“So, are you going to show me your lion and answer all my questions?” Penny was leaning against the back of the couch with her hands shoved into the pockets of her tight-fitting jeans. The shirt she was wearing was tight and his lion growled in excitement as he studied the curve of her breasts. The way they hung just enough to sway. They were perfect for him.
“Your eyes are gold again,” she said, as if he didn’t realize his lion was right on the surface begging to come out. Shifting outside in the middle of the morning with full light and visibility wasn’t smart. But he had enough space inside if he moved very slowly. He took a deep breath and let his animal come forward.
“Holy shit!” Penny squeaked and clambered over the back of the couch to duck out of sight.
He didn’t move, and tried not to flick his tail. If he broke Naomi’s new dishes Col would take it out on his hide. Kann padded forward one step closer to the couch and lowered himself to the floor.
A few moments later a pair of blue eyes popped up from behind the couch and stared at him. His lion chuffed, amused that their mate thought hiding behind a couch would stop him from doing anything he wanted.
Penny tucked a few strands of wayward brown hair behind her ears and stood slowly.
“You’re bigger than the average African lion,” she said. “You and Tor are both bigger than natural animals, though I think Tor might be bigger. You’ve got to be nearly fifteen long.” She walked out from behind the couch and approached slowly. “Can you understand me when you’re like this?”
He bobbed his head up and down. She was right too, Tor’s tiger was at least a hundred pounds heavier, a foot or so longer, and maybe a foot taller than his lion. Naomi had already compared them.
“Amazing…You know you look a little more like a prehistoric saber-tooth lion than a natural lion from earth. Those teeth are big. People are going to notice that if they see you. But you do have the big fluffy mane of an African lion, so there are similarities to both.” She moved another step or two closer. “Can I touch you?”
Kann bobbed his head again and stretched out his nose. She put out her hand and when they connected he sighed with relief. She was so tiny, and he was enormous, as she’d pointed out. It’d been a risk to shift indoors with such close proximity, but he’d hoped the strangeness of it would take some of the shock away. Outdoors with a giant lion probably would’ve felt more real. This way he was more of a novelty. A really, really big housecat.
She moved even closer, digging her fingers into his fur as she explored his face. Her hands felt so good. His chest vibrated with a low rumbling purr and he leaned gently toward her, rubbing his head against her shoulder as she scratched under his chin and then grabbed big handfuls of his mane.
“It’s so soft,” she giggled. “I visited one of those big cat rescue places once. I got to hold a baby lion. I always wondered if the adults were soft like the babies. It’s not quite the same, but you’re so much silkier and softer than I expected. I also don’t think my brain is registering everything that you all have dumped on it today. But I’m getting there.” She buried her face in his mane and he chuffed out a breath. He turned his face and caught her hand with the tip of his tongue and licked.
His lion was relaxed, enjoying the attention. And the not freaking out. Not only had she not run screaming, she was petting him and seemed to enjoy him being in his lion form. She stepped back a few feet and studied him intently. “Can you shift back please,” she asked softly.
Kann shook his mane out and then stretched a little before shifting back. He was crouching in the center of the room a moment later. Penny had amazement written all over her face, and so many questions. He could almost see her listing them out.
“I know you want to know more.” Kann walked up to her. “But I’d like to take you into town to get a few more things to get you settled. Some clothes. Better boots.”
“I don’t have enough cash with me for that.” Penny’s face darkened with worry again. “If I go to a bank they’ll track me here for sure.”
“We have some put back,” Kann said. “Let me help you.”
“I’ll pay you back, I promise. I just—”
He put a finger against her lips to quiet her. “Let me help you. You heard Col. You are tribe. You belong with us, whether or not you decide to bond to me.”
“I don’t do the whole depend on others very well.” She fidgeted with her hands and he grabbed those next, bringing her fingers to his lips and kissing each knuckle.
She tasted amazing and sweet and all he wanted to do was continue kissing her. He dropped her hands and pulled her forward, wrapping one hand in her loose dark hair and the other around her waist. Then he slanted his mouth over hers and swallowed every other protestation she might think of next.
Her body was soft against his. Her lips were warm and welcoming. She wasn’t pulling away. Little mewls of pleasure from the back of her throat stirred his already hard cock. He tasted and teased her tongue, reveling in everything that was Penny. Mate.
When he finally released her and stepped back, she was panting. They both were. Her lips were rosy and swollen and glistening. Her face was flushed pink and her blue eyes were dark with desire.
His lion roared from within, begging to bond. Begging him to seal them together and stop the constant state of torment. If he made love to her now, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He would steal her choice away from her and Kann refused to do that. Not when he’d said she would get to decide. He couldn’t take that from her. Wouldn’t.
“We have to go,” he stuttered out and ran his hands through his long loose hair. “Now,” he added with a low growl.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Sure. Right,” she answered, rubbing up and down her arms. Her breathing slowed and some of the color drained from her face. He hated being so responsible. So honorable. All he wanted to do was bend her over something—anything—and make her his forever.
They walked silently toward the entry, slipped on their winter gear and walked outside. She followed him around the corner of the cabin where the snow machines were parked. One was gone. Tor and Saul had taken it to make rounds to knock the fresh foot and a half of snow off the roofs of the other cabins. The truck was still buried and frozen out near cabin four where Penny was staying. Right now, with all the powder the roads would be impassible anyway until the plows got moving. And the roads out here were last on the list.
15
Penny walked out of the small shop with Kann at her side. They’d found her a pair of waterproof snow pants, boots, and a better coat than the one she’d come in. Plus gloves and a hat. A couple of thermal shirts and long underwear, as well as some necessary toiletries she preferred not to have to borrow.
Kann carried the two waterproof bags to the snow machine and tied them down on the back.
“You okay?” he asked, looking up from the vehicle.
She gazed out at the street. Several trucks had driven past. There were people here and there minding their own business. No one was watching her…except she couldn’t get past the feeling that someone was.
“Just being paranoid,” she answered and tried to smile. She’d been gone all night and part of the day. Jake would’ve noticed her absence by now. She was usually in the office by 6am. She glanced at her wrist and touched the bare spot where the big face of her smart watch would’ve been. She’d left it at home. It had Bluetooth, and it was absolutely traceable with the right equipment. It’d been a gift from the company with her signing bonus. No way in hell would Jake not think to use it to find her. “Do you know what time it is?”
He pulled out a cell phone and held it up. 1:15pm. They’d been meandering around town longer than she’d realized. The highways would’ve been plowed first. It was only a four or five-hour drive from Anchorage to Mystery. He couldn’t have flown last night because of the storm.
“You hungry? We could grab something at the diner down the road before heading back out of town.” Kann walked
up and wrapped his arms around her, bathing her in his warmth and his scent. It felt so good to just be held. To really feel like someone cared about her.
She didn’t depend on Kann, but she trusted him. She really did. She knew he would help her any way he could. She knew he would fight anyone who came at her, but she didn’t want it to come to that. Jake or whoever came after her would be packing some serious heat. A lion didn’t have a shot in hell against a bullet. Even a lion as big as Kann.
She had to teach him how to use a gun. They all needed to learn. “When do you think the others will have those rifles from Mr. Curtis so that I can teach all of you how to shoot?”
Kann shrugged, squeezing her a little tighter. “She said they would pick them up after they finished their rounds. I’m sure they’ll pick them up on their way back to the cabin this afternoon. Douglas is usually in the office till about 4pm.
He kissed the top of her head and stepped back. “No one is going to hurt you. I promise. I’ve recognized every single person that’s driven or walked by.”
“How?” she asked, scrunching up her face.
“I know everyone in town,” he said with a wide smile.
“You can’t possibly know every single person. There’s nearly a thousand people in Mystery.” She let him help her get situated on the back of the snow machine before he climbed on in front of her.
“Okay, fine. I called Pete up at the air strip. No planes. And I called Leif down at the Gas & Go at the south edge of town. People have left town, but according to him, nobody but old man Connor has come into town.”
“I’m sure there are other roads.”
Kann shook his head. “Nope. Only one way in and out by road. I suppose if he’s a musher, he could get in by sled.”
Penny sighed and wrapped her arms around Kann’s waist. Jake wasn’t a musher. He hated dogs. There’s no way he would’ve come that way. And it was difficult to come by a team of dogs. Most mushers wouldn’t rent out their teams to just anyone. So, he had to come by road or plane. If he’d found her. Maybe he hadn’t yet. Maybe she really would be safe here as long as she stayed off the grid. No phones. No banks. No electronics of any kind.
She could do this.
She had to do this.
Kann yanked the pull on the snow machine and the engine roared to life. They turned out of the icy parking lot and he went north on the highway that cut through the center of town. About five minutes later he pulled to a stop in front of a red and white doublewide. A big white sign was tacked onto the wooden steps leading to the front door—Lily’s Café.
The engine died on the machine and Kann slipped off first, offering his hand.
“Are you sure we should stop?” She asked, looking around again. There were three or four cars and several other snow machines parked in the lot with them. She stood and took a deep breath of the cold crisp air. To her left rose white peaks and tall snow-covered spruce. It truly was breathtaking.
“It’ll be fine. I promise.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the wooden steps. They entered an entry with a bakery display and a cash register counter. A little black sign to the left said ‘seat yourself’. “We’ll grab donuts on our way out for Naomi and the others.”
“It’s after noon.” Penny followed behind him as he led her through the mix mash of small tables and metal framed chairs. The floors were a black and grey checked vinyl and the walls of the restaurant were painted a cheery sunflower yellow. Knickknacks and framed photos covered the walls and the low hum of conversation filled the room. “Why are there donuts?”
“Lily has donuts all day. I’m told she’s quite famous for them. People in the park travel here just to try them.” He pulled out a small padded black metal chair from a table near a wide set of sliding doors. There looked to be an eat out patio, only useable in the summer months though. Right now, it was covered in a good foot of fresh powder. “Is this table okay, it’s a little cooler, but I like the view.”
Penny nodded and smiled up at Kann. “This is nice.” The back of the building faced Denali Park, giving anyone sitting near the doors or outside a stunning view of forest and mountain peaks. A crystal clear blue sky also spread as far as the eye could see. No clouds today. No storm tonight unless another blew in suddenly. Which wasn’t unheard of in February.
She sat down, and he moved to sit across from her and paused, sniffing the air.
“What is it?” Penny asked, stiffening in her chair and studying the crowd eating around her. He didn’t answer right away, and her heart responded by pounding the inside of her ribcage. Her stomach crawled halfway up her esophagus and whatever appetite she’d had moments ago was completely gone now.
A female raised her hand across the diner and waved. The man sitting next to her—holy shit he is huge—gave Kann an dismissive glare and then looked back at his food. Kann’s body language instantly relaxed. He sat in his chair and flashed her a reassuring smile. “Just Ava and her brother Owen.”
“Owen? One of you?”
Kann nodded.
“How did you smell them? All I can smell is the food?”
“Reyleans have a very sensitive sense of smell.” He lowered his voice so that only she could hear him. “My lion is also on alert because of your ever-present fear. So, I notice everything.”
A young woman walked up to their table and Kann flashed her a broad smile. Penny had to admit to herself that she was more than a little jealous that the waitress was on the receiving end of his attention.
Geeeze. What was wrong with her? Jealous of a smile now? Was she feeling the effects of—what had he called it—the soul calling too? She certainly believed it was the cause for the amped up sexual attraction and her inability to think about much else than kissing him again. And being naked. And…WTH? I’m seriously losing mind.
“What can I get started for you, Kann?” The waitress asked, blatantly disregarding Penny’s presence completely.
Kann’s eyes narrowed and his smile disappeared. “Penny will order first.” He broke eye contact with the waitress and turned his attention completely to Penny once again. “What would you like, beautiful?” he asked, clearly pronouncing his favorite pet name for her. Barely a day and he already had a favorite pet name. He’d called her beautiful, love, mate…she couldn’t think straight enough to decide if there were others. Probably. But the most common was beautiful. Which she wholeheartedly admitted she loved.
No one had ever called her beautiful in place of her name, at least not to her face.
The waitress tried to smile and managed a Frankenstein-ish grin. Penny winced. The girl was clearly taking it rough that Kann was here with a date. Had he dated this girl? She glanced at the pin on the woman’s breast pocket—Kari. More jealously flared in Penny’s chest. Kann was hers. He called her his mate. He’d let her see his lion. He said her soul called to him. Not this barely twenty-year-old drooling college student with the perfect hair and perfect skin and tall slender body. Maybe she was being unrealistic…
“You know what’s good here,” Penny said, her tone soft. “I’ll let you order for us both.”
“Two cheeseburgers with everything on the side. Thank you.” His voice was harder than normal. It’d lost his normal jovial tone. His features were harder too, like all the softness had melted away to reveal the primal tooth and claw of the animal inside the man.
The waitress made a small squeak and nodded before rushing away from the table.
“Look at me.” Kann’s voice deepened and returned to the soft kind tone he usually used with her. “I don’t know what you were thinking, but it dulled your light and I didn’t like it.”
“It dulled my light?”
He nodded. “You glow with Fate’s magick. I told you. It’s the soul call. Reylean mates literally glow when they meet each other, but your light dimmed just now when the waitress was standing here behaving like a spoiled youngling.”
“Youngling?”
Kann sighed. “Child. I meant to
say child. Sometimes I forget and revert back to words more common on Reylea. Naomi has worked hard with Tor and me. We wanted to be able to blend into the population easily. Saul and Col don’t care and don’t think it’s important to ‘fit in’.” He made air quotes and Penny couldn’t help but smile. She could just imagine Naomi sitting in the cabin chastising all of the men for sounding foreign.
“Tor and I usually do all the communicating in town when needed. And Naomi.”
“I was jealous,” Penny answered honestly. “I wondered if she was special to you. If you’d had a relationship with her in the past. It’s stupid, but I couldn’t help but see the way she looked at you.”
“We have flirted before,” Kann admitted. “But it never went further than that. I’ve only been in this world a few weeks. The system of tracking we used on Reylea doesn’t work here. And it’s different. Reylea had two suns and four moons. We tracked seasons. Summer and Rainy.”
“I could see where it might be strange for you here, especially with the constantly changing daylight hours and only one sun and moon.”
“Very different,” he agreed.
Their food came within a few minutes. Perfectly charred burgers, on golden brown buns, with bacon, cheese and a fried egg on top. Bright orange sweet potato fries were mounded on one side of the plate next to ramekins of mustard, ketchup, and mayo along with a stack of lettuce, tomato, and onion.
Smart man. He’d covered all the bases without actually having to order exactly what she preferred. She built up her burger the way she wanted and took a bite. It was cooked perfectly, not too dry and not undercooked. The fried egg leaked a little yolk, spreading its scrumptious joy all over the burger patty and down the sides. Her taste buds exploded along with a slight moan of pleasure.
I'm Not Lion To You: Soulmate Shifters World (Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 2) Page 13
