As the footsteps moved closer, he felt his cat stirring. No, stirring was the wrong word for it. Spazzing the fuck out. He'd never felt his cat this riled up over anything. As the interloper came into view and he caught her scent, he sucked in a breath. The punch of lust hit straight in the gut, the cat wanting to crawl out of its skin to emerge, to claim.
She was stunning in the moonlight filtering in from the tall windows. Perfectly curvy, with tousled blonde curls down her back, she had on a form-fitting white dress with a purple colored jacket over it. He didn't know what she was doing coming in so late, but every instinct from man and beast was screaming to protect her at all costs.
He'd been planning on confronting her about not taking her safety seriously, but with the way his body and cat were reacting to her presence, he realized he needed to retreat to get a handle on things before he formally introduced himself and laid down the new rules she'd be abiding by.
He'd heard the stories of this. Rationally, he knew what it was. Emotionally? He wasn't fucking ready. When other shifters found their mates, they lost their goddamn minds until they were able to claim them, to bring them under their protection. Their mates were all they could think about, all they could focus on until the mating was finished and the cat was pacified. He didn't have time for that shit.
Most of all? He didn't need a mate that could potentially be involved in this mess. Nor did he need to be sniffing around the Mayor's daughter, especially when he was being paid to protect her. He couldn't imagine daddy would be pleased if he pushed himself on his precious little girl.
This situation was filled with landmines, and he swore he could already smell the singed fur. Waiting until he heard a door closing softly somewhere upstairs, he moved to his room once more, settling onto the bed again, this time for the night.
Only once he'd laid down did he realize her room must be directly above his, as he could hear her moving around as she was getting ready for bed, the way she was humming softly to herself while going from one area to another. Her scent teased his senses, his cock hardening to an almost painful degree. He felt like a damned teenager.
He couldn't sleep. Knowing she was so close, and yet so far away, tormented him. He wanted nothing more than to stride upstairs, break down the door separating them, and ease the ache he couldn't slake. His cat was in full agreement with this plan, except Thian knew he couldn't do it. He wasn't a goddamn animal, a slave to his feral urges. He'd been raised better than that. Not by his parents, mind you, but by his uncle. By Knox. He knew better.
Didn't help to calm his hormones, though. He'd ended up taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, in order to get some kind of rest. The cat paced in his mind, frantic and angry at being denied the opportunity to take its mate when she was clearly so close. Ignoring it, Thian punched his pillow down into a more comfortable shape, falling into a fitful sleep.
When he woke, it was to a blinding morning, making him hiss and recoil back into the covers as the bright light hit his face. A woman's voice chided him, telling him breakfast would be served downstairs in twenty minutes. Hiding the snarl on his face, he peeked out hesitantly, recognizing the elderly woman from yesterday as she puttered around the room, refilling the vase of flowers he hadn't noticed and fluffing cushions. Well, at least she seemed more pleasant today, knowing he was a guest of the Mayor's.
He'd have to let the Mayor know he didn't need turn-down service. While it was appreciated, he couldn't risk her coming in and finding him in leopard form, or worse, in the midst of a change that he couldn't explain. It was best that she simply leave his room alone, he'd clean up after himself. He didn't need fucking flowers, anyway, he was here for security.
Only the knowledge that he'd be meeting the Mayor's daughter today got him up and moving despite the woman still in his room. Hearing her gasp of shock, he inwardly shrugged. You come into a leopard's den, you dealt with the consequences. He hadn't bothered wearing anything to bed after he'd taken care of what he'd needed to handle, and didn't have much modesty left, at any rate.
As expected, she hurried from the room, scandalized. His chuckle followed her as he pulled on his jeans, the black t-shirt he'd worn yesterday, and his boots. Unless he was planning on riding that day, he generally didn't bring his leathers with him, so he left the jacket in the room. He didn't need the patches to denote his membership if required, anyway. If there were humans around him, they were warned away from him by his demeanor and generally didn't get too close. If there were shifters? They already knew who the fuck he was. Approaching without respect wouldn't be tolerated.
He already had their scents, at least some of them, from the woods surrounding the property. He'd be able to pick them out of a crowd if he had to. Something told him, if the paperwork he'd sent to the club turned out to be anything of interest, he may end up needing to. Between that and knowing shifters had been on the property, shit didn't add up.
Leaving his room, he made his way into the formal dining room they'd passed on their way to the Mayor's office yesterday. The Mayor was already seated, reading the newspaper with a coffee mug beside him. He glanced
