Page 63 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

Saul glared at him. “And you can stop right there.”

Eve gaped at them. “You’re mates? Okay, now the comments make sense. But I don’t understand. You’re human.”

Saul chuckled. “Yeah, welcome toourworld. Our mate is a Greenland shark.”

“Can we get back to the voices part?”

“It seems once mates find each other, they can communicate using telepathy.”

Eve stilled. “Seriously?”

Crank peered at Hashtag. “Why don’t you give it a try?” He grinned. “You could tell her what youreallythink of her and we’d be none the wiser.”

“He doesn’t have to,” Eve retorted.

Hashtag took a deep breath and stepped out of his comfort zone.

And what if I want to?

Eve jerked her head in his direction, her eyes wide, and he smiled.You have beautiful eyes.Funnily enough, they reminded him of a photo he’d seen once of a gorilla. Its eyes had captivated him with their intelligence.

Her face lit up.Thank you. And you have beautiful… muscles.

He chuckled.Glad you like ’em.

And I can’t wait to see them in all their glory.

Hashtag’s dick perked up about a nanosecond later, and he groaned internally.Can younotsay stuff like that? We’re almost at the house, and I amnotgonna walk in there sporting a hard-on.

She laughed, and even inside his head, it was a bright, joyous sound.One of the drawbacks to being male. Suck it up, buttercup.

“I get the feeling we’ve suddenly become surplus to requirements,” Crank remarked with a smirk.

Eve glanced at the passing landscape. “Seems like a great place to live.” Then she grinned. “Wow. Look atthathouse. It’s more like a mansion. God knows how many bedrooms that place has.”

“Five,” Hashtag told her with a smile. “And eight bathrooms.”

Saul turned left onto the driveway that curved through lush green lawns to the house, the lake visible behind it.

Eve gaped. “Thisis HQ?”

Saul chuckled. “Awesome, isn’t it? Crank, Vic, and I share a room, but Dellan is building us a house down by the lake. I think they’re laying the foundations next month.”

So you don’t mind staying here for a while?

Eve chuckled.Gee, I dunno. I mean, I guess I could slum it here for a while.

Thank God. She had a sense of humor.

Saul drove toward the six-car garage and parked in front of one of its white doors. Dellan came out to greet them, blinking when Eve got out of the car. Crank went over to him, and Hashtag would have given anything to overhearthatconversation.

He leaned closer to Eve and whispered, “That’s Dellan. Tiger shifter. His mates are Rael, who’s a lion, and Horvan, who’s a bear. Horvan and Saul are our joint team leaders. Me and Horvan, we go way back, along with Crank and Roadkill.”

“I’m guessing you’re the tech guy,” she murmured as they approached Dellan.

“You got that right. Crank can fly anything that’ll stay up in the air, and Roadkill, he’s our driver. They’re good guys in a fight too. They’ve had my back plenty of times.”

Eve turned her head to gaze at him. “They’re your family.”

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