“Hey, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m going to see if I can track whoever it is. Do you want to come along?”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Put on a jacket. And boots, if you’ve got any. It’s starting to rain.”
“I’m going too,” Tessa decided.
Andrei looked at her, one brow arched.
“It’s all right, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Sure, if you want.”
With a nod, she went into her own room to don a pair of fur-lined boots and a warm jacket with a hood.
Returning to the living room, she found Bailey and Andrei waiting for her.
Tessa gestured at Andrei. “Don’t you need a jacket, too?”
“The weather doesn’t bother me. Come on.”
He paused on the porch. The rain made it more difficult to locate the scent, but he found it after a moment’s concentration. “Let’s go.”
Tessa and Bailey trailed Andrei down the stairs and across the street. He’d said the scent was weak, but he seemed to be following it easily enough, Tessa thought as he picked up the pace. She huddled into her jacket, wondering what had possessed her to go out in weather like this. She refused to believe she was jealous of a sixteen-year-old girl, but she didn’t like the way Bailey looked at Andrei, as if he was her own personal knight in shining armor. And if she was being honest, it rankled that he was so protective of the girl. It shamed her to feel that way.
Tessa huffed a sigh of exasperation. She was being ridiculous and she knew it. She should have just stayed home.
They were almost at the forested area near the edge of town when Bailey growled. Tessa stared at the girl. She had never heard a human make a sound like that in her life. And even as the thought crossed her mind, Bailey kicked off her boots, then dropped to her hands and knees. In the twinkling of an eye, the girl was gone and a black panther stood in the midst of a pile of shredded clothing. The cat stared into the darkness, ears and tail twitching.
As if that wasn’t shocking enough, a moment later Andrei changed into a big black wolf.
Stunned by what she was seeing, Tessa held her breath as another panther materialized out of the darkness. It padded silently forward, yellow eyes glowing in the dark, until the two panthers were standing almost nose to nose.
One of them made a sort of purring sound and then they circled each other, first one way, then the other.
Tessa glanced at the wolf. He stood stiff-legged, hackles raised, watching the two cats.
Tessa chewed on her lower lip, wishing more than ever that she had just stayed home.
Abruptly, the larger panther darted into the forest and out of sight. After a moment, Bailey the panther ran after it.
Tessa felt a shiver in the air as Andrei regained his own form. “What just happened?” she asked.
“Apparently Bailey’s found another shifter,” Andrei said, gathering her ruined clothing. “Or he found her.”
“Is she coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
“But . . . should we just let her go like that? She could be in danger.”
“So could we,” he said, taking her by the arm and guiding her back the way they’d come. “There are half a dozen other shifters lurking in the shadows near the trees.”
* * *
Feeling exhilarated, Bailey ran after the big black panther. Never before had she shifted so easily or so quickly. She knew, somehow, that it was because of the other cat. His power had somehow enhanced her own. It had been the most incredible feeling in the world.
She ran tirelessly, effortlessly, following him through the forest and into the hills beyond. Scents and sensations flowed over her and through her. All her senses were heightened. She tasted fear on the wind as a rabbit scurried out of her way, its heart beating wildly. Gradually, the other panther slowed. When he stopped beside a small stream, so did she. When he dropped to his belly to lap at the water, she followed his lead. It was icy cold on her tongue.
Rising, he shook himself and suddenly a man stood before her. A beautiful man with short, brown hair and piercing green eyes. “I am Tristan.”
She shifted to her human form with ease. “I’m Bailey.” He was naked and so was she, yet she felt no shame, no embarrassment.
“You are one of us,” he said, his voice and expression solemn.
Bailey grinned, thinking he was stating the obvious. She wondered how old he was. If she’d had to guess, she would have said no more than twenty, though she’d never been good at guessing things like that.
“You have no pack.”
“Pack?”
“People to protect you. To teach you.”