Dark Leopard Magic

Dark Leopard Magic A novella of homoerotic, paranormal romance by

SAPPHIRE PHELAN

Published by Phaze Books Also by Sapphire Phelan Crimson Promise Beast Magic (also available in Shifting Desires anthology) Being Familiar with a Witch Ain’t Nothing Like Succubus Loving

This is an explicit and erotic novel intended for the enjoyment of adult readers. Please keep out of the hands of children.

www.Phaze.com

Dark Leopard Magic Copyright © 2010 by Sapphire Phelan ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Edited by Kathryn Lively Cover Art © 2010 by Anastasia Rabiyah First Edition November 2010 ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-574-9

Published by: Phaze Books An imprint of Mundania Press LLC 6470A Glenway Ave., #109 Cincinnati, OH 45211 All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, Mundania Press LLC, 6470A Glenway Avenue, #109, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211, [email protected]. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. This electronic book is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be copied, re-sold, given away, or otherwise distributed. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights and livelihood is appreciated.

Chapter One—Dev In the Beginning I’d always been different. I had a rough life, too. Well, not for the first part

of it, when my mother was still alive.

I don’t remember my birth, but then what child does? Not much afterwards, either, not until I was three years old. Mother told me some details, and about my father. It seemed that he wasn’t like her and me. He wasn’t a shapeshifter, but human. He also was an American—she originated from India. Guess you could say that I am a half-breed—half human, half wereleopard. I took after my mother and was born a leopard, remaining a cub until I turned one year old, and made my first change to my human body, just like most shapeshifters. The only things I inherited from her were my ink-black hair and amberyellow eyes (wereleopards have these color eyes). Everything else—my pale skin, height, and muscular shape—came from my father. I even inherited the darkness that lived in his soul, as I would learn later on. My father wasn’t in my life, ever. Before I’d been born, Mother had killed him. He had been beating her as he always did when he came home drunk, and that last time was the final straw for her. She described with relish the look of horror in his eyes as she revealed what she really was before she killed him. Though she never said it to me, I suspected that—like the black widow spider— she’d feasted on her lover’s remains, too. We never went back to her country, India. When I asked her why, she would say, “I had my Dreaming the next night after I had just killed your father and saw my wereleopard mate was in India, but he had been killed by hunters.” She gave a sad little smile. “I would have killed myself when the Dreaming let me know, for when one mate perishes, the other does not want to live. But then, I found I was pregnant with you. The last time the human raped me before I killed the bastard, his seed had managed to take root in my womb. You kept me alive, my darling son.” I could never get her to tell me anything else. The subject remained closed. We also never hung around other wereleopards in America, or any other kind of shifter, either. We lived in a cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia. She allowed me to attend school, but that was it. I was not allowed to have friends over or visit them. It wouldn’t do for the humans in the nearby town

to discover the monsters living among them. The kids at school didn’t understand why I didn’t associate with them and they began to call me names. Names like retard, dummy, and when I grew into my preteens, two other names took over: Mommy’s little lover and homo. Strange as it may seem to others, my mother kept my emotions grounded. My world was just her and me. Daytime was spent in human skin, and nights of hunting beneath the stars in leopard form. Thanks to our hunting (mainly her, I was a lousy hunter when I was younger), deer, rabbit and squirrel meat provided our sustenance. The only time I ate cooked food was noontime at school when I bought my lunch. One day that all changed. Mother died. She’d been hunting as the leopard when a pack of wild dogs jumped her and ripped her to shreds. I was sixteen at the time. Afraid to tell authorities that I was alone, even making up some story that my mother had abandoned me or something, I continued to go to school. I kept to myself. My hormones wanted otherwise. I would use my hand at night, hoping that would bring relief. It didn’t. I decided to get closer to the humans—in particular, one human, Daisy Sumpter. She was a geek who was always reading and got exceptional grades in school. She was also a virgin. I could smell it on her. I decided we would get rid of our virginity together. It never happened. I got her to go on several dates with me. I supposed she was pleased anyone asked her out, even the bad boy that no one liked. One night I took her to this place where all the kids went to fuck. The odor of sex hung heavy in the air. Heady, my penis grew hard. I began to kiss her, slipped off her top, and fumbled with her breasts. Then it happened. My enthusiasm departed. When she saw my limp dick, she laughed. Angry, I took the little bitch home. I tried other girls and the same thing occurred. Before long, the homo name stuck to me as the only one everyone called me. Unable to take their taunting and growing afraid of my anger and what I might do, I scrammed one night and left the area. **** I lived like a wild animal for a couple of years, sticking to my leopard form. Hunted fresh game at night and slept during the day in a large cave I found in the mountains. Without my mother to help me, I didn’t hunt too well. Nine times out of ten, my prey escaped. The easiest things to catch were the occasional rabbit and squirrels. Once, I ran down an elderly deer that hobbled more than bolted. I grew thin. I thought no one knew a leopard lived in the mountains, or if they heard, thought I was a myth like the mountain lion. My idyllic life ended when I was captured by hunters a year later. I ended up in a circus, performing for countless humans. The other big cats they owned hated me. They knew I wasn’t natural,

one of them. After a while, the circus people kept me in my own cage for my own protection. I guess I was too valuable to get rid of. Within two years, beaten down and past caring, I became a shade of myself—an eunuch in all but the literal truth. One night, tired of what I had become and wanting only to escape, I shifted into my two-legged humanoid shape. Taking a hairpin I had found in the straw of my cage, I used it to pick the lock and fled. The pale light from the full moon splashed an unearthly glow to the area as I walked naked between the circus tents, trucks, cages filled with real animals, and the carny area of rides and games. I stuck to the shadows to avoid as much the humans as possible. I thought I had almost succeeded when I ran into Johnny Tripp, one of the clowns. He had just gotten out of his clown makeup and was as drunk as hell, lolling on the stoop of his RV. Clutching a bottle of cheap whiskey and swigging from it, he paused and peered toward the shadows where I hid. I remained motionless between his RV and the trailer next to it. Apparently, though, he wasn’t drunk enough that didn’t catch movement when I shifted from one foot to another. Shivering from both the cold and now fear, I breathed in the stink of his dirty body. I ducked down behind a bush nearby, but most of its leaves had been stripped and the plant didn’t afford me much cover. I watched as he crashed my way. “Who’s there?” he called out. “Come on, I know someone’s hiding behind that bush. I can see gleam of your pale skin.” I rose to my feet and knew I looked pathetic, barely covered by the dark velvet of the night. My hands tightened into fists. “Here I am.” My voice barely croaked above a whisper. I was scared shitless. Who knew what would happen to me. Unlike my kind, I’d been a worthless shifter, unable to hunt well and defend myself much. A ping reached my ears and, looking down, I saw the shine from my claws as they sprouted from my fingertips. They cut into my palms and droplets of blood dripped to the dirt. Johnny stumbled forward, the whiskey from his bottle sloshing and splashing onto the ground. Its fumes reeked. Nasty and cheap, it offended my senses. Johnny grabbed me and yanked me toward him. His arms circled around me, and he held me tight against his form. I felt something growing hard against my hip. Worse, my cock began to lengthen and harden. My claws retracted as my arousal deepened. “You smell sweet, naked man,” said Johnny, and then he kissed me. His kiss deepened and his tongue found its way into my mouth. The tip traveled along the inside, teasing me with an erotic feather touch. I moaned and answered that kiss, my own tongue meshing with his. My organ grew harder. He slipped a hand down and touched me.

Johnny drew back and laughed. “Mmmmm, you’re a big one, aren’t you? When I have a man, I get first pick. My cock gets first hole.” Suddenly things changed. He shoved me around and to the ground on my hands and knees. I heard the rustle of clothing, but didn’t dare to look back. Instead, I grew even more excited by the sounds. I could smell his arousal, too. Sweet, it tantalized my nostrils. Deep into the erotic need, precum wet the head of my cock. He dropped to his knees directly behind my ass, spread the crack with his work-roughened hands, and I felt something hard probing at the entrance there. It started to worm its way inside. It burned—hurting—then things grew better as I adjusted to it, even though I was dry. He penetrated me like a man fucked a woman. Even though he hadn’t prepared me or lubricated me, it made me so excited that the change began. I glowed with my beast magic. Johnny apparently never noticed as he kept pounding away. My human face was the first to go. Like putty, the skin over my skull moved and warped. Then the skull began to reshape itself, too, softening. Whiskers sprouted out of my cheeks. My gums receded and my teeth lengthened and sharpened. They became fangs, and made my small human mouth uncomfortable. To accommodate them, my mouth jutted outwards into a snout with a maw to match. Fingernails and toenails morphed into claws and hands and feet into paws. It wasn’t long before a happily fucking Johnny was pushing his cock into the asshole of a leopard, just under the swishing tail. When my tail brushed against his face, he stopped. I looked back at him and saw him looking down with a frown, as he tried to think with his alcohol-soaked brain. Then the moonlight glittered across my flesh of spots and I knew it also revealed my face. A look of shock, then terror, sketched in his eyes. Screaming, he pulled out and leaped to his feet, his pants pooling at his feet. He couldn’t run and stumbled. Frightened, angry even, I whipped around and knocked him down. As I lay on him, I stared into his fear-fogged eyes. “Oh, God, what the hell are you?” he cried. “How can a man become a leopard? I can’t stand you…you monster!” His fear wafted into my nostrils and my own anger grew hotter. He had raped me and he called me a monster? Suddenly, the years of abuse broke me. With a snarl, I tore out his throat. Blood splashed my face. I rose off his body and knew he was dead. Knowing what that meant, I summoned my beast magic to rid me of the man’s blood and I spirited myself out of the area. No longer a shapeshifter—now I was a monster for real. **** The next few years I kept going, taking short stopovers in cities to rest. I never stayed in towns and the country or small burgs, just big cities. I could lose

myself among the steel skeletons of the skyscrapers. I would rent out a room at a cheap dive using leftover money I had earned along my journey, or stolen from lovers I’d left behind. When I had no money, I would bunk down at a homeless shelter. That was rare, for I couldn’t trust myself not to be caught doing the change. In a shelter, there was no room to be by yourself; instead you shared a room full of cots with others. The motels and flea-ridden hotels were much safer alternatives. I found lovers, too—men at gay bars, desperate for rough sex. I gave it to them, reveling in fucking their asses hard or shoving my cock down their throats, almost choking them. I found I liked it like that, loved hurting a lot of the humans. That just gave me further proof that I was some kind of monster, even when not in my wereleopard form. Unfortunately, one day I screwed up with the violence. I met this man, Tom. Slim, but smaller than me, he had long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. Soft gray eyes rimmed by long dark eyelashes glowed with pleasure when our eyes met. His gaze traveled over my body, stopping at the evident bulge in my jeans. He rose off his bar stool, glass of whiskey in hand, and sashayed over to me. His lips at my ear, he whispered, “Are you happy to see me?” He palmed the bulge. “Or is that a...” I grabbed his hand, warning, “Don’t say that tired old refrain. And yeah, I’m horny.” I placed my lips at his ear and flicked out the tip of my tongue, circling his ear with it. He shivered. I laughed softly. “Forget all the niceties, lover. Let’s go to my place and just get on with it.” We left the bar with my arm around his waist and my hand planted on his ass, heading for the cheap motel room I had rented earlier that day. The odor of fucking and poor quality wine and beer filled the room. Stains—some I could imagine where they came from, others I didn’t care to know—blemished the bed’s blanket and sheets. It didn’t matter to me, though. The place would do for a night of hard fornication. I ripped his clothes from his body. He protested. Not much, as no doubt he couldn’t wait for us to get on with it. He crawled onto the mattress and lay on his back, his legs spread wide. His buttocks rose high, and he spread his cheeks to reveal his nice little hole. Climbing between his legs, I got myself comfortable as I kneeled. His musky odor aroused me and soon I got down to business, sucking his cock and fondling his balls. I slid Tom’s rod to the back of my throat and began to massage it with my tongue across the length. He moaned and asked if he could play with me. I knew what he wanted and moved around so that he could get a good reach. I moved my mouth up and down his staff as he cupped my balls with one hand and caressed the length of mine with the other one. I took his balls and gave them a gentle squeeze.

He moaned, then kissed the base of my shaft. The more he kissed the soft skin tightly bound around the rock hard core, the more he lingered. He licked and kissed his way toward the head. I dropped his prick out of my mouth. Oh hell, he’s good at giving head! I thought. I sucked him harder, running my tongue around the ridge of his cockhead. With a flick, I pried his slit hole apart with the tip of my tongue. The salty taste of precum filled my mouth. I slid my tongue into the slit back and forth. This turned him on all the more and he moved his hips and, in one quick motion, slid my cock down his throat. Lust blossomed inside me, lighting a fire that raced through me all the way to my organ, causing it to grow thicker and longer. I fucked his face hard and fast. I had to give it to the man, he took it and gave it back to me as well as he was getting. I grabbed the cheeks of his ass and pinched them, alternately sucking his penis and balls as, excited, I began the change. My teeth become fangs—using them, I nibbled on the skin of his rod. The pain apparently made him hornier, for he shoved his dick all the way down my throat until his pubic hairs tickled my nose. That was when he came, shooting his hot jism into my mouth. Oh God, so tasty! My fingernails became claws and I gripped his ass tighter, blood streaming from where the tips embedded into the skin. Unable to help it, my balls released their load and my seed slipped down his throat. The change complete, I snarled, still fully aroused, and bit him. The aroused monster in me kept gnawing on his penis until it was torn from his crotch. Then I rolled off of him and swung around, catching sight of cum spitting out of his mouth with the screams. He stared at his cock in my maw with horror, then down at the bloody mess between his legs. I slapped him with a clawed-edged paw. His head snapped back with a loud crack, and he went silent. He lay there on the sheet, sodden with sperm and blood, his neck broken and the look of terror frozen in his eyes. In my human skin once more, I spit out his organ, right onto his chest. I left him there. Without a backwards glance for the dead human, I magicked myself out of the building and to the darkened streets outside. I was glad I’d paid several days for that room. The managers wouldn’t check until time for my check out. They would find the body then, but I would be long gone. I could live without my clothes and the spare change I’d left. The spilt blood and violent sex made me hungry. Though I had killed the man, I never ate humans. My soul wasn’t that dark. I hunted. Letting my nose do the tracking, I caught the fresh spoor of a couple of feral dogs, just down the street. Staying out of the glow of the streetlights and hugging the shadows, I remained downwind of the mongrels so they couldn’t would catch wind of me. I paced into the alley where my prey hid.

I cornered the frightened beasts. They whimpered and cowered as they saw me. Raising a claw-tipped paw, my muscles bunching to strike, and suddenly I sensed humans behind me. “Catch the filthy bugger,” said a voice. No longer caring about the dogs, I whipped around and saw that I was cut off by about seven men. I snarled, hoping that would scare them off. Instead, the biggest and tallest of the lot stepped toward me, carrying something in his hands. I flicked back my ears, growled, and backed up. Not too far, as my tail and butt found the fence. Someone whistled. “Come on, Katie and Joe, you did your jobs.” The dogs bolted past me and ran up to another of the darkened figures. Stupid twit. The dogs were a trap set for you. Some fucking wereleopard you are. Then I remembered the beast magic, and just as I was about to use it to get away, the tall one threw whatever thing he held in his hands over me. Made of metal, I figured it had to be a net. The metal burned my skin and I screamed in agony. Damn it, it was made of silver! Falling to my side and laying on the dirty cement, the pain felt so immense that I wanted to die. Let the damn humans kill me—at least do it quick. Spare me the silver poisoning, a slow, terrible death. The tall man grinned down at me. “I was promised a lot of money for you, shapeshifter. Someone filthy rich wants your kind very much.” Just as I thought that this was it, something very large erupted over the fence and over me, landing mere inches from the man. Taller than him, the thing drew closer, and the next second I heard the terrified screams of the man. With my night vision I saw the human drop to the ground and black wetness flooding from him into a big puddle. The smell of human blood along with urine wafted to my nostrils and I knew that he was dead.

Chapter Two—Dev The creature spun around like a whirlwind, striking down all but one man and the two dogs. Ignoring the fleeing man and dogs, it tore an arm off one of the bodies and used it to flip the net off of me. I huddled there, hardly breathing and still in agony from the silver. My eyes closed, I sensed the approaching being. I took in the scent of a canine. Werewolf? I opened my eyes and saw a large wolfish face right in my face. Are you all right, kitty? Kitty? I’ll give you a kitty up your… He chuckled, then picked me up and slung me over his shoulder, fireman style. Not ready to die yet, if you can retort back at me like that. Let’s get going before that human brings others. With inhuman speed and strength, he leaped the fence and loped away on two legs, carrying me easily like I was only a five-pound sack of potatoes and not a wereleopard weighing in at two-fifty. He entered a building just outside the city. He headed into a bedroom and, with gentle paws, laid me on a bed. Then he flipped on the light switch. Light flooded the room. He shifted to his human form. Well-formed, he had a muscular chest, slim waist, graspable hips, and a flat stomach. His cock was at rest; even then, it was bigger than most men’s I had seen. He saw the lust in my eyes and my penis hardening and grimaced. “Sorry, but I’m not that way, kitty. Prefer the females myself.” Struggling with my beast magic, I became a man again. Wincing from the pain, I apologized. “Sorry. Keep forgetting not to do that. It’s a habit hard to break, though, lusting after good-looking men.” He shrugged, then walked through a nearby doorway into what looked like a smaller room. I knew it had to be the bathroom when the sound of water running reached my ears. He came back and helped me out of bed to stand on my shaky legs. I couldn’t help myself, but his touch made me even harder to the point of pain. He kept his eyes off the evidence of my arousal. “Let’s get you into the tub of warm water, shall we?” “Let me apologize again.” I sighed. “I don’t mean to ogle you.” “It doesn’t bother me—your sexual persuasion. Just mine is and always will be heterosexual.”

He lifted me and placed me into the warm water. I looked up at him. “You never shared a threesome at least—like with another man and a woman?” His nostrils flared. “Never have. Who knows what will happen in the future? I wouldn’t be touching the man intimately, if that’s what you’re asking.” He handed me a dry wash cloth and a bar of soap. “Now, I’ll leave you to clean up and soak those sore muscles.” Before he left, I blurted out, “My name’s Devesh Tollen, but you can call me Dev. What’s yours?” Standing in the opened doorway with his back to me, he said, “Wolfe Tanner,” Then he stepped out, the door swinging shut behind him. I scrubbed, working at getting all the grime off first. Then I lay back in the cooling water and relaxed. I closed my eyes, nodding off as the water lapped against my flesh. I was dead to the world.

Chapter Three—Montsho I awoke, sweat covering my entire body and the covers and sheets on my bed. My penis had swollen to agonizing pain. I had never been this full of need, not since I was an untried youth on my first time. I clawed the sheets to ribbons as the need roared through my body. Once again, I had the Dreaming. About him—the white man who could shift into a spotted leopard. I stared down at my hands and noticed how the black skin stretched thin and almost whitened. All my life I had waited for my Dreaming and this is what I get? Not a female, but a male of my kind? What kind of fucked-up joke by the gods was that? I threw off the covers and gaped at the evidence of my desire. Damn, but it hurt. I did the only thing I could. I masturbated. So close was I to explosion that it only took a couple of seconds. Now besides the sweat, my bed was wetted by my seed. I climbed off the mattress and padded over to the armoire, rifling in it for clothes to slip on. Found a pair of brown shorts and a white T-shirt. Good enough. Dressed, I left my place and walked barefoot through the bush to Ramses’ home. There was to be a meeting there this morning for the shifter leaders. I represented the wereleopards, besides being the head of security for Ramses and his family. I should have been composed and ready for this meeting, except I wasn’t. Thanks to my dream man. The last four Dreamings had been pretty G-rated. Not this last one. Neither of us had worn clothing at all. Besides the fact, we mated. And, damn, if he didn’t look fine for a white male! When he turned into a leopard, his spotted coat had me lusting to stroke it, feel how lustrous it was. I remember my organ inside his tight little— Shit! No! I halted, feeling the ache between my thighs. My penis had grown hard and heavy again. I had to get a hold of myself as I couldn’t walk into the meeting randy as a horny leopard. Ducking behind a bush and making sure I was alone, I took hold of the shaft and pumped and rode the crest until I exploded. I dropped to my knees and saw the white mixing with the dirt. I never came that intense before. You never saw him naked in your mind’s eye before, either. Never had him.

Ah, fuck. I dropped my forehead on the ground. Closed my eyes and cried like a newborn cub. It took me some time, but finally, I rose to my feet and wiped my dirty tearstains from my face with a leaf. I headed for the meeting. **** Everyone filed out of Ramses’ home, except for me. I guess he saw something in my face and turned to his mate, Shana. She held their daughter, Adaeze, in their arms. She had just put down their son, Abubakar, for his nap. “Can you leave us, my anisa?” She nodded. “Sure, beloved. I’ll go into the twins’ bedroom to feed Adaeze. She’s always such a hungry little thing.” Adaeze growled and waved her fists. Shana smiled at Ramses when he chuckled, then left us alone. A frown lined his forehead. “What is wrong?” I looked away. “It’s nothing, your majesty.” “It does not look like nothing to me.” His nostrils widened as he sniffed. “I can smell the tension you are feeling. You look like a…Shana calls it…” His frown deepened, then his eyes brightened. “Ah yes, like a tightly wound wire.” “I am not a wire, your majesty.” I stared into his eyes. “I am fine.” He sighed. “Sure, sure, and yet, you were not your usual helpful self in the meeting today. Many times I caught you looking away, as if into the distance.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You were not with us.” Had I been that obvious? I thought I had hid it well. I gave Ramses a bleak look. “I had the Dreaming.” He grinned and thumped me on the back. “That’s wonderful! What does she look like?” I grimaced. I didn’t know how to tell him. I didn’t want to see the look that would be in his eyes when I did. I blurted it out as if doing so would make it all the better. “It’s a he, not a she. He was a white man, too, besides a wereleopard.” Ramses blinked. “Did you say a male?” “Yes.” He patted my shoulder. “I can see this has affected you, brushed your fur the wrong way. But, if the Dreaming says this male is yours, then you can not deny your destiny with him. Besides, the Dreaming never lies.” “Yes, I know it only tells the truth.” I looked at the werelion. “But, I have never once looked at another male—not in that way. My experiences have been with female wereleopards.” He grimaced again. “And a couple of human female prostitutes in Cape Town, too. Never have I been with a male.” “Still, my friend, the Dreaming foretold your lover for life. You are lucky. There are many other werecreatures in the world that never get their Dreaming.

Male or female, that is still better than an empty life.” He stared into the darkened hallway that led to the bedrooms. “If I had never had my Dreaming of Shana and lived alone until I died, I would be only half a being.” He turned back to me. “Has the Dreaming led you to know where this male is?” “Yes, in America.” “Ah, America. That is a good country. It brought me Shana.” “What should I do, Ramses?” “Go find him. I give you leave. Bring him back here to live in the bushveld.” Bowing my head, I said, “As you wish, your majesty.”

Chapter Four—Dev I woke up with a start, splashing water over the rim of the tub and onto the linoleum. Not calling for Wolfe’s help, I managed to climb out of the bath and yanked the fluffy white towel off the rack. I dried myself, wincing in pain as I felt the nasty silver burns along my back, buttocks, and legs. Even with my beast magic, it would take a while for those to heal. I limped into the bedroom and found the lights on, and some clothing on the bed. Picking the clothes up, I saw a pair of men’s pants and a T-shirt. No underwear, though. That was fine with me. I preferred commando myself. No shoes or socks, either, but again, fine with me. I dressed, then padded out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the living room. I still limped but it seemed to be getting better. One of the perks of being a shifter—we healed fast. Hearing whistling, I followed the sound until I stepped into the kitchen and found Wolfe busy at the stove, cooking something in a frying pan that smelled great. Bacon! It’s bacon. I patted my stomach as it rumbled. Not even looking at me, he said, “Take a seat at the table. This is just about ready. Hope you like eggs and bacon.” “Love them.” I thumped down in one of the chairs and saw my place set with a plate, utensils, and a glass of milk. I gulped all of the milk, plunked the empty glass on the table, and wiped the milky mustache off my upper lip with the back of my hand. The werewolf turned off the stove and brought over the pan, scraping eggs and bacon onto my plate. He raised a dark eyebrow at the empty glass. “Not too thirsty, are we?” I attacked the food without comment. He laughed. “Not too hungry, either, I see.” Not saying a word, I gobbled everything up, then sat back and burped. “That was the best food I ever had.” He shook his head. “Doubt it, just that you probably hadn’t eaten in a while.” He took away the dirty plate and silverware, washed them along with the now cool pan, and stuck them in the basket on the counter. After he swung a leg over the chair across from me, he dug out a pack of cigarettes and must have noticed me eyeing them, as he asked, “Want a smoke?” “No, I’m a non-smoker.”

With a shrug, he said, “It’s a nasty habit, but I became addicted long ago. Since shifters can’t get cancer like humans can, it won’t kill me that way. Not unless someone figures to put silver in one.” The smoke swirled around his head like a wreath as he took a couple puffs. Then he put it out in an ashtray when he saw my still-condemning looks. “Okay, okay. Someday I’ll give it up.” Pushing the ashtray to one side, he folded his arms on the table and sighed. “What now, kitty? Do you want to stay the night at least?” “Don’t call me kitty. The name is Dev Tollen.” “That’s right. Tollen sounds—” “Foreign? It is Indian. My mother was a wereleopard from India.” Wolfe asked, “Where’s she at now? And your father, too?” “She escaped to America when some humans rose up to kill her. Met my dad here, some human who didn’t know she was a shifter. He convinced her to sleep with him. When she found she didn’t care for sex with him, he raped her. It caused her to shift and she killed him. She buried his body and left town, thinking that was it.” Wolfe whispered, “But it wasn’t, was it?” “He’d gotten her pregnant with me. When she gave birth, she named me Devesh. It meant god of gods, for she fell in love with me, her sweet baby boy as she told me. I was all she had left in the world, for her Dreaming had revealed that the mate of her heart and soul had been murdered by humans, cutting off any chance to find him.” I stared at the werewolf, tears welling up in my eyes. “She died when I was fifteen. She’d been hunting food for us when a pack of wild dogs killed her. Over the years, her pain of living without her destined mate had been always so strongly evident in the lines of her face that I sensed her hold on life was fragile.” I wiped at the tears with the back of my hand and then closed my eyes as the reality of her death washed over me. Our psychic connection of mother and son had been so strong. For years I’d wished it wasn’t. Feeling a loved one’s death is a dark and terrible thing. It wrenches at the soul. Maybe it was a good thing I never had the Dreaming and found the mate of my heart. If pain from losing a parent could do this to me, what could the demise of a beloved do? Wolfe placed a hand over mine. “I don’t think she would have done that, not when she had to leave her teenaged son to fend for himself. I’m sorry for your loss.” He rose from the table. “Stay the night and let your wounds heal. I left you a blanket and pillow on the couch in the living room. Good night.” He left me alone. I sat there for a while, constraining the memories back into a corner of my soul, then with a sigh stood up. As if by instinct, I stumbled into the living room. A lone lamp shone, sending its gentle glow over the couch. Stripping and dropping the clothes on the rug, I fluffed the pillow and crawled beneath the blanket. After clicking off the light, I lay awake, unable to fall asleep. I did what I always did to help me drop off when I couldn’t, masturbate. I tried

thinking of my host—even though I knew he would not be pleased if he knew— when it happened. The Dreaming forced its way upon me. The face of my heart and soul flashed into my mind, seductive like a lover’s promise. Dark-skinned, his eyes of amber-yellow gleamed. The name Montsho flittered across my mind. I am not prejudiced, but I never thought my heart’s desire would be a black man. It didn’t matter, though. He was handsome, though no smile lit up his lips. In fact, he looked upset and because of it, he transformed. Where he had stood, a leopard with a coat of glossy black fur crouched. It snarled and then leaped. The Dreaming broke, and I lay there, my heart thumping. More so, my cock had hardened to the point that it hurt unbearably. I couldn’t stay here. Not after the Dreaming. I had to find him. Hell, needed to find him. Find him, or die trying. I flipped back the blanket and grabbed the clothes, slipping them on. I paused and stared at the darkened hallway that led to my host’s bedroom. Then I gave a shrug and opened the front door, slipping into the night without a goodbye. I could have done the transformation at that moment but decided to wait until I found some woods. The temperature had dropped considerably, but I didn’t feel it. Crossing several miles, I came to some woods and, hiding behind one tall tree, chunked my clothing and converted into the leopard. I ran as swift as the fastest wind. Instinct told me where to go. Instinct started by the Dreaming. Most werepeople had their Dreaming when young. I assumed that meant I would never have a true mate. That maybe my lust for other men seemed deviant to the Dreaming. No, it seemed that I was a late bloomer. Thank the stars and moon my mate was a male like me, and not a female. Love or not, I doubted I could have touched a woman, not after knowing the pleasures of a man’s flesh. As the old saying went, you can’t change a leopard’s spots. Pausing by a small stream, I lowered my head and lapped at the cold water. Why did he look angry? I wondered if he had his Dreaming and saw me. Did that mean he wasn’t gay? I lifted my head, despair slamming into me with a hard punch. No. How cruel is the Dreaming, to show me my mate, and he wouldn’t be able to stomach my touch? I shuddered. Hardly breathing, I splashed through the water and padded down a small path between bushes and trees. Branches whipped me, but I didn’t care. I had to find him, convince my beloved that we were meant to be together. Lust filled me as I imagined myself in my leopard form and I mounted him, his long black tail swishing against my front, its tip tickling my nose. I sped up, dust rising behind me in a thick cloud.

I ran like that for several nights, sleeping during the day in my leopard body, hidden in caves and deep holes that I dug out beneath bushes. The Dreaming came upon me as I slept and saw him, as a black leopard and as a man, his naked, nubile body pleasing to me. I especially loved his cock. Not as large as mine in girth, still it was long, with a thick, dark bulbous head. Uncircumcised, too. My mouth watered to suck and taste his salty, warm staff, to swallow his liquid of need. I wanted to pleasure him, show him that love with another male would not be terrible. Desperate to make him want me, I corrupted one of my Dreamings and sent my beast magic out to seduce my lover. He used his beast magic to fight back, but somehow, some way, mine was stronger. Pleased that my magic was the alpha, I was able to stalk up to him in our dreams. I grasped his rod in my hand and stroked it. He shuddered, unable to fight the luscious feeling of his cock being mastered. Like an instrument I played his lust like a love song until it filled him and he let me drag him into my arms. “Come, is this so bad?” I whispered into his ear, flicking the tip of my tongue into it. “Let me show you even more sensation.” I dropped to my knees. The head of his penis waved in front of me. Eager, I leaned over and kissed it. It shuddered as he shuddered. Sucking the head, then the rest of it into my mouth, I let my tongue slip and slide over the hot flesh. It tasted so good, so right. I’d been waiting for this, for him for a long, long time. Grabbing each butt cheek, a finger nudging the rim of the hole between them, I worked on his cock. Unable to help it, he roared and shot his load down my throat. Ecstatic, I consumed his ambrosia. Then I rose to my feet and reached down to take his hand in mine, letting it feel its way up my leg ’til it rested between my inner thighs, within fingertip length of my erection. "Do what you want to do, lover, not what you think you should." I bent over and whispered into his ear, licking it. “Your name, Montsho, what does it mean?” He shivered, not answering me. I laughed. “Come on,” I purred against his lips, kissing him with butterfly touches. “What does it mean?” “Black, it means black.” I nuzzled one of his nipples, hard as a pebble. “Yes, you are, and so eatable like fine, dark chocolate, too. A luscious taste, one can never be satisfied with just one nibble.” I pulled away and looked into his eyes. “I’m coming for you. Don’t doubt that. I will find you. You’re the balm I have needed for my dark soul for a long time, Montsho. The other half I needed to connect with.” He closed his eyes. “I know. When the Dreaming came upon me and I saw you, I thought that something went wrong. All my life I had waited to see the she-leopard of my dreams, one who had fur as black as mine. But no, it revealed a white man with spotted fur. I fought it fang and claw. But I can’t fight it anymore. I need you.” He opened his eyes. “I love you.”

He yanked me into his arms and kissed me. No, it wasn’t a kiss. That sounded too gentle, too refined. This was a taking, a hurricane-force need that was more than a meeting of tongues and lips. Passion erupted in every molecule and atom of our bodies, ready to gush out in explosion. I clawed at his back, digging into the flesh, flaying it in my need to get inside his skin. He, too, I could tell, needed to crawl inside me, becoming one. He took his lips an inch away. “Halla.” “Wha…what does that mean?” “Unexpected gift.” I smiled. “I like that. I’ve never been anyone’s gift before.” He stepped back. “Find me.” I threw out a hand. “Wait.” “Goodbye…halla.” I woke up, gasping with tears streaming down my cheeks. No longer the leopard, I lay naked on the cold stone of the cave floor I had found late last night. It felt as if I had lost a part of myself. Shivering from the cold of the early morning seeping into my skin, I climbed to my feet. Hard as a rock, and not from the need to pee I woke to each morning, I took myself in hand. I began to slide up and down. A picture of my beloved’s face came to me and the stroking went faster and harder. It seemed that I would never spew, never find relief. So when the orgasm slammed through me, I screamed like a leopard, the sound shattering the air with an agony. Once I grew aware, I saw my seed painting the cave wall in a big white blotch, slowly sliding down. It was also then that I noticed that my organ was raw from the manhandling I had done to it. Worse, I had to pee. Not even caring, I took hold of my penis gingerly and pointed toward the same area as my semen had splashed. Urine rushed out quick. It hurt like a sonofabitch, too. Montsho. His name caressed my mind. It swirled around my naked flesh and I felt myself stiffening again, even with my cock still sore. I crouched, arching my back, as the metamorphosis raced over me. Crackling, sparking, the beast magic glowed as my body became like putty and reshaped itself. Through it all, my shaft stayed rigid as a rock. In my true form, I growled, slashing the air with my claws. The sting of my erection needed relief. No longer needing my nose to smell out the trail, I let that other part of me lead me to Montsho. Staying to the woods during the day, I had more freedom at night, using the shadows to costume me from human eyes. It took me about five days until I reached Key West, Florida. It wasn’t summer, so no tourists. The only humans around were the locals. I found a wooded spot by the ocean and lay stretched out on a thick rug of grass. For the first time, my penis had softened and no longer throbbed. I felt

evening settling in the rising moon, a ghostly crescent glowing in the twilight sky. It also reflected its image upon the water. For the first time in days, no years, I felt peace. I knew that this would be the place I would finally meet Montsho. The Dreaming never lied. Least, so they claimed. I felt tired. Unable to keep my eyes opened, I drifted off into sleep. That night I didn’t have the Dreaming or any kind of dreams, but I didn’t care. Soon, I would have the real thing. Lucky for me, no one discovered the naked man lying in the grass by the sea. I discovered on awakening that I was so relaxed and no longer jittery, that my leopard shape had molded back into the man. Shivering from the cool breeze off the water, I stood up. Needing to clothe myself if I was to remain among the humans in this place, I ducked beneath the trees and hugged the shadows. The vegetation ended when I hit upon a small cottage not far from where I had slept. Clothing and sheets hung on a clothesline, the breeze playing with the material. Darting over to where a pair of a man’s jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt hung, I snatched them off the line and bolted back to the safety of the trees. Behind one large bush, I dressed in haste. Barefooted, I walked out of the woods and sloshed through thick sand down the beach. It was my hope that fortune continued to shine on me. It did, for I happened on a deserted cottage right off the beach. With one hard push, the back door opened easy for me. I stepped inside. Sniffed. The place had been empty for a long time. A further sniff and from the fading memories of age and decay, I detected a death of an old human two years ago. I wondered why the place hadn’t been put up for sale. I strolled through the rooms. One was a small kitchen, with dishes, glassware, utensils, and pots and pans still stocked in the cupboards. The living room had dark, carved, heavy wood furniture. A dusty old television set, prior to the flat screen era, sat upon a TV console, looking forlorn. I pressed on and found a bathroom with rusting fixtures, but still useable. Only one bedroom was in the cottage, the biggest room in the house. An antique king-sized bed dominated the room, yellowing sheets and a dusty, fading comforter on it. The room also contained a large desk, a chest of drawers, a mirror from floor to ceiling, and a bedstead nestled next to the bed. There was even a closet, bereft of the previous owner’s clothing. Obviously, they could take away his clothes, but not the lonely old man’s scent. It remained stronger in here than the rest of the place. I breathed in desperation and despair. Mental anguish, too. Maybe from a broken heart? It felt like that. I sensed a mystery to be solved, for this human intrigued me. I walked over to the bed and touch the comforter, ready to rip it off. Odors slammed up my nostrils, and I saw the old man for the first time in my head like a dream. A scene from the cottage’s past.

He lay weeping on the bed, holding a framed picture in his gnarled, wrinkled hands. In the picture was a handsome, middle-aged African-American dressed in a gray suit and tie. I thought the man in the photo had amber-yellow eyes, but I only caught a glimpse. Impossible, as that would mean he had been a wereleopard. “Oh, why did you leave me, Abraham?” the human cried. “No one cared about our love for each other. Instead, you left me.” His crying worsened. Suddenly, he threw the picture across the room and it shattered against the wall, scattering glass in tiny fragments across the hardwood floor. He snarled, “Did you think that being separated would bring peace? Hell, all it did was to cause me suffering. And then, I find out on the news that you’d been found dead, taken from me forever. I don’t want to live anymore without you, becoming nothing but a lonely, withered old man!” He lifted a gun from among the folds of the comforter and stood up, pointing it to his temple. And he shot himself. Blood splattered my dream. I shuddered, then in a frenzy ripped at the blanket and sheets with claws that had sprouted. Shredding until nothing remained of the material. I lay there, crying and unable to move. My claws retracted back into my fingers. Wiping at the tearstains on my cheeks, I lurched off the bed. Fell onto all fours. I crawled out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the kitchen. Had to find something, anything, to use as a garbage bag for the mess I had done. I got to my feet and searched the kitchen and a laundry room just off of it. Rifling a metal cabinet in the laundry room, I found a box holding three garbage bags stuffed behind some moldy trash. Yanking one bag out, I ran back to the bedroom. Frantically, I took everything off the bed and stuffed it all into the bag. Except for one piece of the comforter—the piece I could still smell the old man’s unique odor. I left it on the mattress. I tossed the bag into a trashcan out back of the cottage. I decided to see what else was in the place. Most of the treasure was trash, stuff easily stuffed in the remaining two garbage bags and tossed out along with the first one. But not the framed photo I found beneath the bed; the glass was gone. I stared at the face of the African-American man I saw in the vision. Everything about him, especially his eyes, screamed wereleopard. I placed the picture next to the cloth on the bed, but threw away the frame. I tackled the closet next. Inside, I found a locked cashbox stashed in the back, a tiny key inserted in the lock. A turn counterclockwise and it popped open, revealing a small fortune I could live on for at least a year. I stuck the piece of the comforter and the photograph inside, locking it after taking some of the cash out. I dug in the closet again and discovered some old flip flops that didn’t smell of the old human, but a wereleopard. This had to be the human’s lover’s scent. I slipped them onto my feet.

A mite big, but wearable, I thought. I needed to replace the blanket and sheets. Get some clothes to wear other than what I had stolen, along with clothing and dish detergent. Groceries, too. I could hunt if I had to survive, but being close to a lot of humans, it might be more prudent to live like them. I didn’t need to be on the eleven o’clock news. I walked into Key West, found a linen store, and bought sexy red satin sheets with a matching comforter and pillow cases. “You must want to impress a girlfriend,” said the red-headed clerk, eyeing me. “Mmmmm….maybe.” He grinned. “Or some lucky guy. Too bad.” He leaned closer. “You’re kinda cute.” I saw how he swept his gaze over me, from top to bottom. His blue eyes darkened and lingered at certain areas of my body with a caress. Gay, just like me. Not bad looking, either. Before the Dreaming, I would have taken him up on his obvious offer, but now with Montsho in the picture… No. Those days of one-night stands were gone forever. I smiled, thanked him, and strolled out of the store with my purchases. With my keen hearing, I heard him walk to the door. With my nose, I breathed in his need warring with keen disappointment. The scent hung sharp and tangy. I kept right on walking, heading over to the small market I spied up the block.

Chapter Five—Montsho I stepped off the plane and was pushed along with the crowd of humans to the airport terminal. Their odor rushed up my nostrils, most of it clean, but a couple of unwashed bodies mixed into it, too. Though I had been to Cape Town and other cities like that in South Africa, I had never been surrounded by so much human reek. I never cared too much for human kind. Even though I enjoyed Ramses’ mate, it was hard for me in the airport. That was, until I smelled the canine. I whipped around and saw a tall, Nordic-looking male, with a very muscular physique. He bared his teeth. It was not a smile as humans thought of it, but what a werebeing of one species showed to another when they met. Even though we had centuries of civilization, it was still hard not to be the beast. “Hello, cat. I am here to pick you up and take you to a hotel.” His blue eyes darkened as his nostrils flared. “Ramses sent the message to my pack leader that you would be on this flight.” I stared back and bared my teeth, letting them grow a tiny bit sharper. I would not let him intimidate me. Not some lower dog in a werewolf pack, anyway. After all, I was a leader of my kind. It was as my father had once told me, if you give them an inch, they will rush to tear you apart. “I am not a cat. I am Montsho, leader of the wereleopards of the bushveld in South Africa. Address me as Montsho, or do not call me any name at all if you plan to insult me.” Though he dropped the smile, amusement filled his eyes. He inched closer to me until we were eye to eye. Thank the gods I was as tall as him. Otherwise, he would push his brashness at me again. “All right…Montsho. Let us go get what luggage you have.” Make that one point for the leopard. But, that didn’t mean he had given in so easily. No good shifter worth his salt ever really did. I zeroed in my gaze on the back of his neck as he sauntered off to the area where suitcases rolled around like carousel horses in a merry-go-round. His spicy scent came back to me. I dropped my gaze down to his ass, snug in a pair of jeans. For the second time in my life, I became aroused by a male. Again, Dev’s face rose in the air between my eyes and the lupo’s buttocks. The eyes stared at me, jealousy glittering in their depths. I hitched in a breath. I’m sorry for my transgression, beloved.

I widened my eyes, shocked. Did I really think that? Conflicted, I didn’t know what to think of myself anymore. I forced myself to search for my small, old green suitcase. It bunched in the clutter of others that almost passed me by, but I snatched it with quick fingers. “That’s it?” asked the werewolf. “That is all I brought.” He snorted through his nose. “Okay, maybe because we shift we don’t need a lot of clothing when we travel. But, to tell you the truth, I always pack two suitcases, one of them large.” I looked at him. “I am not a clothes whore.” He busted out laughing. “Oh, that’s rich! I think you mean clothes horse.” I blushed. Thank goodness, having skin black as coal, he would not see my embarrassment of the screw up on my English. He could smell it. So I tamped it down before he caught a whiff of it. To change the subject, I asked, “What is your name? You know mine is Montsho.” “Jack.” “Well, Jack, take me to your vehicle.” He led me through the throngs of humans that filled the airport, some coming off planes, others going to stand in lines to board. Still others sat in chairs or visited the stores, eateries, and restrooms. We stepped outside. Though the odor of human bodies perfumed the air, it still felt good to breathe fresh air. Even if it smelled of airplane fuel. Jack stopped by a black truck and unlocked the door on the passenger side. A big monster, it was something I assume that only a macho werewolf could love. I climbed in and placed my suitcase at my feet. Jack got in the driver’s side and slammed shut his door. We left the parking lot and maneuvered out of the airport and onto the road. Minutes later, we flew down the highway. Neither of us said a word. I stared out the window on my side, watching trees, buildings, and more becoming one big blur. I tried looking through the windshield, but the glare from the sun blinded me. My stomach grew more upset by each moment and worse, I battled a pounding headache. I closed my eyes. It didn’t help. My destined lover’s face rose in my mind’s eye. Now that I was in America, I swore I could smell him. His scent teased, masculine sweat mixed with vanilla and something else…the ocean? I drifted off to sleep. The Dreaming washed over me like a tidal wave, demanding to be seen. I stood naked before Devlin. Gods, but he was handsome. Tall and whipcord lean, he had eyes of sunlight in a face tanned by the sun. Those eyes enchanted me. I swept my gaze over him, trailing down until… Gods, impressive! His cock rose like a cobra snake, spitting even. I knew its venom wouldn’t hurt me. I itched to touch it and scared, I fought my lust. As if he knew what I was thinking, even feeling, he stormed over to me and grabbed my penis. With his thumb on one side and the rest of his hand on the

other side, he began to stroke me. His hand felt rough, like a worker would have. It felt wonderful on my shaft. I shuddered, throwing my head back in ecstasy. Then before I knew what was happening, he drew me into his embrace. “Come, is this so bad?” he whispered, dipping his tongue into my ear. “Let me show you even more sensation.” He got onto his knees and began to give me head, his hands gripping my buttocks to anchor me there. I hissed as I felt one of his fingers at the hole between my cheeks back there. The hole tightened. I was not ready for that yet. My lust rose and rose until I couldn’t take it anymore. I almost had an orgasm. I fought it, even though I wanted to let go. Finally I did, yelling as loud as I could. He rose and taking my hand in his, let it skim his leg to within a fingers’ wiggle of his hardness. “Touch me.” He licked my ear and I closed my eyes so he wouldn’t see how desperate my need was. “I can’t.” “Don’t be afraid. I could never hurt you, and I know you never would do harm to me, beloved.” I shook my head. He kissed me, then stepped away. “I can wait until we’re together in person, then. Come to me.” The faint aroma of the sea wafted to my nostrils. It had to be a clue for me. I promised him that I would find him. The Dreaming faded and I woke up, blinking. I turned to the werewolf. “Where are we now?” Not even giving me a side glance, he replied, “Not far from Key West.” “Where is that?” “It’s at the tip of Florida, by the ocean.” “Pull over.” He finally looked at me, frowning. “What?” “I said, pull over.” “We’re on the freaking highway, cat. There isn’t anyplace to pull over except the side of the road, and you can only do that if it’s an emergency.” “Then take that off ramp coming up.” He drove up the ramp and, after turning right, we saw a gas station on the right. He pulled into it and parked toward the back. I opened my door and stepped out. Inside the car, there had only been Jack’s and my fragrances, plus the leather from the car. But outside, gas, human sweat, and other sweet and foul aromas slammed up my nose all at once. My headache grew worse. I leaned against a pole and closed my eyes, trying to shift through it all to lock on Dev’s scent. I knew it was a long chance, but something inside me he was in this state, maybe not even far from me. A gut feeling told me that he might be near or at Key West.

Finally able to banish all else, I found that elusive perfume of the sea again, mixed with his vanilla brand. The headache lessened. I had to be on the right track. I climbed back into the truck. “Keep heading south.” “Where?” “I think that place you called Key West is where I need to be. “ He glanced at my lap and grinned. “Yeah, I better hurry or the front of your pants will be wet many times over.” I peeked down and saw my erection tenting my pants. Since he drove off, it was too late to do something about it. Maybe it wouldn’t be a long drive. He said, “There’s a can behind the seat. If you need to jack off, I don’t mind.” “Jack off—oh. I understand. No, I will wait.” He shrugged. “Suit yourself, but I understand the need. Before I found my mate, I remember the Dreaming and how hard it was on me.” He glanced at me and arched an eyebrow. “Of course, maybe for wereleopards, it’s a different story.” I gritted my teeth as the need sent a wave crashing through my body. “Just drive. How long will it be until we get to Key West?” “No more than a half hour.” He chuckled. Gods, just kill me now and put me out of my misery. Keep me from tearing this dog to pieces. Fifteen minutes later, the shadows of the night started to block out the day and unable to take the urge any longer, along with the damn werewolf’s snickers, I did the metamorphosis. My clothes ripped as my muscles fought the transition from man to beast. Jack slammed on the brakes to the side of the road like we had an emergency—which this was. Not all the way altered and shredded material hanging off me, I crashed through the glass of the window, barely squeezing through. Not caring about my suitcase and ignoring the foul language of the werewolf, I loped away, following my nose to track Dev’s location. Using the beast magic to blanket my form with the night, I completed the transformation. A part of the night, not one human noticed me. And with now having four legs over two, I ate up the miles. I ran through fields, splashed through creeks and swam a river. I snuck my way through housing developments. Only one little girl saw me. “Mommy, Daddy, look at the big black dog.” I snorted. At least the beast magic kept me safe. But better a human child thought she saw a dog than a horde of humans with guns pursuing a black leopard. I reached the ocean not long after that incident. I twitched my tail as I starred at the waves crashing on the beach not far from a cottage, the white foam shining in the moonlight. Conflicted feelings filled me. Now that I was here, near him, I still felt wary. Unsure.

I sniffed the air. A vanilla smell drifted on the ocean breeze. Dev? It smelled like him. I stepped beneath a palm tree and saw movement coming from the cottage and waited.

Chapter Six—Dev That night, after a quick meal of canned chicken noodle soup and a bath— the first taken in a tub for a long time—I stretched out against the pillows, relishing the silky, sexy feel of the new sheets. I didn’t fight sleep overtaking me and tumbled into erotic dreams immediately. I woke up with a gasp and sat up, trembling. Something felt wrong. Fingers fumbling, I grasped for the lamp and knocked it to the floor. A sound of it shattering came to my ears. “Shit!” I mumbled. “You have supernatural senses, so why the need for artificial light? You’re a fucking wereleopard, idiot.” I stared into the darkness. Like a light switched on, my night vision enabled me to see nothing had changed. Well, except for the broken lamp on the floor. Flipping back the covers and slipping off the mattress, I picked up the lamp and set the pieces on the bedstead. A large crack had split apart the base to where the gold metal of its socket met the ceramic. “Dumb, dumb me.” I tottered out of the bedroom and down the pitch black hallway. I grasped the edge of the shade over the front room window and peered out. The crescent moon hung in the obsidian sky, glistening in its light. I could see all the way to the beach. Foam rolled in with the low tide, lapping at the sands. Nothing moved. It seemed all fairytale to me. Fairy tales are really bad stories, with nasty fairies and evil witches. All my senses screamed at me. They told me to get back in bed or go hide in the closet. The shade dropped back into place, I padded to the locked front door, unlocked it, and slipped outside. I closed it behind me, setting the lock. Better safe than sorry. Mouth dry and heart pounding, my senses on alert just like the Enterprise did in Star Trek, I dropped into a crouch. My flesh rippled, popped like a bubbling pot. The beast magic stole over me like a glittering, wet dream. Within minutes I had become my other self. With stealth, I slunk through grass that hadn’t seen a mower in a year the lease. The lawn became sand and I stepped into it, sinking into it a bit. Soft yet grainy, it crunched between my furry toes and caught on my fur. I saw nothing. At least, nothing that would explain why I had this crazy feeling. Nothing heard, either, except the gentle breeze and the occasional splash from a fish leaping out of the water.

Wait a minute. What about those twin pinpoints of golden light to my right, beneath that palm tree? What the fu— My fur rose on the back of my neck, along my back and all the way to the tip of my stiff tail. What caused my senses to go out of whack stood in front of me. I saw nothing but the two lights, or should I say eyes? Whatever it was, it blended well with the darkness. I lifted a tiny part of my upper lip and snarled. It didn’t answer me. Suddenly, it flashed out of the shadows, uncloaked by the moonlight, and ran over to me. I fell back on my haunches and lifted a paw edged with sharp claws, ready for anything. Then his scent wafted to my nose. It was Montsho. I dropped the paw back in the sand, the claws slipping back into their sheaths. I began to purr, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. Larger than my leopard body, a black panther stood like a statue in the silver of the moonlight. Not one muscle twitched, the only movement was the breeze swishing through his fur. I envied that breeze. Hell, I was so jealous of it touching him, that if I could manage it, I would have tried to rip the throat out of that damn wind. Fucking current of air. Why do you swear at the breeze? Shit! Was that from him? Is he in my head? Who else, Dev. Montsho? I stepped closer. He took a step back. Not yet. I am not sure of you or this thing between us. Not sure of this. ..What the hell, he called what was happening between us a . . . thing? My damn lover that the Dreaming foretold couldn’t handle man love. The magic stole over me and I took on the naked, human skin once more. I stood up and towered over the big, black cat. Grasping the fur on one cheek, I bent over and stared into his eyes, letting him view the hurt and anger in mine. “I thought that’s why you are here,” I said. “That you got over the denial of the attraction between us and were ready for it.” I let go of him. A cloud enveloped him and when it dissipated, a man with skin the color of a crow’s wing stood where the leopard had been a moment before. I wanted to reach out with a hand and touch him. Caress his coal-black skin. Flirt with my fingers against his full lips. But, I didn’t. Not with the way he stared at me. Repugnance warred with desire in his amber eyes. “You hate me,” I whispered. “No,” he said, “I hate myself.” “Why? We could have so much.” Indecision colored his eyes. “Because all my life I thought it would be a female who the Dreaming would choose to be my mate. I’ve never been with a

man before. Only she-wereleopards and human women.” He shuddered. “I have never touched a man in that way or let one do to me what you brought into our Dreaming together.” “So you hate me?” Oh, God, I couldn’t stand this. Didn’t he know that he was killing me? “No, that’s the gist of it. I want you like a fever in my blood. I want to take you in my arms and feel your skin against mine. I want to become the leopard and mate with you as a leopard.” After years of self hatred, of the monster I felt I was, I wanted to take a chance away from all of that. I swore I heard the need in his voice. I sniffed. Yes, it was there. The sexual fragrance rose like a real presence between us. I had to take a chance. Otherwise I might lose him. If I lost him, I knew I would die. I would walk into the sea and drown myself. Unlike what humans thought about the werekind, silver wasn’t the only way we could be killed. Like humans, we could die of a broken heart, too. I understood what my mother had gone through. If she hadn’t had me to raise until I was an adult, she would have took her own life, too. I still believed that maybe she had. I darted over to him before he could do anything and wrapped my arms around him. His scent brought to my mind how I always thought the jungle would be after the sun set, spicy and clean, the promise of muggy heat when the sun rose. God, his sweet smell rammed up my nostrils. I firmed and grew. He knew it also, for I saw the awareness in his eyes. Saw the answering passion in them, too. “Is this bad?” I whispered into his ear. I licked the edge of it. “Mmmmm… you taste like fine wine. I thought in the Dreaming you were something to be savored, but reality proves that was a shadow of your flavor.” He shivered. I didn’t think it was from being cold or fear. No, I felt that maybe his need had overcome him. I knew that it rushed through me like a charging rhino. I let one hand slide down his well muscled back to rest against one sweet globe of flesh. I cupped it, letting one finger find the crack between that mound and the other on the other side. A moan escaped him. I pushed the finger into the crack and found the anal cavity. Let it linger in the warmth, a slight nudge to the hole. Quick, before he fought it, I slithered the digit inside the moist heat. He cried out. I took my other hand and covered his mouth before he let out more noise. He struggled. I gripped tighter. “Shhhh,” I said. “Otherwise humans might hear, and come and investigate. Find two nude men on the beach.”

I dropped my hand. “We don’t want that, though I must admit the thought of being caught at what I am doing to you sounds enticing.” I blew against his neck as I caressed him. “Does that thrill you, even if just a little?” He didn’t answer. I growled into his ear, wiggling my finger in his heat. “Admit it, the thought turns you on as much as me. The danger is an aphrodisiac.” He nodded. I kissed him. No, too mild for what I began to do. I demanded his lips, drank their nectar. And he gave them to me. Oh, the darling, the sweet, sweet lover. My lover. He tasted so fucking erotic. I grew harder, if that was possible. Hell, painful, so full of need. A drop bubbled at the slit of my cock. I wanted to force him to the sand and thrust into the hole my finger nestled in. I want to fill him so full that he’d never want a woman again. Or even dream of another man. Just my cock and balls, my body covering him like a fleshy blanket of lust. I slipped around him until my front aligned with his back and ass. I groaned as I caught myself between his gorgeous cheeks. I rubbed my shaft, grazing his anus, and he pushed back. I stared at the long, lean muscles of his back and wanted him with a need so fierce. I felt my claws unsheathed, replacing the human fingernails, as I gripped his hips. Damn, did I just grow even harder? Unable to deny it, I slipped my finger out and pushed into him with my organ. His sphincter muscles contracted, griping me like a vise. Oh, God, it felt like heaven! He was so tight—a damn virgin. I was his first. That pleased the hell out of me. I would make sure I was his last, too. I reached around and grabbed his penis and fondled it as I fucked him hard and fast. I fought wanting to slow down, worrying if I was tearing him apart. His hole had never had anything in it before me. But, the lust washed over me like a tidal wave and I closed my eyes and gave into the fucking. “No,” Montsho said as he moved his buttocks back against me, matching the rhythm. “Yes,” I replied. “Give into the raw passion. Let it wash over you and erupt like a fucking volcano.” He let go. Grunting pleasure filled the night air. Nothing else, not insects, or night birds, not even the roars of vehicles from the road not too far away. Even the sea seemed muted. The only noise came from two wereleopards getting it on. I opened my eyes and stole a glance. Saw that strange shadow of pain that often accompanies pleasure spread across his face—fleeting, always poignant. He twitched hard and a jet of cum shot up the length of his hairless chest, and then another, and another. Thread over thread of pearlescence against his dark skin, spattering the underside of his chin. He slumped back against me, panting. I came right then and filled him. Nestled against his back, I reached around to paint the sticky seed on his front.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I purred, turning his head to the side so I could kiss his lips. He kissed back. I let his tongue slide into my mouth and dance with mine for a few seconds. No longer, though. Humans might discover us. Already both he and I had sprouted claws where our fingernails had been. The sexual play had brought out the deadly beasts in us. I had left bleeding claw marks on his hips. Him being a wereleopard, though, they began to heal. “Come,” I said, taking him by the hand. “I have a much better place for us to continue what we started.” Not arguing, he followed me like a leashed puppy. Puppy? Who was I kidding? I would have a big black cat in my bed tonight. An alpha that could tear my throat out if he wanted to. Maybe he thought of me as the alpha in this relationship. That might be the marginal advantage I could have over him. It pleased me. All my life I was the odd one out, the brow-beaten animal—the beta. I admit that I went out of my way to be domineering in my one-night stands, but that was a show of bravado. One that was sheer. Here was a wereleopard that oozed alpha. And yet, when I looked into his eyes, I saw deference to me. We came to the back door of the cottage. I jiggled the lock, but it remained firm. I didn’t have time for this. My cock ached. It wanted release. Now. Using my beast magic, I magicked the lock to unlock. The door swung open. I let my lover head inside first. The door closed behind us and I set the lock. I turned to him. Pleased, I saw he too had grown hard again. “Enthusiastic, are we?” I said with a purr. He said nothing. I waited. He sighed. “Yes, I want you.” He cupped the left side of my face. I felt the trembling in his hand. “You must give me time. It is a shock to find my soul mate is another male.” It was time to take away his timidity. I began with tender nips and kisses such as those practiced by the best French whores, but the strength of his lips and his sleek dark skin infused the exercise with a strangeness I found intoxicating. I breathed in his particular odor, a combination of sour leopard and a hint of oranges, of all things. When he opened his mouth and granted me entry, I discovered new pleasures of masculinity. I succumbed entirely to his accommodating depth and surrendered to the virtuosity of his tongue. I urged him down the dark hallway to the bedroom. Not once did I let loose of his mouth. He didn’t seem to want me to stop, either. At least it appeared that way to me. The insecure monster reared inside me, taunting me. He doesn’t want you, not really. Once he finds a way to escape, he’ll leave you like a bad dream. My kissing grew hungrier, more desperate. We fell onto the mattress of the bed. Panting, I broke off the kiss and stared down at him.

“I won’t let you go,” I said. “You’re mine.” He closed his eyes and lay there. Not one muscle moved. Then he snapped his eyes back open. “I love you.” I hadn’t expected that. Sure, I figured he might say he wanted me, lusted for my body. Not this incredible declaration. It shook me to the core. The unsure animal in me had thought no further than at least my mate would tolerate me. It didn’t know if it could handle the admission of love. Yes, he had uttered it in the Dreaming, but the Dreaming had a way of fucking with your brain and emotions. I fell into his gaze and yes, I saw the dread, but I also saw the glint of passion and love that began to overpower it. Until it obliterated the alarm in the dark depths. He grabbed the back of my head and pulled my lips down to his. Soft and tentative at first, they soon demanded more from me. The uncertainty broke and I yielded to him all that I had. I grounded against him, rubbing my organ against the velvet steel of his. I withdrew and flipped around until I straddled his chest, my bottom and balls in his face. I was amazed at the simplicity of it: his mouth between my legs, my mouth between his. His scent there was sharp, distinct and powerful. I took his shaft eagerly into my mouth, and the thrill was magnified a hundred fold as he enveloped mine, too. We were a perfect, blazing circle of suck. There was no prayer for this; nothing in the world could hold it back. I bucked mindlessly and the comet came hurtling out of the darkness, a streaming and unstoppable joy. I shuddered and writhed as I rode it, still sucking hard, and in seconds the pleasure came full orbit and exploded, hot and tart, in my own mouth while my seed shot down his throat. Montsho and I lay with our shoulders touching and fingers intertwined afterwards. The night seemed unearthly calm. The vast silence of the room filled my ears at first, then our breathing. I pierced the darkness at the ceiling above us. For the first time ever, I felt peace. The magic stole over me and I shifted. Where I had lain, a spotted leopard lay on its back, paws in the air. I twisted onto my side and saw my lover covered in black fur, so dark that he was one with the dark. His eyes glowed like twin headlights. As if we both agreed, we slipped off the bed and, using our magicks, passed through the wall and went outside. We roamed what remained of the night, chasing prey and playing in the foamed-tipped waves of the ocean. I had never known such ecstasy. It felt good.

Chapter Seven—Montsho I opened my eyes. It was dark and at first I was confused. Then I remembered. Dev! I rolled onto my side and, though it was still pitch black, my shapeshifter vision revealed my lover to me. Sometime in the night, he had thrown off the covers and lay there, facing me. He must have been dreaming, for his eyelids moved. Did he dream of me? He moaned. I saw his organ then. It jutted from his nest of black, curly pubic hair like a rocky pillar. He made little thrusting movements. I grinned. Yes, he was dreaming of me. I growled. For I better be the star of his wet dream. Cupping his hip, I let my hand skim his flesh. He felt so good. I leaned over and licked a nipple. He moaned and shivered. He tasted damn good, too. Like wild honey with a tang of vanilla. I took the nipple into my mouth and sucked. His moaning grew lower and he popped his eyes open. Lust glazed them. The yellow blazed like the sun. He burned me. The answering heat inside me made me leave that nipple and push him onto his back, licking my way down his body. To that part of him I needed to have. The body of my beloved lay exposed, limbs spreading sensually. I saw his long, luscious sausage, tempting me. I swooped greedily down on the feast there. His cock grew harder under the warmth of my fingers. I felt the tiny vein along its length. His heat blasted me. I flicked my tongue out to capture the pearly drop at the tip of his staff. Just like vanilla, sweet. I ached to have my own stroked and sucked, but ignored it for the time being. This was about seducing Dev and not about my own needs at the moment. I took Dev’s entire cock into my throat in one smooth motion. Felt its large bulbous head bump the back. As I moved up and down on his shaft, I ran my left hand down Dev’s arm, the gesture intimate and possessive. The other hand was used to grip his cock at the bottom, pressing my thumb against his lovely balls. “Oh, Montsho,” said Dev, his hand caressing my throat and jaw. “You’re so fucking good.”

I paused and looked into his eyes. I knew that my own gaze blazed with the same intensity as his. “Before you, I was a virgin in the mastering of a man’s cock.” He grinned. “Obviously you’re a fast learner. You definitely have a master’s…” I licked the head then. “Oh, gods, yes, a master’s touch!” I smiled, then parted my lips and flicked my tongue over the head of his member again. Moving in a rhythm that seemed born of time, I pressed lips into a perfect seal along Dev’s cock. Excited, I felt his hand drop on my head. “Take more,” he cried out, controlling every pump of my mouth. I bowed to my alpha as he bowed to me. Neither one of us was the alpha in our relationship, but equal when it came to something as elemental as this. He caterwauled like a leopard. My gaze tight on his face, I squeezed his balls and he cried out again. Finally he begged, “Take me.” His member dropped out of my mouth with a loud pop and he rolled over, lifting his ass up. I crawled onto my knees and I ran my hand over the curve of his butt, feeling the solid muscle. Luscious, like a peach ready to be pluck and eaten. Using my thumbs, I parted the crack and revealed the treasure. His hole winked at me, pink and round. I leaned over and flicked my tongue against it. “Oh, God, quit the torture and just fuck me already,” he said with a deep growl. I smiled. He was shifting. I could feel the contortions of his muscles metamorphosing. Before I made him mine, I took the tube of cream he handed to me and squirted enough out to cover my organ and his hole. I teased him, sticking a finger, then two, inside that hole, wiggling them. He snarled and looked over his shoulder at me. I saw the leopard’s snout. A wave of pure lust rushed through me at that moment. No longer able to wait, I took my cock in hand and put its tip at his entrance. I was going to be gentle, take my time, but frustrated by my playing, Dev back upon me. With shock, I found myself lodged all the way inside him. Oh, sweet joy. His hole squeezed my shaft. It felt painful and still, the most wonderful thing ever. I moved and found I couldn’t stop, but rode him like a devil rides a storm. Jolts sped from my dick through all of my body. I crackled and popped with lust out of control. He gasped. I grabbed his hips and made him hold still. “Too harsh for you?” He nodded, but a low, rumbling cats’ snarl rose from his chest. Not too harsh, obviously. I gave his ass a playful slap. He purred. I licked down his spine, tasting his sweat. Fur had begun to sprout all over his body and I tasted it under my tongue. The trail of spit my tongue left on his back ended not too far from where we were joined. I bent over and bit into his ass. He gave a leopard’s scream. Not of hurt, but of ecstasy.

I swatted him harder this time. The firm pack of his butt barely moved under the blow. I slipped my penis out of him. “Don't move,” I ordered him. “I won’t bruise you. At least, not too much, anyway." I bit him again, harder, holding flesh against my tongue. Closer to his hole, his personal scent was stronger. He tried to hold still as I massaged his perineum. I reached around him to grab hold of his long, thin cock and pumped it. My tight hold on his hips held him in place as I shoved my cock back in his hole. Each hard ram packed me into him. Knowing that his puckered hole wanted my dick inside it, I shoved the tip of my hard-on at his sphincter and felt the trembling muscle try to let me in. I shifted and became the panther, just as he fully became his true self. His tail waved in the air, its tip teasing my whiskers. Claws shot out of his hands that morphed into paws and he shredded the sheet. The only sounds he made were gasps and grunts that followed each of my thrusts. I had got what I wanted. To fuck him as the leopard. It was addiction I could never get enough of. But, it also was my way of maybe even punishing him for wanting him. Wanting a male as my beloved. Wanting him—no, needing him like a flower needs the sun to survive. The feel of him was almost too much to bear. My muscles tightened through my body. I could feel cum getting ready to shoot out of me. I tried to hold myself there, between heaven and agony, for as long as possible. He lifted a paw, bringing it toward his thighs. I snarled, slapping him with a claw-edged paw. I left deep, bleeding scratches along his back. Just then, I felt the throb running through his cock. Seconds later, he gushed his load and soaked the shredded material beneath him and no doubt, his belly. That made me fuck him harder. The friction made me grit my fangs. The moist heat surrounding me continued to rise until it became almost unbearable. Just when I thought I'd spontaneously combust from the cock outward I felt my balls seized. I rode the sweet explosion. Thick, white pools of my need spurted into his ass. Spent and satisfied, I slipped out of him. I rolled onto the bed, satisfied. He snuggled his back against my front and we both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Eight—Dev When I awoke the next morning I was confused at first, just like after a dream. I blinked and turned my head to the left. Saw the sleeping dark face nestled on the pillow next to mine. Felt the ripped material of the sheets crinkling against my skin. No dream. Montsho was real. The heat from his body beneath the blanket cocooned me in its warmth. There was also distinct tang of sand, sea salt, and blood. Not our blood, but something we must have caught and ate while in our leopard forms. Like coming home from an all-night drunk, we had not taken time to shower, but fell into bed. I sniffed my underarm. Yuck! Nasty. I flipped the covers off of us and slapped Montsho on his ass. “Come on, up. We both need a shower.” He mumbled, digging in deeper into the mattress. “No. I am tired.” I grabbed his arm and yanked him out of bed. “Sorry, but I smell rank and though I care for you, you do, too.” He slowly stood up. Followed me into the bathroom, where I turned on the shower. The hot water rushed down like a waterfall, slashing the tiles. I crawled in, Montsho close behind. Grabbing a bar of soap that had a spicy scent, I swiped a washcloth off the rack and scrubbed up some lather. I washed Montsho’s chest, paying particular attention to his nipples. They hardened like shiny black pebbles and he moaned. I glanced down at his crotch and saw that he saluted me. I chuckled. I doubt it was from a need to pee. I quickly cleaned him, then myself. Once assured that both of us were clean as a whistle and shut off the water, I decided to take care of another immediate need. One that waved at me in the face as I knelt down on the tiles before it. I kissed the single wet drop hanging from the slit, not from water but lust. Its salty taste burst on my tongue. Montsho shivered and cried out as I enveloped the head with my mouth and began to lick and suck it. He rammed it against the back of my mouth, then withdrew until the tip barely touched my lips. To avoid gagging, I closed my lips as he slid back in. He stopped just as my lips closed around the head. I ran my tongue over the glans, savoring the feel and taste of his knob, before going down the shaft. He took me quickly, sliding in and out as I tried to keep up with him, going as far down on him as I could manage without gagging before he

withdrew. I cupped his balls with one hand, kneading them with the force I knew I would want on my own. Then I did exactly that—took myself in hand and stroked. Damn, it all felt so fucking good. He tugged me and groaned, “I’m coming, don’t stop! Don’t stop!” I felt his cock suddenly tense as he slid into me for the ninth or tenth time. He groaned and erupted, shooting the first jolt down my throat. I stayed with him, trying to suck his heaving dick, wilting again as he emptied himself in my mouth. I tried to swallow as much as I could. Gasping, he tugged me up as he dropped to his knees. I stood, looking down on his head with tight raven-black curls, feeling my rigid member against his mouth. He swallowed my dick and I almost shouted with pleasure. Feverish, I rolled my hips involuntarily, my hands on his head. He suckled, his hands on my balls, a growl escaping his throat. Working me into climax, he made me come with lightning speed and force. I roared, tugging his hair and bucking my hips. He held my balls, sucked me hard, and didn’t stop until I gasped, “Stop, enough.” He rose to his feet and took me into his arms. We didn’t talk for a while, and then Montsho stroked my entire body, slowly, talking to me with loving comments. He kissed me and licked me, stroked me and massaged me. Finally, I pulled away. I loved to spend all day in bed with him, but things had to be done. Except, it was hard doing the chores that day. Montsho dominated my thoughts in a way no one had before. Worse, when he was there in reality, bending over to wipe at something, I saw how wonderful his ass looked in the tight jeans I gave him to wear. When our eyes met for a moment, the electricity zapped from one to another. I worked in a state of arousal all day, my tight jeans scraping my penis, trying not to unload myself. Several times, I found places to be alone and had to stroke myself for relief. I knew Montsho had done the same, as there were times he wasn’t there in eyesight. That evening we sat on the cool sand of the beach and stared out at the sea. The moon and what looked like a trillion stars to me twinkled against the night sky. I leaned back against Montsho, his scent drifting into my nostrils. It was paradise. Nothing could go wrong now. “Hey, isn’t that the place those two homosexuals lived in? You know, one of them had been found torn to shreds by some animal and the other I heard committed suicide.” The voice sounded drunk. “Guess the old fag couldn’t live with his need for dick.” “Yeah, he wasn’t man enough to plow pussy.” “Come on, guys, knock it off. I remember Mr. Simple. He was always nice to me. Gay or not, he didn’t treat a girl like dirt. Unlike some creeps I could mention.” Montsho and I snuck up on hands and knees, hiding behind some bushes. Right in front of the cottage stood three teenagers, two boys and a girl. I smelled

vodka fumes from the almost empty bottle one of the boys clutched. The boys were hulking heterosexual brutes in my opinion. Gay bashers, like many I had met in my life. The girl had short, dark hair and oozed a smell that screamed uncomfortable as she pranced from foot to foot. All wore jeans and T-shirts, making them undistinguishable from one to another, except for the girl’s high voice and breasts that made her shirt stick out like tiny hills. She began to walk away, but the boys stayed. They picked up some rocks and threw them like baseballs at the cottage. Most hit the walls, but one struck the kitchen window, making a star-shaped hole in the glass. Brats. Fucking gay haters. I bared my teeth and felt the change roll over me like a wave. I looked at Montsho and saw the look in his widened eyes. I didn’t care. The boys were the result of years of the darkness I had lived with. Not only as a lover of men, but something humans feared. A creature they would surely shoot in the head with a silver bullet. Just as they would plant one in my lover’s heart. Besides, they were messing with the memories of an old man that I suspected never did a thing to them. It no longer mattered that these humans would see me and spread news to the others in town. I had to do what I had to do. Not completely a leopard, my cutoffs still on me, I stood up and tottered over to them. Montsho tried to grab me, but his hand only found air. “Who the hell do you think you are, humans?” I spit out. The girl stopped and turned around. Her eyes grew big and round, popping out like some cartoon character. She screamed. It carried like a siren, long and high-pitched. As for the boys, both quit throwing rocks and lurched around on unsteady feet. I knew that light from the moon washed over me and revealed to them a man covered in spotted fur, with sharp fangs crowding his mouth and claws on both his hands and feet. The bottle dropped to the ground. Urine flavored the air. Both boys had pissed their pants. One fell onto his buttocks and tried to scramble away. The other frantically looked for something on the ground. No doubt he wanted something to use to defend himself against the monster. Nothing but the empty vodka bottle was within reach, so the boy grabbed it and came at me. The other stopped trying to get away and waited to see what would happen. The girl just took off into the night, still screaming like a banshee. Something roared and crashed from the bushes to land beside me. Montsho! In total mode as the black panther, he snarled and flashed a claw-tipped paw. He looked like one scary beast. Bottle Boy screeched like a girl and, after throwing the bottle at Montsho, sprinted like a track runner going for the gold. The other one on the ground managed to get up and scamper off in one fluid movement. I couldn’t believe something that drunk and ungainly could do that. Montsho morphed back to human and stood beside me.

“You know they’re going to talk to someone about tonight,” he said. “Let them. Both boys were pretty drunk and even a human can smell the booze on their breath. As for the girl, well, she was with them and the authorities won’t believe her.” I became human once more. “Both boys were drinking and underage, and I bet you she won’t say a word.” “You better hope so.” Yeah, I hoped so, too. It was one thing to come out of the closet about being gay. But no way would humans stand for a wereleopard living among their midst. Make that two wereleopards. Tolerance only went so far. We went into the cottage. By morning we would find out if we were safe, or if we had to leave town. Morning came and went. Midday came and went and still, no crowd of humans brandishing sticks and guns came knocking at the door. When night rolled around, it had been a quiet day. I turned on the television to the evening news. It looked like nothing, when at the end of the half hour the newsman reported about three teenagers trying to tell the police about monsters on the beach. Lucky for Montsho and me, the officers took it as a teenage prank, caused by the obvious odor of alcohol that wafted from the two boys’ mouths every time they jabbered away. Case closed. Next time, we might not be so lucky. I had to get a handle on my darkness and rein it in. Montsho looked at me from his armchair by the window. “We can’t stay here.” I frowned. “Why? I like this place. This place is the first time I ever felt at home.” “I think we should leave,” he recited again, his mouth in a stubborn line. “I want to go home to South Africa.” I stood up. “Let me go get something, to show you why I think this place wants us.” I ambled to the bedroom. I took the locked box from the closet and went back to the living room. I opened it, took out both the photo and the piece of cloth and handed the picture over to Montsho. Puzzled, he stared down at the black man in the picture. “What is this about, Dev?” I stuck the piece of cloth under his nose, saying, “Sniff.” Giving me a strange look, he took a whiff. At first nothing happened. Then his pupils dilated, until his eyes became darker. Seconds later, he threw the cloth away and brought his legs up onto the chair, his arms hugging the knees. “By the gods!” he cried out. “Horrors.” I nodded. “Yes, the old man killed himself.” I stared at the forgotten photograph, drifting to the floor. I bent over and picked it up. “Because his lover

died and he couldn’t live without him. I think his lover had been murdered. The lover had to be a wereleopard, even though the old man was human.” Calmed, Montsho asked, “How could you know that the man in the picture is like you and me?” “Look.” I pointed to the photo. “Take a look at his eyes.” Montsho took the photograph and stared down at it. His eyes widened. “They are like a leopard’s, not human. Amber-yellow eyes, just like us.” “Like I said, a wereleopard.” He looked up at me with slatted eyes. “He might have been one of us, but that doesn’t mean he was murdered.” I rubbed the side of my face. “I know. But somehow I get this feeling he was.” “Who would kill him? A human?” I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I snorted air through my nose. “I just feel deep down inside my gut that he had been killed.” He took my hand. “Are you thinking that the one who owned this cottage wants us here?” “It does seem strange that you and I came here. Both of us wereleopards, both of us— there’s was no delicate way to say it—gay.” He dropped my hand and turned away. “I am not homosexual.” I cupped the side of his face and forced him back to look at me. “We made love…several times. I have a penis. You have a penis. Neither of us have vaginas. Is it written in stone that you must love a woman only? That love between couples is only that? If nothing else, you would be bisexual.” He remained mute. It hurt my heart that he still had this issue of two men loving each other. Maybe this was another reason both of us were here. Not just to solve the murder of the black lover of the gay human who owned this place, but to get Montsho to acknowledge he loved another male. I never believed in ghosts. After all, once you died, that was it. Right? No afterlife, hauntings were the result of delusional minds or overactive imaginations. I always thought that TV show on SyFy channel, Ghost Hunters, nothing more than a bunch of bunk. As P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” The only supernaturals were shapeshifters, vampires—I had run into one a few years ago—and witches. But ghosts and demons: no! That is, until I stayed in some woods in Montana years ago. I had just escaped from a small town when a couple of humans discovered I was a wereleopard. No, make that a gay wereleopard. As a leopard I had covered about fifty miles by paw when, dead tired, I had to stop and take a nap. Finding a cave in a hill, I went inside and curled upon the ground to drop off to sleep. I don’t know if I dreamed that night. I remember waking up. The cave was inky black. That didn’t matter, as I could see with my night vision. Except that the cave wasn’t completely dark. A pure white orb of light lit up one corner. It

moved. The fur on the back of my neck rose. I felt the strangeness of that orb. It had no odor. That troubled me as smells indicated live things. I wanted to bolt, but I couldn’t, just like in the movies when the victims grew so scared they became rooted to the spot. I tried to growl, but couldn’t. The orb grew bigger and bigger. Its glow filled the cave. Then it changed and morphed into a beautiful, spotted leopard. Silent, the leopard stared at me with soft, amber-yellow eyes. It wavered, like bad television reception, and became a woman. My mother, in fact. She looked young, not like my memories of a woman with care-worn skin and eyes full of pain. Even odder, she was not nude, as shifters had to be when they became their beast counterparts. Small and dark, she wore a red and gold sari, with one long braid of black hair tossed over a shoulder. Though I acknowledged the physical her that my eyes saw, she still did not have any aroma attached to her. Like I said before, the living has an odor. Phantoms did not. I found I could move. Not only that, but I changed back into my human self. The spirit drifted over to me and touched me with a gentle hand. I could saw the flesh of my hand through hers. She felt so cold that I flinched and covered that hand with the other to warm it. “My son,” the apparition said in a musical sing-song voice. “You have grown into a very handsome man, Devesh. Very much like my father.” “But I have paler skin than yours,” I pointed out. “That’s not very Indian.” “No, that came from your human father. A very bad man. But you’re not a bad man, are you, my son?” I felt uncomfortable and looked down at the ground. “I have done many bad things since you died, Mama.” As if her hand was made of flesh and not ectoplasm, she forced my chin up so I could look into her eyes. There was sadness in their depths. “You do not have to do bad things, be like your father. You do not have to hurt others.” I narrowed my eyes. “But humans have hurt me.” “Not all you have done harm to have done the same to you, Devesh. You must let the gods heal you.” I sputtered and tore myself from her reach. “Heal me? My first experience with love was by a human raping me, Mother. A man who took me in my ass like a whore.” She flinched. “Go away. Quit haunting me. I have my own horrors and memories to haunt me. I don’t need a specter to do that.” Tears glistened in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “I am so sorry, my son, that I am not alive to protect you against all terrible things that have happened to you. I know that some of that is because you love males, not females. But, I foresee a destiny for you, with love and all the pain gone. You will help someone who will become dear to you. Most of all, because of this

love, you will help other shifters. When you pass from this world, you will join the Circle of Afterlife with other shifters.” She shook her head. “Unlike me. I am stuck here, due to not letting my unhappiness fly away like a bird. I was never forgiven for letting those dogs kill me and leaving you alone.” She added, “Let your unhappiness go. Seek your destiny.” My mother’s ghost started to fade away, but before she left she said one more thing to me. “I love you, my son.” I dropped to my rump, then drifted down in a fetal position on the cave floor, crying. I fell asleep not long after that, dirty tear streaks on my cheeks. I broke out of that remembrance and stared at Montsho. I understood what my mother’s spirit had tried to tell me then. I had to get him to get over that we were both men and see that our love was meant to be. I felt pretty sure that I was also meant to help find the murderer of the old human’s shifter lover of the old human. Maybe then I would be forgiven, not by the gods, but by myself. I took Montsho’s hand. Lifted it up to my mouth where I gave it a little butterfly kiss on the knuckles. I felt him shiver. He liked that. I smiled against his skin. Using my lips and tongue, I traced the back of his hand, then turned it over to press tiny kisses to the palm. His shivering grew worse. I peeked up at his eyes and saw they were closed. But, as if he knew I was looking at him, they popped open. Want swirled inside them. Lust and love warred with each other, then apparently gave up to merge with each other. As no doubt, he wanted to become one with me. Oh, baby, yeah. I took his hand and pressed it to my chest, right over where my heart pounded like crazy. “Feel my heart. See how much I want you. How much I love you. How much we belong together.” I grabbed the back of his head with my other hand and pulled his lips to mine. We kissed. Stuck our tongues into each other’s mouth, let them mimic mating. I pulled away. Not much, only few inches. I could feel his hot breath as he panted. “Montsho, do you love me? Are you ashamed of loving me?” Tears rolled from his eyes. “No. I love you. The Dreaming never lies. Never tricks a shifter. If it says you are the one for me, then so be it.” Those words did it for me. Blood crashed to my balls and prick. My lungs had long stopped functioning; my reactions went on overdrive. I breathed in his intoxicating scent. My mouth watered and I couldn’t wait to taste every tantalizing inch of him. I stifled a growl when he exposed the supple flesh of his neck to one side, pleading for my teeth, my tongue. His fragrance sank into my pores as I inhaled his unique aroma. Damn. My hormones roared out of control.

I tore at what clothing he had on, throwing it to the floor. Just as eagerly, he divested me of mine, too. Free at last. Free to lick, touch and smell all of Montsho’s lovely dark skin. I bent over and took one of his nipples in my mouth. Already hard as a tiny stone, I licked and sucked at it. He cried out, scrabbling with his hands to get purchase of my shoulders. “Fuck me,” I whispered in a hoarse voice. “With pleasure,” he replied.

Chapter Nine—Dev Montsho kneeled behind me. I arched my back up like a cat as he caressed my ass with his hands. Then, gripping my cheeks, he parted them and let his dick ease into the widened crease. All I could do was moan at the sensation. His hand that held my left cheek slid up and along my side before darted underneath my abdomen to tightly hold me in place. I took a sharp intake of air as I felt the head of his cock slid into the hole. A pleasurable twinge of pain rippled my ass-channel as he filled me completely. He leaned over and nibbled at the back of my neck. I shivered. “We are one, mind, body and soul,” he said. I called out in a hoarse whisper. “Take me.” With a leopard’s snarl, Montsho worked his hips. He rocked against my body as he held me still, grunting. His breath blew hot on my skin as he ground rapaciously against me. In and out, over and over, it left me salivating for his shaft’s return whenever it withdrew. At one point, holding only the head inside me, my lover paused for a long series of seconds before slamming the entire length into me, then he leaned over and sank his fangs into my shoulder. I whimpered, enjoying the pleasure and the pain, as he marked me his. I whimpered again as his organ slid into and out of me, his balls slapping my ass as he quickly moved. I chanted, “Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me...” Every time he entered me, I felt like I’d died. The size of his cock seemed to increase with every thrust and, instead of hurting, it caused my own to swell and ooze precum to drip to the floor beneath me. Wanting to, needing to, I squeezed my ass muscle. He dug his claws into me. He called out, “I can’t hold off any longer. I need to come.” With that, I felt the heat of his love deep inside my ass. Unable to stop myself, I spurted my seed. Montsho sagged onto me and I supported his sweaty weight for a few minutes before dropping down. He rolled off of me and I heard the pop of his cock come free. Purring, he snuggled against my back, his arm draped over my side to caress my chest. “That was the best fuck I ever had,” I said. “Though not to lessen the other times we screwed before. On a scale of one to ten, you rate number one with all the lovers I had in the past.” The hand movement halted.

“I don’t care to hear that others before me had you. Is that clear?” Oh my, he was jealous. Where before if anyone had been jealous of my past lovers, I had felt smothered and always left or hurt that person. Not this time, though. A twinge of pleasure made the leopard in me want to purr. I rotated over to my right side to face him and kissed him. “You have nothing ever to worry about. My past is dead and gone. There is only you, now and in the future.” I sighed. “Look, I assumed you weren’t a good boy until I came into your Dreaming. Maybe not males, but you mentioned females.” His lashes fluttered over his eyes, shading his reactions from my sight. “Yes, I had…” I covered his mouth with a hand, silencing him before I heard the details. Like him, the little green monster had flared to life in me. “Then let’s say what you did and I did before we came into each other’s lives are a closed chapter. From now on, our life is a blank page that we can write to our hearts’ content.” I took my hand away. “Is that okay with you?” He nodded. I smiled, and drew his lips to mine. We picked ourselves off the floor, walked arm in arm to the bedroom and climbed into bed. After that, all I will say is we gave the bed a real workout that night. **** The next morning I woke up before Montsho. I watched him as he slept. Except for the stubble on his lean dark face, he looked as innocent as a young boy. I smiled. Not so innocent. He knew how to use what hung between his legs well. Turning away, I slipped off the mattress and padded naked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I made coffee, then took a container of orange juice out of the fridge and poured the juice into a glass I snatched from the cupboard. I sipped as I strolled back down the hallway. You must help me. I almost dropped the glass. What the fuck? You must find Abraham’s killer, Please help. A soft Southern voice slithered into my head—a man’s voice. I swept a suspicious gaze around and sniffed. There was no one else in the house, other than Montsho and me. It sounded like the old man’s, the one I heard before in the vision. “Who’s that?” You need to find out how and why he died. “Just who are you anyway?” John. I can not rest, but continue to haunt here. No peace for me, not until my lover’s murder is avenged. “You’re the human I dreamed about—the one who owned this place?”

Yes. John Simple. My lover was Abraham Lowering. Both of us were out of the closet to folks in this town when we moved in together in this cottage I bought. It didn’t appear to matter that I was white and he was black or that we were both gay. We were happy together for five years. Yet, I sensed he kept an undisclosed fact from me. Though I admit that it hurt me that he couldn’t let me know, I refused to let it divide us. Then he told me the truth, just a couple of days before his death. “You knew he was—” A wereleopard like you are? When I found out, he thought I would be horrified and kick him out, but it didn’t change a thing how I felt about him. I drained the last of the juice. “Well, it’s one thing to be gay, but it’s another to be a shapeshifter. Humans tend to have this funny way of freaking out and trying to kill the monster when they find out. I had a few human lovers myself like that. I actually had to kill a few like that in my life.” If this place was dangerous for him, I would have gone anywhere with him to keep what he was a secret. He finally understood that. A week later he left me, thinking it would better for me. I never heard from him after that. Then some people came upon his body on the beach, naked and torn to shreds by some animal. His blood stained the sand. I remember after finding out in the morning news for God’s sake, going outside to stare at the sun rising in the horizon and thinking how red like his blood it seemed. I remembered screaming my agony at it. I remembered how hot it felt from its rays. “What killed him?” All the news said was that it looked like he’d been ripped apart by some large animals. Like wolves or feral dogs. Find the evidence that has to be out there somewhere. I believed it was nothing human that killed him. Nothing that was a natural beast, either. Break my binding to this earth so I can rejoin Abraham on the other side. He believed in something he called the Circle of Afterlife and I want to be there with him, if it is possible. Silence. “John?” The spirit was gone. Had he given me directions on how to find out? No. I headed back to the kitchen and, after washing out the glass, put it back in the cupboard. The coffee gave its last gurgle, letting me know that it was ready. I filled a cup and breathed its heady aroma. There’s nothing more arousing then fresh coffee in the morning. I dispensed some creamer into it. Actually, morning sex had a higher priority to me than coffee. I took a sip. Ahhh, but coffee came close on sex’s heels. Carrying the cup, I walked to the bedroom. The first place to check for anything that might help would be the bedroom closet. The same place where I found the safe. I had to get a sexy body out of bed anyway.

I placed the half-emptied cup on the bedstead by the bed. With a grin, I reached down and yanked the blanket off Montsho. I landed a hard swat to that sweet ass of his. He yelped and sat up, glaring. Too bad his cheeks were as black as the cheeks on his face. I bet both would have been bright red otherwise. He leaped out of bed. I stared at the rigid evidence that maybe the slap tantalized him more than he might admit. Maybe after I solved this mystery, I might introduce him to some light BSDM. I could see him tied to the bed, a cock ring circling his organ. A nice, shiny one made of gold. I licked my lips, hot under the collar. It didn’t take much for me to get horny. But, I had more important things than a good tumble with my lover. “Get dressed,” I said as I walked to the closet and got me a pair of jeans and shirt. I slipped them on, not even bothering with undies. “I need you to help me search for something.” He caught the black chinos and dark blue T-shirt I flung at him and got dressed. “Why?” “The ghost of the gentleman who owned this place communicated to me. He suspected his lover had been murdered. And yes, he does know that his lover was a shapeshifter. He can’t rest and go over to the other side until someone proves his lover’s life had been taken. Maybe even solve the identity of the killer, whom he thinks may be a shifter, too.” “And how would he know that a shifter did it?” “The body was discovered by some humans torn to shreds, like from the claws of some large animal. Now, unless a human used trained Rottweilers, or it was a pack of large feral dogs that might be able to take on a large wereleopard, I would say it screams shifter.” Montsho sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped on some flip flops, then stood up. “Where do you want to start?” I let out the breath I’d been holding. I had been worried that he wouldn’t do it, or even believe me. Trust still came hard for me. My life had been continuous untrustworthiness in my life that, even with my beloved, it was difficult to believe that someone could really love me. I smiled and went to him, took his hands in mine and stared into his gorgeous eyes. “Thanks.” He looked puzzled. “Why are you thanking me?” “For one, believing in me, and two, being willing to help me with this.” He cupped my cheek and gave me a tender look. “No one has ever done anything for you, have they, halla?” He called me by that endearment. I cast my eyes down, mumbling, “No.” With a thumb, he raised my chin up so that my gaze met his. “Well, I am not like all those others.” He smiled.

My heart went still. When he smiled, the inner beauty that was him shone in his face. At that moment, I knew I would always trust him. I would follow him into the pit of Hell, if he asked me to. He leaned down to match his lips to mine. They felt hard and warm. Love between us sparked like electricity. Another time I would explore that kiss, let it grow into a hot, erotic thing, but not now. The old man, misery in his eyes, needed my help. I had to help another pair of lovers. No, not me alone. I had Montsho to lend me a hand. From now on, I would never be alone again, for the other half of my soul would be there beside me. I stepped out of his arms, though I still kept a hand on an arm of his. It was hard to lose any contact with him. “Let’s get on the ball then and do some detective work,” I said. “Let’s check out the closet first, where I found John’s safe.” Montsho had a gentle look in his eyes. “When this is over, halla, I am going to take you back to South Africa with me. You will like it. The land is wild and there and werebeings are free to be themselves.” He took my hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss it. “I know the land will heal the shadows in your soul.” “No, you’re already chasing the darkness away, Montsho.” “All right, what do we do first?” Of course, I forgot about the unhappy ghost’s situation for a minute there. We searched the closet but, except for the safe, nothing. We went over the whole cottage next, but again, found not a clue. I sighed. “Maybe we should go into town. Find the local library and check out the newspaper archives. See what the humans reported about the murder.” He nodded. “Good start.” We left the cottage after a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Being predators, we love meat. Which was why our bacon was not as well cooked as people would eat it. We hiked along the beach, taking in the screech of seagulls and the boom of the waves crashing onto the sand. When we reached the town of Key West, we stopped by a couple of women looking at the water, their arms around each other, and asked them where the library was. One of them looked at our clasped hands, and with a big smile told us, “The nearest one is the Monroe Library. Not near here, you’ll have to drive to it, or take public transportation or a cab.” ‘Thanks.” Montsho and I left them. Since I’ve gotten to this town, I discovered that there was a gay and lesbian community here. I resisted the urge to turn around and tell her about us being wereleopards, too, but I didn’t. Key West may be warm-hearted about most people, but I didn’t think that stretched to weres. I could see her running screaming to the police station about the monsters. That, or think I was crazy.

Some things dare not be let out of the closet. Such secrets were not ready to be shared with the world. Not at this time, anyway. Montsho and I grabbed a taxi. The cab driver, a portly African-American, dropped us off in front of the library on Fleming Street. I paid him, adding a tip. “Thanks!” he said, flashing a wide grin of even, white teeth. He handed me a business card. “Anytime you need a taxi, you call me. The name’s Bob.” I tucked the card in my jean pocket. “I will, Bob. Thanks.” We watched as he roared away, fumes rising in the air. Then we turned to stare at the building that was the library. The Key West Library was like many other buildings in the Florida Keys. Made of adobe, the words Monroe County May Hill Hussell Library blazed above the half circle window that hovered above the twin glass doorways. We stepped into a cool place with the lovely aroma filling the air from books lining row after row of shelves. I closed my eyes and drank in the comforting fragrance. I love the smell of books. Books had been my only comfort for a long time. “You love to read.” I opened my eyes and looked at Montsho. He had a big, sexy smile. Once again, he took the breath from my lungs. I couldn’t answer him, but he understood. He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I will make you a house in the jungle back home. I will make sure many, many books will fill one room to be a library, just for you.” Most lovers offered jewelry, money, flowers, but Montsho offered me the one thing that revealed how much he loved me. He knew the essence of my heart as only a true mate could. “Thank you,” I whispered back. Hand in hand, we walked up to a librarian. She peered at us over her wire-framed glasses. “Can you point us to where you keep newspapers?” “New, or older?” I frowned, thinking. When had the wereleopard lover of the old man been killed? Three years ago. Startled, I blurted out, “About three years ago.” Montsho said, “You sure?” “I’m sure.” The librarian stood up. “Come this way and I’ll take you to the computer that has all the newspapers on it from a year on back.” She left us alone after showing how to do a search on it. Thank goodness, there was no one else in the library, except one person searching for a book on the shelves, and he was at the other end of the building. Montsho grabbed a chair and parked it next to mine, thumping down in it. For the next few hours, I searched and read newspaper after newspaper. Three hours later, my eyes

burning and a slight headache throbbing in the temple of my head, I found something. I read an obituary with a picture of the dark face of an African-American man, his eyes amber yellow. Only wereleopards had eyes of that color. He looked like the photo that John Simple had of his lover. “Bingo.” Montsho craned his neck to look at the screen. “Anything about how he died?” I narrowed my eyes and read. “Abraham Poke, 59, died October 10, 2007. Funeral 4PM, visitation 2PM Wednesday, Harrelson Funeral Home; Key West Cemetery.” I used the printer connected to the computer and printed the obit. Then I read the rest of the paper to see if there was anything on how he died. Nothing at all. I went back a day, then two; finally it was the third day back that led me to the story on Abraham’s death. Just like John told me, it mentioned that he had been discovered on the beach—dead, naked, and torn to shreds. The coroner admitted that it looked like large animal claws and fangs had torn him apart. He couldn’t be sure what kind at first, but thanks to a local animal biologist, it was determined to be from wolves or large dogs. Maybe a pack of maybe three or four of them. Dogs being more possible answer, since wolves hadn’t been in the area for a long time. Though the police checked the beach, not one single paw print of a large dog much less a pack of them was detected. They also did a search of the nearby zoo and even on anyone who might own a tame wolf or dogs large as a wolf, but not any found were accounted for by their owner the night of the death. The coroner assumed then that most likely some killers had used some implement that made it look like Abraham had been mauled by big canines. No human footprints, either, but then a human would be smart enough to wipe the prints away, something an animal wouldn’t know to do. Humans were intelligent, animals were not. Werewolves were also smart. I printed off the article. Sitting back, I stretched my body free of kinks and sighed. “Not much to go on here.” Montsho pointed out, “But there is the coroner report.” I shook my head. “Doubt we can get a hold of it through this computer, though.” He smiled. “Who says we need a computer to get that report? In the dark of night, a black leopard can slip into any locked place.” I frowned. “Wait a moment. I will not let you put yourself in danger like that.” A look of hurt etched his face. “Are you saying I can not get in there, find the report, even print a copy and get out of there, all without humans catching me?”

“No…” “You still do not have faith in me.” I grabbed his face with trembling hands and drew him closer, whispering. “I have faith in you. I do not have faith in how humans might react. What they might do to you if you were caught by one of them. If anything ever happened to you, I’d…” “Nothing will happen to me.” I sighed. Stubborn, my beloved was stubborn. I kissed him, then leaned my forehead against his. “Then we will do it together.” He played with my hair. “No. I must do this alone. Prove to you I can be of help. You will wait for me at the cottage. I will bring the copy of the report to you there. Tonight.” He pleaded. “Let me do this for you. This will be my act of love for you. To show that you should never have any doubts about me. And this way, you can show me that you believe in me, no matter what.” I sighed. “Yes. I’ll do as you say.” “Good. Let’s go home.” He swept up the two printed papers and took my hand as he stood up. We stopped at a fast food place that sold fish dinners and got some take out. I called the same cabbie we used before and he drove us all the way home. After a quick, late lunch on the beach under the shade of a palm tree, we threw the trash in the trash can outside and rushed indoors. We had only nine hours before Montsho would change and make his way to the coroner’s office in town. We spent that time well. Ecstasy took on a whole new meaning. We did it everywhere we could. My cock enjoyed the squeeze of his tight little asshole and the way he sucked it other times. As for me, I loved it when he pounded into me and the salty, man taste of his thick organ down my throat. We did it mostly in our human skin. But, when night rolled around and the moon peeked through the bedroom window, we shifted. It felt good to fuck Montsho, his long black tail waving in my face. Experiences with human guys in my bed had been okay. I spent so much time worrying about shifting and doing harm to human flesh that tore easily, that I was distracted the whole time from my own pleasure. When I did lose myself to it, the shifting came on and I couldn’t stop the monster in me. Sex without true release could be suffocating. Especially without worrying about freeing the darkness in me. But, doing it with Montsho proved to be a heady thing. Unlike human men, too, we could go at it for a long time. I could be the wereleopard I was. Finally exhausted, we drifted off to sleep. ****

I woke up with a start. Moonlight blinded me for a second, but only for a second as I caught sight of Montsho by the window. He had hauled it up and a gentle breeze swept in. The moonbeams silvered his form and my breath caught as I saw how sexy he looked. Like a shiny black statue outlined by a glow. Clutching the window rim, he shuddered and threw back his head. Another kind of glow surrounded him. Beast magic. He turned his gaze toward me. His eyes glowed, too. I threw off the covers and got off the mattress. I didn’t move to him but watched. He hunched down onto all fours. Skin rippled like a stormy sea. Not only did I see, but heard his bones crack, reforming for his true self. I had never seen anything more beautiful. It seduced me. The need to shift myself overcame me like a roaring beast. I fought it. It wasn’t my time to do this, but Montsho’s. But it was hard. Damn hard. Montsho the leopard stood where Montsho the man had been. Regal like a prince, he turned his gorgeous head toward me and screamed. The sound sent a chill through my flesh. I dropped to my knees and bowed. He strutted over to me and licked the back of my neck, trailing his tongue down my back. I shivered. For that, I got a tiny nip on my butt. Then with a snarl, Montsho leaped through the window and into the night. I didn’t move. Not for a while anyway. Then I got up and rubbing the spot where he bit me, walked out of the bedroom. Not able to get back to sleep, I curled up on the couch and watched an old movie on television. An hour into the film, the sands of sleep overcame me and I closed my eyes.

Chapter Ten–Montsho I woke up. I slipped out of bed and padded, naked, to the window. Pulling up the shade and opening the window, I stared at how beautiful the moonlight made the beach. I turned my head when I heard Dev getting up. The beast magic stole over me like the night sneaking over the day. Bones and muscles popped and reformed. My body took on my true self. Not able to help it, the alpha in me screamed. Then I stalked over to Dev, who fell to his knees and I pressed my snout to his back and gave it a lick. He shivered and I bit him on the ass. Then I bounded away from Dev and slipped through an open window out into the night, blending with it. On all four paws, it didn’t take me long to arrive at the coroner’s office. The building was lit with security lights, but it was easy for a leopard to dodge them and the security cameras, too. Using my magic, I teleported myself into the place, directly into the office that stored all the records. Taking my two-footed form again, I spent the next hour searching for the one record we needed among all the many on the computer. Thank the gods, that Ramses’ mate taught me how to use the contraption. Having spent all my life in the bushveld, I found to my surprise how well I had become a geek. But surfing the Net enabled me to make security for the werepeople in the veldt much easier. Wait. There’s the record we need. I printed up a copy for us. Then also took the evidence in a folder I found that held stuff found with his body. Turning off the computer and switching shapes again, I carried the papers in my mouth, being careful not to tear it with my fangs or soak the print off the pages. Using the magic again, I merged with the night outside and loped back to the cottage. I hoped this would garner me some good loving from Dev. I sped up faster, eager to reach home. Home? Yes, I guess any place with my mate would always mean home to me.

Chapter Eleven—Dev Damn. Where the hell was Montsho? Had something happened to him? Anxious, I paced the bedroom. I had woken up earlier and ran back here, hoping he’d gotten back. He hadn’t. Pausing, I debated on assuming my leopard body when a black shape leapt over the sill of the open bedroom window and landed lightly on the rug-covered floor. Montsho dropped a bunch of rolled up papers onto the bedstead as a glow surrounded him. When the glow dissipated, he stood there in nude glory, every detail etched like black marble. Even the rampant need nested against his belly. “See,” he said, gesturing at the papers scattered, “I brought them to you.” “I see.” He arched an eyebrow. “Do I not merit something?” I grinned. “You do indeed, my knight in shining black, luscious flesh.” I circled my arms around his neck and kissed him. I rubbed my penis against his. He felt so fucking good. I sniffed his neck. He smelled fucking great, too. Like only my Montsho would. With reluctance, I put him from me as I knew we had things to do— Something more important than lovemaking. When all this was done, I made a promise to myself that Montsho and I would spend a week making it up. “Get dressed and then show me the report,” I said, as I slipped on a pair of shorts. I made a pot of coffee. Swirling the sugar in mine, I stared at the words on the papers. Something that was not said in the newspaper was that a single strand of hair had been found on the body. The police had dismissed it, saying that it may have been from one of the people who had found the victim. They didn’t know who it was, but it had been determined that it wasn’t his lover, John Simple. In the end, just like the papers said, it was settled that he had been mauled by some large feral dog. The human hair had nothing to do with Abraham’s death. After all, they hadn’t found any escaped wild animals from any circuses or the local zoo. And no one owned any wild animals in the area. They never found the animal, though. Case closed. I thought about that hair. No doubt it was long gone. As if he knew what was running through my mind, Montsho said, “I got the evidence from that case, Dev.”

I jerked my head up. He looked pleased at my reaction. “You what?” He shrugged and tossed an envelope at me. “Open it.” With nervous fingers, I unfastened the clasp and dug in. A single strand of black hair lay on the palm of my hand. I took a whiff of the faint scent and tasted it with the tip of my tongue. Faded odor or not, it said shapeshifter. I snarled. “Werewolf.” Montsho took the hair from me and sniffed. He nodded. “It is lupine, all right.” I was right. It was a shapeshifter. I frowned. “John?” Yes, it is me. What are you going to do about it? “I guess find the bastard and make him pay. Or bastards, if this one had his buddies with him.” Montsho broke in. “Who are you talking to, and what are you saying about making some bastard pay?” “Abraham’s murderer.” He shook his head. “No, we will turn this over to the authorities for the shifters in this country. Let them handle it.” Darkness washed over me. “No, John is looking to me to solve this to the end.” Montsho took the papers from me and stuffed it all back into the envelope with the hair. He walked over to the cabinets, opened one and stuck it inside, closing the door. When he came back to me, he said, “We will report this to the shapeshifter authorities in this country. Let them get the one that did this. You have proven it was one of us. You promised me that you would come back to South Africa with me.” I stood up. “And I will go back with you, but only after I get the lupo that did this.” Montsho looked at me. I stared back, stubborn. He let out a sigh. “You will not let this go. It is there, casting in your eyes like a dark shadow.” “You know I can’t.” “I will help you.” I took his hand. “I will come with you when this is all done.” I saw the sadness in his eyes then. It had dimmed the gold. “We shall see, my love. We shall see.” Doubt and hurt fought for space in his tone. Did he really think I would choose to continue this investigation to the end over him? Why didn’t he understand? The ghosts of these two lovers were so much like our own story.

They were a gay human and shifter, not two gay shifters. There is that margin of difference. I stuck my chin out, defiant of the thoughts. I had promised the ghost. Besides, this would spark a bit of light in my dark soul. Bring me forgiveness for what I had done in my past. Then I could go with Montsho to a new life with a less heavy heart. I brought his hand to my lips and caressed the skin. The skin rippled from the contact.

“I promised I would go with you and I don’t break promises, at least this new me does not. Can’t you understand why I must not break the one I made to the ghost?”

“Yes, I do. I am just afraid. So very afraid that I might lose you.” I kissed his lip. “You won’t. I’d needed you for such a long time and now that I have you, I’ll fight to stay with you until death do us part.” He looked troubled. “That’s what I am afraid of.” “What?” “Death parting us.”

Chapter Twelve–Montsho The words hung there between us, parting us, just like I had feared. I realized then how much it would kill me if he died. A piece of my heart would be chipped away, never to be replaced. It no longer mattered that he was a male and not a she-wereleopard, or even a human female. It only mattered that I grab on to him with a grip so tight and never let him go. That I fight off the bad things that I sensed would happen if we continued to pursue this. Some werewolf had killed Abraham. No doubt with two or three others. I doubted he or she would allow us to turn him/her in. Or face him/her down and the rest of the pack. A vision rolled into my mind and I saw Dev lying in a pool of his own blood. Anguish tore through me. If what I saw came to pass, I knew I would take revenge on the monster that did it. My own soul would be stained as much as Dev felt his own was right now. I would help him solve this to the end. I loved him that much, even if I wanted to sling him over my shoulder and run like mad to the nearest airport and board a plane back to South Africa. We sat down at the kitchen table and talked over what we would do next. Dev had an idea. “How about we put an ad in the local paper, maybe say we found something in this cottage. Something to let the murderer know we suspect him.” I shook my head. “And what would that be, Dev?” “It doesn’t matter. The murderer would just think he’d been sloppy. He would have to eliminate us before we talked to the Council of American Shifters.” I said, “Council? Oh, your authorities that you have in this country.” Dev’s eyes darkened. “To me they’ve always been a fantasy, a thin falsehood. If they policed as they should then maybe I would have not done what I did in my past.” I reached over and took his hand. “You will never be alone again, Dev. And when this is over, we will go back to my bushveld. You will love it there.” He smiled. “I know I will, but I would love living in a trash-filled alley, as long as you’re there with me.” He pulled his hand from mine and rose to his feet. I watched as he walked over to the phone. I admired his grace, the way both his flesh and bones moved

as if one. The way his ass looked so enticing. With a groan, I realized I had hardened. I seem to be in this perpetual horny state of being, as Dev would call it. I smiled. Hell, yes, I would love being this way a lot, long as Dev is in my life. He flopped down beside me. “It’s done. I called the newspaper and the ad will be in the paper tomorrow morning.” My earlier pleasure fled, to be replaced by a gnawing worry in the pit of my stomach. Fear for my beloved Dev’s life joined it. I drew him into my arms and kissed his soft lips. Caressed his sleek frame, pausing at various pleasure spots I knew he had. He cried out. “Montsho!” I purred. “Yes, my beloved.” Afraid that maybe tomorrow there would be no chance for loving, that even one of us, or both, could die, I stripped him of his clothes. Touched his velvet skin and fondled his organ and balls. Parted his cheeks and teased his hole with a finger, edged with a claw. He shivered in my arms. “Frightened?” I asked with a whisper. “Never! My need is overcoming me. It’s tearing me apart.” “That is the way mates should be, full of need for each other. Feel my own want for you.” I placed his hand over the hardness that tented the zipper at my pants. With deft fingers, he yanked the zipper down and freed me. I snarled, feeling so damn good. I arched into his hand, letting him use his magic on me. I wasn’t talking of beast magic, but the one love and lust brought forth. I let him undress me, tossing my clothes onto his on the floor. We rolled to the floor, wrinkling the clothing and ended up, frantically kissing. Hands roaming everywhere, until we grabbed each other’s cock, and began to stroke each other. Dev made a low growl under his breath. “You know how to make a man feel great. Forget everything but the moment.” I licked one of his nipples and produced a twinge from him. “How about you show me how great you can make me feel?” Dev flipped me over onto my back and turned around to swallow my swollen cock. I grabbed his head by his hair and swirled the strands as my hips thrust me deeper into his warm mouth. I moaned. “That feels like heaven.” Dev continued sucking, using one hand to play with my nut sac. His other hand spread my legs apart and worked first one, then two fingers into me. As my orgasm swelled I fell into a different kind of Dreaming. A hot sun rose over my home, a vast plains more beautiful then words. I saw Dev running bare-assed naked in human form and I chased him. We both laughed. I caught him and we fell to the ground, embracing. I opened my mouth to let loose a primal scream of pleasure as the orgasm spread through me like a wildfire. It seemed that my penis was exploding from

within as I shot my seed into Dev’s mouth. Pleasure beyond comprehension soared through my veins and threatened to explode. The sensations overwhelmed me. Again, the image from earlier broke in and I saw Dev lying in a pool of his own blood, dead. When I drifted back to earth, I opened my eyes to see Dev staring down with me, with him continuing to finger fuck my ass. I would not tell him about that terrible prediction. I breathed, “By the gods.” “Nope, just me,” said Dev, smiling. “Fucker,” I said with affection. “That I am. Yours only.” He leaned over and kissed me. I dug my hands into his hair and enjoyed the softness of the strands, the tenderness of his kiss. There was nothing sexual about that kiss. We had relieved that. It was something more. Two souls joined as one. He pulled away and I stared deep into his eyes. I knew then that if anyone did any harm to this man, I would kill them. “Losing you would be like ripping my beating heart out of my chest.” He smiled. “It’s the same for me, beloved. No one would dare touch a hair on your lovely self. I would make them pay.” We drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms. The next day we spent being with each other. We made lunch, held hands like lovesick teenagers, and spent a long time in each other’s arms, making love. Our hands skimmed over succulent skin, our lips danced upon places not forbidden to them and we engaged in hot, sweaty fucking. Both of us were anxious, as if this might be the last time we did this. The last time we saw each other. The last time before death parted us. I admit I worried that whoever killed Abraham might do the same to my Dev. That image of him in a pool of his blood was printed in my brain like a story in a book. I vowed it would not happen. Not if I had anything to do with it. Tired from all the lovemaking when night rolled around, we both fell asleep. It seemed like I only just dropped off when I woke up with a start to a phone ringing. I heard Dev get off and answer it. He mumbled something to someone on the other end, then clicked off. I thought he would return to bed and waited. He didn’t. I sat up. “Dev…” I was alone in the bedroom.

Chapter Thirteen—Dev Aw, fuck. There’s a small pack. I’m a stupid jerk. I thought I would be taking on just the murderer, but as always, I hadn’t thought it out. Always leaping before I looked. I bolted on all four paws, hoping to get away. Fear elevated inside me. I breathed in its stink as it rose from the pores of my skin. I thought I would make it when the five of them cut me off and surrounded me like Indians around a covered wagon. I had to be funny. What big teeth you have, Grandma. A big, black one—the leader, obviously—growled. I’ll show you how sharp my teeth are, kitty. And something else, too. Desperate, I fought the bastards, but there was just too many of them and only one of me. They beat the crap out of me. Blood and pain, too. Hurting like a sonofabitch, I lay there and closed my eyes, waiting for the blows sure to follow. I flinched, when I felt the massive paws gripping my hips, adjusting me onto my stomach and a heavy weight settled behind my buttocks. Not just beatings, but rape.

Chapter Fourteen–Montsho Worried, I got out of bed and searched the house. Nowhere could I find him. Faint traces of his scent filled the air—still strong, but growing faint fast. Nerves gripped my stomach. By the gods, was I that tired and just let him leave the cottage without me? Who is he meeting at this time of night? Abraham’s killers. Dev would say, “Damn straight.” I rushed outside and stood there on the doorstep, sniffing the warm air. Hoping, praying, that he was down at the beach. Or some place nearby. It was night, but thanks the gods for being a shifter. I could see the area clearly as if it had been daytime. He wasn’t. Like inside the cottage, his scent gleamed faintly on the slight breeze. I would track him. As a wereleopard it would be much simpler to trail his spoor. The beast magic stole over me. My vision went red and misty, as my bones cracked and my flesh bubbled. I dropped to my knees and hands. Saw claws bursting where my nails had been, parts of me stretching and the mist growing worse. It didn’t take long before I felt my black fur cover me like a fur coat and my tail twitching behind me. I snarled, narrowing my eyes. Stepping off the doorstep, I breathed in all the scents that the night brought to me. They rushed up my nose, each demanding to be noticed. I ignored all but one. Dev’s. I followed the pied piper trail of his vanilla odor. Every being in the world carried footprints of a sort, in their scent. And Dev’s was unique, just as mine was. Making love to him, tasting and smelling his skin and kisses for all this time made it easy for me to know his well. I paced, only stopping on occasion to take another deep whiff and refocused on where it went when it grew fainter. Thank gods for the night. I blended into it, my eyes the only shining color that might give me away to anyone that might stumbled onto me. I kept them in mere slits, enough to see what was around me. Lucky for me, it seemed that no one was out that night. I paused. Dev’s scent was still there, but now it was joined by the odors of other shifters. Rough doggy fragrance almost polluted Dev’s. Fragrance? More like sewer piss to me! Werewolves!

Abraham’s murderer must have been the one to call Dev. I put my nose close to the ground and sniffed at their spoor almost obliterating his. There were three—no, wait! Five. There was something else about them that bothered me. Usually a werewolf pack had a minimum of ten in them. It was not to say they could have less, as low as three or four. But those were rare and usually made up of bachelor wolves kicked out of a pack by the Alpha. Shifters had to do something bad enough to be cast out. Like what should have been done to Kaket and the others in Ramses’ pride—the ones that caused the war. Though honestly, what happened to them in the end was a better punishment. Death always proved to be so. I trotted faster, following their scents. Not long before the metal smell of blood slammed into my nostrils. I skidded to a halt and twitched my whiskers. Dev! It’s Dev’s blood! I cried out, mewling like a lost kitten. Where was he? What had those bastards done to him? Why had he even taken on that fucking old human’s ghost’s plea? Screw it. I should have made him go with me back to the bushveld. Now, this was my fault. I roared. An answering weak roar came close on mine. I picked up my ears, alert. Dev. It was Dev. Howls came after that. The long, drawn-out howls of canines screaming in the night. Not real wolves. Werewolves. I screamed, challenging them. Letting them know they had a fight coming on, and I took off at a run. My paws fell into their tracks, literally. I burst out into a large clearing and stumbled over paws as I tried to stop. The full moon that rode the night sky like some hag on a broomstick lit up the clearing and brought to me every piece of the tableau before me. One of the wolves with fur as black as mine had Dev in his leopard form on the ground, his muzzle in a big puddle of sandy blood. Bloody bite marks scattered across his spotted hide and that werewolf had his penis shoved into Dev’s anus, thrusting in and out. What the fuck! The bastard was raping him. The other four stood in front of them, growling and cheering on their bastard leader. Three were gray, but one was crimson. They looked nasty, with matted fur covered in dirt and maybe even shit. I wanted to rake my claws across their hides. Tear them apart and swallow chunks of them down my throat. I rose on my hind paws and screamed. The four turned to me and gleamed nasty doggy grins. I knew this might mean the end for me and the end for Dev. I dashed for them. They sprinted at me. Our bodies clashed. Claws slashed the air and fangs searched for flesh to sink into. Mine. Theirs. It didn’t matter. Our blood ran together. I breathed in piss and worse off them. I fought hard not to get away from that smell. One wolf had my tail in his maw and he was

gnawing on it. I screeched. Kicked out at him and caught an eye with a claw. He yelped and fell away. I only took a moment to see that his eye was gouged out and blood pouring from it as he sat there, whimpering. Fucking coward. I slashed at another werewolf, snarling. Cowards all. Not one taking me on shifter to shifter. I was a good fighter back in the bushveld, but still, taking on four burly werewolves is too much for even the best fighting wereleopard. Their leader joined them. They began to gang up on me, forcing me back until I stood over the fallen Dev. I would take them on, even if it killed me. At least I owed Dev that much. Blood poured in rivers off me and one eye was badly gashed. I couldn’t see through the eye, whether from blood or maybe it had been damaged, I didn’t know. I felt the fighting seeping out of me and wanted to lie down by my lover. It seemed as if my last breath would be on this beach. At least I would die with my mate. That had to count for something in the Afterlife—that the gods would let us be together forever. The black werewolf had my neck in his jowls, ready to crush it, when something slammed into him. He let loose of me and rolled away. I lifted my head and saw through the one good eye, large, furry things surrounding all five. Scents came to me and I knew what the furry things were: werewolves. Oh, no. This is it. There’s just too many of them and only the two of us. I crawled over to Dev and lay upon him. At least, I could protect his body as much as I could at the end. They would kill and feast upon me first. Dev, I love you. He cracked one eye open. I know. The Dreaming never lies. Never. It knew more than I did, what my heart should have known the first time I saw you. I just fought it like a stupid dick. He chuckled. Dick? My American slang is rubbing off on you. Yes, it is your entire fault. I looked at him with affection and sorrow, then nuzzled his face gently. He was hurt far worse than me and I breathed in the stink of death that hovered over him like a dark cloud. I am yours and you are mine— forever. Even beyond death. He closed his eyes. You won’t leave me? I am so scared, Montsho. After all this time of recklessness and darkness in my life, I fear the big Shifter of Death. I cuddled him like a cub. We will face it together. He sighed. Growls and howls filled the sir and I turned to watch. I realized then that the new pack wasn’t going to help the five outcasts, but were fighting them. Four fought back but the black bastard snuck away, his tail between his legs. Fangs bared, I went after him. No way in hell would he get away. In fact, I wanted to make sure he would die by my fangs and claws. For what he did to Dev, the monster deserved no less.

I ran low to the ground. A snarl and with one great push of my hind legs, I leaped into the air and landed on him. We rolled around, growling and slashing. Filthy coward! You could take on one wereleopard with your buddies, but afraid to fight your own kind. Fucking leopards! All you’re good for is fucking and killing. Worthless scum. Worthless, huh? I would show him how worthy I could be. I began to fight more intensely, digging into his belly with the claws from my hind legs and sinking my fangs into his neck, not letting go. He panicked when he realized I was winning. I never let go and kept slashing his stomach until his innards spilled out. When I knew he had enough, I fell away from him. He dropped to the ground, his blood pooling beneath him, growing wider and wider. His eyes clouded over and I knew that soon he would face the Shifter of Death himself. I hissed, seeing him cowering before the giant black shadow. Wereleopard, what did you do? We planned to take him and his friends before the Council. I glowered at the large, dark werewolf standing beside me. He raped my lover and planned to kill us both and feast upon us. Besides, I think he is the killer of another wereleopard, who lived in the very cottage we are staying in now. If not for Dev, then for the one whose life he had cut short. He sighed, then shifted. A tall, nude dark-haired man stood where the wolf had been. I did likewise. We both looked down at the naked, swarthy-skinned man lying in the pool of blood. He didn’t look so deadly now. “We had suspected that Carlos had killed a wereleopard that had lived in this town. You see, Carlos was homosexual and had approached Abraham. Abraham turned him down, saying he had his mate already and could never betray him. A human. A week later, Abraham ended up dead.” He looked at me. “There had been other shifter deaths. Every one of them was homosexual.” I kicked Carlos in the face. He cried out. “So that was why Abraham died? Because a gay werewolf couldn’t turn him on? Well, Dev was his last male fuck.” Carlos opened his eyes and began to mutter in Spanish. His eyes widened and terror filled them. His Spanish grew louder. I smiled. “He sees the Shifter of Death. I knew he would be a coward at the end.” Carlos perished right then. His eyes remained opened, full of horror. Then his body did its last shift and the black wolf lay where he had been. The werewolf held his hand out. “I’m Wolfe Tanner. I am head of the enforcers for the Council.” I took it. He had a firm grasp. “I am Montsho, from the bushveld in South Africa.” “Part of Ramses’s bushveld?”

“Yes, I am a sort of enforcer for him, just as you are for your Council here in America.” We walked back to where his enforcers had Carlos’s friends tied up and back in human shape. Dev wasn’t moving and I ran over to him. I dropped to my knees and gently laid his head onto my lap. I didn’t like the cloudiness of his eyes. He opened his eyes and coughed up blood as he tried to laugh. “You know my favorite place to rest my head, don’t you? Doubt I could relieve you, though.” I shushed him. “Quiet, beloved.” Wolfe stood over us. “Why, it’s Devlin.” Dev stared up at the werewolf and gave a weak smile. “I remember you. The werewolf that helped me back in the city. It seems like ages ago. Ever get those human hunters?” Something flitted in Wolfe’s eyes. “No. We will one day, though.” Dev coughed some more. “What about Abraham’s murderer and the other werewolves? Wolfe answered before I could. “Four are in custody for a tribune with the Council. Their leader is…dead.” He added, “I’m sure his friends will wish they had died, too, especially after the Council passes their verdict.” Dev’s eyes began to glaze over. Oh. gods, I was losing him! I couldn’t lose him. Not now when we had the chance to be together for the rest of our lives. I panicked and drew him closer to me, to my heart. I grieved. “He’s dying,” I cried, looking up at Wolfe. “I can’t go on without him.” A loud roar filled my ears and I rocked him. I heard Wolfe giving orders, fought him when he tried to take Dev from my arms and I was dragged away by other hands. I barely felt being put in the back of some vehicle, Dev being handed over to me to hold. I had never cried in my life, but at that moment as I cradled my lover close to my heart, I did.

Chapter Fifteen–Dev I sensed the Shifter of Death coming for me. Ice filled my veins. I sought the warmth that pressed against my cold body. It had a familiar scent. Montsho’s odor. Something drew me away from that warmth, into a dark void. Frightened, I realized I was in my leopard skin and that things surrounded me. Things that wanted to grab me and drag me away. Go away! Let me go back to Montsho. It’s your time, Devlin. Time to join the Circle of Death. No, no! I just got my mate! We hadn’t had enough time together. There is no guarantee that mates will be together until they die of old age. You had led an untamed life, shifter. Many times, you came close to my claws before. This time, you will not escape them. The Circle of Afterlife demands its due. An eerie glow appeared in front of me. Inside it stood a shifter. Not a wereleopard or wolf or lion or eagle or tiger or bear or any other predator. Not, it was a combination of every shapeshifter on earth. Its fur was a shiny gold color. It had one green eye and one amber eye. It looked as scary as hell. You’re the Shifter of Death, aren’t you? Yes, that is what your kind has called me for eons. What you see before you is not my true shape. I can shift into many shapes. What I am is an angel of death, one of many. Loud weeping broke around us. Words thundered. “Oh, my Dev, come back to me. Shifter of Death, do not rip him from my arms. I know he had been a dark soul, but since we been together, he has lightened. I love him so much. If you take him now, it will be as if you tore my beating heart from my chest. Please, let him live.” The Shifter of Death frowned as it looked toward the source of the voice. It looked back at me. Montsho loves you very much. I feel the pain in his heart and soul. But, if I give in to his pleas, the Circle of Afterlife will not be happy with me. I could hear indecision in the Shifter’s tone. Could I convince him? Have you ever been in love? It stared at me. No emotion shone in its eyes, nothing. I pressed it again, coming closer. The Shifter didn’t move. Well, have you?

Something flickered in its eyes. I jumped on it. You have, haven’t you? It sighed. Once, centuries ago, I was sent to bring a lovely young shifter to the Circle of Afterlife. She went by the name of Maura in life. She was a werefox, with a lovely crimson coat. It was love at first sight. I did not want to send her into the Circle of Afterlife. Instead, I kept her with me. The Shifter sat down. Our affair only lasted five earth years before the Circle demanded its tribute of her spirit. For the first time I saw tears in the Shifter’s eyes, iridescent sparkles. I lost her. I’m sorry. Don’t be. It was long ago. I learned not to go against the Circle of Afterlife after that. You can not change what must be. I felt myself getting colder. Looking down at my front paws, I could see through them. That scared me. I was close to being gone from Montsho forever. Desperate, I begged. Since you had known love yourself, then you know how I feel. How Montsho feels. Isn’t there anything you can do? The only thing that might happen is if you and Montsho convinced the Circle of Afterlife yourselves. I stuck my chin out. Do it. It shook its head. So be it. Another glow appeared next to the Shifter, I saw a black panther inside it. Montsho! But to be here he had to be dead. Why didn’t I think of that when the Shifter mentioned we both had to convince the Circle? Did I really believe that Montsho would be allowed to do it from the world of the living? The panther saw me and his eyes lit up. Dev! I went over to him and nuzzled him. Beloved. He looked uncertain. I am…dead? The Shifter of Death says that we both needed to talk to the Circle of Afterlife, to convince it to let me return to the world of the living. He saw the Shifter then and bowed his head in reverence. Oh, Shifter of Death. The Shifter smiled. Yes, it smiled. And the smile seemed eerie and predatory. Montsho, Alpha of the wereleopards of Ramses’s bushveld. He vanished away like smoke. Who allowed a spirit of one not dead into the Afterlife? The voice boomed. I swore it spoke in English and yet, linked to Montsho, I knew it had spoken in a South African dialect. I knew that this was the Circle of Afterlife. I stood in front of Montsho, protecting him. I wish to return to the world of the living, great Circle. You can not, once you had drawn your last breath, wereleopard. Well, we tried. Then let my beloved return back to his body. No, he dared to cross into the Afterlife. He will join you and merge into me.

No, he was brought here without his permission by the Shifter of Death. Let him go. I would not let the Circle of Afterlife touch my beloved. Montsho hadn’t died, and he deserved to return to his body. Montsho pressed against me. He might be spirit and not flesh, but he felt alive to me. So you dare to challenge me, Devlin? For Montsho, I would do anything, even take on the Afterlife. I love him with all I have to give. Then it chuckled, a small chuckle that grew into hearty laughter. Dumbfounded, I plopped my butt down. I was still leery, not knowing what this meant for Montsho and me. You would give all for love? Take on me? Granted. Montsho will return to the mortal realm. Montsho stepped in front of me, his ears laid back and his fangs bared. I will not leave without the one I love. If Dev doesn’t go, I will not leave, either. I saw Montsho stick out his furry chin and the challenging gleam in his eyes. My heart lightened form the knowledge of his love for me. Love enough to defy death in its face. I placed a paw on his shoulder and he looked back and purred. He stared back into the inky darkness that was the Circle again. Restore my beloved’s ghost back into his body. Give him back to me. If you expect me to do anything to get him back, I will do anything you ask of me. I hissed with fear when twin crimson fires materialize inside the black shadow. They were eyes. I turned my head and saw that they didn’t scare Montsho. Instead he snarled. Then Circle laughed louder. Not afraid of me, are you, Montsho? The laughter was curt off abruptly. No, you love Dev too much to be afraid of me. The only time you cried was when he passed away in your arms. I’ve only seen such love a few times in my existence. Montsho had cried over my death? I jumped up and tucked the top of his head against my chin. Montsho pressed against me, like he was trying to merge into my flesh. I licked his face and he purred. I love you forever, Dev. Just as I love you, Montsho. The Circle of Afterlife surrounded us. Return to your bodies. I don’t have the heart to part the two of you. But expect me when the both of you are old and ready to come to me. You will die in each other’s arms—that I can tell you. One moment we were in the Afterlife, the next I found myself back in my body, shifting back to human. I looked up and saw Montsho staring down at me. His eyes lit up and he had the biggest, most beautiful smile I ever saw. “Dev,” he said, bending over to kiss me. “Was I—” “Really in the Afterlife?” I finished. “We both were.”

Looking down at my body, I saw that all of my wounds had healed. I sat up and put my arms around my lover. “Come here,” I said, drawing his lips close to mine. “Let me kiss my hero. After all, how many can say their lover dared to battle the Circle of Afterlife itself to snatch their beloved from death’s grasp?”

Epilogue—Dev One Year Later I never knew such happiness. The bushveld in South Africa proved to be a wondrous place. At least, it was at Montsho’s side. We spent our days wandering the land, making love under the stars at night, and I made friends with other shifters that lived there. I was accepted by all, even Ramses’ pride and Montsho’s wereleopards. I was worried about the last allowing me among them, but they all wanted Montsho’s happiness and I was that. For the first time ever, two alpha males ruled a pard of wereleopards. Montsho’s happiness. I closed my eyes, savoring being anyone’s happiness. I felt light and full, all the darkness in my soul gone. Something bumped my head. I opened my eyes and saw Montsho, lust in his eyes. He shifted to his man form. I saw further proof of his need for me rearing between his muscular thighs. Beast magic flowed over me and I changed, too. I stood up and held a hand out. He placed his in it and he got to his feet. Arm in arm, we hurried to our home and our bed. Two as one: forever.

About the Author Sapphire Phelan is an author of published erotic and sweet paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction romance. She lives in Chesterfield, Virginia with her husband and their two cats, Ripley and Bast. You can find out more about her at her website: http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com and MySpace at http://www. myspace.com/SapphirePhelan. Or join her newsletter at http://groups.yahoo com /group/sapphirePhelansParanormalNewsletter. She admits she can always be found at her desk and on her computer, writing. And yes, the house and husband sometimes suffer for it!