Katy hissed, but even that drained her energy. She was just so…so…sad.
Human Sora skittered backward and pressed herself into a corner, drew her knees up like a shield. “I wanted to save them.”
“Get up,” the Alpha snarled to Sora. There was something in his tone, though—an order. A demand. Katy couldn’t help herself. She dragged her body up and stood, panting.
Ronin watched her, shocked. “Holy shit,” he whispered.
“I made her a Tarian,” Sora whispered. “So you couldn’t get rid of her.”
Ronin stood suddenly and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. When he put the phone to his ear, Katy could hear it so clearly, as if it was her own ear pressed to the small, glowing screen. It was ringing.
“Yeah?” a somber voice answered. She didn’t recognize it.
“Orion,” Ronin rumbled, “is he with you?”
“He’s ahead of me. We’re searching the south woods, halfway done with the grid in our territory.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“Sure, boss,” Orion said, and then static sounded.
“What?” he asked. He. Kannon.
Katy closed her eyes as that one word rolled through her body, lifting the hairs like she was in a lightning storm. For the first time since she’d become this thing, Katy took a deep breath.
Ronin sighed as he stared at Katy. “I found her.”
“What? Where? Is she okay? Ronin! Where?” he yelled. Static sounded again. “We’re running to the truck. Give me an address. Is she okay?” he demanded again.
“She’s alive.”
“You didn’t answer my fuckin’ question.”
Ronin snarled up a lip and strode to Sora, who stood stunned on locked, splayed legs. He shoved the phone at her ear. “You fuckin’ tell him what you did.”
Sora whimpered.
“You had the balls enough to do this, woman. Own up to the life you ruined,” Ronin gritted out.
“I…” Sora closed her eyes, and a tear streamed down her cheek. “I Changed her.”
A monstrous roar sounded on the other line before Ronin hung up the phone. “You know the punishment for Changing a human.”
Sora sobbed and slammed her head back against the wall. She opened her eyes and looked Ronin directly in the face when she whispered, “You’re too late. I’m already dead.”
Ronin’s face softened as he searched the girls eyes. Did he see the sadness that Katy saw there? Was that why he backed off her and averted his gaze? “Get out.”
Sora brushed passed him and murmured, “Yes, Alpha.” And then she stopped at the door and turned to Katy, wiped the tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry, but if I had it all to do again, I would do everything the same.”
She closed the door as she left, and Ronin slammed his fist through the wall. “Fuck,” he muttered thickly. “I was trying to save you, too, you know? Sora and I just went about it differently.”
Katy could move her legs again, so she paced the back wall. Ronin was a big lion. She felt his size more than saw it, and she didn’t want to be anywhere around him. Not in these close quarters. Submissive Sora was vastly different from this Tarian Alpha.
The next time the door opened, her life was changed again in an instant. Kannon strode in, chest heaving as if he’d run here, eyes wild, dark hair mussed as though he’d run his hands through it a hundred times today. He didn’t take his attention off Katy as he shook his head. Was it disbelief on his face?
“She’s bonded already,” Ronin gritted out as he made his way to the door.
The second the door closed, she stopped pacing and padded over to him. Kannon backed up slowly until his shoulder blades were against the wall, but he wasn’t scared of her. She could tell. He slid down the wall and held his arms out just as she reached him. And as she nuzzled her face against his, over and over, a wave of relief filled this new body.
She made a sound. It came from the deep and was so loud to her new, sensitive ears. It rattled her entire chest.
She was purring.
She lay down heavily between his legs and cleaned the healing briar cuts on his arms. He’d been searching for her. He smelled tired and sad. It was weird that she could smell his emotions.
“I didn’t want this for you,” he murmured, “but I’m going to make it all okay. I’m going to make sure you’re happy, safe, and know you’re always cared for. You were mine before you were hers.”
And she understood. She wasn’t just Human Katy anymore. She was different, and her new life would be governed by the animal. She didn’t want that, but there was something inside her that told her she’d been prepped for this her whole life. She’d been let down just enough to search for something bigger. For Kannon. And the sadness inside of her lifted because she had heard the honesty in his voice.
“Change back,” he whispered, stroking his big, strong hand down the side of her face in a caress. “I want to hold you.”
And the thing that had eluded her these hours came to her suddenly. The how. The reason to Change back. The motivation.
She wanted to fold into his arms like she had last night. The animal was fierce, but she also compromised. She let Katy have her body back. And, oh, it hurt. It was like dying. Dying into her old skin. It felt like the Change lasted forever, though it was probably no more than a few seconds.
And when she lay there, gasping and curled into a ball, arms wrapped around her middle like that would fix the aching pieces, Kannon dragged her against his chest and held her pieces together for her. He rocked gently. He was so big and so strong and smelled so familiar, like home.
She cried. She didn’t feel weak for it, though, not this time. This time she was crying as she accepted her new life and said goodbye to the old.
“My human life was taken, and I’m angry,” she explained to him as he hugged her tighter. “I’ll probably be angry for a long time. But there are bright sides.”
“Of course you would find them this fast,” he said, pride in his voice.
She smiled through her tears. “One, I have superpowers now, like supersonic hearing, claws and teeth, and I can see every splinter in the wood in here. I can destroy furniture, roar when something pisses me off, growl lots, and smell emotions. I can also, maybe I can tell when people lie and tell the truth, like you can. And I’m going to get really good at peeing in the woods and that’s kind of like a superpower, too.”
Kannon chuckled, and it was that tiny noise that loosened up her chest the rest of the way. “Two,” he murmured, “I don’t have to be gentle when I fuck you anymore.”
“Oh, my God. Of course, that would be your bright side,” she said with a giggle.
He cupped her cheek gently and looked at her like she was beautiful, despite the monster inside of her. “There’s that laugh I love,” he told her. “I was terrified the entire way here that this would break you, but I should’ve known better. You’re the toughest woman I’ve ever met.” And there was the compliment. The. Compliment. A hundred boys could’ve said, ‘You’re pretty,’ and those words would’ve gone in one ear and out the other. But Kannon had told her she was strong, and that was a million times more important than how she looked.
“Three,” she murmured, smiling up at him. “I can probably eat more cookies now and not gain weight. I feel like I have muscles now.”
“That’s true. Now you’ll be hungry all the time. Four,” he said, lowering his voice and resting his forehead against hers, “I can keep you.”
And that was what broke her, but not in a bad way. I can keep you. This man she’d fallen so hard for wanted to keep her. She wasn’t some tagalong, valueless girl to call whenever he got bored.
She was coveted by this man. She saw him, the real him, and he took the time to see her right back. And there was triumph in that, because she’d thought for so long her life had been destined to be a lonely one.
Not anymore.
She rested her cheek against his steadying heartbeat, curled tighter into his arms, and smiled against the kiss he gave her.
Then she whispered, “I’m happy I get to keep you, too.”
There was murmuring outside that was getting louder and louder. “Do you hear them?” Kannon asked.
Katy tensed and sat up straighter, listening. “Yes. Who are they?”
Kannon stood and took her with him. When he had her steadied on her feet, he peeled his shirt off.
“Wait, are we fooling around now?” She was a little hopeful.
Kannon chuckled before he pulled his shirt over her head and tugged the hem down to just above her knees. “There’s some people your lioness needs to meet.”
“Okay,” she whispered, wary.
He wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her out of the bedroom, out onto the front porch. The light was so bright and saturated, she winced and held her hand up to shield her face. How long had it been since she’d been outside? How long had she been…this?
The murmur of the crowd was overwhelming to her new senses, and her attention landed on every movement. She could hear the racing of her own heartbeat like a drum in her ears. Her hands were shaking as he led her down the stairs and into the other monsters. Because that’s what they were, right? They smelled like animals. Fur and dominance mixed with their human smells—soap and shampoo, cologne.
It was hard to breathe. “Kannon,” she whispered.
“I’m right here,” he promised. “Not going anywhere. You’re safe, Katy.” He swallowed hard and searched her face. “This can be your Pride, if you want it. You can be a Tarian now.”
She looked up at the faces, expecting anger. They stayed back, keeping distance between her and Kannon and them.
Outcast.
But then Rose stepped forward and pulled her in for a hug. Emerald next, and the other females, too. They eased her away from Kannon, but it was okay. He was smiling as they hugged her tight and rubbed the side of their face against hers. They were purring, and so was she. But then she was crying because the emotions in her chest were so big.