Snow Leopard's Lady (Veteran Shifters 1)

“I don’t know yet!” Nina said. “She seems to think I’d be good at it. But I haven’t been here nearly as long as some other people have, I’m sure I don’t know the territory well enough to be a guide. And I have this job, and it’s decent, and I definitely don’t want to give it up for something I might not be good at...”

“Well,” Wilson said practically, “there’s only one way to learn, and that’s to start doing it. How about you show me around first, and I’ll let you know what I think of your skills. I could even book one of Lynn’s tours and then give you a rundown of where you differed, if you’d rather do that before trying to do it professionally.”

“Oh.” Nina blinked. “That sounds like a good idea. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Wilson assured her.

Mavis reached for his hand, and it struck Wilson suddenly that this was his future. That he was sitting here not only with his beautiful, intelligent, brave, compassionate mate, but rather with his new family, in his new home.

He took a deep breath, and settled back to drink it all in. This was his life, and he was happier than he’d ever been.

Epilogue: One month later

“Are you ready?” Wilson held both of Mavis’ hands in his, looking into her eyes.

Mavis smiled. She felt more than ready. She wasn’t nervous at all, just happy. “Absolutely.”

Wilson’s body shivered and shifted, and she let her hands fall away. Standing in front of her now was a sleek, powerful snow leopard.

Soon that’ll be me, she thought.

Off to the side, Nina was almost bouncing on her toes. “You can do it, Mom.”

Mavis gave Nina a dry look. “I don’t think it’s going to take a lot of skill on my part.”

“It takes heart, though,” Joel spoke up unexpectedly. “You have to have a shifter’s heart. But you do, so.”

They’d debated whether this should be private, between Wilson and Mavis alone, but in the end it hadn’t seemed like something that needed to be concealed. Mavis wanted her daughter there, and Wilson had loved the idea of the whole family witnessing something this special.

Mavis held out her hand, feeling like she was participating in some kind of ancient ceremony. Wilson closed his teeth around it, and suddenly there was a tiny, sharp pain.

When she drew her hand back, there was a small nick on it, barely more than a paper cut. Mavis smiled. Wilson had been—not reluctant; he’d wanted to change her as much as she wanted to be changed. But he hadn’t liked the idea that he had to hurt her to do it.

Mavis had assured him that she could handle a small nip like this. But Wilson had promised her he would make it as tiny and painless as he could.

And he’d followed through, because the cut only stung a small amount. He shifted back with concern in his eyes, and Mavis smiled in reassurance.

But the little pain was quickly taken over by something else. Like a wild rush inside of her.

Like something waking up, lifting its head, filling her chest with a sensation unlike anything she’d ever known.

A snow leopard.

Her snow leopard. Rising inside her, lifting its ears as it awoke.

This was what Nina had been for her entire life. This was what Wilson was. Her mate and her daughter—and now her, too.

It was an astonishing sense of power, of ferocity, but also of true connection. She could feel that she and Wilson were mates, on a deeper level than before. Her leopard knew his leopard.

And her leopard knew Nina, too.

Mavis had been afraid that shifter instinct would be somehow...dependent on biology. That Nina wouldn’t—smell like her daughter, or something, because she was adopted.

But no. She could sense the connection between them like a strong cord, vibrating with love. Daughter. Family. Pack.

“It worked,” Nina breathed. She must be able to sense it, too. “Can you shift, Mom?”

Wilson was looking at her with a fierce love in his eyes. Her mate.