“Okay. That’s good. My girl is still in there.” He moved toward her slowly, hands lifted in front of him. “Can you change back?”

She wasn’t in control of such things. Even when it was only her teeth and fingernails that shifted, they would always go back to normal when they wanted, not when she did.

Lyka tried to convey that information to him. It must have worked, because he nodded.

“Then we’ll wait. No worries.” He stroked her head, sliding his fingers through her fur.

His touch felt good, reminding her just how much she loved feeling his hands on her. The purr she let out was beyond her control.

Joseph laughed. “You know, when I pictured what my life would be like when I found my mate, this was not at all what I imagined.”

That made two of them.

“I saw the tire marks,” he said. “I’ve heard of demons using vehicles lately, but it could have been humans. Dorjan.”

Lyka had never seen one of the human blood servants the Synestryn sometimes used to do their dirty work. Unlike demons, Dorjan could move about in the daylight, making them a useful tool to have.

But that’s not what happened here. There was no recent scent of human around, even one who fed off the blood of demons. At most she detected a faint hint of human, likely coming from whoever had once owned the vehicle.

It’s not like Synestryn could walk into a dealership and fill out loan paperwork. Chances were they’d killed whoever had owned it and taken it from them.

She shook her head, hoping he would understand.

“We’ve been seeing this for a while,” he said. “The demons have been stealing human children and altering them so they can breed with them. There are more and more sightings of human-looking Synestryn all the time.”

Lyka had heard rumors but wasn’t sure they were true until now. This knowledge was the kind of thing that could cause a panic among humans and Sentinels alike. If a demon couldn’t be recognized on sight, then that gave it more time to get close enough to kill.

Do you think that’s how those things were able to attack us before the sun had set all the way? she asked through their link. She hadn’t even stopped to think that it wouldn’t be possible for him to hear her, which made her realize just how much her instincts were running the show right now.

“I do.” Joseph kept idly stroking her. His fingers worked magic along her neck, lingering over the luceria as they passed. Every time he touched it, crackling shards of power sank into her skin, making her tingle. “And I have to admit, it’s more than a little creepy knowing that we’re no longer safe in the daylight.”

Slowly, as her body relaxed and the adrenaline rush of the hunt faded, she felt the animal in her subside. The change was fast—faster than she would have thought possible. One minute Joseph’s hand was sliding over her fur, and the next he was stroking the bare skin of her back.

She was on all fours, naked except for the luceria. Her hair fell around her face, hiding her blush.

“Guess I lost my clothes along the way,” she said, remembering the sound of tearing fabric and the feel of the bramble tugging away the shreds.

She sat up and covered herself with her hands.

Joseph wrapped his fingers around her wrists and pulled her hands wide. His eyes had gone dark with desire, making her wonder if this man would ever be sated.

“Don’t,” he said. “You’re too beautiful to hide from me. And when it comes to you, there is no such thing as getting my fill.”

Her skin began to heat under his gaze, but she tried to play it cool and not let him know just how much she liked the way he looked at her. “This mental-connection thing doesn’t leave much room for privacy.”

“Maybe not, but it does come in handy in a fight. One day, when you’ve had plenty of time to practice wielding my power, you’ll know what I mean.”

“Does that power include being able to magically fabricate clothing?”

He grinned and stripped off his shirt. His bare chest was such a thing of beauty, she forgot all about being naked. Her hands were on him, stroking his lifemark, before she even had time to question the sanity of such a move.

Small, fuzzy buds lined the once-bare branches.

“Your leaves are coming back,” she said.

“Because of you.” He wrapped the shirt over her shoulders and used the open edges to pull her toward him. The journey ended at his mouth and the hot, sweet kiss that awaited her there.

Since when did she let him kiss her whenever he wanted? Then again, how had she gone so long without this exact thing?

She spent so much time overthinking it that by the time he pulled away, she’d hardly had time to enjoy the ride. She felt cheated and would have gone for seconds, but there were people counting on them.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“Because there was no other option. I see you and need to kiss you. I’ve been holding that back for way too long to keep it in check now. I hope you understand.”

She did. She felt that way now—like she had to hold herself back from taking what she wanted.

What was it about this man that ignited her? She’d always been curious about him, but she’d thought it was because he represented the thing she feared most about herself. Now that her secret was out, she didn’t have to fear him—at least not that he’d out her—anymore.

He slid his finger along her brow. “There’s way too much going on up there. I think it’s time we plan our next move so you can stop worrying. I say we follow these tracks and see where they lead.”

“Just like that? No discussing what just happened to me?”

“You shifted into a tiger. I didn’t expect it, but I’ve adjusted.”

“How is that even possible? I haven’t had time to adjust, and I’m a Slayer. Nearly everyone I grew up with would die to be able to do what I just did.” For generations, Slayers had bred with humans, diluting their bloodlines until their powers faded and only a very few could even display animal traits. About a hundred years ago, the Slayer council decided to create breeding laws that were designed to strengthen the best genetic traits. Lyka’s mother was one of the strongest Slayers born in generations. So was the man she’d married. Both of Lyka’s brothers had shifted into their animal forms, though neither could control it.

She knew now exactly what that was like.