“You have no idea.” Kade stood and headed toward the bedroom door. “I have to go running.”
“Is it the whole leopard thing?” Keaton asked. He was a pretty open-minded guy, down to earth, and a free spirit. But what Kade had told him was a little too far-fetched even for Keaton’s way of thinking.
Kade rested his hand on the doorknob, looking at Keaton uneasily. “You need time to adjust to what I’ve told you. I need time to get my head back in order. You’re welcome to stay, but I need to go right now.”
The man was right. Keaton had a lot of thinking to do. Although he felt a connection to Kade, he had just met the man. He believed in love at first sight, but mating at first sight was a whole other kettle of fish.
* * * *
Kade stripped in the backyard, his skin feeling tight, itchy. He hadn’t shifted in so long that he was afraid he would forget how or that it would be truly painful. It had been so long since he had freed that a part of him, that Kade feared that once the leopard was free, it wouldn’t go back.
He shook his hands out and rolled his neck, hearing his vertebrae crack. There was nothing to this. He had been shifting since he was a cub. It should be like riding a bike.
“Scared?” Bishop asked as he stepped out onto the back patio. He took a seat in the chair that was sitting next to a glass table. Great, now Kade had an audience to witness his possible failure.
“No,” he denied. “I was just enjoying the peacefulness of the night.”
“Liar.” Bishop chuckled and then sobered. “Just relax, little bro. It will come back to you.”
Kade wished he was as confident as Bishop. His brother had been born a true leader, as solid as a brick wall. Kade couldn’t remember a time when he saw his brother rattled or not in control. He had always looked up to the man. A small part of him wondered what Bishop thought of him after what he had done. But he was too afraid to ask, too afraid to know if his older brother was disappointed in him.
A groan rumbled up his throat when Keaton walked out. The man’s eyes dropped to Kade’s groin and a twisted smile appeared on his lips. “Why didn’t anybody invite me to the party?”
Bishop gave a small laugh as he pointed toward the seat next to him. “Have a seat and enjoy the show.”
Kade knew that sooner or later Keaton was going to see him shift. He just wished the man had waited until later. He was already under a great deal of stress.
Keaton cocked his head as he bit his bottom lip. The man seemed to do that a lot.
Kade could tell the guy was thoroughly enjoying the view. The sapphire-colored eyes were dark in intensity as his eyes kept flickering at Kade’s midsection. “Do you always stand outside naked? Not that I’m complaining. I walk around my house naked all the time. If I could get away with not wearing clothes, then I would go to work naked as well. Clothes are such confining things, don’t you think?”
The thought of Keaton naked had Kade growing hard. If he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his brother, he needed to shift and get the hell away from the house. He could already see the laughter on his brother’s face.
Before his erection came to a full salute, Kade quickly shifted. His mind and body exploded at the same time as freedom rang through his senses. Fuck, he had forgotten how good it felt to be in his leopard form. Kade could feel his cat taking over, forcing him to wallow around on the grass. He twisted back and forth, his leopard luxuriating in the feeling of being free.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! How in the hell did you just do that?” Keaton shouted as he climbed up into his chair. “I am not afraid to tell you how scared shitless I am right now.”
Kade glanced over at his brother and hoped that Bishop calmed Keaton down. He was of no use right now and Kade could feel his leopard pulling him toward the woods. Knowing Bishop would protect his mate, his leopard took off. Kade yowled loudly, feeling himself laughing inwardly with pure joy.
What a rush!
Kade wanted to whoop as his paws crashed into the earth, running wild and free for the first time in nearly two decades. He thought of all the times he nearly went insane when his leopard fought to get free. It had damn near killed Kade to deny his cat for all those years.
But he was making up for it now as he ran for hours. He chased after rabbits, lapped at a small stream that ran the border of Bishop’s property, and then he lay down on the soft ground, inhaling the fresh air and simply enjoying letting his cat have its time.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been lying there. Kade was too lost in stretching his muscles and scenting his surroundings. It felt goddamn strange to be in his cat form again. But as strange as it was, Kade found it even more surreal to be able to run. His body was humming, feeling alive for the first time in forever.
Being out in the open, having the vast land surrounding him should have made Kade anxious and edgy after being locked in a small square box. But it didn’t. As far as he was concerned, if he could make it happen, Kade would never be indoors again.
As he rolled to his back, he scented an intruder. Kade pretended ignorance as he stared up at the night sky. He took in the black swatch that was decorated in millions of stars, the moon crescent shaped. Wisps of clouds drifted by as Kade listened to
