Ash was gobsmacked. “You have memories of it?”
“Yes, don’t you?”
“Hazy, at best,” Ash replied.
“Interesting. Well, listen, buddy. Whatever happens, do not—I repeat, do not—show yourself to me or any of the other DuChamps when we’re in our panther forms. It won’t go well for you.”
Ash laughed. “Baby, come on. What’s a little kitty gonna do to me?”
Rosemary clapped back, “Try a 300-pound feline with fangs as long as your index finger. We aren’t a bunch of puppies howling at the moon. I might have memories of it, but please don’t make those memories of me or my daddy tearing you to bits. He’s the pack leader, and I won’t be able to stop him. I’d like to leave the tearing you to bits for his wedding toast.”
The thought of what that pompous asshole who was soon to be his father-in-law might say at the wedding toast was truly more gruesome than anything Ash could imagine happening on the new moon.
He hung up already knowing what he was going to do. The wedding planning had kept them apart for weeks. The new moon was coming up, and he wanted to put his eyes on his soon-to-be wife.
On the evening of the new moon, Ash waited in a rideshare outside her flat. He watched her exit the building, along with her cousin GiGi, who had been helping to plan the wedding. Rosemary looked nothing like her usual self. He realized he had never seen her in yoga pants and a T-shirt before. And running shoes. He had to do a double-take. The two women got into the back of a black town car and he paid the rideshare driver extra to follow it.
They drove away from the city, on and on for almost an hour. They finally stopped at a distant nature preserve, tucked-away on a remote bayou he’d never been to before. The setting sun sent long shadows of the eerie trees that grew out of the water. When Rosemary and GiGi exited the car, Rosemary paused and looked around, then nodded to the driver, who left.
Ash waited for the two women to disappear into the wilds before following them. He had no problem catching up, as Rosemary’s scent was doubly strong that night. He stayed hidden in the shadows as she stopped under a gigantic bald cypress and looked up. For a moment, it looked as though she was going to climb it. When he inched closer, looked harder, he saw that in the trunk of the tree was carved a set of stairs. He watched Rosemary and GiGi disappear up the stairs as if they were going inside the center of the tree. Ash moved quickly and quietly, holding his breath. He got as close as he dared, and looked up. Beyond the tree with the stairs was a cleverly disguised treehouse. He would have missed it if he hadn’t been tuned in to the trail of Rosemary’s scent. The treehouse could not have been bigger than a ten-person tent, blending in perfectly with the surroundings.
He held his breath and waited. Moments later, when the sky turned black, she appeared at the foot of the tree-trunk staircase. She was only recognizable by her scent. Her little human body was not there; it had been replaced by something the size of a lioness. A panther, but with golden fur, and a long, whipping tail. She was the most elegant creature he’d ever seen.
He watched by starlight as she silently climbed up the tree and mounted a branch that overlooked the woods and the water. The world was so dark, he needed his wolf eyes to see. Just giving the beast that much power made the rest of his senses heighten that much more. Ash had to breathe deeply, calling on his training to control himself. The sight of her prowling in the starlight called out to his blood.
The cat he assumed was GiGi followed soon after, bounding down the stairs and joining her cousin on the thick branch. The two cats roared at their reflections below, proud and majestic in their power, with the same energy with which they carried themselves in real life.
Even the wolf in him could not help but worship these beautiful creatures. Grand and sleek the wolves were not. They were scruffy little scavengers in comparison. He could barely admit it to himself, but the truth was right there. The panthers were a clan above the rest. Who was he, a filthy, woolly beast, to think he could be with such a creature?
* * *
She had told him not to allow himself to be seen by her or any of the panthers that night, and technically, he had obeyed. But he found himself missing her when the entire family of panthers had finally gathered as one hunting party and disappeared together into the night.
Ash wanted his girl. Needed his girl. Needed to be reminded of her. He needed her scent on him. He eyed the secret staircase in the tree. He shouldn’t do it, but he found himself bounding up the stairs before he could give it another thought.
At the top of the stairs, he crossed a rickety plank that led into the treehouse. Inside, stacks of clothes dotted the perimeter. Knowing her family, he half-expected the treehouse to be furnished with rugs, wingback chairs, and a bar. But there was nothing.
He didn’t need his eyes to spot Rosemary’s clothes. Her scent guided him to her tidy little stack, where he knelt, rifled through it, and found the source. “Fuck it,” he rattled. He took her panties, held them up to his nose, and inhaled deeply. His woman was a fucking goddess. He held back the urge to taste it and breathed in again.
Ash had no idea how long he spent in
