Chapter Four
Davey mooched around the camp for several days, resting up, eating well and letting his leg heal. All he really wanted was get back into the forest and see if he could pick up the scent of cat again.
He’d never noticed it before, but now, watching all the couples go about the place, his sense of aloneness was heightened. They were all so at ease with each other and generous with gestures of affection. Their love was clear to see and almost palpable in the air at the camp.
Davey had never contemplated loneliness—it wasn’t what he did—but as his mood sank, he realized it was a dark emotion pulling him down. It was like a sinkhole, slowly devouring him, sucking the life from his soul. He’d bet he didn’t have a sparkle in his eye anymore.
Finally Flo removed his bandage and declared him well. Davey muttered his thanks and rubbed his fingers over the new raised, pink skin. One of the advantages of being a shifter was quick healing.
“So now what?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What are you going to do?” She gave him an inquisitive look.
“I’ve got logs to chop.”
She smiled. “I didn’t mean jobs around the camp, I meant what are you going to do about this mood of yours?”
“What mood?”
“The one that seemed so bright, despite your injury, and is now black as the sky before a storm.”
He bit on his bottom lip and battled to find an answer. “Er…the traps.”
“The traps?”
“Yeah. I need to go and retrieve the one that got me and see if there are more.”
“Yeah, you should.” Raul came to stand beside them. “We need to figure this out. They shouldn’t be there.”
“I agree.” Davey stood, pleased his leg was back to normal. “I’m going to head over that way today.”
“I’ll come with you.” Raul nodded once, fast.
Panic shot through Davey. The last thing he wanted was Raul with him. “I…er…no. I’ll be okay. I can manage.” He needed to be alone. Not just because he knew it would do his mindset good, but in case he came across the mountain lion.
“What if you get trapped again?” Raul frowned.
“I won’t. I’ll be super careful now I know it’s there and I’ll have my eyes peeled for any more.”
“But—?”
“Let him go alone.” Flo put her hand on Raul’s arm. She narrowed her eyes at Davey. “It’s obviously something he needs to do by himself.”
Davey held his breath. He was thankful Flo knew him so well and respected his need to be alone.
“Well I’m not sure.” Raul turned to Flo, his mouth in a flat, worried line.
She gave him a sexy smile. “I thought we were going to take it easy this afternoon. Rest up, perhaps write a letter to Malec.”
“Rest up?”
“Yes, in bed…” She went onto her toes and whispered in his ear.
Davey had no idea what she’d said to her mate but it brought a wide smile to Raul’s face and his eyes took on a slight glaze.
“Ah, okay.” Raul turned to Davey. “Go alone but be careful. We’ll expect you back by nightfall.”
“I will be.” Davey stepped away from them and his pace increased as he moved past the wall until he was sprinting. Mid-run he shifted. Not something he did often, but he hadn’t been in his dog body for days and the urge was strong, almost too powerful to control. It had to be done and there was no better time than when flying through the air in a huge leap.
He hit the ground with his front paws, quickly followed by his back. Within seconds he was racing into the forest. The scents were strong and mingled together in an almost musical way, each one complementing the next and supposed to be there—pine needles, small rodents, birds, flowers, damp logs, the trails of other shifters in the pack.
On and on he went, filtering through the smells and enjoying the wind on his fur. He ran uphill, the effort making him pant, then along the side of a cliff face with jaw-dropping views. But he didn’t stop to admire. Instead he leaped onto a collection of rocks, scampered to the top then paused to sniff the air.
He detected a raccoon nearby, more azalea flowers, and the lingering stench of a frightened skunk, which was likely weeks old.
But no cat.
He took care climbing down the rocks, concentrating on his footing, then headed deeper into the forest at a steady rate. He was hot and thirsty but knew the way to the clear pool he’d spotted when searching for Julie.
Eventually he came to it. Like before it was a haven of beauty and so calm a peaceful sensation settled into his chest. Untouched by humans, not even an old campfire, it was a little piece of paradise.
Davey checked the perimeter, nose down, every sniff telling a story. He went past pretty rhododendrons and burnt-orange lilies, a patch of dense moss, then returned to the pool.
After putting his head to the water, he drank, enjoying the coolness slipping down his throat. Once sated, he sat back on his haunches and looked around again.
Something was different. He wasn’t sure what. It was just a feeling. Like being watched.
He peered into the dense shadows of the trees, concentrating on the shapes looming in the darkness.
It was then he smelled it.
Cat!
His heart rate picked up. He stood, his ears pricked forward and his tail rod straight behind him.
Tipping his head, he inhaled again, short, sharp intakes of air.
He wasn’t mistaken. The earthy but fresh scent of cat was nearby. Not only that, it was the scent of a cat he recognized.
No, not cat. Mountain lion.
He spotted what he was looking for, two green eyes peering at him. But they weren’t low down as he’d expected. They were high up, human eye height.
The lion was in his human form.
Davey stood stock still as the beautiful naked man walked from the forest. His feet were silent on the lush grass, his thigh muscles flexed with each step and his cock bounced. His belly was tight with strength and his chest was broad. He held his right hand to the side, allowing his fingertips to stroke over a rhododendron as he passed it.
“Hey, buddy.” The man stopped and smiled at Davey. “It is you, isn’t it?”
Davey continued to stare, utterly mesmerized by the sight before him. He was breathing hard, his guts tense with desire.
Have I ever seen anything so incredibly beautiful?
The man reached out his hands as if showing he’d do Davey no harm. “How’s the leg? That trap was a bitch.”
Davey wagged his tail, just a little. It was instinctual when being treated with kindness. The man smiled and came closer as if encouraged. “I won’t hurt you.”
Davey knew that. The guy had saved him.
“There, that’s it.” He petted Davey’s head then stroked down his back.
Davey reveled in his touch. His palm was wide and warm and he applied just the right amount of pressure. Breathing deep, he allowed the lion’s scent to settle in his nose, move down his throat and lace his tongue. This was a moment he’d been thinking of for days, being this close to the man he’d used as masturbation fodder.
“You had a close shave,” the man said softly, running his hand down Davey’s leg and over the recently wounded area. “But someone cares a great deal for you. It’s remarkably well healed.”
Davey held in a whimper of longing—longing to turn into his human form and show this shifter they were the same. But would that change everything? What if this man wouldn’t like him anymore and stopped calling him buddy?
Davey stepped away, indecision creating a war inside him.
“Hey, where are you going?” The man stood tall.
Davey looked at him, straight into his eyes, then stepped close. He pressed his furry body to the man’s legs and wound around him. There was a definite connection there and it wasn’t just one way, he was sure of it. It was as if a magnet was pulling them together. And when they touched, a pleasurable sensation of contentment went through him. It was like nothing he’d ever felt before.
To buy thinking time, Davey walked to the pool, dipped his head and drank again. There was only one thing he could do and that was shift. Put his cards on the table and show this man he was obsessing over they were the same paranormal creature, even if their species, in animal form, were sworn enemies.
Nerves had him in turmoil, though. The interaction he’d enjoyed, the petting, the closeness—he was putting it at severe risk. It might never happen again and he didn’t think he could live if that was all he ever had.
If he stayed as dog, he could be friends with this glorious man, couldn’t he? Maybe there was something to be said for not shifting and keeping it a secret.
“Ah, you’re thirsty. A long way from home, eh?”
Davey stopped drinking and turned to face him. He studied his eyes, trying to see what was in his soul. It was a good soul, yes, he knew that. It was also one he wanted to be connected with. And that connection had to be so much more than a man with a dog. It wasn’t anywhere near enough, didn’t even scratch the surface.
“What is it?” The man folded his arms over his chest and confusion crossed his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Davey took a deep breath and stepped away from the pool. There was only one thing for it. He’d have to risk rejection.
He summoned the tingling in his spine and allowed it to spread. He went up onto his back legs as his shoulders thickened and his paws became hands and feet. He didn’t take his gaze from the lion man.
As his face morphed into his human form and he became aware of his sweatpants against the skin on his legs, groin and butt, he sent a quick prayer to the gods of shifters that he hadn’t made a terrible mistake.
“What the hell?” The man held his arms out to the sides, his mouth hung open and he scanned Davey from head to toe. “You’re a goddamn shifter.”
Davey half shrugged. “The same as you are.”
“Fuck!” He rammed his fingers into his shaggy blond hair and tugged at it with his elbows out to the sides. “I don’t believe it.”
“Of course you do.” Davey took a step forward. “It’s hardly a new concept, is it?”
He moved a pace backward.
“What’s the matter?” A shard of panic went through Davey. He had done the wrong thing.
“You’re a fucking dog man, that’s what’s the matter.”
“And you’re a mountain lion man.”
“I… no one...” He glanced around with his eyes narrowed. “No one knows that about me.”
“I do.” Davey paused, hating seeing fear in the other man’s eyes. “I know that about you. I saw you shift when I was trapped.”
“Yeah, but I never would have shifted in front of you if I’d known what you were. I thought you were just a dumb dog stuck in a trap.”
“Thanks…for the dumb thing, that is.” Davey tutted.
“I’ve got to get out of here.” He looked over both of his shoulders.
“Why?” Davey didn’t want him to go.
“Don’t you see? Shifters, like us, we shouldn’t exist.”
“Why not? Every other creature gets to. Just because the majority of humans have a hard time getting around the fact we can morph our bodies from one thing to another, doesn’t mean we can’t live and breathe the same air as them.”
“It’s more than that, and you know it.” He retreated farther, toward the forest.
“No, I don’t know it.”
“Experiments. That’s what’ll happen. I’ve heard the stories.” He paused. “I have to go.”
“No, please, don’t.”
“I can’t risk it. I like to be alone. I’m solitary. Please, let me be.” He turned and, in one flying leap, switched from man to mountain lion.
The last thing Davey saw was his thick tail disappearing into the forest amidst several shaking shrubs and a snapping branch.
“Please come back,” Davey called. “Let’s talk. There’s more of us. Shifters…it’s safe here.” He shook his head and held out his hands. “It’s safe with me, please, I beg you, come back.”
It flashed through his mind to give chase. To again seek out the cat he’d been hunting all day. But what was the point? The mountain lion was swift, stealthy and clever. Davey might be able to follow the scent, but if the lion didn’t want to be found he’d at worst attack, at best move out of the territory altogether.