Chapter 17
The night stretched on, quiet and still.
Lina’s senses remained on high alert, cataloging every rustle of leaves, every distant car passing on the road, every small creature moving through the underbrush.
But there was no Mrs. E. No magical disturbance beyond the nearly imperceptible hum of the magical ley lines beneath the tower site.
As the night wore on, there was no indication that their quarry would show tonight.
Beside her, Liam’s massive lion form was a warm, solid presence.
Even in the darkness, she was hyperaware of him.
She noted every rise and fall of his breathing, the occasional flick of his tail, and the way his eyes never stopped scanning their surroundings.
He was beautiful in this form, all lethal grace and raw power.
Her lynx approved immensely. More than approved, actually. Her cat wanted to rub against him, wanted to play and hunt together, wanted things that made her human consciousness flush with heat despite being covered in fur.
The draw of him was undeniable in her shifted form.
Every instinct in her feline body recognized him as hers, recognized that massive lion as her perfect match.
It didn’t matter that he was a lion and she was a lynx.
Their cats understood what mattered—strength, intelligence, courage, and that indefinable spark that made two souls fit together.
Hours passed. The moon continued its trek across the sky, brilliant and full.
High tide came and went with no sign of the witch they’d been hunting.
Lina shifted position slightly, her muscles beginning to protest the long stillness.
Stakeouts were always tedious, but at least in human form she could stretch, could shift her weight more comfortably.
As a lynx, patient stillness was natural but not infinite.
A soft chuff from Liam drew her attention. He rose to his feet, shaking out his magnificent mane, and looked at her. Time to move, his posture seemed to say.
Lina stood as well, stretching her smaller body in a long, feline arch that felt delicious after hours of waiting. Together, they began another circuit of the property, moving like ghosts through the shadows.
The grounds remained quiet. Peaceful, even. Whatever Mrs. Peabody’s predictions, it seemed tonight would not be the night for Mrs. E’s grand summoning. Tomorrow, perhaps. Or the night after. But not tonight.
They completed their patrol and returned to their observation point one final time. Liam looked at her, and even without words, she understood the question. Stay longer or call it?
Lina made a soft chirping sound and tilted her head toward the woods where they’d stashed their clothes. Her lynx was ready to shift back, ready to curl up somewhere warm and safe. Preferably somewhere with Liam.
That last thought made her pause. Her human side was still processing what her lynx already knew with absolute certainty. There was no denying the pull anymore. No more pretending this was just attraction or professional chemistry. This was something far deeper, far more permanent.
Liam chuffed his agreement leading the way back through the trees toward their clothing cache.
Lina followed, admiring the powerful play of muscles beneath his golden coat, the predatory grace in every movement.
Her cat wanted to chase him, wanted to play, but she restrained the impulse.
They were still on a mission, still needed to maintain tactical awareness.
But Goddess, it was hard.
They reached the oak tree where they’d hidden their clothes. Liam shifted first, the transformation rippling through him with practiced ease. One moment, he was a massive lion, the next, he was standing on two legs, gloriously naked in the moonlight filtering through the leaves.
Lina’s breath caught—or would have, if she’d been in human form.
She’d seen him naked earlier when they’d undressed, but she’d been more focused on the mission then, on edge about the possible coming action.
Now, with hours of prowling beside him, with her lynx fully convinced he was their mate, she couldn’t look away.
He was beautiful. All lean muscle and tanned skin, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist. Scars marked his body here and there.
He wore the ragged badges of a warrior’s life, though shifters didn’t scar, in general, unless the wound was grievous.
The marks on his skin indicated that he’d been badly wounded more than once.
He wasn’t just a paper tiger, or lion, as the case may be.
He wasn’t a chairborne ranger who’d never seen action.
He was a soldier’s soldier. A man with a past filled with combat and victories.
She really admired that. Everything about him called to her on a primal level.
Liam seemed to sense her regard. He turned, meeting her lynx eyes, and smiled slowly. “Your turn.”
Right. She needed to shift back.
Lina called on her human form, felt the familiar pull and twist of the transformation. Bones reformed, fur receded, senses dulled slightly as she traded her lynx’s superior night vision for human awareness. Within moments, she stood before him, just as naked, just as exposed.
The air between them felt electric. All the careful distance they’d been maintaining, all the “after the mission” promises they’d been making were for naught. Everything seemed to evaporate in the moonlit darkness.
Liam’s eyes darkened as they traveled over her body, his gaze almost tangible. “Lina...”
“I know.” Her voice came out husky. “We should get dressed. Head back.”
“We should,” he agreed, but neither of them moved.
The tension stretched between them, taut as a wire, loaded with everything they wanted but hadn’t yet claimed. Then Liam seemed to shake himself, breaking the spell. He turned to the tree hollow and pulled out his clothes, handing her bundle to her.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here before I forget every good intention I have about taking this slow.”
Lina took her clothes with shaking hands, hyper-aware of his nearness, of the heat radiating from his skin. She dressed quickly, almost mechanically, her mind already leaping ahead to what came next. They’d go back to the safe house. And then...
And then they’d see what happened.
The walk back to the SUV felt different than the approach had. Less tactical, more charged with anticipation. They moved side by side through the darkness, and twice, their hands brushed. The accidental contacts sent sparks racing up her arm each time.
Lina’s human half tried to reassert control, trying her best to approach this rationally.
They were still on the mission. Mrs. E could show up tomorrow night or the next.
They needed to stay focused and professional.
Getting involved now could compromise their judgment and distract them at a critical moment.
But her lynx snarled at that reasoning, dismissing it as the cowardice it was.
Her cat knew what it wanted. Her mate was right here, ready and willing.
To deny that bond was to deny her very nature.
Shifters weren’t meant to ignore such fundamental instincts.
The bond would only strengthen them, make them better partners, better warriors.
The internal argument raged within her as they arrived at Liam’s SUV.
He did a quick check-in with Mike and Rich via text, confirming that all cameras and sensors remained active and that they’d maintain watch through the night.
Mike’s team would stay in position until dawn, making note of any arrivals, then stand down for the day.
They were going to have to do this all again tonight.
Liam started the engine and pulled away from the curb, heading back toward the safe house. The drive was quiet, but it was a different kind of silence than before. Heavy with awareness. Thick with possibility.
Lina found herself watching him in the dim glow of the dashboard lights.
The strong line of his jaw and his capable hands on the steering wheel fascinated her for some reason.
Then there was the way his shoulders filled out his dark shirt.
Hubba hubba. Everything about him drew her like gravity, inevitable and inescapable.
Her rational mind made one last attempt at reason. What if giving in to her instincts changed their dynamic? What if sleeping together made them careless or made them miss something crucial? Mrs. E was still out there planning her mischief. They needed to be at their best to fight her.
But even as she thought it, Lina knew that was a weak argument. According to shifter lore, the mate bond would make them stronger. She’d never felt more alive, more capable, more herself than when she was with Liam. Her instincts had never steered her wrong before. Why would they start now?
“What are you thinking?” His voice was low, rough around the edges.
She could lie. She could say something about the mission, or about tactics, or about tomorrow night’s plans. But she was tired of lying to herself and pretending the pull between them was something that could be ignored or delayed.
“I was thinking that we’re going back to an empty house,” she said honestly. “And that we’ve been dancing around each other for days. Tonight, my lynx has made some very definite decisions about you that my human side is finally catching up to, and I think I might want to explore that.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “Your lynx isn’t the only one making decisions.”
“No?”
“No.” He glanced at her, and the heat in his eyes made her breath catch. “My lion claimed you the first time I kissed you. Maybe even before that. And every hour since then has only made it more certain.”
“Mates?” She said it out loud, giving voice to what they’d both been feeling.
“Mates,” he confirmed, then hesitated. She could see the war playing out on his face.
She felt the same conflict of duty versus desire.
“I know we said we’d wait until after the mission, and the human part of me says we should stick to that plan, stay focused, and not let anything compromise our effectiveness. ”
“But?” Lina prompted, because she could hear the unspoken word hanging between them.
“But tonight made me realize that waiting for the perfect moment is pointless. There are no guarantees. Mrs. E could show up tomorrow, or the next night, or never. We could have weeks or days or hours.” He pulled up to a red light and turned to face her fully.
“And my lion is telling me—no, it’s demanding—that I stop being a chicken about this.
I realized that denying the bond growing between us could be more dangerous than acknowledging it. ”
Lina’s heart pounded. Her own lynx was practically screaming the same thing. “The mission isn’t over.”
“I know. But the lion in me says that walking away from you again could be the biggest mistake of my life.” He reached across the console, his hand finding hers.
“I need you to know that if something happens, if one of us doesn’t walk away from this fight, I won’t regret anything that might happen between us.
I’ll only regret if we never explore it further. ”
There it was. The same argument her lynx had been making. The same instinct pulling at her with claws and teeth, demanding she stop overthinking and just claim what was hers.
Lina looked down at their joined hands, feeling the rightness of just that simple contact. Her human logic tried one final protest. They should be responsible. They should wait. They should prioritize the mission above all else.
Screw that. She’d been responsible her whole life. She’d always put duty first, had sacrificed relationships and happiness for the job. And for what? To die alone because she’d been too cautious to reach for something real?
Nope. Not this time.
Her lynx purred with satisfaction as Lina made her decision.
“Let’s not waste any more time talking,” she said, her voice steady, despite the chaos of emotion inside her. “Take me home, Liam. Take me home and show me exactly what you mean.”
The light turned green, and Liam’s foot hit the accelerator with a bit more force than was necessary, making the SUV surge forward. His jaw was tight, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, and Lina could feel the leashed intensity rolling off him in waves.
The drive back seemed to take forever and, conversely, no time at all. Every minute stretched with anticipation, and every mile was a countdown to something inevitable. Lina’s skin felt too tight, her body humming with need.
When they finally pulled into the driveway of the house, Liam killed the engine and turned to her. In the darkness, his eyes glowed with barely restrained hunger.
“Tell me now if you want to change your mind,” he said, his voice rough. “Once we go inside, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop.”
“Good.” Lina reached for the door handle. “Because I don’t want to stop. Not ever.”
She climbed out of the SUV, every nerve ending alive and crackling. Behind her, she heard Liam’s door open and close, heard his footsteps on the pavement as he followed her to the front door of the house.
Her hands shook as she reached for the key, but before she could use it, Liam’s hand covered hers. He took the key, unlocked the door with steady hands that belied the tension in his body, and pushed it open.
They stepped inside together, the door closing behind them with a soft click that seemed to seal them in their own private world. For a moment, they just stood there in the darkened entryway, the weight of what was about to happen hanging between them.
Then Liam moved. His hands came up to frame her face, and his eyes searched hers one last time.
“You’re sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” Lina whispered.
That was all the permission he needed. His mouth came down on hers, and the world caught fire.