Chapter 24
Leonie woke up the next day, and immediately wished she hadn’t. With a groan, she pulled the covers over her head, blocking out the cheerful morning sunlight. If only it were so easy to escape her own mortification.
She knew the truth now. Without a doubt. She’d looked right into Shan’s eyes, and felt…
Nothing.
Well, not nothing, because he was even more attractive without the sunglasses (good lord, those eyes). But nothing from her animal. No soul-shattering jolt of recognition; no magical bond snapping into place. Just regular human attraction.
He wasn’t her mate.
She’d been so certain. When she’d confronted him, she’d taken his stunned silence as confirmation. She’d all but ordered the poor man to grovel at her feet.
And the whole time, he’d only been trying to work out how to gently let her down.
Yesterday, she’d been filled with righteous indignation...and, if she was honest, a tiny flicker of hope. Some optimistic, na?ve part of her had thought it would all work out. That he would come to his senses, and they would be together.
Now, she just felt hollow.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t call in sick due to a terminal case of embarrassment. Letting out a sigh, she pushed back the covers. People needed her. Time to put on her big girl pants and go to work.
Her phone informed her that she had two hundred and forty-six missed messages.
She glumly scrolled back through the family chat, which was now mostly a long and heated debate between her brothers about the most effective way to hide a body.
Still, at least nobody seemed to have actually bought plane tickets and a large container of industrial acid. Yet.
The most recent message wasn’t on the group chat. It had been sent to her alone, a few hours ago.
BIRDbrAIN
Hey. You okay?
She wasn’t up to confessing her idiocy to even her twin yet. Let alone her entire family. Still, she didn’t want Lola worrying.
LEONIE
Yeah. Just feeling really stupid for getting my hopes up. But I’ll get over it.
The family chat, she just left on read. Her brothers were all good, kind, generous men… but they were still her brothers. They were going to tease her about this mistake for years. Probably for the rest of her life.
Still, at least she hadn’t been the only person to get the wrong impression. Though she wasn’t sure whether that made the whole situation better or worse. Grimacing, she set her shoulders, and went out to face the kids.
“Hang on,” Tiff said. Leonie had pulled the kids away from breakfast, gathering them all at a picnic table for a private chat out of earshot of any other campers. “You and Shan aren’t mates?”
Archie was also looking confused. “Are you sure, Leonie?”
“I’m sure.” She was glad Shan hadn’t yet returned from searching the forest. This cross-examination would have been even more excruciating if he’d been present. “I know what you all assumed. But it’s not true.”
“I told these idiots they were jumping to conclusions.” Ignatius folded his arms, sitting back with an air of smug vindication.
“Maybe that will teach you all not to attempt to play Cupid. It would be nice to have one summer where I’m not constantly subjected to inane speculation about other people’s personal lives. ”
“But... Rufus said you two were mates,” Estelle said, as though this should trump the evidence of Leonie’s own senses. “He saw Shan recognize you. Didn’t you, Rufus?”
“I’m afraid you were mistaken, Rufus,” Leonie said to her nephew. “I wish talked to me about it, rather than your friends. I understand why you thought Shan might be my mate. But he isn’t.”
Rufus said nothing. He just stared at her, face utterly blank. She was a lot better than most people at reading the subtleties of his expression, but right now, she had no idea what was going on behind his eyes.
“Are you absolutely certain you aren’t mates?” said Beth, not for the first time. She seemed to be hoping that if she asked often enough, the answer might change. “It was dark last night, after all. Maybe you just didn’t see his eyes properly.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” said Spencer. He was still wearing Shan’s sunglasses, now held more securely to his head with an impromptu strap fashioned out of chained elastic bands. “I mean, they literally glow.”
“I guess that explains why he wears the sunglasses,” Tiff said. She glanced at her fellow campers, shrugging. “You’ve got to admit, guys, that makes more sense than him hiding his eyes because he didn’t want Leonie to realize they’re mates.”
“I don’t think that makes any sense,” Archie muttered. “If I had claws and cool glowing eyes, I’d go around showing them off all the time.”
Estelle heaved a wistful sigh. “Me too.”
“Well, Shan feels differently,” Leonie said—though privately, she thought he could do with listening to the kids on this subject. “Maybe you could ask him why sometime. Though if he doesn’t want to discuss it, you all have to promise to respect his privacy, okay?”
“If he’s struggling with his shifting, maybe that’s why you didn’t recognize him as your mate,” Beth said hopefully. “Maybe he needs to accept his own inner animal first.”
Ignatius rolled his eyes. “What is it going to take to make you let this go? A legally notarized statement from both of them that they have no romantic interest in each other whatsoever?”
“I’m sorry we let you believe there was something between us,” Leonie said. “There were reasons for that, but now I think it’s best if we’re all honest with each other. Including why Shan’s really here. And on that topic, we need to talk about your encounter last night, Spencer.”
Tiff huffed. “I wish I’d stuck around rather than running back to camp. I want to meet the camp ghost.”
“It’s not a ghost,” Ignatius snapped. “Weren’t you listening to a word Leonie said? From the sounds of things, it’s just some random local shifter who only wants to be left in peace. Frankly, I sympathize.”
“Whoever he is, it’s true that he doesn’t seem to have any ill intent,” Leonie said. “But we can’t have a stranger near the camp. Spencer, did he tell you his name?”
Spencer shook his head. “He asked me for mine, but didn’t offer his in return. I was too freaked out at the time to think that was odd. He knew I was from the camp, though. He asked which pack I was in, and if my counselors were looking for me. That’s why I assumed he worked here.”
“He must have been with you for a while. Did he say anything about himself?”
Spencer thought for a moment. “Not really. Though he asked me a lot of questions. About my family, and how I like to spend my time, and what I thought about camp. I think he was just trying to keep me calm.”
“Did he seem nervous himself?” Leonie asked. “Like he was worried about being caught with you?”
“A little, I guess,” Spencer replied. “But he only sounded really concerned when I told him about Tiff. At that point, I thought she was lost in the woods, too. The man promised to look for her as soon as he could. He told me not to worry, and that he’d make sure she was safe.”
That all seemed benign enough, but Leonie still didn’t like the idea of a strange man approaching one of the kids. “Can you think of anything that might help us identify him? Anything at all?”
Spencer furrowed his brow. “Not really. He smelled a bit odd. No trace of soap or deodorant, like a normal person. Just earth and leaves. And his voice was kind of weird, too.”
“Weird? In what way?”
“Just…weird,” Spencer said, sounding a bit frustrated at his own inability to describe it. “He didn’t have an accent, but something about the way he spoke made me think English wasn’t his first language. Oh, and he kept getting my name wrong.”
Leonie blinked. “Your name?”
“Yeah, he kept calling me Stuart.” Spencer frowned. “Or something like that, anyway. I tried to correct him a couple of times, but he didn’t seem to get it. Like he couldn’t hear any difference.”
Before Leonie could ask him any further questions, a shadow swept over them. In a gust of wind, the qiongqi landed heavily on the grass a little way off, wings sagging. Its striped form shimmered, and Shan was there, looking no less exhausted.
“Hold that thought,” Leonie said to the kids. “Finish your breakfast. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Leaving them at the picnic table, she hurried over to Shan. “Did you find anything?”
“Nothing of note.” He rubbed his face with one hand. “Only Spencer’s glasses. I managed to retrace his path through the forest. But I couldn’t find any other scents.”
“Spencer will be pleased his glasses back, at least. I’ll give them to him. You should get some sleep.”
Shan shook his head. “I need to speak to him. And retrieve my sunglasses.”
She was about to protest that she could do that, when she realized what he actually meant. And why he still had his hand across his face.
“Shan.” She touched his arm. “It’s okay. I already came clean to the kids. They know we aren’t really mates. You don’t have to keep wearing the sunglasses all the time.”
He didn’t drop his hand. “Leonie. My eyes.”
“There’s nothing wrong with your eyes.” She tugged at his elbow. “And there’s no reason for you to keep hiding.”
He hesitated, then slowly let her pull his hand down. For the second time, his gaze met hers.
She understood now why he’d been wearing sunglasses at their very first meeting. His eyes were extraordinary, but not even remotely human. Or even animal.
He had no whites. His irises were burning pools of fiery yellow, surrounded by inky blackness. Like all big cats, tigers had round pupils, yet his were vertical slits, like a poisonous snake’s.
Once again, her breath caught. She couldn’t help searching those striking eyes, hoping for a spark of recognition.
Nothing. No sense of connection snapping into place; no overwhelming roar of instinct, telling her that he was her mate.
But you still want him, her lioness said, sounding puzzled. Don’t you?
Shan seemed to be searching her eyes for something, too. Any sign of disgust, possibly. Or maybe he was just wondering why she was staring at him like she was trying to diagnose glaucoma. She jerked her gaze away, face heating.
“I’ll get Spencer’s glasses back to him,” she said. “I’ve already talked a bit to him about his encounter, but I’ll tell you about it later. You go and get some rest.”
Shan looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t get a chance. Zephyr came into view, head turning to scan the surroundings. Spotting them, the camp director hurried over, moving with tense, rapid strides.
“Oh, no,” Leonie muttered, recognizing that look.
Before the camp director could even open his mouth, she stepped in front of Shan, hands on her hips.
“Zephyr, whatever crisis is brewing now, it’ll have to wait.
Shan’s been combing the forest all night.
He’s going to bed. Even if I have to drag him there myself. ”
“I’m afraid there’s no time,” Zephyr replied, jaw tense. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, yet a hint of distant thunder echoed overhead. “Both of you, come with me. We have a visitor.”