laughter. “You what? Holy shit!”

“It’s not funny.” I kicked an empty beer can. “She was showing me panda videos. You know how I get.”

“Right, so you saw some videos of our animal kin being silly and the only recourse was to invent a rare mate bond with a gay human.” Alex snorted. “Such a logical choice.”

“I panicked! She kept showing those damn videos.” Looking around at the revellers, I wondered if any would be willing to pose as my gay fated mate for the next 3-4 decades, until everyone had forgotten about my lie.

Probably not the best way to keep the shifter community secret from the humans.

“She probably wasn’t even making fun of you, right? Girls fucking love pandas. I fucked a wolf shifter the other day who wanted me to breed her full of panda babies and—”

“Alex. What’s done is done.” I interrupted. “I’m sure she’ll keep my secret.”

He cracked up again. “Darla Li? Keep a secret? Family breakfast tomorrow is going to be full-on drama!”

“She won’t tell anyone by then, will she?” Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought of family breakfast.

“You’re so screwed. Unless you show up with a boyfriend, Dad’s going to know you lied. And you know how he gets about dishonesty. Imagine all the stern lectures.”

“So I need a fake boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah, combat your dishonesty with more dishonesty. Smart move.”

I straightened up, my brain switching to problem-solving mode. “It’s just for breakfast. Just to buy some time.”

Alex laughed again. “Good luck with that, bro. Gotta go—I just got matched on ShifterSwipe. Girl wants me to—”

I hung up before he could say more. Alex had zero filter, and I didn’t want details. I looked around at the people milling around in costumes, wondering if there was a guy in the crowd that’d be willing to volunteer as someone’s fake date. Not likely.

As I started to walk back to where I’d parked, something furry slammed into me from behind. I whirled around and found a girl in a full-body panda costume on the ground, giggling.

“Fuck, I just bounced right off of you. Those muscles are real,” she said.

I couldn’t explain the physics of being a 300-pound panda in a human body, so I apologized and reached out to help her to her feet.

“Such a gentleman!”

The people dressed as pandas all whooped and cheered. Fuck, Halloween was an eerie holiday.

“Why are you all dressed as pandas?” I asked.

“It’s Halloween!” A young man said. “Why don’t you have a costume?”

“I’m an undercover cop.”