Assembling baby furniture while a massive tiger watches the newborn I left sleeping peacefully on the floor a few feet away has got to be one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. And that includes being attacked by a lion. This moment is also the strangest too. I never thought I’d find myself talking to a tiger as if he could understand every word I was saying. But I am. I’m not dreaming.
This is real.
Uri’s twin is the tiger behind me. Just as Ilan was the wolf who saved me. I watched him shift. I cleaned the blood and dirt from my hands. I looked into the eyes of this beautiful baby boy and couldn’t deny the resemblance to the man who’s held a place in my dreams since the day I met him.
With a sheet on the portable bassinet’s mattress and the mobile of wildlife cutouts attached to the side, I push to my feet and face Ezra. “Thank you for watching the baby while I put this together.”
No answer. Ezra doesn’t even flick his tail.
A deep breath steadies me even though I can’t really say I’m afraid. Trying to carry on a conversation with a tiger leaves me agitated, however. I was raised to make sure my guests were comfortable, and Ezra hasn’t given me any indication of what would make him feel at home.
I scoop up the baby, carry him to the bassinet, and lay him gently in the center. He wakes, and those unique eyes meet mine. A happy sound and a stretch as he arches lets me know his belly is still full and happy dreams await him. A moment later, his eyelids lower on a soft exhale. I smile.
Soon he’ll outgrow this tiny bed, but for the moment, he looks precious and innocent lying in the center of the mattress. Even knowing he’ll grow into a powerful man like Ilan doesn’t dim these qualities. Or change the fact that this baby is helpless. Right now, this child needs love and protection. He’ll get both. I plan on making sure of it.
Ilan and I need to have a long talk. This baby’s parents need to be found if they’re still alive. From what I’ve seen so far, Ilan’s world is a dangerous one.
I glance over my shoulder. Ezra hasn’t moved from the spot he’s chosen near the stairs. “I know this sounds…odd”—more like crazy—“but can I get you a bowl of water? Maybe some leftover steak? There’s not a lot, but it’s cooked rare.”
More silence. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I can’t help hoping Ezra will speak to me.
Head tilted, I study him. “Is there a reason you won’t shift and talk to me? If it’s because you’re going to be naked, I have some big towels. You can wrap one around yourself. I promise not to ogle you or anything.”
The tip of Ezra’s tail flicks. Rapidly. I can’t help but think I’ve annoyed him with my question.
“I’m assuming you know what I’m saying so I won’t insult your intelligence.” I rub my thumb over my chin. “So I’m going to assume there’s something about your human body you don’t want me to see.”
His tail stills in midair.
Ah-ha! Now, the question is, what? “I won’t be shocked by the way you look, if that’s what you’re worried about. Looks are superficial anyway.”
Ezra pushes to his feet, walks by me, rubbing against my leg as he passes, and settles in front of the bassinet. He lays his head on his paws. His eyes close.
I’ve been dismissed. I don’t need him to tell me that.
On a sigh, I head to the kitchen and clean the bottles I used to mix the formula. With that done, I turn and face my kitchen. Diapers and other supplies are spread out on my table. All need to be put away, but my gaze settles on my purse. I dig out my phone and pull up Mya’s number. I can’t help but wonder if she knows the truth about Uri. Her new husband is his partner in the special task force unit located nearby. They’re involved in government work, according to Mya. Special cases, top-secret projects. All things she couldn’t really tell me about.
Now I know why.
Too bad calling Mya in the middle of the night while she’s on her honeymoon is out of the question. Rick, Mya, and her daughters were flying out tonight for a week of relaxing at a resort in Alaska.
The creak of my porch stairs draws my gaze to the kitchen door. Ilan had said he’d be gone for hours. That I shouldn’t expect him back until the morning and should get some sleep once the baby was settled. I glance at the clock. Who else would be coming to my house at four o’clock in the morning?
A large palm slaps over my mouth. A man presses his lips to my ear. “Open the kitchen door. I can’t do it.”
Ezra. It has to be him. There’s no one else in the house.
He releases me. I steal a quick glance at him, focusing on his face. I have no desire to see his nakedness. His hair is half black, half honey-blond, parted down the middle. But it’s his eyes that stop my heart for the briefest of moments. Beautiful. The pale blue color is so light his eyes look translucent. He turns his head to look at me but his gaze doesn’t focus on me. Because he can’t.
Ezra’s blind.
“Sara, now.”
The urgency in Ezra’s deep growling voice propels me into action. I lunge for the door, fumbling with the lock, and pull it open. The striped tiger that had watched my every move lunges through the storm door. The sound of glass breaking mixes with another man’s curse.
The man with the tiger on top of him flies over the side of my porch, cracking the railing. The loud crash echoes through the night. I rush onto the porch as a light turns on next door and my neighbor steps outside.
With his hair standing on end, he turns his dopey-eyed gaze to me. “You okay, Sara? I heard glass breaking.”
The slur to his voice registers. He’s been drinking. I nod and inch my way to the edge of the porch. There’s no dead body—human or animal—on the ground. No sign of Ezra in his tiger or human form. There’s nobody in sight. Only the broken wood from my smashed railing is scattered on the ground. I glance at the open gate to my yard, then nod. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
My neighbor moves to the edge of his patio and sways as he looks over the side. “You sure?”
“Uh-huh. I got a little angry with the television show I was watching and tossed my TV.” I smile and hope he’s too drunk to realize there’s no smashed television on the ground. “Sorry I woke you.”
“It’s okay. See you later.”
He stumbles back inside. The light goes out. A rough grunt sounds from below the porch.
“Ezra.” I rush inside, locking the door behind me, and hurry to the ground floor. Digging my heels in, I grab the handle of the metal door and tug, stumbling backward the moment it opens. Ezra, in his tiger form, walks through.
I lock the door behind him and follow him up the stairs to the kitchen. He stops by the kitchen table where I left my purse, then shifts. The blurry image of the black-and-blond-haired man I spoke to moments ago blends with the tiger’s image. In the next heartbeat, the tiger is gone, and a very naked man’s bare behind greets me.
My cheeks warming, I yank my attention to his unusual hair. “Who was that guy?”
Ezra smacks his hand against the table, knocking the bag of diapers and a tube of diaper rash cream to the floor before grabbing my phone. He turns to me and holds it out. “Call Ilan and tell him to get back here now.”
I stare at the phone but don’t take it. “I don’t have Ilan’s number.”
He holds it out farther. “Then call Mya. I know you have hers. Or Josh. Somebody needs to get in touch with Ilan before the shifter whose throat I almost tore out comes back. I’m too inadequate to protect an innocent in this environment.”
I take the phone from Ezra. “You did fine. Nobody died, and the baby is safe.”
“This time. We got lucky. The coward ran. But next time?” Ezra laughs. The bitter sound tightens my throat. “Next time, I might not be able to use your porch to hide my tiger’s form. I’ll have to shift. And what good is a blind, naked man going to do when it comes to protecting you and the kid? I’ll end up getting myself arrested for indecency or something.”
It hurts to admit but he’s right. I can’t risk this baby’s life. He’s relying on us to keep him safe. “Okay. I’ll call Josh.”
“You can talk to Mira then too. Our kids eat a lot more than normal babies. Teeth sooner too. Not sure what else is different. Mira will know, though.”
My finger stills above the contacts folder on my phone. I glance at Ezra even though I know he can’t see me. “Mira knows about shifters too?”
“Mira is a shifter.”
All the times I talked to Mira over the past year flash across my mind. She seemed so normal, so sweet, so perfect for Josh. I wet my dry lips. “Is Josh a shifter too?”
“Not exactly.” Amusement skips across Ezra’s face. “But his soon-to-be adopted daughters are.”
“Megan and Molly?” I don’t know why I say their names. They’re the only little girls Josh has in his life.
“Yep. Peyton and Rey are too.”
The phone I’m holding shakes. I swallow hard. “So Rick and Mya—”
“Are shifters too, but they’re singles, not Royals.”
“Singles.” Ilan mentioned those briefly. “They only have one animal. Royals have three.”
“Yeah. Rick and Mya are good people, though. Honorable, not like many I’ve known over my life. A lot of the single shifters in this area are decent. Worthy, you know? I don’t doubt they’ll raise their kids the same way.”
No, I don’t know. Not exactly. I grab on to the back of a kitchen chair, then drop my bottom on the seat before my legs give out. “How many other people I know are shifters?”
“Lots, probably. The Black Widow is one of the only places in this section of the state where shifters from all groups congregate. It’s on neutral ground. This whole town, including your house, is neutral territory. Any shifter can come here, live here, and not worry they’ll be attacked for trespassing on shifter grounds.”
“Oh. That’s good.” I don’t know what else to say, but I do know what to do.
With my contacts folder open, I select Josh’s number. The moment his groggy voice fills the line, I take a deep breath. “Sorry to wake you, but I need your help.”
“Sure, Sara. What’s wrong?”
Everything. Instead of admitting that, I look over my shoulder at Ezra. “Well, I have a naked shifter in my kitchen, a sleeping shifter baby in my living room, and I think there’s a bad-guy shifter lurking in the streets by my house.”
“I’ll be there in ten, fifteen minutes.”
“You don’t have to come. I just need you to call Ilan. He’s the one who left Ezra with me while he went to clean up some dead bodies, but if he doesn’t get back here soon, there might be more here.”
“I’ll call Ilan, then I’ll be right out. Just stay calm. I’ve been in your shoes before. I understand. You’re not alone in this, okay?”
The call cuts. I set the phone on the table. Josh’s words repeat in my head, but he’s wrong. He can’t understand. He doesn’t have a little boy in the next room who he wishes was his. Then again, maybe I’m wrong. He has two little girls at home set to take his name.